Congressman Tom Lantos is entering the 107th U.S. House with many of the same issues he's had on his mind during the past 20 years he's been in office - a broad progressive agenda with a strong focus on foreign policy and civil and human rights.
He ran for his 11th term this year promising San Mateo county residents that he would continue to work for a 'Patients Bill of Rights,' protection of women's reproductive rights, and guaranteed education for young people from pre-school through college. Voters in his district rewarded him this year with 74 percent in favor of sending him back to Washington. Lantos promised that he would be as active in Congress as ever.
"I'm looking forward to doing my best," Lantos said. This term Lantos will be given the opportunity to play a greater role on issues he has always looked upon with great interest - he will be the ranking Democrat on the Committee for International Relations. "My principal goal is to continue the period of general peace since the Persian Gulf War," Lantos said. "This is a natural assignment for me."
He added that he will be given the opportunity in the next few days to help foster peace in the Middle East.
Lantos will meet with Palestinian President Yassir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak when they come to the U.S. for peace negotiations.
"I've been working on that issue of trying to bring peace for 20 years. I look forward to seeing Barak and Arafat in the next few days," he said.
Lantos has a weighty history on foreign issues, including service on the U.S. delegation to the United Nations from 1995 to 1996, a current membership with the Congressional delegation to NATO, and founder and chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
But he emphasized that his sights are by no means set far from San Mateo County, which has been his home since 1950. Education and transportation, two of the most contentious issues here, are also on his mind. He mentioned his leadership role in securing federal funding for the extension of BART and San Francisco International Airport, which amounted to $50 million.
"These are two of the biggest public works projects," he said. "The enormous expansion of the population has brought with it an enormous expansion of traffic, and in order to alleviate it we have to bring in mass transit."
And he said that making education affordable to all families, including tax breaks for tuition costs, is a priority for him.
"I am determined to see that all children who need it get a pre-school education. And that all young people have the opportunity, irrespective of financial status, to go to college."
Lantos was a professor of economics at San Francisco State University for 30 years. A "sophisticated" graduate school education, he said, is important in this information age.
The new Congress Lantos will be facing, which is an even tighter tie between Democrats and Republicans, is one that he said he could handle.
"I am a very bipartisan member of Congress. I've always walked across the aisle - it's not a new experience," he said.
And he shows no signs of letting up. He didn't mention specific bills he will be sponsoring, or what his highest priorities are - he did say that he has quite a number in the works.
"Obviously when you are in Congress you work and chew gum at the same time - you don't do these things one at a time, you tackle a lot of issues," Lantos said.
Lantos plans on running again in 2002.
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