Candidate name: Steny Hoyer

Party affiliation: Democrat

Candidate age: 67

Place of residence: Mechanicsville

Current occupation: Member of Congress

Link to state Board of Elections campaign finance database

We need to transist in a context that will hopefully provide stability. ... This needs to be a time of transition. ... I don’t think there ought to be a date certain. ... The problem with exit strategy is you announce to the enemy, ‘‘Hold your fire until X day.” ... Transisting doesn’t mean total exit.

With as much as $2 billion a week of military spending going to Iraq and Afghanistan, how can you ensure adequate funding for the research, development, test and evaluation activities at your district’s military installations in the coming years?

We can’t ensure that, other than by going deep into deficit spending, which as you know I’m opposed to. ... [With the Bush administration policies], we are undermining the strength of our armed forces. ... They are weaker than they were ... under the Clinton administration. ... The National Guard and Reserve have been stretched to the breaking point.

State and local officials often grumble about unfounded mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which many consider a good way of establishing accountability for academic performance whose goals are unattainable. What measures do you propose to ease the financial burden on state and local entities? Should the law be thrown out the window or slightly altered? If the latter, what would your proposal include?

I supported No Child Left Behind ... because I believe citizens have a right to expect accountability. ... We asked for the accountability, and we haven’t given [schools] the resources. ... [The law] needs to be modified to recognize the reality ... [that some schools] have greater challenges.

What qualities should the next president possess and what should his or her administration’s top priorities be? Are there any particular candidates you think would serve the office well at this time?

Wisdom, vision, humility ... thinking that they might be wrong and they would listen to advice. ... [Former president Bill Clinton was smart and worked with both parties] ó I would hope we would have a president like that. ... I think Hillary [Clinton] has that. ... [John] Edwards. ... Mark Warner has that. Joe Biden’s a very able guy.

What strategies do you advocate to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil?

My bill is the Progress Act – Program for Real Energy Security. ... We need to be energy independent. ... We’ve been talking about energy independence forever, and there are a lot of good ideas on the table [including more energy-efficient vehicles and having the military switch to biofuels.

What is your position on the establishment of a universal health-care system in America? What are the pros and cons to such a proposal?

I don’t think there are any cons to a universal health-care system ... [though] not necessarily a single-payer system. ... The Republican proposals [for health savings accounts] I think will have a negative effect. ... That does not mean I have a specific proposal.

Are we better prepared for a terrorist incident than we were before 9⁄11?

I think the answer to that is yes. ... Are we as prepared as we ought to be? No. We’re not as safe in our ports as we ought to be. We’re not as safe in our nuclear plants or water supply [as we should be].

How much of a concern is the economic divide between wealthy and poor Americans? Should more affluent citizens pay higher taxes? Are there other strategies for giving more people opportunities to make a better living for themselves?

Absolutely there are strategies [such as the Hoyer amendment to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour]. ... We have got to lift those at the bottom and give them some sustenance. ... It’s obscene that people are working a 40-hour week and living in poverty. ... I believe in a progressive tax system.

Commuters in the 5th District face ever-increasing traffic congestion. Can the federal government offer assistance, and on what projects?

We’ve done a lot on roads, but we also need to do mass transit. ... We need to have a better mass transit system to interface with our Metro. ... Expanding Metro is very expensive. You really need to gather people to Metro. ... We also need to focus on light rail.