Western Riverside County and Orange County have experienced dramatic change and great challenges. Bill Hedrick believes we must confront those challenges directly with equally great ambitions, starting today. Our current congressional leadership locally has failed to balance America's checkbook.  As such, it is Time for Change!!!

Upholding the Constitution Members of Congress take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. So do members of the Executive and Judiciary Branches. Unlike the Bush Administration, however, I will do all in my power to uphold and defend the Constitution, particularly regarding the protections and inalienable rights of all humanity it guarantees to the American people. Read More

On Education As a society, we are confronted with two paths: either we invest more in education for our children and build their academic, social and life skills, or we invest in more prisons to warehouse those children excluded from the American Dream, because they have no employable skills or other means of access. Read More

On Health Care I believe access to quality, affordable healthcare is a moral and fiscal imperative."Skyrocketing premiums" have become unaffordable for working families and impose a huge and burgeoning burden on employers. I support the concept of a non-profit, universal health care system that is available for all Americans. Read More

Trade & Commerce Trade policies must be adopted that safeguard the interests of working Americans. Current trade agreements, with completely ineffective environmental and labor requirements for foreign-based manufacturers, have placed American workers at a tremendous competitive disadvantage. The out-sourcing of America needs to stop, and fair markets established for the exchange of goods and services. Conservatives complain about "class war," yet seem to have no problem with the current war on the American middle class that their trade policies have incited. Read More

On Iraq The war in Iraq is damaging to long-term American interests and has proved to be politically, militarily, financially, and morally ruinous for our country. It will not improve until the Iraqis assume responsibility for their own future, and that will not happen as long as we are their crutch. Our troops need to be quickly withdrawn from this quagmire. Instead, we need to put our resources back into fighting Al-Qaeda and other terrorists who directly threaten our country. Read More

On Immigration I support an immigration plan that will restore our national security and strengthen our economy, and that is enforceable. Read More

Abortion This is a medical decision that should be made by a woman and her family. I don’t believe that it would be the right decision for my family, but it’s certainly not my place – or the government’s place – to tell a woman and her family what their decision must be.

Marriage Equality All marriages are based on a civil contract that legally ties two people together and grants them certain rights under the law. Churches should conduct marriages for whomever they want – that’s their purview – but the civil contract and the rights it guarantees should be available to everyone.

Oil Drilling I agree with Governor Schwarzenegger when he characterized drilling proposals as irresponsible and totally unacceptable. Mr. Calvert believes that putting oil rigs out of sight mitigates the potential damage but, in a coastal community like San Clemente, out of sight does not equal out of mind. There is no such thing as a minor oil spill. I don’t believe scarcity is the real issue here – the issue is greed. In the 1970s there was a real oil shortage – it wouldn’t have mattered if they’d have charged $10 a gallon for gas, there was no oil. The problem is that prices have been artificially inflated to line the pocketbooks of oil executives and shareholders. There are steps we could take immediately to insure a larger oil supply that don’t involve offshore drilling or new land leases: First, let’s uncap the thousands of capped wells in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma that weren’t profitable at $25 or $30 a barrel, but most certainly would be at $100 a barrel. Second, if the oil companies must drill, why not on the millions of acres already under lease? If they’re not going to use that land, they ought to give it back. The real reason oil companies want new land leases has nothing to do with getting more oil – unlike other mineral rights leases that must be returned to the government if that haven’t been used within 18 months, oil companies get to keep their leases and add that acquired land to their already hefty portfolios. Third, why not require that all oil that has been drilled on US soil be kept here in the US? Right now, some of our oil goes to the world market, where it is sold to other countries. If scarcity is really the problem, why not require the oil we drill here to be refined and sold here?

Energy I agree with Governor Schwarzenegger when he characterized drilling proposals as irresponsible and totally unacceptable. Mr. Calvert believes that putting oil rigs out of sight mitigates the potential damage but, in a coastal community like San Clemente, out of sight does not equal out of mind. There is no such thing as a minor oil spill. I don’t believe scarcity is the real issue here – the issue is greed. In the 1970s there was a real oil shortage – it wouldn’t have mattered if they’d have charged $10 a gallon for gas, there was no oil. The problem is that prices have been artificially inflated to line the pocketbooks of oil executives and shareholders. There are steps we could take immediately to insure a larger oil supply that don’t involve offshore drilling or new land leases: First, let’s uncap the thousands of capped wells in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma that weren’t profitable at $25 or $30 a barrel, but most certainly would be at $100 a barrel. Second, if the oil companies must drill, why not on the millions of acres already under lease? If they’re not going to use that land, they ought to give it back. The real reason oil companies want new land leases has nothing to do with getting more oil – unlike other mineral rights leases that must be returned to the government if that haven’t been used within 18 months, oil companies get to keep their leases and add that acquired land to their already hefty portfolios. Third, why not require that all oil that has been drilled on US soil be kept here in the US? Right now, some of our oil goes to the world market, where it is sold to other countries. If scarcity is really the problem, why not require the oil we drill here to be refined and sold here?