Howard Shanker

Howard Shanker was a Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 1st Congressional District (map) of Arizona. He is seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), who is not seeking reelection. He lost in the primary election which took place on September 2, 2008.

Positions, record and controversies
Iraq:

"There Is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq." General David Petraeus, March 2007

I am a signatory to "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" (the "Plan"). Other signatories to the Plan include, Major General Paul Eaton (U.S. Army Ret.), former Security Transition Commanding General, Iraq; Dr. Lawrence Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration; Brigadier General John Johns (U.S. Army Ret.), specialist in counterinsurgency and nation-building; and Capt. Larry Seaquist (U.S. Navy Ret.), former commander of the U.S.S. Iowa and former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning.

The Iraq War is one of the most pressing concerns facing our Nation. The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. As of April 18, 2008 4,038 American troops (icasualties.org) have lost their lives and nearly thirty thousand more have suffered serious Injuries, while as many as a million Iraqis may be dead. The financial costs of the war to the U.S. economy will ultimately exceed $3 trillion.

As a signatory to the Plan, I recognizes that, any real solution will require us to address the broad set of problems with which we are faced. Beyond redeploying our troops, we must place equal Importance on applying the full arsenal of non-military tools at our disposal. The American public must also re-engage in the discussions and decision-making about how to proceed. Among other things, the Plan incorporates many of the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton commission published in the Iraq Study Group report.

"A Responsible Plan to End the War In Iraq" can be viewed In Its entirety at www.responsibleplan.com

The U.S. does not have enough troops to remain in Iraq at the current levels indefinitely. The limitations on troop availability will demand some drawdown in the short term. While the current administration and its allies may seek to portray a return to pre-surge troop levels as the beginning of a military withdrawal, it is not enough to reduce troop levels to pre-surge levels. We must end the presence in Iraq of U.S. troops.

This should be accomplished based on planning provided by our military leadership; the safety of our remaining troops during the drawdown period is of utmost importance. Moreover, the drawdown of troops must be coordinated with increased civil and economic assistance, and executed in such a way as to contain the threat of terrorism and prevent an abrupt destabilization of the region.

We need to negotiate a political solution to the current morass, one that:

* Devises a fair plan to share oil revenues among ethnic groups in Iraq; * Starts a reconciliation process to defuse sectarian tensions; * Addresses the disastrous de-Baathification and puts Sunnis back to work; and * Engages sectarian death squads and tears them out of Iraqi security forces.

The American people and our current Congress have been largely ignored while President Bush has pushed forward his own agenda for Iraq. The Responsible Plan sets forth a path for our military withdrawal, including not only the removal of U.S. troops, but a plan to address humanitarian concerns, to restore the U.S. Constitution, and to employ diplomatic, rather than military, influence.

Water: Arizonans deserve a sustainable, clean, water supply that is derived from a local source. We currently do not have this.We live in the desert during a period of prolonged drought. In Arizona, demands on surface and groundwater have already resulted in a significant loss of riparian area and habitat. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona could face a potential water supply crisis by 2025. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in about 80% of the state, including large swaths of Congressional District 1, developers can build massive subdivisions without any assurance of a sufficient water supply. Our state legislature and agencies are failing miserably in the face of an identifiable and acknowledged crisis. The state needs to pass a law, in part, requiring that subdivisions of a certain size have a 100 year assured water supply -- without which they cannot build. If our state legislators are unwilling to do this, we need to explore the possibility of taking that authority from them and placing it under the rubric of the federal Clean Water Act. Something must be done quickly to stop the irresponsible behavior of our state legislators and state agencies in allowing uncontrolled, unsustainable growth. To Read More Click This Link:

Immigration: In a nation that is borrowing huge amounts of money to fund its annual budget – including borrowing money from Mexico – most proposals to address immigration are both economically and morally unrealistic and insupportable. Right now about 90% of our border resources are used to track down and deport people who are coming across the border to work to feed their families. Many of these people pay a “coyote” about $3,000 to smuggle them across the border. If people who want to come to this country to work instead paid $500 to the Border Patrol or other agency, the agency could perform a background check as well as provide workers with documentation. This would allow the market to function more effectively; that is, if the demand for workers slowed, so would the supply—fewer people would cross the border for work. Since workers would be in this country with proper documentation, they would have to be provided with safe working conditions. Proper documentation would similarly limit the risk of artificially depressing wages. This process would also generate revenue to cover budgetary shortfalls and could then be used for other border issues. And perhaps more importantly, a properly run guest worker program would free up the resources currently committed to stopping otherwise law abiding workers from crossing the border, essentially freeing up the vast majority of border resources which could then be used to keep criminals and drug runners from entering this country.

With regard to the people and families who are currently in this country without proper documentation – we cannot round up and deport 12 million or more people who are not here with proper documentation. The cost of deportation would be an estimated $123 billion and would make America an un-American country by disrupting communities and businesses, and uprooting and splitting up families. We need to provide an incentive for these people to come forward, become documented, and begin to pay into the system. This would also permit previously undocumented aliens to leave the country without fear of not being able to return for their seasonal employment. As an aside, we have an aging population in this country, with baby boomers beginning to take from, as opposed to paying into, Social Security and Medicare. The Hispanic/Latino demographic is much younger – this provides an opportunity to make solvent our Social Security and Medicare programs.

Dream Act

It makes no sense to throw away our investment in the young people who have lived here and successfully completed school who now want to go on to college. We have already heavily invested in their education. It makes no sense to throw away our investment and deport these people to a country they have not been to except as little children.

Energy: I am deeply dissatisfied with U.S. energy politics. The political agenda of the Administration needs to be replaced with sound scientific policy, without which America may continue to fall behind the rest of the world in addressing and developing alternative, non-carbon based forms of energy. Reducing our dependence on oil will not only reduce green house gas emissions, it will emancipate us from the whims of oil producing countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. We need to make major changes in policy to efficiently move Arizona and the Country toward energy independence. If done properly, production of energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind will:

(1) create sustainable jobs in Arizona Congressional District 1; (2) decrease dependence on foreign oil; (3) reduce green house gas emissions; and (4) create a net gain for the State.

Arizona should be a major producer and exporter of energy that is not used in-state. Congressional District 1 is an ideal site for large scale solar and wind energy projects. We should be exporting energy, not importing it. Moreover, generation of solar and wind energy is not heavily water dependant, which should be of concern to all of us in Arizona.

We need a larger vision for a sustainable future. As your Congressman, I would work hard to end tax breaks and favors to big oil. I believe we also need to stop the heavy government subsidization of the nuclear energy industry and to divert these resources to the implementation and utilization of renewable sources of energy.

Parts of CD 1 are still struggling with the environmental and health impacts of uranium mining and processing from the World War Two era, not to mention issues with the disposal of radioactive waste from the energy process itself, with a half-life of hundreds of thousands of years. Arizona could, and should, be the renewable energy capital of the Country. This makes economic, environmental and practical sense

Social Security and Medicare: It is important that we protect Social Security and Medicare to ensure that our seniors have a retirement with dignity that includes access to affordable medical care. While each program faces challenges in the future, the solution to the challenges is not privatization but common sense.

Social Security is Solvent- The Republicans have sought to create a false panic over the solvency of Social Security in order to advance their privatization program even though they concede privatization does nothing to strengthen the program’s solvency. The fact is that the Social Security Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of benefits through 2041 and 75 percent of benefits through 2081. Considering the fact that the cost of making the Bush Republicans’ tax cuts for the rich permanent is three times the Trust Fund’s projected shortfall, common sense dictates calls for sound fiscal management not radical reform.  Medicare Needs to be Addressed- The Medicare trust fund is only solvent through 2019 but Republicans refuse to address this issue because of the fact that the problem is exacerbated by the Bush Republicans’ prescription drug plan designed to benefit HMO’s and pharmaceutical companies not seniors. The Republican plan forced seniors into more expensive HMO’s and prohibited Medicare from doing what the VA does successfully – negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Common sense tells us that this is bad for seniors and bad for America.

We need to pass the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act to prevent taxpayers from being gouged by pharmaceutical companies. We also need to reform the prescription drug benefit to allow seniors to choose a plan administered directly by Medicare - efficiently guaranteeing a simple, secure benefit that will reduce drug costs and ensure comprehensive coverage.

Finally, we must seek ways to control spiraling health costs particularly as the baby-boomers advance in years. This means abandoning ideological solutions and instead working with Democrats and Republicans, doctors and insurers and Arizona consumers to find practical solutions to this growing problem.

Bio
Howard Shanker is the son of a decorated WWII veteran, a family man, and a small business owner. Howard, his wife Tamera, their teenage daughters Rachel and Samara, and their 6-year old son Ethan are long-time Arizonans. Together, Howard and Tamera founded The Shanker Law Firm with offices in Flagstaff and Tempe that provides state-wide representation.

Howard is also an adjunct professor at the Arizona State University, College of Law, where he teaches courses in environmental litigation and environmental justice. As an appointee by President Clinton, Howard served a three-year term on the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Enforcement Subcommittee. Howard has dedicated his career to matters that have had a positive impact on the quality of life for Congressional District 1, and Arizona as a whole. Howard currently represents the Navajo Nation, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Yavapai-Apache Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity ("Center") in their ongoing efforts to stop the use of reclaimed wastewater on the sacred and environmentally sensitive San Francisco Peaks. He is also currently working with the Navajo DOJ to address the cleanup of uranium contamination in Tuba City; represents hundreds of people in the towns of Hayden and Winkleman that were exposed to toxic emissions from copper mining operations; and is working with community groups in Sedona to protect Oak Creek.

Howard has represented the Sierra Club and the Center in a case that stopped the federal government from completing a land exchange that would have allowed for large-scale commercial development on the southern edge of the Grand Canyon National Park (Canyon Forest Village). He recently represented a land-developer and residents of a sub-division preventing a land exchange that would have created a shooting range adjacent to a residential community in Bellemont, Arizona. Howard also represented Save Our Sonoran, a community group that successfully delayed and modified the development of a subdivision on land in Cave Creek that contains jurisdictional washes. Howard also worked with many of the towns in the Verde Valley to try to preserve the Upper Verde River.

Howard is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He has published several journal articles including: Taxing the Environment, A Lender's Guide to Environmental Policy Development, Prospective Purchaser Agreements Under CERCLA, Cogeneration and the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990, Specificity of Subsidy Benefits in U.S. Department of Commerce Countervailing Duty Determinations. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Green Sedona and Sirrine Adult Day Care Facilities.

Howard graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1989. He holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Pace University in New York (1984). Howard is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Arizona, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania (inactive). He is also admitted in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

2008 elections
Shanker was seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), who is not seeking reelection, in the 2008 congressional elections.

Money in politics
Donate to Howard Shanker's Campaign by clicking on this link.

Committees
Shanker will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Contact
Official Shanker for Congress Web site

Howard Shanker for Congress PO Box 160 Flagstaff, AZ 86002

Phone: (928)699-5763

[mailto:shanker2008@howardshankerforcongress.com shanker2008@howardshankerforcongress.com]

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Arizona’s 1st Congressional District
 * Shanker's FEC filing for the 2007-08 election cycle