FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2002
(Rochester, MN) Steve Andreasen, the DFL candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, said today in an Op-Ed piece published by the Rochester Post Bulletin that the message he heard campaigning across southern Minnesota this summer was clear: people want leadership in 2002 on the tough issues that face their communities and America today.
"Southern Minnesotans want their leaders to be consensus builders, so that sensible solutions can be found to our local, national, and international problems," Andreasen said. Andreasen, a Minnesota native, stressed that his 14 years of experience working with Democrats and Republicans in the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Senate has prepared him to work in Congress to protect Social Security and Medicare, provide a prescription drug benefit to seniors, and fully fund special education. "Last year's 'Enron-like' budget projections and lopsided tax cuts favoring the wealthy have put us back into the deficit ditch. It is time for new leadership," Andreasen stated.
Speaking to a group of 50 high school students in Rochester earlier this month, Andreasen addressed concerns about a possible war with Iraq and stressed that now is the time for strong Congressional leadership on this important international issue. "The people of southern Minnesota want and deserve a forthright discussion over so consequential a policy before, not after, the United States has committed its youth, resources, and prestige overseas," Andreasen remarked.
Andreasen lives in Rochester. Prior to running for Congress, he was the Director of Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council staff at the White House from 1993-2001. He also served in the Bush Sr. and Reagan Administrations. He is a national security consultant and is writing a book on nuclear weapons, arms control and missile defense policy.
Paid for and authorized by Andreasen for Congress