In 2008, he introduced a taxpayer bill of rights with the goal of simplifying the tax code, and he strongly opposed President George W. Bush's plan to allow people to put a portion of their Social Security money into private accounts, saying that three-fourths of Hispanics rely on it for half of their income. "There is no crisis," he said. "Social Security is being raided. We don't need to privatize; we need to strengthen."

Trade

Becerra is generally a supporter of free trade, but he has wavered a bit in recent years. He supported the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, but voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005, citing a lack of labor and environmental standards. "I'm not interested in a race to the bottom," Becerra said. "If I were to write a trade deal, I'd try to incentivize my trading partner to reach me, not reach a deal that says I need to go down to where you are."

He also voted against an agreement with Oman, while supporting pacts with Chile, Singapore and Peru. "Trade has to be sold as something that's good for us," Becerra said after the Peru Free Trade Agreement passed thanks in part to the increased labor and environmental standards that Becerra wanted.

Immigration

As a former member of the House Judiciary Committee and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus early in his career, immigration issues were a top priority for Becerra.

In 1993, just after he arrived in the House, the Latino lawmaker got into a shouting match with then-chair of House Ways and Means Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) because Rostenkowski wanted to cut welfare benefits for legal immigrants.

He was opposed to California's Prop 187 in 1994, which was designed to deny services such as public education and non-emergency health care to illegal immigrants living in the United States. The proposition, which had passed, was later overturned by a federal court, but Becerra said its passage had energized Latino voters.

Becerra criticized President Bill Clinton's signing of the welfare bill in 1996 because it cut not only benefits for immigrants, but also downsized welfare-to-work programs that helped the poor.

Smithsonian Board of Regents Member

In March 2005, Becerra was appointed to fill a seat on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, which is a 17-member board that includes the vice president, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, congressmen and other appointed officials. The board acts like a board of trustees, approving budgets and planning documents, proposing new programs and detailing new construction projects.

In 2007, he finally won support for a 2003 bill to establish a commission that will look into the feasibility and plan a museum dedicated to the American Latino. If approved, the museum would be on the National Mall and would be publicly and privately financed.

There is "a great gap in the level and quality of awareness that other Americans possess about the rich and diverse character of Latino culture and history," Becerra said.

The Economy

Becerra, who is a reliable Democratic vote on most issues, broke with his party leadership on the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street in the fall of 2008.

His district includes some of Los Angeles' poorest neighborhoods, and he said he couldn't justify giving taxpayer money to corporate chieftains while his district suffered. "The last thing I need to do is go back home and tell people I voted for $700 billion, some of which will touch the same people that caused the problem, and I can't guarantee taxpayers will recoup those costs," he said.

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