Scott Peters

Rep. Scott Peters, 67, a Democratic member of Congress, is running for re-election to the 50th Congressional District in San Diego and inland North County.

Peters, originally from Ohio, is serving his seventh term in Congress representing San Diegans.

The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Peters and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.

Peters said he did not use any AI tools in responding to the Union-Tribune’s questions.

1) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)

I’ve delivered for San Diego; I want to keep succeeding for the region I love. I’ve passed laws to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, to make homeless services more accessible, to help families pay down student loan debt, to build renewable energy projects that protect against climate change and lower utility bills and to encourage more affordable housing near transit.

I’ve paid special attention to serving veterans. I’ve passed laws to ensure all Purple Heart veterans can access their full GI Bill education benefits and to allow more veterans to access housing assistance if they become homeless.

I’ve helped secure billions of dollars in federal funds for San Diego — for our community colleges, to build mass transit and a new airport terminal and to repair aging stormwater systems to prevent flooding. I’ve secured hundreds of millions to rebuild the aging wastewater treatment plant to protect San Diegans from cross-border sewage.

2) What are the top 3 issues facing this district? (150 words max)

The housing crisis is one of the biggest impediments to prosperity and quality of life in San Diego and California. I have introduced legislation to lower the cost to build housing and to allow faith organizations to develop affordable housing on their property. I’ve strongly opposed Trump’s tariffs, which make lumber and drywall more expensive.

Cross-border pollution from the Tijuana River Valley is threatening public health, military readiness, border security and our economy. I secured $650 million to fix and expand the dilapidated South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. Now we must ensure projects on both sides of the border are completed quickly and that maintenance keeps pace.

Unusual “big weather” natural disasters will only get more severe and frequent from climate change. We must create a more resilient San Diego so families and businesses aren’t hurt by future storms, floods and wildfires.

3) What are the first 3 things you would do in your first/next term in Congress? (150 words max)

First, we must speed up planning and permitting for clean energy projects so we can lower electricity costs and treat climate change like the crisis it is. I will continue my bipartisan efforts to ensure outdated laws don’t keep us from tackling today’s challenges.

I will continue to secure annual funds to maintain our wastewater treatment plant once it’s built, and I’ll plan cleanup efforts for the damage already done from cross-border sewage pollution.

I’ll push for a bipartisan commission to get our fiscal house in order and ensure that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. We cannot saddle our kids with insurmountable national debt, and we cannot allow Social Security and Medicare to go insolvent in the next decade, which is what happens automatically if we don’t act now.

4) If your party wins control of Congress, what should be its first priority? If your party loses control of Congress, what should be its first priority? (100 words max)

The Trump administration and his Republican-controlled Congress have failed to make life more affordable for Americans. When Democrats win, we must advance legislation that lowers housing, gas, grocery and healthcare costs. We must conduct oversight of Trump’s administration, which has dismantled federal agencies and programs. Trump has instituted a pay-to-play system for his allies and unilaterally started wars while disregarding Congress’s authority as a coequal branch of government. We must exercise oversight and assess damage done by Republicans’ reckless spending spree that’s added trillions to our national debt — debt that is theft from young people who will foot the bill.

5) President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a cornerstone of his administration, ordering widespread arrests and detentions of immigrants nationwide and directing military resources to a new military zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. What impact have these had on this district? What are your goals on immigrants, immigration and the border, and how would you pursue them if elected? What is your message to constituents who are immigrants? (150 words max)

In May 2025, ICE agents stormed a South Park restaurant, threw the owner against the wall, handcuffed every employee and deployed flash bangs on concerned neighbors outside — all to arrest four undocumented kitchen workers. This doesn’t make us safer. It terrorizes neighborhoods, hurts businesses and innocent Americans have been killed.

The administration’s all-of-government immigration enforcement operation creates a labor crisis and drives up costs for everyone. I agree we must secure our border, but I also view our location on an international border as an opportunity, not a threat.

I introduced the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act to set a higher standard for use of force by federal agents. It strictly limits harmful equipment, requires agents to render medical aid, requires clear uniforms, sets higher training standards, mandates the use of always-on body cameras and prohibits masks. Federal agents should respect the same standards as local law enforcement.

6) It’s been nearly two months since the United States began a war with Iran. Do you believe Americans are better or worse off for it? What should Congress’s role be? Would you vote to let the president continue the war beyond the 60 days after which congressional authorization is required? (150 words max)

The malicious Iranian regime is our national enemy. But after months of President Trump’s unauthorized war-of-choice, Americans are worse off and less safe.

Before, Iran posed three threats — development of a nuclear weapon, ballistic missiles and support for terrorism. Now, with thousands of bombs dropped, our stockpiles depleted, billions of taxpayer dollars spent and Iranian and American lives lost, we still face the same three threats. And Iran also knows that it can control the Strait of Hormuz. We’ve set off a worldwide energy crisis, and at home the cost of gas is at its highest level in four years.

Before I consider supporting the war through a war powers resolution or any funding via budget action, the administration must present a clear strategy and endgame to Congress and the American people that complies with domestic and international law, makes our country safer and allows international commerce to recommence.

7) Recent jumps in the cost of fuel, food and other goods — combined with federal cuts to safety-net programs, new limits on certain federal loans and more — are squeezing residents already struggling with San Diego County’s high costs of living. What relief would you seek to offer, and how? (150 words max)

We should immediately 1) end Trump’s unauthorized tariffs that raise prices for everyday goods; 2) end the mass deportation of immigrant workers, which increases the price of labor economy wide; 3) reverse cuts to Medi-Cal, which force care into expensive emergency rooms and raise

insurance premiums for everyone; and 4) end the war in Iran, which has caused the highest gas prices in years.

As the second-ranking Democrat on the Energy Subcommittee and chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Environment, Climate & Clean Energy Working Group, I’m leading efforts to lower energy costs by cutting permitting red tape that hinders the abundant and clean energy we need to keep up with demand. Delays cost over $100 billion per year. Also, because 30% of San

Diegan power bills are for wildfire response, I’m leading the Fix Our Forest Act to require the federal government to carry its own forest management load.

8) Like much of California, this district has been affected by the effects of climate change. How should Congress mitigate those impacts, and what would you do to pursue such efforts? (100 words max)

San Diego faces severe droughts, increased fire intensity and rising sea levels.

My Fix Our Forests Act, which passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote, will modernize forest management and help prepare communities like ours that are adjacent to wildlife areas.

In the wake of the January 2024 flooding around Chollas Creek, I’m working with the City of San Diego for federal funding for some of the most important stormwater control projects.

Our DROUGHT Act will modernize water project funding, and the National Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy Act will boost our resilience to extreme weather.

9) Polling underscores that one chief concern of California voters in the 2026 midterm elections is the issue of threats to democracy. What do you believe are the greatest threats to American democracy? How would you, and how should Congress, protect against these? (100 words max)

Trump has bypassed Congress’s constitutional role in the assessment of tariffs, budgeting and declaring war. Congress should resist, but Speaker Johnson is a sleeping security guard. Trump’s disregard for free and fair elections is alarming, starting with the Jan. 6 riots to thwart the will of the voters and the ensuing pardons. Trump has seized control of ballots in localities, suggesting that he may interfere with future elections. And the GOP’s SAVE Act that purports to confront election fraud (which is almost nonexistent) would disenfranchise students, married women, servicemembers and rural Americans with draconian identification requirements. I oppose it.

10) Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to

ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (100 words max)

Yes, I support a ban on Congress members trading individual stocks. Many years ago, my wife and I moved our investments from stocks to mutual funds, where investment decisions are out of our control. We strictly comply with all reporting and disclosure requirements to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

However, this ban must cover the executive branch, too. The level of self-dealing in the Trump administration is beyond anything we’ve ever seen. To restore and strengthen public trust, we must call out how President Trump is using his office to enrich himself, his family and his allies.

11) By design Congress is supposed to serve as a check on the executive branch through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe that Congress has fulfilled that obligation in recent years? Why or why not? Should Congress do more to hold the president accountable? Explain. (150 words max)

No, it has not fulfilled that obligation! The lack of responsibility displayed by Republicans in Congress recently is unacceptable. Congress is an independently elected, coequal branch of government. Yet Speaker Johnson and House Republicans look the other way when President Trump has imposed tariffs, changed the budget and declared war — all powers assigned by the Constitution to Congress.

The unprecedented corruption and self-dealing in the White House and the President’s family go entirely without oversight by partisans who once complained about Hunter Biden. There is no accountability for the weaponization of the Justice Department or the issuance of pardons to Trump’s friends and contributors from a Republican party that once held law and order as a sacred value. And the Senate has been complicit in confirming Trump loyalists — not experts — to judgeships and cabinet posts. I can’t remember a time when Congress has been so impotent in exerting its constitutional authority.

12) A recent San Diego Union-Tribune poll found voters overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Congress is doing, by higher margins than they disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why do you think this is? How can Congress win back voters’ hope and trust, and what would you personally do to achieve this? (150 words max)

Republican leadership has abandoned our role as an independent, coequal branch. Each Congress member was elected the same day as the president. Republicans seem more scared of the president and of losing elections, so they don’t fight for policies they once valued, like a balanced budget or rule of law.

Americans are frustrated nothing gets built, even after laws passed to address climate change and build infrastructure. Years later, only a fraction of projects are built because of burdensome red tape and outdated processes. Our challenges have not gone away — but our capacity to achieve great things has. That’s why I’ve taken on the challenge of reducing processes and focusing on production.

I will never forget that I represent San Diego. I go to Congress not for celebrity or publicity, but to get things done. That’s why my record of accomplishment will always be the reason I ask for your vote.