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Paul Huber is running for the Republican nomination in the 3rd Congressional District race.

On Wednesday, he explained his reasons for running and his ideas for Congress to a gathering of about 30 people at Ellwood Group (Ellwood National Forge/Steel/Crankshaft) in Irvine, most of whom were Ellwood employees. Organizers believe the weather played a role in limiting attendance at the event.

"I am running... because Kathy Dahlkemper, Nancy Pelosi, and the liberals in Congress are taking this country in the wrong direction," Huber said.

"Unemployment is hovering around 10 percent," he said. "Cap and trade is going to cost $600 million, kill two million jobs, and raise utility bills in the average home by $1,000 annually."

The health care bills in the House and the Senate will result in higher costs, "lower quality of care, and rationing care more than it already is," he said.

"Most disturbing, we are putting all of these expenditures on a credit card," Huber said. "This is an unsustainable financial model."

He advocates a return to manufacturing. "Either you mine it, you grow it, or you make it," he said. "It's the only way you create wealth in this world."

Changes to the tax code could help accomplish that goal, he said.

"We need to reward companies and individuals who put risk capital up," he said, suggesting tax credits for employers who create permanent jobs and to reward research and development, and to "make sure that these tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 do not expire."

"The American economy is threatened by the out of control spending and spiraling national debt that Congress has supported," he said. "It's time for Congress to get spending under control, balance the budget, and restore long-term confidence in our economy."

Huber said he favors a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and a two-year budget cycle to give legislators "more time to examine appropriations and review whether programs receiving federal funding are performing" and eliminate rushing through the budget process.

Tort reform was another point of Huber's presentation.

"Frivolous lawsuits and excessive punitive awards are costing American businesses $250 billion a year," he said.

He said health care reform is needed, but not in the forms that are being proposed by Congress and the Obama administration.

"We need consumer protection, portability... , a national marketplace for health insurance," he said. "What we don't need is a public option from our federal government."

Huber advocates taking all funds remaining in TARP and stimulus accounts - "these are nothing more than slush funds for this Congress and this administration" - and using them to pay down the debt.

In terms of energy, Huber advocates establishing a national energy policy and ending the country's reliance on foreign oil by exploiting all available domestic energy sources.

"We should exploit nuclear technology and green technology," he said. "We need to exploit the resources that we have. We need to do it safely. We need to do it in an environmentally responsible manner."

"We are going to need coal, oil and natural gas for the foreseeable future," he said. He included offshore drilling and Marcellus Shale drilling in his suggestions for domestic energy sources.

"We must tear down the barriers to economic growth," Huber said. "Congress has done more to deter... than encourage job creation and growth."

Huber said he believes his 25 years in business and industry would allow him to help counteract that trend.

"I think my candidacy fits this district well," he said. "I learned early the values of honesty and hard work."

"I understand what it takes to grow a business, create jobs, write a budget," he said. "This is the kind of talent we need down in D.C. right now."

Huber said his change of party registration from Democrat to Republican just before the 2009 primary election should not be a cause for concern for voters.

The priorities in Congress should be "country first, district second, family third," Huber said. "The things we're talking about are not Democrat and Republican issues."

He said he has practiced social and economic conservatism and the change of parties brings him to the party that more closely matches his political ideology. "I've supported those causes and candidates for years," he said. "I used to be a Democrat because when I came out of school John Kennedy was pushing for tax cuts."

"Come May 18, pull that lever for Huber," he said. "I'll go to Washington and try to get some of these things done."