The two candidates for Congress in Butler County's 3rd District offer voters stark differences on foreign policy and domestic issues.

Republican U.S. Rep. Phil English and Democratic challenger Steven Porter oppose one another on the war in Iraq, taxes and the economy, Social Security and health care reform.

While English is a bit right of center on the political spectrum and Porter to the left, both consider themselves moderates.

The two are vying for a seat in the district that covers most of Butler County as well as all of Erie County and parts of Armstrong, Crawford, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties.

Seeking a sixth term in Tuesday's election, English, 48, of Erie admitted he has a "nuanced" view of the war in Iraq.

Although English in 2002 voted for a resolution that gave President Bush the authority to attack Iraq, he admitted to having "second thoughts" about his decision after no weapons of mass destruction stockpiles were found.

"I think there's a legitimate case to be made that the timing on the invasion of Iraq was unfortunate," he said, blaming "faulty intelligence" for the lead up to the war.

Still, he defended the decision at the time to remove former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whom he blamed for defying countless United Nations resolutions.

"I think we had an obligation to confront Saddam as long as there was a legitimate reason to believe he was an imminent threat," English said.

Porter, 61, of Wattsburg, Erie County, a retired college professor and public school administrator in his native New York, has sharply criticized the administration's military action in Iraq.

"We were not justified in going to war," he said. "If I was in Congress, I would never have given George Bush the authority to do so."

Porter said there was never convincing evidence that Saddam posed an imminent risk to U.S. national security, and he argued United Nations sanctions "were working" to prevent Iraq from becoming a military threat.

He accused the Bush administration of deceiving the American public by ignoring intelligence reports that questioned the existence of WMDs in Iraq.

"The president deliberately lied to the American people," Porter said. "The evidence is crystal clear that Bush knew there were no WMDs."

Both candidates agreed the United States is obligated to restore security in Iraq, no matter their positions on going to war.

"We need a president and Congress to reach out to the international community to aid the U.S.," Porter said. "We need leadership to internationalize our mission and to show our allies that it would be in their own best interest to help stabilize Iraq."

English, who this summer visited Iraq as part of a congressional fact-finding mission, said U.S. strategy must entail retraining the new Iraqi army, expediting efforts to improve that nation's infrastructure and ensuring security for Iraqis poised to vote for a new government in January.

"It is critical that we prepare to move forward to restore order now and before the (Iraqi) elections," he said. "We must demonstrate that we fully support Iraqi self-determination."

The candidates have opposing views on how best to ensure a growing U.S. economy that would stimulate job creation.Porter suggests tax credits and other incentives for companies that stay in the U.S. and tax penalties on companies that export jobs to other countries."We need to make sure we have fairer trade agreements," he said. "I believe we need to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade laws to make sure there's a level playing field for manufacturers like those in northwestern Pennsylvania."Porter said increased funding for public works projects, such as his proposed Great Lakes Wind Project, would create jobs and boost the economy.His wind farm plan, at an estimated cost of $3 billion to $5 billion, would use wind turbines to generate electricity from Minnesota to New York.He noted Erie's GE Transportation plant already makes wind turbines, and the region's economy would benefit from such a plan.English believes free and fair trade as well as changes in tax and fiscal policies are key to creating and protecting good-paying jobs."The administration needs to be more aggressive on the trade front, especially when it comes to China," he said.English has taken a lead role as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee to force China to abide by trade laws and other measures.For instance, English has proposed legislation that would impose tariffs in response to China's manipulation of its currency for a trade advantage.The congressman said China has been manipulating the value of its currency to give its products a 40 percent price advantage on top of other advantages they already have, including unfair tariffs on American products trying to enter the Chinese market."Practices like this put American producers, especially manufacturers, at a serious disadvantage, and costs us jobs," he said.English also touted his support of the House-passed American Jobs Creation Act that, he said, would halt sanctions on U.S. exports and enact policies to help domestic manufacturers.The bill, in part, would reduce the corporate tax rate for domestic manufacturers from 35 percent to 32 percent, provide additional tax relief for small businesses, and extend more than 20 expiring tax relief provisions.Social Security reform also divides the two candidates.English supports creating a bipartisan national commission to study the state of the Social Security program and offer possible solutions.He said he would consider some form of partial privatization, but not at the expense of future benefits."I'm in favor of examining the possibility of private accounts for individuals as part of an overall fix that protects benefits of all retirees and future retirees and gives greater flexibility of control," he said.Porter opposes any efforts to privatize Social Security. He claimed such efforts were risky because private accounts would be invested in the stock market, which has been marked for the past years by increased volatility.He blamed Bush's tax cuts for increasing the national debt and weakening Social Security by undermining its financial stability."We may have to tweak it a bit, but the best way to ensure the solvency of Social Security is to be more fiscally responsible," he said. "And we have to stop robbing the Social Security Trust Fund."On the issue of health care affordability, English said he supports a market-oriented, consumer-driven health care system.He said reliance on market mechanisms would ensure that incentives for innovation are maintained while providing high-quality care in the most cost-efficient manner.Porter supports legislation which would create a national single-payer health care system.He said the measure calls for a publicly-financed, privately-delivered health care program that would expand the Medicare program to all U.S. residents.