The 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference announced today that GOP presidential candidate Duncan Hunter will be a speaker at the Reno event in October.
A Vietnam veteran, Duncan Hunter served in the 173rd Airborne and 75th Army Rangers and, after coming home, utilized the G.I. Bill to attend Western State University Law School in San Diego (now Thomas Jefferson School of Law). While completing his degree, Hunter supplemented his income by working in farming and construction, and opened a storefront legal office after graduation.
In 1980, Hunter was asked to mount a challenge for the Congressional seat held by 18-year incumbent Lionel Van Deerlin. Despite the district having a 2-to-1 Democrat registration, Hunter won the seat in an upset.
Coming to Washington, Hunter successfully sought a seat on the House Armed Services Committee where he could work on America’s national security needs. Serving on this committee throughout his career, Hunter became Chairman of the full committee in 2002, overseeing a $532 billion defense budget.
Living in a border community, Hunter also came to Congress to make securing the Caliornia-Mexico border a top priority. Hunter has led efforts in Congress to seal a porous border susceptible to illegal aliens, drug trafficking and terrorism. His efforts have resulted in over 59 miles of fencing and border infrastructure to date in San Diego County. Hunter also wrote the Secure Fence Act, extending the San Diego fence 854 miles across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
On the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter has protected U.S. defense jobs in aircraft, ship repair, machine tools, textile, steel and titanium to ensure that what he calls the “Arsenal of Democracy,” the U.S. industrial base, is maintained to provide security in time of war. Hunter’s other legislative priorities include retaining and increasing jobs across this nation, providing tax relief to hard-working families, keeping our promises to America’s veterans, protecting Social Security for present and future generations, and promoting strong family values.
Hunter resides in East San Diego County with his wife Lynne.
CLC ‘07 is being co-hosted by Citizen Outreach and Americans for Tax Reform and will be held at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Resort & Casino on October 11-13th. For additional information or to register for the 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference, please visit www.clc07.com
