At her campaign headquarters in her hometown of Mineola, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy discussed the issues she has fought for since becoming a member of Congress in1996, for the 4th Congressional District. The following day, she was scheduled to be in Washington to push for her latest gun control bill, Our Lady of Peace Act.

"I'll never forget why I went to Congress," she said, alluding to the gun control issue, something that remains a priority in her life.

The latest measure, named after a church in Lynbrook where a pastor and parishioner were murdered last March, would authorize grants to states to update the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database to improve enforcement of the 1968 Gun Control Act. The bill would be unanimously passed by the House of Representatives.

But, although gun control remains in the forefront for the congresswoman, she feels it is unfair to label her as a "one-issue" candidate.

"I haven't been a one-issue candidate since I've gotten to Washington," she said. "There's just too many things you need to work on."

Recently, McCarthy, a former nurse, has dealt with everything from education and healthcare to the environment, aircraft noise and homeland security, an issue that has affected practically every elected official since September 11, 2001. "You can't help but get an education and learn about so many different issues," McCarthy said.

Believing that education is a key component of many issues, McCarthy spends time when she is back home from Washington in her district's schools. "I spend almost all my time in the schools because education to me is extremely important," she said.

Although McCarthy may have gone to Congress as an advocate for gun control, she has co-sponsored legislation dealing with a wide spectrum of issues from healthcare, childcare and veterans benefits to September 11, such as a bill to provide student loan forgiveness to the surviving spouses of the victims of the tragedy.

Such measures McCarthy supported include the Leave No Child Behind Act, a reform of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, designed to help close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers, although she points out that funding for it may be cut.

McCarthy points out that she has also been working on healthcare issues since she has gotten to Congress. A highlight of her current term in Congress was being at the White House for the signing of the Nurse Reinvestment Act, a law designed to address the nursing shortage, affecting the quality of care patients receive in healthcare settings and awarding grants to hospitals that attain magnet status.

McCarthy has also been attuned to prescription drug costs, something she feels should be dealt with by reforming Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit. She has also developed legislation to decrease the time frame for getting generic drugs, which, according to McCarthy's office, typically sell at 50 percent or less than the brand name version a few years of the drug is introduced into the marketplace.

She has also expressed concerns about HMOs leaving Nassau County. "We just saw another HMO leave Nassau County. That means 6,000 of my constituents now have to scramble to find HMO coverage," she said. "We have to come up with a better formula."

Although she identifies violence, healthcare and education as her primary issues, McCarthy is also a member of the budget committee and considers stimulating the nation's economy to be of primary importance. She believes in stimulating the economy by giving tax credits to small businesses and tax cuts for middle income families.

As if issues pertaining to healthcare, violence and education weren't enough, the nation was thrown a curve over a year ago that brought security into the forefront.

"Since September 11, we, in Congress, have been focused on homeland security and our defense," she said, pointing out her history of supporting the defense budget since coming to Congress.

More recently, McCarthy was among those in Congress who supported a resolution authorizing military force against Iraq. "There's not a member of Congress that wants to go to war, but if this is the world we're living in, then we have to be prepared. I know the president will take every step and exhaust every step to make sure our allies are with us," she said. "If and when the president decides to do this, it would be very well organized. A very large group would go in and hopefully, there would be a minimum amount of deaths and injuries."

Aside from the national issues, there is also the district casework as McCarthy's office logs thousands of individual cases for information and referral - some pertaining to veterans issues, some to healthcare, adoption and immigration.

As McCarthy strives to extend her tenure in Congress, she feels she has not only proved that she is involved with more than one issue, but that she has also worked in a bipartisan fashion.

If elected to her fourth consecutive term in Congress, McCarthy says she hopes to continue to work on social issues as well as those involving healthcare, education and the environment, although fighting violence still remains a prominent issue for her. She is also concerned with protecting social security as a safety net and examining the nation's healthcare system. She said she might also delve into the area of financial services to help provide affordable housing for seniors and young people.

Congresswoman McCarthy is running on the Democratic, Working Families and Independence party lines.