Rep. Jeff Fortenberry said Thursday he welcomes congressional review of the Bush administration’s domestic surveillance program.

It’s appropriate, the 1st District Republican congressman said, for Congress to assure protection of  “the delicate balance” between intelligence requirements and civil liberties.

Fortenberry addressed the issue while fielding questions from the news media after formally announcing his candidacy for re-election at a rally in Lincoln.

His second-term priorities would include national security, economic opportunity, energy and environmental policy, health care reform and “family life and culture,” the congressman told a roomful of supporters at The Cornhusker.

Fortenberry described four broad challenges facing the nation in these terms:

n  Rapid globalization and the resulting duress on social and ecological structures.

n Collectivist military forces wedded with market economies such as China, Inc.

n Terrorist religious ideologies with access to weapons of mass destruction.

n The internal struggle to undergird our most intimate form of community, family life.

Fortenberry, 45, a former Lincoln city councilman, was elected in 2004 to succeed longtime Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter, who resigned from the House to become president of the Asia Foundation.

The congressman and his wife, Celeste, have five daughters, the oldest of whom is 8. Fortenberry introduced their 7-week-old baby, Caroline, to the crowd at the conclusion of Thursday’s event.

Then, he embarked on a campaign swing to Norfolk, Fremont and Beatrice.

Former Lt. Gov. Maxine Moul of Lincoln is seeking the Democratic nomination for the eastern Nebraska seat.

In his first term, Fortenberry said, he worked to promote development of ethanol and biodiesel fuel; encourage entrepreneurship and address health insurance challenges for small businesses; support tax relief; and acquire funding for projects in his congressional district.

Among the latter, he cited Antelope Valley development in Lincoln and Highway 35 in northeast Nebraska.

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Fortenberry said, he is prepared to help make Nebraska “an important participant” in writing the next farm bill.

Answering questions from the media, Fortenberry said he has returned campaign contributions received from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s political action committee.

In the wake of charges leveled against DeLay for alleged ethics and campaign finance violations, he said, “it’s important to restore faith in the institution” of Congress.

Fortenberry had received $20,000 in contributions from DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority.

Two weeks ago, the congressman submitted a proposal to Speaker Dennis Hastert outlining a package of ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reforms.

Fortenberry also asked Hastert to consider a rules change that would eliminate passage of major legislation without allowing House members at least three days to review House-Senate conference reports.

The congressman has raised $643,000 for his re-election campaign and had $388,000 in cash on hand at the end of the year, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission this week.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.