League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Francisco, San Mateo County, CA March 2, 2004 Election
	Tom Lantos Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 12; Democratic Party

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

1. What can be done to ensure that California gets its fair share of federal resources?

The major problem is that the federal funding provided to all states for homeland security, education, environment, transportation, care of our seniors, healthcare, and other critical programs is declining because of this Administration's massive tax cuts benefitting the super-rich and favored corporate special interests. The solution is to assure that big corporations and wealthy Americans contribute their fair share toward the costs of government.

2. What are your foreign policy priorities for the United States?

The events of September 11 demonstrated that our country is linked with events and actions of people far beyond our frontiers. Therefore, we must remain actively and productively engaged in shaping the international environment. Most important, we must work together with our allies and international organizations like the United Nations in shaping world conditions. We should maintain a strong military force, but using force must be the last resort, only after diplomacy and joint action with our allies have been exhausted.

In our fight against terrorism, it is critical to work with our allies and international organizations to eliminate the funding for terrorism. One of the most serious threats to our security are weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the hands of rogue regimes and terrorist organizations. We must work through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organziations to eliminate WMDs.

3. What are your priorities for the federal budget?

President Bush's proposed budget for 2005, which was delivered to Congress in February 2004 is simply irresponsible. In all my experience as an economist and a member of Congress, I have never witnessed such utter disregard for this country's fiscal reality. It makes the massive Reagan-era deficits look like pocket change.

It is wrong to slash taxes for the wealthy while we're spending less on the real and urgent needs and priorities of the American people, and pushing our ever-mounting debts onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts that spiraling budget deficits will rise to a staggering $521 billion next year and increase the national debt by $3.65 trillion over the next ten years. The Administration in its budget projection revealed that the cost of its so-called Medicare reform program is one-third higher than projected just two months ago when it was passed largely along partisan lines. The new budget continues to under-fund key education programs and veterans' programs. It protects spending on defense and homeland security but will require reductions in health research, housing, and law enforcement, and actually reduces funding for transportation and environmental protection. It does not do enough to address some of our country's most pressing problems including the millions of Americans who are unemployed.