League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Diego County, CA November 2, 2004 Election
	Francine P. Busby Answers Questions Candidate for United States Representative; District 50

Read the answers from all candidates.

Questions & Answers

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

California congressional lawmakers must work as a team with with the governor and other state officials to build a broad-based coalition. Together we can maximize our influence and resources and effectively return tax dollars to our state. Lawmakers must focus on important local issues and collaborate with to develop well-defimed goals and projects that can fight for in Congress. Finally, lawmakers must identify and agressively pursue all possible avenues for funding, finding creative approaches when the most obvious fail. In 2002, Californians sent more than $58 billion more to Washington in federal taxes than the state received back in federal spending primarily becase the state's above-average income generated above-average federal tax receipts and our relatively young population means fewer California's are receiving Social Security and Medicare payments + the fastest growing portion of the federal budget.

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

The United States must regain the trust and respect of the world community after waging a unilateral, unprovoked, preemptive war in Iraq. Because we started this war, we are obligated to remain in Iraq until the nation is stable and secure and we must also bear the enormous cost of the reconstruction. We can decrease our role as nation-builders by calling on the United Nations to use its expertise and experience to facilitate the development of a viable government. We could reduce our financial burden by negotiating trade agreements with countries that are willing to invest in Iraq. Unfortunately, the prediction by the administration that this war would pay for itself with Iraqi oil revenue was incorrect and the administration's pre-war approach to the United Nations has hindered the rebuilding process and weakened our credibility in the eyes of the world.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved in order to bring stability to the Middle East. There is no easy way to achieve this. A compromise must be brokered and enforced, possibly by the United Nations and/or the European Union in conjunction with the U.S. Both the Palestinians and the Israeilis must accept the right of the other to exist as a self-determined sovreign nation. Depsite a long, bitter history they must exercise restraint and live as tolerant, inextricably, intertwined neighbors. It will take resolute outside intervention to achieve and maintain this balance. Extremists on both sides of the conflict will oppose any compromise and use violence to undermine any peace.

The United States must diffuse the anger and hatred that fuels terrorism. We need to progress towards this with a combination of earnest diplomacy, a foreign policy that emphasizes peaceful conflict resolution and strong military in reserve. Finally, we must be a good global neighbor and enlightened leader on important issues including trade, disarmament, the environment, eradication of desease and economic development. We have learned that even the most powerful and wealthy nation in the history of the world cannot go it alone.

3. What are your priorities for the federal budget?

The federal budget deficit is out of control and threatens catastrophic affects on the U.S. and global economies. We must not make the temporary tax cuts permanent. We must roll back the massive tax cuts that favored the wealthiest Americans and rein in budget-busting spending. Congress and the administration have been guilty of reckless fiscal management. Congress must reduce massive subsidies to special interest groups such as the oil, coal and nuclear energy industies and corporate farms. WE must resist the strong influence of special interests and close loopholes for off-shore corporations. We must reform and simplify tax laws in a meaningful way that closes loopholes and insures that all citizens pay their fair share. The federal government must fully fund all federal mandates to relieve the states of unfair fiscal burdens. Defense spending has escalated dramatically and must be controlled. Outrageously expensive programs such as a star-wars missile defense system and manned missions to Mars are irresponsible expenditures especially at this time when our states are eviscerating programs for vital services and we are funding the reconstruction of Iraq.

Finally, the federal government should focus spending on investments that create jobs, improve our infrastructure and offer small businesses incentives for innovation. We must invest in the education of our youth and the health of our families and provide opporunities for the working poor.