League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
San Francisco, San Mateo County, CA March 2, 2004 Election
	Ro Khanna 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?

In 2002, California received only $.76 in federal spending for every dollar of federal taxes. This was substantially worse than a decade before, and California has the sixth worst ratio of any state. The simplest way for California to get its fair share is to fight for more California spending in the budgetary process, including spending for transportation, housing assistance, and environmental protection in San Mateo County and San Francisco. On a more long-term basis, the federal government needs to ensure that the programs benefitting residents of some states are complemented by programs that benefit residents of states such as California. San Mateo County and San Francisco residents may not benefit much from agricultural subsidies, but they would benefit tremendous from increased funding for public education and assistance for affordable housing.

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

I was strongly opposed to the unilateral rush to war in Iraq. But now that we are in Iraq, we cannot simply abandon the country, or we risk leaving it as a breeding ground for terrorism. We need to involve our allies as equal partners in the administration and reconstruction of Iraq, so that the burden does not fall solely on the United States. We need to involve the United Nations in the transition to Iraqi self-rule and to involve NATO in the maintenance of security. We need to rebuild the credibility that we have lost due to the Iraq engagement. I will oppose the doctrine of preventive war, which is untenable without solid intelligence of the threats we face.

3. What are your priorities for the federal budget?

I believe fiscal responsibility is essential for long-term economic stability. We cannot sustain the massive deficits our government now runs. I believe balancing our budget requires at least three changes in policy:
--No more costly unilateral engagements abroad. We spend billions of dollars every week in Iraq, whose reconstruction should be the world's responsibility. We cannot afford to undertake any more similar endeavors.
--No corporate giveaways. The $87 billion Iraq "reconstruction" package was largely handouts to corporations such as Halliburton and Bechtel, and billions of dollars of domestic spending is devoted to corporate welfare.
--Smarter tax reform. Certain elements of the recent tax cuts, including the increase in the child tax credit and tax relief for the middle class, should be kept. But this country cannot afford massive tax cuts for the wealthy without cutting essential social programs. Future tax relief should be targeted toward payroll taxes, the most regressive part of our taxation scheme.