As Americans, we understand that there is more that unites us than divides us. Everyone - Republicans, Democrats, and Independents - wants clean water and clean air, safety at home and in the world, opportunities for education and prosperity, and a better future for our children. These shared values should guide Congress to get to work. There are many challenges:
Jobs and the Economy:
Congress needs to stop the brinkmanship politics and work together to balance our nation’s budget and restore our bond rating. This will give businesses the certainty they need to invest in capital projects and expand their workforce. This in turn will create demand for goods and services which will buoy our economy.
By restoring our nation’s bond rating, costs will be reduced for needed infrastructure such as roads, bridges, levies and water conveyance. These projects will also create jobs and stimulate the economy. Additionally, offering tax incentives to encourage start-ups and new hires, job training and education in growing sectors of the economy, and supporting existing businesses so they can grow are all part of the solution.
Health Care:
Our nation needs common-sense healthcare reform that puts patients first and foremost, protects Medicare, improves access, lowers costs, and strives for quality care.
Education:
For America to stay the innovative leader of the world, we need to ensure that our children are the world’s best educated. We need to be bold enough to look at both Democratic and Republican solutions to make our education system the envy of the world again. The jobs of tomorrow will be created by the children we educate today, and in the global competition, our children deserve to have the best education.
Energy:
Our nation needs energy independence from foreign nations, and investment in renewable energy that includes solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels and hydropower.
Spending:
We need real solutions that will bring our budgets into balance and put our financial house in order. We must stop borrowing against our children’s future to pay for today’s excesses. As a Councilmember and County Supervisor, Linda has balanced budgets year after year, and as your Representative, she’ll take that budget discipline to Washington.
National Security:
The American way of life and the freedoms we cherish are worth protecting. We need to promote leadership abroad in order to protect our freedoms at home. Linda is genuinely proud of our defense and intelligence communities and will continue to support our local bases such as Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC).
The Environment:
Our country has a duty to protect our natural resources for future generations. Protecting the health of the public is an essential role of government and Linda has championed clean air and water, and continues to fight to see that toxic pollution is cleaned up. She will be an advocate for protecting the envirionment and the public's health in Washington as she has done in Ventura County.
Seniors and Veterans Services:
Many seniors in our country live on limited incomes and because of the recession have lost significant savings. Protecting Social Security and Medicare is critical to more seniors now than ever. Services, such as transportation for the elderly who can no longer drive, and in-home health care to allow seniors to age in place, are in greater demand. Linda has worked closely on senior issues and understands the importance of engaging seniors and service providers in the solutions to quality of life concerns.
Veterans are some of the best trained, organized, disciplined employees in both the public or private sectors, and have excellent leadership skills. As our military personnel return home we need to offer them educational and training opportunities and provide incentives to employers who hire them. Both recent veterans and older veterans deserve proper medical care and Linda is committed to seeing our country honors this obligation.
Immigration:
Linda believes it is infeasible, costly, and in some cases inhumane to do a mass deportation of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. There are good reasons to better secure our borders for our public's safety and national security, keeping drugs, terrorists and convicted felons from entering the United States. Linda is also a supporter of a guest worker program.
