She has been critical of Republicans' approach to balancing the budget and reducing taxes. Bustos favors reducing waste and fraud, ending "tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas," and ending "corporate handouts." She does not support lowering salaries or pensions for federal government employees. Bustos supports the DREAM Act. During a debate, Bustos opposed the three trade agreements approved by Congress in 2011 as "NAFTA-style" and said they would result in job losses for Illinois. Bustos wants to change No Child Left Behind to offer more assistance for teachers while de-emphasizing "teaching to the test," expand Head Start, reform student loans to address rising tuition costs, "protect and expand college scholarships like Pell Grants" and "improve vocational and job training opportunities for children who decide not to attend college." Responding in 2016 to People v. Turner, Bustos claimed that there is a need for more women in Congress in order to bring greater attention to the issue of sexual assault. Bustos in 2016 sponsored legislation exempting minor league baseball players from minimum wage laws. In August 2015, Bustos announced her support for President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. "While the agreement is not perfect, it is the right step for our national security and the security of the global community," she said. "With this agreement, Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium will be reduced and the country will be opened up to strict transparency and monitoring, including robust on-the-ground nuclear inspectors." In October 2015, Bustos went to Cuba on a trip organized by the Illinois Cuba Working Group. In January 2016, she backed a bill to remove barriers to trade with Cuba. In March 2016, Bustos was part of the Congressional delegation that took part in Obama's trip to Cuba and said that Cuba represented a "huge trade opportunity" for the US "when it comes to agriculture." In February 2018, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan announced that a group of three legislators, including Bustos, would serve on an independently funded panel that would "lead a statewide discussion about the role of women in the Democratic party and how to 'change the culture of politics.'" In April, however, she withdrew from the panel, citing criticism by the House Ethics Committee and legal advisers. In a December 2016 interview, Bustos said she would "make every attempt to work with President Donald Trump where we can find common ground" but "if he takes us down a dark place, then we're going to have a fight on our hands."