John Kerry is committed to balancing the budget. He has put forward a sensible plan that will at least cut the deficit in half in his first term, while investing in economic growth and investing in workers.
Powerful special interest groups make it hard to cut special tax loopholes and pork barrel spending projects. John Kerry supports a Commission that would recommend cuts and require Congress to vote on all recommendations, so no single special interest could fight for pet projects.
He will review and reassess all discretionary spending programs to determine their effectiveness and whether they should continue to be funded.
Under Kerry�s plan, the President would identify wasteful spending items in the budget and submit the list to Congress to vote on in an up-or-down fashion
John Kerry will reduce the size of the Federal government by: bringing spending down to the level of GDP it was under Clinton, requiring federal agencies to submit annual plans to reduce energy costs by 20 percent by 2020; cut the Federal government�s administrative costs by five percent; cut the number of political appointees and ban providing bonuses for political appointees; cut fraud and abuse in government programs � fraud and abuse is estimated to cost $12 billion in Medicare alone and end rules that prevent the Federal government from having the same purchasing authority as the private sector.
To restore fiscal discipline and strengthen our economy, Kerry will repeal Bush�s special tax breaks for Americans who make more than $200,000.
Kerry supports increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation; and worker�s right to join a union.
Executives should not be walking away with millions of dollars in salaries and benefits while their workers are laid off their companies are defaulting on loans. Kerry would tighten the laws that allow corporations to take advantage of tax deductions for performance based executive pay � even when executives do nothing to improve productivity.
Federal government should not give lucrative contracts to companies that have a record of accounting fraud � like WorldCom � or are moving offshore.
Stop Corporations From Keeping Bank Accounts in Countries like Bermuda to Avoid Paying Taxes.
A recent Joint Committee on Taxation report found that Enron claimed a $2.3 billion in profit between 1996 and 1999 in reports to its investors, while reporting a $3 billion tax loss to the IRS. John Kerry believes corporations should have to account these kinds of disparities.
Kerry will lower capital gains and dividend taxes for the middle class.
Points out that repealing the Bush tax cuts will also cut the benefits that the Democrates fought to have included. “Governor Dean and Mr. Gephardt have said they want to get rid of the whole Bush tax cut. If you get rid of the whole Bush tax cut, you're getting rid of the Democratic part of the cut that we put in, the 10 percent bracket. You're going to pay more tax if you do what they want.”
I intend to sign no trade agreement that doesn't have adequate labor and environment standards. I'm going to raise the enforcement level. But I'm not going to shut the door, because that would depress the economy of our country.
We need to increase our commitment to science in America, to venture capital, to the kinds of incentives that draw capital to the creation of jobs.
On the issue of lowering the tax burden for small business: “I have a plan where you could actually borrow from your own revenues so that you would lower your tax burden, and you'd simply have to pay it back at a later time to give you working capital so you can grow.”
The Bush economic approach has left states with nearly $90 billion in budget deficits, forcing lay offs, education cuts, and tax increases. This fund will help states struggling to bridge deficits resulting from Bush�s economic policies with an additional $25 billion a year for two years to stop the education cuts, tuition increases and tax and fee raising that are inhibiting our economic growth and causing layoffs. This fund includes Kerry�s proposed $5 billion to stop state cuts in health care that hurt workers and patients, $5 billion for homeland security to stem layoffs of police officers and fire fighters, and his commitment to fully fund the No Child Left Behind education law.
Kerry will: Get the Crane-Rangel-Hollings legislation enacted, which provides a corporate rate reduction to manufacturers who produce goods in the United States;
KErry will: Propose a new jobs tax credit to encourage manufacturing companies to stay and expand in America. When a manufacturing company creates jobs above their 12 month average, the payroll taxes of the new employees will be refunded for two years.
Kerry will: Immediately restore and double funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership that President Bush slashed by 80%.
John Kerry will: order an immediate 120 day top to bottom review of all trade agreements to ensure that foreign nations fully comply with trade agreements they sign with our country; vigorously enforce our trade laws to ensure our workers are not victims of unfair trading practices; insist future trade agreements incorporate within them core labor standards and environmental protections; demand that other countries, such as China, do not manipulate their currencies to gain unfair trade advantages; and help any workers displaced by trade develop new skills and find new jobs.
Kerry will create hundreds of thousands of good jobs, many of them in manufacturing, by investing in the new energy opportunities of the future such as: producing 20 percent of all our electricity from renewable sources by 2020; giving tax credits to manufacturers to develop the next generation of automobiles; new energy efficient appliances for homes and businesses; and investing in projects like building the Alaska National Pipeline.
Unemployment insurance should be reformed to cover more people, to provide sufficient benefits to people between jobs, and help laid off workers gain the workforce training skills that they need.
After inheriting an economy that created 22 million jobs over the previous eight years, the Bush Administration has presided over a loss of 3 million jobs. John Kerry would replace all those jobs in the first 500 days of his administration. His plan for energy independence would create 500,000 good paying energy sector jobs. He backed efforts to restore $31 billion in highway cuts made by the Bush Administration last year, which threatened 300,000 jobs. And he supports creating American jobs and renewing our cities through building infrastructure, school construction and modernization, tax credits and cleaning up polluted areas in our country.
I want to say immediately that anyone who has been in this country for five or six years, who's paid their taxes, who has stayed out of trouble ought to be able to translate into an American citizen immediately, not waiting. In addition to that, we have about 37,000 people served in the armed forces of the United States who are legal residents. They should automatically become American citizens for having served their country in that way.
“We also need to make it fair in America again and restore the health care benefits that go to those who are legal immigrants.”
John Kerry supports efforts to cut the backlog of applications pending with the Bureau for Citizenship and Immigration Services, speed up the naturalization process and reduce the wait for family visas and other important matters. John Kerry has also called for reforming and adequately funding border enforcement to ensure that only legal immigrants can enter the country.
John Kerry supports legislation that would provide immigration relief to undocumented young people who have spent their formative years in the United States, who have graduated from high school here, and who can demonstrate good moral character. The DREAM Act repeals a law that prevents these promising young people from attending college in the United States.
John Kerry believes that we should unite and not divide families by making family reunification the cornerstone of our immigration system. John Kerry supports allowing immigrants who are eligible for permanent resident visas to be processed in the United States rather than processed in their home country. He also supports restoring the discretion of immigration judges to evaluate cases on an individual basis and grant relief to deserving immigrants and their families.
John Kerry believes that the practice of racial profiling should be prohibited and that remedies should be established for its victims. It is more important than ever that the nation�s laws are enforced without resort to discrimination.
John Kerry is a cosponsor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which extends and strengthens the right of Americans to work in discrimination-free workplaces, regardless of sexual orientation. In his first year in the US Senate, John Kerry drafted and introduced the Civil Rights Protection Act of 1985, which would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Believes that Latinos and African-Americans were drafted to the front lines more than other people.
Kerry: “I am for partnership rights. I am for civil union. I am for the Employment Non-discrimination Act. I am for the hate crimes legislation.”
John Kerry supports expanding our nation�s hate crime law. He supports efforts to provide equal justice for all victims of hate violence, regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender or disability.
John Kerry believes that same-sex couples should be granted rights, including access to pensions, health insurance, family medical leave, bereavement leave, hospital visitation, survivor benefits, and other basic legal protections that all families and children need. He has supported legislation to provide domestic partners of federal employees the benefits available to spouses of federal employees. He was one of 14 Senators – and the only one up for reelection in 1996 – to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
John Kerry opposed the Clinton Administration�s �Don�t Ask Don�t Tell Policy� He was one of a few senators to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee and call on the President to rescind the ban on gay and lesbian service members.
Guaranteeing Homeland Security: John Kerry has issued a detailed proposal for a new strategic direction in homeland security that includes: 1) enlisting the national guard and Americorps in homeland security efforts; 2) creating a community defense service; 3) ensuring that first defenders are equipped and ready; 4) bringing information technology to the war on terror; 5) reforming domestic intelligence; 6) implementing public health initiatives; and76) improving security at our bridges, tunnels and private infrastructure.
He opposed the 1996 �Freedom to Farm� Act
Kerry supports legislation that prohibits packer ownership of livestock and ends special deals for corporate hog farms.
He supports truth in labeling and country of origin labeling, which gives consumers the information they need to support American farmers.
John Kerry has been a strong supporter of renewable fuels, including ethanol, biomass, wind and biodiesel. Kerry believes that renewable energy, grown on America�s farms and produced in producer-owned facilities, must be part of America�s energy future. It will reduce pollution and our dependence on oil. The federal government must lead the way by funding research and development and by creating a national market for renewable fuels.
Small farmers deserve a fair chance to sell their livestock on the open market. John Kerry supported a ban on packer ownership of livestock, which drives small- and family-owned producers out of business. He has also supported limits on subsidies that flow to the largest farming operations because currently just 10 percent of farms receive two-thirds of payments and 60 percent of farms get no subsidies at all. And he has voted to limit the proliferation of animal confinements, which produce more pollution and put family operations at a disadvantage.
Farmers are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and economic downturns. John Kerry has consistently fought for disaster relief to help address the severe drought, floods and natural disasters that have plagued farmers and ranchers across the nation. In 2002, Congress passed Kerry�s proposal making low-interest loans available to many rural small businesses adversely affected by droughts. Kerry has also passed important reforms in crop and flood insurance and understands that a strong system of federal disaster assistance can help rural communities get back on their feet and back in business soon.
John Kerry understands that revitalizing rural communities requires capital, infrastructure, and technology. Kerry has boosted small business assistance available to rural entrepreneurs. He has supported rural transportation initiatives that would expand Amtrak�s serve to more of America�s rural cities and towns. Kerry has also consistently supported the Essential Air Service program, which ensures that rural airports maintain an adequate level of service. And John Kerry has a plan to replace the nearly 3 million jobs lost during the Bush Administration.
