Copyright 2000 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
The Houston Chronicle
November 05, 2000, Sunday 4 STAR EDITION
SECTION: A; Pg. 15
LENGTH:
1147 words
HEADLINE: Campaign 2000;
How Bush, Gore
compare on issues
SOURCE: Staff
BYLINE: PATTY REINERT, Houston Chronicle Washington
Bureau
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
WASHINGTON - Here are highlights of the
Democratic and Republican presidential nominees' positions on some of the major
issues in Tuesday's presidential election.
Health care
Vice President Al Gore, the Democrat, promises to provide
health insurance for all children in the next four years and
then to work toward universal health coverage. He supports a patients' bill of
rights that would allow patients to sue their health maintenance organizations,
and he would give a tax credit to those caring for elderly or
disabled family members. He would provide seniors with prescription drug
coverage under the existing Medicare program. Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the
Republican, would subsidize private insurance coverage for the uninsured, expand
medical savings accounts and give tax deductions for long-term care. He supports
prescription coverage for seniors but would rely on states and private insurers
to provide it, with Medicare subsidies.
Education
Bush would spend $ 47 billion in the next decade, focusing on
literacy, more charter schools, more college scholarships and grants, and
tax-free savings plans to fund education for all ages. He calls for increased
testing of students and would allow parents to move their children out of poorly
performing public schools, using tax-funded vouchers to help pay for private
school tuition.
Gore would spend $ 170 billion for his 10-year plan,
which includes providing universal preschool, hiring more teachers and paying
them more, giving parents tax breaks for college savings and making college
tuition tax-deductible up to $ 10,000 per year. He opposes vouchers.
Social Security
Current projections show that
over the next 10 years, Social Security will collect $ 2.4 trillion more from
workers than it pays out to seniors in monthly checks. But when the baby boomers
retire that surplus will be eliminated, bankrupting Social Security by 2037.
Gore's plan calls for using the $ 2.4 trillion surplus to pay off the
national debt over the next 12 years. Paying off that debt would free up money
that now goes toward interest on the debt, which constitutes the federal
government's third-largest expenditure. Once the debt is paid off, Gore would
take the money previously dedicated to interest payments and pump it back into
Social Security, keeping it solvent until at least 2054.
Gore also would
allow workers to set up private investment accounts and would provide government
matching funds to help them save extra money on top of their Social Security
income for retirement. He calls this approach "Social Security Plus."
Bush's plan would allow younger workers to divert a small portion of the
12.4 percent of their income that goes to Social Security and invest it in the
stock market. He argues that rather than earning 2 percent per year on the money
in Social Security, they could earn about 8 percent in the stock market based on
its historical performance.
Bush's diversion plan would leave $ 1
trillion less in the Social Security system to cover benefits to retirees, and
the fund would run out of money by 2023. Bush says he will make this up in part
by the added income from investments in the stock market.
Neither
candidate's plan will keep Social Security solvent for the long term, so future
leaders inevitably will have to decide whether to increase Social Security
taxes, cut retirement benefits, raise the retirement age or some combination of
those.
Tax relief
Bush proposes a $ 483 billion
tax cut over the next five years. He would cut tax rates for all Americans and
acknowledges that the wealthiest people would benefit most because they pay the
most taxes.
Gore proposes tax cuts targeting middle- and lower-income
workers. He would give tax credits to those paying for college education and
certain energy-saving products and automobiles.
Civil rights
Bush opposes racial preferences in affirmative action. He
opposes hate crimes legislation. Gore supports both.
Bush would allow
gays to serve in the military under the existing "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Gore would allow openly gay members of the military to serve.
Neither
candidate would support recognizing gay marriage, but Gore has said he would
recognize some type of civil union for gays and would extend them some
contractual rights normally given only to married couples. The vice president
also supports passing an employment nondiscrimination act, which would prohibit
employers from firing employees based on their sexual orientation.
Campaign finance reform
Gore has said the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, which would ban unregulated "soft
money" contributions from corporations and individuals, is the first bill he
would send to Congress. He supports public funding of campaigns.
Bush
would raise campaign contribution limits and improve disclosure. He opposes
legislation banning soft money unless contributions from unions are also banned.
Death penalty
Both candidates support the death
penalty and say they believe it deters crime.
Abortion
Bush opposes abortion rights, except in the case of rape, incest
or to protect the life of the pregnant woman.
Gore supports abortion
rights in all circumstances.
Environment
Bush
would increase domestic energy production, including drilling for oil in the
protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He would cut the capital
gains tax in half if a landowner sells property for conservation and would
provide $ 50 million in matching grants with states for landowners to restore
habitat or protect rare animals on their farms and ranches. He opposes ratifying
the Kyoto treaty on global warming.
Gore helped negotiate that accord
and supports ratifying it. He would invest $ 150 billion over 10 years to
develop cleaner energy sources, invest in mass transit, give tax breaks for
those who buy energy-efficient homes and appliances and fuel-efficient vehicles.
He would provide billions of dollars in incentives for cleaner power plants and
would spend $ 2 billion over 10 years to set aside more park land. He would
prohibit drilling in the Alaskan wildlife refuge.
Defense
Bush would build a missile defense system, provide $ 20 billion
more for weapons research and development in the next five years and $ 1 billion
more for military pay raises. He would reduce U.S. involvement in international
peacekeeping operations.
Gore would increase defense spending by $ 100
billion over the next 10 years and would develop technology for a limited
missile defense system.
Gun control
Bush
supports better enforcement of existing gun laws, voluntary child safety locks
and background checks at gun shows if they can be done immediately.
Gore
supports gun show background checks, mandatory child safety locks and national
licensing and registration of new handguns.
GRAPHIC: Photos: 1. A crowd gathers around
Texas Gov. George W. Bush during a presidential campaign rally Saturday at
Glenside Town Square in Glenside, Pa; 2. Vice President Al Gore campaigns at the
Wesley Center African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Saturday night in
Pittsburgh.; All by Associated Press
TYPE: -LINKS-
LOAD-DATE: November 6, 2000 
