07-29-2000
POLITICS: Bush and Gore: Where They Stand
ABORTION
Bush
Summary
Consistently opposes abortion.
Public Funding
Opposes the use of public funds to provide or to advocate abortions. Can
be expected to cut federal funds for domestic family-planning services
through Title X. As Texas governor, signed laws that restricted state
family-planning funds. Wants to greatly increase federal funding for
abstinence-only sex education.
International Family Planning
Would reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which during the Administration of
his father, President Bush, banned overseas family-planning groups that
received federal funding from providing abortion-related services, even
with private money.
Military
Would reinstate the ban that was in effect during his father's
Administration prohibiting privately funded abortions at overseas military
bases.
"Partial-Birth" Abortion
Would sign legislation to ban the procedure.
Gore
Summary
Supports abortion rights across the board.
Public Funding
Supports federal funding of abortions for Medicaid recipients in cases of
rape, incest, and life endangerment. Supports Clinton Administration
increases in federal funding for family planning, including abortion,
through Title X.
International Family Planning
Supports the Clinton Administration's reversal of the Mexico City
Policy.
Military
Supports the Clinton Administration's policy of allowing military
personnel to obtain privately funded abortions at military bases
overseas.
"Partial-Birth" Abortion
Opposes Republican-authored legislation that would ban the
procedure.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, CIVIL RIGHTS
Bush: Summary
Opposes quotas and racial preferences.
Civil Rights Enforcement
Declined to back a Democratic-sponsored hate crimes bill, saying:
"All crime is hate crime."
Access to Education
Supports what he calls affirmative-access programs. His "Texas 10
percent plan" automatically admits those students who graduate in the
top 10 percent of their high school class to any state college or
university.
Business Opportunities
Declined to support the 1999 Nondiscrimination Employment Act, which
extends federal workplace discrimination protections to gays. Advocates
breaking down government contracts into smaller sizes to promote
entrepreneurship in all communities.
Gore: Summary
Supports affirmative action across the board. Has strongly opposed state
and local efforts to end affirmative action programs.
Civil Rights Enforcement
Strongly supports congressional hate crimes legislation.
Access to Education
Has championed the Clinton Administration's establishment of an Education
Department Advisory Board to advise the Education Secretary on ways to
strengthen historically black colleges.
Business Opportunities
Supports extending workplace protections to gays. Supports pay equity for
women.
AGRICULTURE
Bush: Summary
Supports a more market-oriented approach to agriculture than does Gore.
Touts opening overseas markets as the best way to boost American farm
income.
Freedom to Farm Act
Supports eliminating most federal subsidies, but advocates covering more
commodities under federal crop insurance. Would phase out the estate tax
and pursue tax incentives to encourage farmers to save money for lean
years.
Biotechnology
Would call upon the European Union to open its markets to bioengineered
crops.
TRADE
Would push for fast-track trade-negotiating authority and pursue new
markets abroad for American agricultural products. Opposes withholding
food and medicine from countries as part of unilateral trade sanctions or
embargoes.
Ethanol
Supports federal funding for research into effective ways to use ethanol
and other biofuels.
Gore: Summary
Would instate regular federal payments to farmers to stabilize farm income
from year to year.
Freedom to Farm Act
Critical of the market-oriented 1996 Freedom to Farm Act, which exchanged
farm subsidies for "transition payments" aimed at encouraging
farmers to plant as the market dictates. Favors targeting federal aid to
small- and medium-sized farms, and more-aggressive enforcement of
antitrust laws in agribusiness.
Biotechnology
Supports federal funding of bioengineered agricultural products and of
efforts to open foreign markets for them. But also urges strong scientific
review to address consumers' safety concerns about bioengineered
foods.
TRADE
Supports opening markets and reducing tariffs abroad for American farm
products, despite opposition from labor leaders. Like Bush, opposes
including food and medicine in unilateral trade embargoes.
Ethanol
Supports federal funding for research on ethanol and tax incentives for
using it.
BANKING
Bush: Summary
Supports vigorous enforcement of existing laws, but opposes increased
government regulation of the industry.
Bankruptcy
Favors Republican-authored 1999 Bankruptcy Reform Act, which is awaiting
final action in Congress. The bill would force some bankruptcy filers to
pay off more of their debts to credit card issuers.
Privacy
Backs industry position that consumer-privacy protections in the 1999
Financial Services Modernization Act are adequate. (Act limits the
information that banks can share with third parties, but lets them use
that information to pitch additional products to their customers.)
Community Reinvestment Act Reform
Supports provisions enacted in recent financial reforms that require
community groups filing comments on bank mergers and expansions to
annually report information about their own borrowing. Also backs easing
up on the newly mandated regulatory reviews of small banks' fair-lending
practices.
Gore: Summary
Favors increased consumer-protection regulations in the banking
industry.
Bankruptcy
Opposes 1999 Bankruptcy Reform Act on the grounds that it provides
insufficient consumer protections. Backs compromise reforms that would
require credit card issuers to provide easy-to-understand information
about their interest rates and fees.
Privacy
Supports strengthening the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act to
prevent banks from using their customers' personal data for marketing
purposes.
Community Reinvestment Act Reform
Supports a review of the new financial services law's fair-lending
provisions, on the grounds that the rules may invite small banks to skirt
their obligations to lend to the poor. Also believes the law's supposed
"sunshine" provisions may actually discourage public comment on
bank mergers and expansions.
BUDGET
Bush: Summary
Wants to set aside one-quarter of the surplus for broad tax cuts, and has
proposed myriad tax credits in areas from education to health care. Has
been less explicit about direct domestic spending, but wants to aid
farmers, boost military salaries, and invest in schools and in research
and development. Also wants to overhaul the budget process. Would push for
biennial federal budgets and for legislation that would keep the
government operating even if some appropriations bills were not signed
into law. Would impanel a bipartisan commission to eliminate pork barrel
spending. Would ask Congress for new line-item veto authority, in the wake
of the Supreme Court's 1998 ruling that the line-item veto approved by
Congress in 1995 was unconstitutional.
Gore: Summary
Has been a longtime advocate of fiscal restraint through
"reinventing" government and reducing debt; would aim to pay off
the federal debt by 2012. At the same time, would increase domestic
spending in key areas. Has outlined a 10-year surplus plan that would
furnish a Medicare prescription drug benefit and boost federal spending on
education, law enforcement, environmental protection, and defense. Also
would seek double funding for research in information and technology and
create a job-training account.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Bush: Summary
Supports raising campaign contribution limits, but would tighten
disclosure and lobbying rules.
"Soft Money"
Would bar corporations and labor unions from making unlimited
"soft-money" contributions to the political parties. However,
would permit wealthy individuals to continue making unregulated soft-money
donations.
Disclosure
Wants to require Internet disclosure of campaign contributions within a
week of receipt. Endorsed recently enacted disclosure laws aimed at
so-called 527 political organizations. But does not support requiring
other types of politically active groups to disclose their issue-oriented
expenditures.
Public Financing
Opposes public financing of elections.
Paycheck Protection
Endorses so-called paycheck-protection legislation that would require
labor unions to get members' permission before spending members' dues on
political activities.
Contribution Limits
Wants to increase the limit on campaign contributions to keep pace with
inflation. For example, the individual $1,000 contribution limit would be
indexed to $3,400.
Lobbying Reform
Wants to ban members of Congress from asking lobbyists for political
contributions while Congress is in session.
Gore: Summary
Has proposed a sweeping reform package that would ban unregulated money
and furnish generous public subsidies to candidates.
"Soft Money"
Wants to ban all "soft money," including unregulated
contributions from unions, corporations, and individuals.
Disclosure
Wants to require all politically active groups that broadcast issue ads
within 60 days of an election to disclose their funding sources.
Public Financing
Has proposed a public-private Democracy Endowment, which would raise $7.1
billion over seven years to finance the campaigns of general election
candidates who agree not to accept any other private money.
Paycheck Protection
Opposes paycheck-protection legislation.
Contribution Limits
Opposes raising the existing contribution limits.
Lobbying Reform
Wants to require lobbyists to disclose more about their activities,
including the names of those to whom they've contributed, and to post that
information monthly on the Internet.
CHILDREN, FAMILIES
Bush: Summary
Emphasizes the family's role in child care and wants to give states
discretion in spending federal grants. Touts his substantial child care
spending increases in Texas.
Child Care Tax Credits
Would double the $500-per-child federal tax credit to $1,000. Supports
block grants that would allow low-income families to choose child care
providers. Proposes bigger tax cuts for adoptive families and $2.3 billion
for child-welfare programs over five years.
Child Care Standards
Supports measures, now in place in Texas, that require child care workers
to undergo background checks, receive training, and submit to surprise
spot inspections. As Texas governor, has boosted child care spending by
$360 million since taking office.
Out-of-Wedlock Births
Wants to see at least as much federal spending on abstinence education as
on teen-contraception programs. Wants to study the effectiveness of
federally funded sex education programs.
Gore
Summary
Proposes a $38 billion, 10-year federal program to make child care more
affordable for working families. Some $30 billion of the funding would
come out of his $250 billion middle-class tax cut proposal, the rest from
the federal budget surplus.
Child Care Tax Credits
Would offer a refundable tax credit to help parents cover as much as 50
percent of child care costs, compared with 30 percent today. Low-income
families with no tax liabilities would receive up to $2,400 for child
care. Would offer a $500 tax credit to stay-at-home parents with infants
under age 1.
Child Care Standards
Would provide $8 billion in grants to states for day care improvements,
provided that they set up early-childhood reading programs, improve health
and safety standards, require training and background checks for child
care workers, and perform spot inspections of centers.
Out-of-Wedlock Births
Wants states to pass laws requiring all fathers who owe child support to
pay up or go to work. Wants to strengthen child-support enforcement and
give credit bureaus data on "deadbeat" parents and challenge
credit card companies to deny them new cards.
CRIME
Bush: Summary
Would support tough laws for domestic violence, juvenile offenders, and
sex offenders. Also wants strong penalties and longer prison terms for
violent offenders.
Death Penalty, DNA Testing
Supports the death penalty for those who commit violent crimes. Supports
post-conviction DNA testing if, in the context of all the evidence, it can
help determine guilt or innocence.
Mandatory Drug Testing of Prisoners, Parolees
Has not staked out a position.
Victims' Rights
Supports a constitutional amendment that would give victims the right to
be notified of trials and probation hearings, to give input in plea
bargains, and to be told when a prisoner's release is imminent.
Juvenile Crime
Supports aggressive enforcement of existing handgun laws and prosecution
of gun offenses. Says he would support legislation to prevent juvenile
offenders from buying a gun when they become adults.
Gore: Summary
Would support tough gun and gang laws, but places greater emphasis than
Bush on prevention. For example, would give federal grants to states for
crime-mapping software to target crime hot spots. Supports federal funding
to help local governments hire 50,000 new police officers.
Death Penalty, DNA Testing
Supports the death penalty for heinous crimes; says it has a deterrent
effect. Has not stated a position on post-conviction DNA testing.
Mandatory Drug Testing of Prisoners, Parolees
Supports mandatory drug testing and treatment of state prisoners before
release; would furnish states with $500 million in grants to cover the
costs.
Victims' Rights
Supports a constitutional amendment giving victims the right to be
notified of trials and probation hearings, to give input in plea bargains,
and to be told when a prisoner's release is imminent.
Juvenile Crime
Would support tough juvenile crime laws and additional federal funding for
school anti-drug programs.
DEFENSE
Bush: Summary
Embraces high-tech weapons, including ones for a national missile defense
program.
Defense Spending
Would increase defense spending, particularly for troops' pay and for
weapons research.
National Missile Defense
Would dramatically expand the proposed system of ground-based rockets,
probably adding sea-based and possibly air- and space-based interceptors;
would do so, if need be, at the expense of the Anti-ballistic Missile
Treaty with Russia and of arms control in general.
Gays in the Military
Would retain the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which
allows closeted gays and lesbians to serve in the military.
Modernizing the Military
Would increase military research-and-development spending by $20 billion
over five years and focus research on revolutionary weapons that would
"skip a generation" ahead of current technology.
Gore: Summary
Advocates spending increases; would exercise caution on national missile
defense plans.
Defense Spending
Would continue recent steady increases in defense spending.
National Missile Defense
Would continue President Clinton's cautious course by balancing a limited,
ground-based system against international objections and the strictures of
the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia.
Gays in the Military
Rejects the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy as
unworkable, and would work to overturn the law that bans openly gay and
lesbian people from serving in the military.
Modernizing the Military
Focuses on reorganizing the Pentagon, particularly streamlining business
practices and increasing cooperation among the Air Force, Army, Navy, and
Marine Corps, rather than on developing radically new weapons for each
service.
ECONOMY
Bush: Summary
Favors a major cut in income tax rates and the privatization of Social
Security.
The Surplus
Favors making broad tax cuts, paying down the debt, and targeting spending
increases and tax credits for education, health, and defense.
Interest Rates
Has said almost nothing about rising interest rates, a major complaint of
U.S. business, but generally supports Alan Greenspan and the Federal
Reserve Board's strategy of raising rates to rein in inflation.
Antitrust
Supports enforcement, with particular emphasis on price-fixing. On
Microsoft case, has suggested he'd prefer an out-of-court
settlement.
Gore: Summary
Favors targeted tax cuts, broader increases in spending, but no major
reforms or deregulation of the U.S. economy.
The Surplus
Favors eliminating the national debt more than cutting taxes or increasing
spending.
Interest Rates
Has had little to say about interest rates, but has praised Greenspan's
handling of the issue.
Antitrust
Has given no indication he would depart from current policy. On Microsoft,
supports action against predatory behavior that impedes competition, which
is the basis of the case.
EDUCATION
Bush: Summary
Supports vouchers and charter schools, but would expand federal funding in
a few areas, such as early-childhood education and teacher
training.
School Choice
Would give vouchers to students in schools that remain on a state's
"failing" list for three years; the vouchers would be worth
about $1,500 and could be used at a public or private school. Would offer
$3 billion in loan guarantees to establish or improve 2,000 charter
schools in the next two years.
Accountability
Would require states to annually test pupils in grades 3 through 8. Would
establish a $500 million fund to reward schools that improve their test
scores; would give vouchers to pupils in schools that fail. States that do
not improve test scores would lose administrative money.
Teacher Quality
Would consolidate federal funding for teachers; the move would dissolve
President Clinton's class-size-reduction program and increase total
funding for teacher recruiting, hiring, and training from $2 billion to
$2.4 billion. Would expand the current Troops-to-Teachers program budget
from $2.4 million to $30 million.
School Safety
Supports federal prosecution of juveniles who bring guns to school. Would
rate schools on their safety and make the information available to
parents.
Paying for Education
Would increase the annual limit on contributions to tax-free education
accounts from $500 to $5,000; the savings could help pay for education
from kindergarten through college.
Early-Childhood Education
Wants to make Head Start more focused on education, and to require
evaluations of each program's effectiveness. Would spend $1 billion
annually on a new federal reading initiative based on testing, remedial
help, and teacher training. Proposes $400 million for after-school
programs.
Gore: Summary
Supports greatly expanding the federal role in education, including
teacher hiring and training, school construction, and early-childhood
education.
School Choice
Opposes vouchers but supports charter schools and public school choice.
Would use federal money to triple the number of charter schools to 5,100
by 2005.
Accountability
Would create a $500 million Accountability Fund to pay for state
improvement plans. Schools would have to improve or face being shut down.
Would reward states that improve their scores on the National Assessment
of Educational Progress.
Teacher Quality
Supports Clinton's effort to pay for 100,000 new teachers. Would offer
grants to poor school districts to lure top teachers by giving higher
salaries. Wants teacher testing and "fast, fair" removal of bad
teachers. Would establish a Teacher Corps to encourage professionals and
high school graduates to teach.
School Safety
Would offer grants to schools that enforce zero-tolerance policies for
guns on campus and for alternative schools that educate children who have
discipline problems. Unlike Bush, has no formal plan on rating schools on
their safety.
Paying for Education
Would create tax-free accounts for education throughout a person's life.
Employers would be permitted to contribute. Persons could contribute up to
$2,500 a year to the account and withdraw funds without paying taxes if
they used the money for educational purposes.
Early-Childhood Education
Supports Clinton's proposal to spend $1 billion more on Head Start. Would
set aside money to train preschool teachers. Favors voluntary universal
prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds.
ENVIRONMENT
Bush: Summary
Promises a more state-directed, industry-friendly environmental policy,
although his reliance on this approach while governor of Texas has come
under attack from environmental groups.
Global Warming
Agrees that human activity is causing warming, but opposes the 1997 Kyoto
treaty, an international pact signed by the Clinton Administration, which
would force industrial nations to reduce their greenhouse-gas
emissions.
Energy Policy
Has not articulated a detailed energy policy, but would furnish tax
incentives for ethanol use, and has said that he supports the development
of energy-efficient technologies. Supported provisions in the Texas
electricity deregulation bill that require state utilities to reduce
pollution at their oldest coal-fired power plants.
Brownfields
Advocates flexible cleanup standards and new financial support to speed up
reclamation and development of brownfields-contaminated waste sites in
urban regions.
Snake River Dams
Opposes tearing down four dams on Washington state's Snake River to
protect the seriously depleted local species of salmon and other fishes.
Instead, recommends alternative methods to save the fish.
Gore
Summary
Promotes a continuation and, in some cases, an acceleration of the Clinton
Administration's environmental policies.
Global Warming
Supports the Kyoto global-warming treaty.
Energy Policy
Calls for a 10-year, $125 billion energy plan that would help electric
firms retrofit coal-fired power plants; develop new energy technologies;
and provide tax breaks, loans, and grants to consumers and businesses who
switch to environment-friendly homes, factories, and vehicles.
Brownfields
Calls for more funding to help companies rehabilitate urban brownfields.
Would let state and local governments float bonds to pay for cleaning up
abandoned factories.
Snake River Dams
Promises to hold a "salmon summit" to decide whether to breach
the dams to protect the declining populations of salmon and other fishes
in the Snake River.
FOREIGN POLICY
Bush: Summary
Emphasizes free trade and internationalism, with an emphasis on
unilaterally asserting American interests.
Arms Control
Opposes the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and would withdraw from
the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty, if necessary, to build a robust
national missile defense system. Is generally skeptical of multilateral
arms control agreements.
Peacekeeping
Would strive to reduce the role of U.S. forces in peacekeeping missions
around the world and would shun future missions unless vital U.S.
interests were at stake.
China
Favors a "one-China" policy, and supports the Taiwan Security
Enhancement Act, which commits the United States to closer defense
cooperation with Taiwan.
Russia
Would refocus U.S.-Russian relations on security matters. Would likely
oppose further loans to Russia by the International Monetary Fund.
Middle East
Would move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Kosovo
Advocates a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops and transferring the
peacekeeping mission to European allies.
Latin America and Mexico
Supports NAFTA and fast-track trade-negotiating authority, and proposes a
hemispheric free-trade area for the Americas.
Iraq
Supports continued economic sanctions and advocates increasing support for
Iraqi opposition groups seeking to oust Saddam Hussein. Has publicly
threatened to unilaterally strike any known Iraqi sites used to produce
weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea
Has aligned himself with foreign-policy advisers who have criticized the
Clinton Administration deal that freezes North Korea's nuclear weapons
program, but provides fuel oil to and constructs civil nuclear reactors
for that country.
Gore
Summary
Emphasizes free trade and internationalism, with an emphasis on
cooperative engagement through international institutions such as the
United Nations.
Arms Control
Supports the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and a renegotiated
Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty. Is generally supportive of multilateral
arms control agreements.
Peacekeeping
Strongly supports the use of U.S. forces in recent peacekeeping
missions.
China
Supports a "one-China" policy, but opposes the
Republican-crafted Taiwan Security Enhancement Act.
Russia
Helped fashion current policy of multilayered engagement with Russians to
promote both economic reforms and nonproliferation efforts.
Middle East
Would delay any decision on moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem until a
Middle East peace settlement is reached.
Kosovo
Advocates the continued participation of U.S. troops in a NATO-led
peacekeeping force.
Latin America and Mexico
Supports NAFTA and fast-track authority, and proposes a free-trade area of
the Americas.
Iraq
Defends the present policy of economic sanctions and
"containment" of Iraq.
North Korea
Supports the Clinton Administration's deal that freezes North Korea's
nuclear weapons program, but provides fuel oil to and constructs civil
nuclear reactors for that country.
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Bush: Summary
Proposes dramatic restructuring and cuts to reduce the size of
government.
Government Jobs
Would eliminate 40,000 civil service management jobs. Would give more
government work to private contractors. Would change civil service rules
to reward individual performance.
E-Government
Would offer more government services and data online. Would create a chief
information officer and furnish $100 million for computer
automation.
Oversight
Would establish a bipartisan Sunset Review Board to eliminate duplicative
and ineffective programs.
Gore: Summary
Has been a longtime champion of "reinventing government." Touts
federal staffing reductions and efficiency gains made on his
watch.
Government Jobs
Says that the Clinton-Gore Administration has eliminated 370,000 federal
jobs over eight years. Has not specifically called for more job cuts,
outsourcing of federal work, or changes to civil service rules. Supports
giving federal workers more on-the-job flexibility, as long as goals are
met.
E-Government
Would offer more government services and data online, including his Across
America initiative, which would target students, the elderly, and rural
communities.
Oversight
Has not stated a position. As an eight-year incumbent, has less reason
than challenger Bush to emphasize oversight.
GUN CONTROL
Bush: Summary
Supports strong enforcement of existing gun laws, and funding for such
federal programs as Project Exile, which brings prosecutors and law
enforcement officials together to target armed, convicted felons and
violent criminals.
Background Checks at Gun Shows
Supports immediate background checks of prospective buyers at gun
shows.
Gun Registration and Licensing
Opposes government-mandated registration of guns.
Child Safety Locks
Supports voluntary efforts to equip guns with safety locks; however, will
sign gun-lock mandates if Congress approves them.
Gore: Summary
Supports strong gun control measures.
Background Checks at Gun Shows
Supports background checks at gun shows, even if they cannot be done
instantly.
Gun Registration and Licensing
Supports national, mandatory licensing; supports an alternative to
registration, whereby sellers report identities of buyers to state
authorities; backs photo licenses and gun safety tests for new handgun
owners.
Child Safety Locks
Supports mandatory child safety locks.
HEALTH CARE
Bush: Summary
Advocates reducing the number of uninsured citizens by subsidizing their
purchase of private health coverage. Also supports limited patients'
rights.
Tax Credits
Would give people who don't have employer-sponsored health insurance an
annual tax credit of up to $1,000 per individual and $2,000 per family to
cover up to 90 percent of the cost of health insurance. The subsidy would
vary depending on income.
CHIP
Wants to give states more flexibility in administering the Children's
Health Insurance Program, a federal block grant, and allow them to expand
CHIP to other eligible people, including some parents.
Medical Savings Accounts
Wants to make existing medical-savings-account pilot programs permanent
and to lift the federal cap of 750,000 on the number of accounts. Would
allow all employers to offer MSAs, and would let both employers and
employees contribute to them. Would lower the minimum deductible for
accompanying catastrophic health plans to $1,000 for an individual and
$2,000 for families.
Patients' Bill of Rights
Supports giving patients in federally governed health plans a limited
ability to sue their health plans for denied medical services.
Long-Term Care
Would make the cost of long-term-care insurance fully deductible, and
establish a personal tax exemption for home caregivers.
Group Purchasing
Would allow small businesses to band together across state lines and form
association health plans, in order to buy health insurance through bona
fide trade associations.
Gore: Summary
Supports incremental movement toward reducing the number of uninsured
citizens, first by expanding coverage through existing government
programs. Also supports broad patients' rights legislation, including
patients' right to sue their health plans for denied services.
Tax Credits
Advocates the use of tax credits as a way to make insurance more
affordable for the uninsured. The tax credit would be the equivalent of 25
percent of a person's health insurance costs.
CHIP
Supports enrolling more children, and some parents, in the state
Children's Health Insurance Program and in Medicaid. Would expand
eligibility to include children living at up to 250 percent of the federal
poverty level (which would make a family of four earning $41,000
eligible), and make states responsible for enrolling eligible
children.
Medical Savings Accounts
Opposes the widespread use of medical savings accounts, which he argues
would mostly attract healthy people and pull them out of the regular
insurance market, ultimately boosting costs for others.
Patients' Bill of Rights
Wants a broad patients' bill of rights that allows people who are denied
medical services to sue their health plans.
Long-Term Care
Wants a $3,000 tax credit for home caregivers. Has not proposed a tax
break for the purchase of long-term-care insurance because he wants to see
quality improvements in that market.
Group Purchasing
Would give tax credits to small-business employees who join health care
purchasing cooperatives, which could be run by nonprofit organizations or
other groups. Opposes association health plans.
HOUSING
Bush: Summary
Would let local public housing authorities give low-income renters up to a
year's worth of rental vouchers in a lump-sum payment, to cover
home-purchase costs. Would permit the use of Section 8 vouchers to
subsidize monthly mortgage payments. Would furnish $1 billion in federal
homeownership assistance over five years.
Gore
Summary
Supports President Clinton's call for $690 million for 120,000 new Section
8 vouchers for fiscal 2001. Would also increase support for the Housing
and Urban Development Department's Home Investment Partnership program and
Community Development Block Grant program.
****************
IMMIGRATION
Bush: Summary
Calls for changes in structure and policy of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
INS Reform
Would divide the INS into two agencies-one that handles enforcement of
current immigration law and one that focuses on naturalization. Calls for
a $500 million funding increase over five years to improve service through
employee incentives.
H1-B Immigrant Visas
Calls for an unspecified increase in the number of H1-B visas for
high-skilled foreign workers.
Naturalization
Calls for a six-month deadline for processing applications.
Family Reunification
Would change INS policy so that spouses and children of permanent legal
residents can more easily obtain visitor visas while their applications
for permanent residency are pending.
Gore: Summary
Supports changes in laws to allow families to stay together; supports
Clinton Administration policies intended to streamline the naturalization
process.
INS Reform
Would encourage the agency to separate enforcement and service operations
more clearly, but opposes creating two separate agencies. Supports the
Administration's call for more than $200 million in additional INS
funding, most of it for enforcement and border patrols.
H1-B Immigrant Visas
Would increase the number of H1-B visas offered annually from 115,000 to
200,000, but would raise the fee for them and use that money for education
programs.
Naturalization
Supports Clinton Administration efforts to streamline the process with a
goal of reducing the time of processing applications to three
months.
Family Reunification
Supports provisions that would more easily allow families to stay
together; would allow immigrants to have their papers processed in the
United States, rather than in their home countries.
LAND USE
Bush: Summary
Advocates making greater use of the nation's natural resources and handing
over more authority for land use policies to the states.
Land Preservation
Would encourage land conservation with tax credits for private parties and
local governments. Recommends abolishing the inheritance tax so landowners
won't be tempted to sell property to developers to pay taxes. Supports
full funding of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, with a
mandate that 50 percent of the proceeds be spent on state and local
conservation efforts.
Oil Exploration
Supports increased domestic production and exploration, including in the
protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Would continue the
current moratorium on offshore drilling in California and Florida.
National Monuments
Opposes President Clinton's policy of protecting federal lands by
designating them as national monuments.
National Forests
Would reverse Clinton Administration proposals to protect 43 million acres
of road-free national forests. Recommends more logging on all national
lands.
Gore: Summary
Would expand the land preservation policies of the Clinton
Administration.
Land Preservation
Recommends setting aside more federal lands and paying for them with new
mining royalties from other federal property. Calls for $2 billion in tax
incentives to protect wilderness areas from development.
Oil Exploration
Opposes new oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Would go beyond the current moratorium on oil-exploration leases off the
coasts of California and Florida and ban new drilling under existing
leases.
National Monuments
Supports President Clinton's designation of new national
monuments.
National Forests
Supports Administration proposals to bar new road-building on
as-yet-untouched national forest lands, but would take the issue further
by including Alaska's Tongass National Forest in the road-free
designation. Also would prohibit logging in those wilderness
regions.
MEDICARE
Bush: Summary
Advocates additional private-sector health plan choices for Medicare
beneficiaries, including options with prescription drug coverage.
Medicare Reform
Wants to build on the work of the National Bipartisan Commission on the
Future of Medicare; its leaders recommended opening up Medicare to more
health plans as a way to give the elderly more choices while lowering
costs.
Prescription Drugs
Supports offering a prescription drug benefit to Medicare recipients
through a greater choice of plans. Also supports giving financial
assistance to low-income elderly people to help them pay for the
plans.
Lockbox
Has not taken a position on Gore's proposal to put Medicare in an
off-budget lockbox.
Trust Fund
Proposes a unified trust fund for Medicare Part A, which covers
hospitalization, and Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits. Also
supports doubling federal funding for Medicare over 10 years, but has not
said where the extra money would come from.
Provider Giveback
Has not taken a position on a bill to restore funding to hospitals and
other health care providers that was lost as a result of the 1997 Balanced
Budget Act. Supported the first legislation to restore funding, proposed
in 1999, and has said the issue is another reason to revamp
Medicare.
Gore
Summary
Defends the rights of the elderly to remain in traditional fee-for-service
health insurance plans if they so desire, and advocates a prescription
drug benefit that applies to all Medicare beneficiaries.
Medicare Reform
Advocates rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse and giving Medicare more
competitive tools, so long as beneficiaries are protected from premium
inflation.
Prescription Drugs
Would create a prescription drug benefit that would cover half the cost of
medicines up to $5,000 with no deductibles, and catastrophic protections
after $4,000 in out-of-pocket payments. Elderly people with annual incomes
below $11,000 would pay no premiums or co-payments.
Lockbox
Wants to put Medicare in an off-budget lockbox, so that savings from
Medicare cannot be spent on other programs.
Trust Fund
Advocates using $75 billion of budget surplus money over 10 years to
extend the life of Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund until at least
2030.
Provider Giveback
Would use $40 billion in budget surplus money to restore funding to
hospitals and other health care providers that was lost as a result of the
1997 Balanced Budget Act.
PRIVACY
Bush: Summary
Promotes business practices that allow customers to choose companies whose
privacy policies they favor, and has said that people should have a veto
over how personal information is used and sold: "The principle ought
to be [that] people should not be able to use your information or mine
without permission."
Online Privacy
Expects to release position paper soon. Open to requiring companies to get
consumers' approval before their data can be used or sold.
Gore: Summary
Promotes business practices that allow customers to choose companies whose
privacy policies they favor, a federal "Privacy Bill of Rights,"
and new laws to protect some aspects of medical and financial
privacy.
Online Privacy
Like Bush, prefers customer choice and industry self-regulation to new
federal rules. Would provide a "digital key" that gives citizens
secure access to online government services. Backs legislation being
pushed by congressional Democrats to restrict the sale of any Social
Security number without an individual's permission.
RELIGION
Bush: Summary
Says government should turn first to faith-based organizations to help
needy people. Would extend the role and reach of charities and churches,
communities and corporations, synagogues and mosques, and mentors and
ministers.
Faith-Based Initiatives
Would establish an Office of Faith-Based Action in the Executive Office of
the President. Would remove barriers to faith-based groups' participation
in government programs.
Public Funding
Would offer competitive grants to faith-based groups for programs that
address problems such as the needs of children of prisoners. Would expand
the federal charitable deduction to people who do not itemize on their tax
returns, would promote a new charitable state tax credit, and would
provide incentives for corporate giving.
Religion in School
Lamented recent Supreme Court ruling that public school districts cannot
allow students to lead stadium crowds in prayer before high school
football games. Supports student-led prayer and posting of the Ten
Commandments in public schools.
Gore: Summary
Defends separation of church and state.
Faith-Based Initiatives
Supports allowing states to enlist faith-based organizations to provide
basic welfare services as long as there is a secular alternative and no
one is required to participate in religious observances to receive
services. Opposes the use of faith-based organizations as a substitute for
governmental programs.
Public Funding
Supports public funding for faith-based organizations, but not to the
exclusion of government programs. Calls for more private support for
religious groups.
Religion in School
Opposes government-mandated prayer in public schools.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Bush: Summary
Proposes allowing younger workers to divert an unspecified portion (uses 2
percent in his examples) of their Social Security payroll taxes into
individual investment accounts. Has pledged to maintain existing benefits
for disabled workers and survivors, as well as for both current retirees
and workers nearing retirement.
Solvency
Proposes a plan that would not extend the life of the trust fund, as now
defined, because his plan would siphon younger workers' taxes out of the
U.S. Treasury in an expensive transition to private-sector accounts. Has
ruled out tax hikes to bridge the shortfall, leaving unspecified benefit
cuts or a diversion of general revenues as the future alternative.
Private Investment
Would allow workers to move some of their tax payments into the equity and
bond markets to invest as they wish. Touts the "wealth creation"
potential of private accounts, which are controversial and would accrue
more dramatically to upper-income investors.
Benefits
Acknowledges that individual accounts would mean less in the way of
guaranteed benefits for the elderly, but says that nothing about the
Social Security system has been "guaranteed" since 1935, because
Congress has made and continues to make legislative changes along the
way.
General Revenues
Would divert an estimated $950 billion from federal coffers between 2002
and 2010 into privately managed stocks and bonds, according to one recent
analysis. Additional revenues would be needed to cover benefits to future
retirees, unless benefits are reduced.
Gore: Summary
Proposes to use the federal budget surplus to pay down debt and reduce the
need for federal borrowing. Would credit the resulting interest savings to
the Social Security system as an accounting mechanism to extend the life
of the funds.
Solvency
Relies on federal debt reduction and reduced interest costs to extend the
life of the Social Security trust fund to 2050. Advisers say he could
apply additional interest savings as they materialize to extend solvency
even further-to 2075.
Private Investment
Would offer workers supplemental individual tax-free retirement accounts
("Retirement Savings Plus") matched with government tax credits
on a sliding scale. Workers could deposit as much as $1,500 a year in
accounts managed by private financial institutions and invested in
broad-based equities, bonds, and government securities.
Benefits
Would add an expensive new benefit: government-matched private accounts
similar to 401(k) plans. The Gore plan includes no benefit reductions to
deal with the anticipated shortfall resulting from too few workers
covering the costs of too many retirees.
General Revenues
Says his supplemental accounts plan would cost $200 billion over 10 years,
but most independent analysts say the price tag would likely go much
higher.
SUPREME COURT
Bush: Summary
Has promised not to apply ideological litmus test on abortion or other
issues. Would be expected to nominate strict constructionists, such as
Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, to the
bench.
Gore: Summary
Has said that he will nominate Justices who recognize that the
Constitution is a living, breathing document. Defends abortion rights and
the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision.
TAXES
Bush: Summary
Favors tax cuts of some $483 billion over five years, including cuts in
the rate structure.
Marriage Penalty
Favors an $88 billion tax cut over 10 years for married couples. Would
restore the 10 percent deduction for two-earner families so they could
deduct up to $3,000 more than now permitted.
Low-Income Families
Would cut the marginal rate by more than 40 percent for low-income
families with two children, and by nearly 50 percent for families with one
child. Would increase the existing child tax credit from $500 to $1,000
per child.
Research and Development
Would make permanent the research-and-development tax credit, which
provides tax breaks to businesses conducting research.
Other taxes
Would phase out the estate tax and use tax incentives to promote savings
for education, the purchase of health insurance, land conservation,
housing development, and charitable giving. Would also use the tax code to
help home caregivers, families with child care expenses, and
farmers.
Gore: Summary
Favors targeted tax cuts for specific purposes, as opposed to Bush's more
sweeping cuts. Favors modified Universal Savings Accounts, which would
encourage retirement savings for people who cannot take advantage of IRAs
or 401(k)s.
Marriage Penalty
Would address the so-called marriage penalty by providing an $80 billion
tax cut over 10 years for married couples, which is less than that
proposed by congressional Republicans.
Low-Income Families
Would expand the earned income tax credit by up to $500 for families with
three or more children, and increase by $1,450 the maximum income that
two-wage married couples can earn before their credit is phased out.
Favors a $1-an-hour increase in the hourly minimum wage over the next two
years.
Research and Development
Would make permanent the research-and-development tax credit, which
provides tax breaks to businesses conducting research.
Other Taxes
Would use tax incentives to promote land conservation, education savings,
energy efficiency, ethanol research, and the purchase of health insurance.
Would use the tax code to help home caregivers and families with child
care expenses.
TECHNOLOGY
Bush: Summary
Would promote technology innovation with free-market policies, increased
government research, free trade, and legal reforms to curb
lawsuits.
Education and Training
Would boost government funding to add Internet links to schools, bolster
math and science education, and promote education reform with
vouchers.
Internet Taxes
Would extend existing moratorium that bars states from collecting sales
taxes on out-of-state online vendors for at least three years.
Stem-Cell Research
Supports current curbs against using federal funds for research on stem
cells taken from human embryos, but has also said he would not restrict
commercial technology development.
Gore: Summary
Would promote technology innovation with free-market policies, increased
government research, and free trade.
Education and Training
Would connect every classroom to the Internet and promote smaller
classrooms and better teachers.
Internet Taxes
Has said he would keep the federal moratorium that bars states from
collecting out-of-state Internet taxes, but has also said the federal
government should support state officials concerned that Internet-tax
losses create a "potential fiscal catastrophe."
Stem-Cell Research
Supports federal funding of research into stem cells taken from human
embryos, if nonfederal researchers obtain the cells.
TRADE
Bush: Summary
Strongly supports free-trade policies.
Trade with China
Supports permanent normal trade relations with China as part of Beijing's
membership in the World Trade Organization.
Labor and Human Rights, Environmental Standards
Opposes conditioning trade liberalization on progress on labor, human
rights, and environmental issues.
High-Tech Trade
Committed to easing export restrictions on commercially available
technologies, but supports trade sanctions to promote his foreign policy
agenda.
Gore: Summary
Supports free-trade policies, but also emphasizes fair trade.
Trade with China
Supported permanent normal trade relations over opposition from organized
labor.
Labor and Human Rights, Environmental Standards
Supports using trade deals to improve worker and human rights and to
protect the environment.
High-Tech Trade
Supports relaxing export restrictions on commercially available
technologies.
TRANSPORTATION
Bush: Summary
Hasn't announced a transportation agenda, but has attacked the Clinton
Administration for higher gas prices, and has proposed a modest plan to
help disabled Americans.
Investment
Would set aside $145 million over five years to provide easier
transportation access to disabled Americans and would target community and
faith-based organizations to provide this transportation.
Gasoline Prices
Blames today's high gas prices on the Administration's quest for cleaner
fuel and its failure to develop a comprehensive national energy policy.
Also argues that the Administration should pressure OPEC to increase the
supply of oil. Opposes efforts to suspend the 18-cent-per-gallon federal
gasoline tax to alleviate higher gas prices
Gore: Summary
Supports transportation alternatives to reduce urban sprawl and help clean
the environment.
Investment
Would provide $25 billion over 10 years to give Americans more
transportation choices, such as high-speed rail, light rail, and cleaner
and safer buses.
Gasoline Prices
Blames today's high gas prices on possible price-gouging by the oil
industry. Would provide tax credits to Americans who buy energy-saving
vehicles and appliances. Like Bush, opposes suspending the federal tax on
gasoline purchases.
Compiled by Eliza Newlin Carney, with contributions from Perry Bacon Jr.,
David Baumann, Piper Fogg, Elisabeth Frater, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.,
Siobhan Gorman, Louis Jacobson, James Kitfield, Margaret Kriz, Megan
Lisagor, John Maggs, Neil Munro, Mark Murray, Marilyn Werber Serafini,
Alexis Simendinger, Bruce Stokes, Megan Twohey, Kirk Victor, and Shawn
Zeller.
National Journal
