Taxes:

• Supports cuts in marginal tax rates and a fairer system
• Called for reducing the death tax
• Supports reducing the marriage penalty
• Supports tax incentives to encourage charitable giving
• Said any tax plan should include relief for "working families on the outskirts of poverty"
• Said he would veto any increase in corporate or personal income tax rates
• Supports the goal of wiring schools and libraries to the Internet but opposes the federal "Gore" tax

Social Security:

• Pledged to fulfill the solemn commitment of Social Security; no reduction in benefits for retirees or near retirees
• Called for dedicating all Social Security money to Social Security ("lock box")
• Opposes any tax increase for Social Security
• Supports making personal retirement accounts part of social security reform
• Opposes government investment in private stocks or bonds

Medicare/Health Care:

• Wants to strengthen Medicare by providing more choice and more private sector alternatives for the elderly (as embodied in principles of Breaux/Thomas plan)
• Supports offering prescription drug benefit to Medicare recipients through more options and greater choice of plans
• Supports medical savings accounts as a health insurance option for all Americans
• Supports giving patients in federally governed health care plans protections similar to those already enacted in Texas; opposes legislation that would supersede reforms already enacted by states

Farm policy:

• Would work aggressively to open markets for U.S. products and producers
• From this point forward, would not use food as a unilateral sanction or diplomatic weapon
• Called for emergency disaster relief, both through direct payments to farmers and through reforming crop insurance
• Supports tax incentives for use of ethanol
• Calls upon European Union to accept findings of the World Trade Organization and allow importation of genetically modified farm products

Trade:

• Supports restoration of "fast track" negotiating authority for the President
• Called for eliminating trade barriers and tariffs everywhere so "the whole world trades in freedom"
• Called for strict enforcement of anti-dumping and other unfair trade laws
• Support expansion of NAFTA throughout the Americas
• Support China’s admission into WTO, subject to final language of agreement
• Supports revising export controls, to tighten control over military technology and ease restrictions on technology already available commercially

Affirmative Action:

• Opposes quotas and racial preferences
• Supports affirmative "access" to open the doors of opportunity through programs such as the Texas 10 percent plan, where those who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class are automatically admitted to any state college or university
• Advocates needs-based contracting and breaking down government contracts to smaller sizes to encourage entreprenurship in all communities

Campaign Finance Reform:

• Called for banning "soft money" contributions from labor unions and corporations because members/shareholders have no say in how those contributions are given
• Supports enforcement of the Beck decision and enactment of effective Paycheck Protection legislation so union members have the right to decide whether to direct money to political activities
• Supports raising individual contribution limits
• Supports instant disclosure of contributions

Environment:

• Believes environmental standards must be based on sound science, solutions based on market driven technologies
• Recognizes that global warming must be taken seriously but will require any decisions to be based on sound science and a thorough cost-benefit analysis, opposes Kyoto protocol
• Supports moratorium against offshore drilling in California and Florida
• Opposes breaching dams in Pacific Northwest

Abstinence:

• Proposed spending at least as much on abstinence education as on teen contraception programs
• Proposed ensuring that faith based organizations can compete for federal abstinence education grants
• Proposed studying the effectiveness of federally funded sex education programs

Judges:

• Would appoint strict constructionists who would interpret the law, not legislate from the bench

Education:

• Called for devolving power to states; giving states more flexibility and authority to run their schools and determine how to spend federal education funds
• Federal funds and programs should insist on high standards/accountability/results and encourage states and local communities to develop accountability systems
• Supports charter schools
• Supports school choice
• Reform Head Start to make it more of a reading/early learning program
• Supports English "Plus" programs that recognize all children must learn to read and comprehend in English, plus recognize the richness and value of other languages/cultures

Gun Laws:

• Supports requiring instant background checks at gun shows by allowing gun show promoters to access the instant check system on behalf of vendors
• Supports the current ban on automatic weapons
• Supports voluntary safety locks
• Supports automatic detention for kids who commit crimes with guns
• Supports stronger enforcement of existing gun laws, would provide more funding for aggressive gun law enforcement programs such as Project Exile in Richmond, Virginia
• Opposes government mandated registration of all guns owned by law abiding citizens

Abortion/Social issues:

• Pro life with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother
• Set the goal that all children should be welcomed in life and protected by law
• Supports restrictions such as parental notification, no use of taxpayer funds for abortion and a ban on partial birth abortion
• Opposes doctor assisted suicide, believes the role of a doctor is to relieve pain and suffering, not to end life
• Opposes same sex marriage

Defense:

• Supports rebuilding America’s military strength to keep the peace
• Supports accelerated research for and deployment of both theater missile defenses and national missile defense, as soon as possible
• Prepared to cancel ABM treaty with Russia if unable to convince Russia to amend the treaty to allow deployment of missile defense systems within a short period of time

Foreign Policy:

• Would redefine relationship between China and U.S. as one of "competitors," not strategic partners
• Would refocus America’s policy in Asia on friends and allies
• Supports "one-China" policy
• Supports the Taiwan Relations Act
• Supports moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and said if elected President, he would set the process of moving the Embassy in motion immediately upon taking office
• Supports keeping the current sanctions on Cuba until there are free elections, free speech and freedom for political prisoners
• Supported U.S. intervention in Kosovo because it was in our strategic interests
• Said option of ground troops should not have been taken off the table

Proposals to Promote Faith-Based and Community Organizations:

• Lift federal regulations that hamper faith-based institutions from involvement in the delivery of services to the needy
• Expand the federal charitable deduction to taxpayers who do not itemize
• Permit a credit against state taxes for contributions to charities addressing poverty
• Permit individuals over 59 to contribute IRA funds to charities, without having to pay income tax on the amount withdrawn
• Raise the cap on corporate charitable deductions from 10% to 15% of a company’s taxable income
• Provide civil liability protection for corporate in-kind donations of equipment or facilities to charities
• Expand "Charitable Choice" to all federal social service programs, allowing religious organizations to be eligible for funding on the same basis as any other provider, without impairing their religious character
• Establish an "Office of Faith-Based Action" in the Executive Office of the President
• Provide federal matching funds for the establishment of state offices of faith-based action
• Promote alternative licensing regimes that recognize religious training as an alternative form of qualification for delivery of non-medical social services
• Launch a new program, offering competitive grants to faith-based and community groups, to address the needs of children of prisoners
• Open certain federal after-school programs to faith-based and community groups
• Fund certificates to help lower-income parents pay for after-school activities
• Establish a "Compassion Capital Fund" – a public/private partnership to identify and invest in charitable "best practices"
• Make performance-based drug treatment grants available to the states and ensure that non-medical, faith-based providers are eligible for funds on the same basis as other groups
• Provide funding for pilot, faith-based prison pre-release programs
• Establish pilot "Second Chance" maternity homes, through a block grant to the states for certificates to individuals or competitive grants to providers
• Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit

Other:

• Supports meaningful, broad-based tort reform
• Supports Y2K tort reform
• Supports lifting the current limit on H-1B visas; believes long term solution to shortage of high tech workers is education, not immigration

 

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