Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Currently: 70° — Complete forecast

2008 Elections

Hillary Clinton on the Issues

 

Abortion
Every woman should have the right to choose whether to have an abortion, or seek alternative options. Because such a choice is difficult for women, there should be a means of support for those who do choose abortions, and support for those who make alternative decisions. Such support includes reaching out to young people and giving them the tools to make informed decisions so that abortion does not have to be a choice, and abortions would be rare. Adoptions need to be made easier for people to pursue. The pro-life and pro-choice factions should come together and reach some sort of common ground. Any judicial appointees will need to uphold the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade. ... more.

 

Environment and Energy
The U.S. should become clean and alternative energy friendly by the year 2020. The first step in transforming the U.S. from being energy-dependent to becoming energy-independent: A strategic energy fund, backed by profits from oil companies that will invest in the implementation of clean and alternative energy. Propel environmentally sound practices by creating jobs that employ green practices, and oppose big tax breaks for oil companies. ... more.

 

Foreclosures
Publicly laid partial blame on Wall Street for the foreclosure crisis that many borrowers have found themselves in this past year, then pointed at the apathy of the Wall Street brokers who backed the mortgages that were inherently “designed to fail.” President Bush’s plan puts a five-year freeze on sub-prime mortgages, which will provide both borrowers and the market time to catch up with a legally authorized delayed payment period of 90 days. Unlike Bush’s five-year freeze, Clinton’s would also extend to all sub-prime borrowers and even some who are late with payments. In addition, she asked that $7 billion be given to those sub-prime borrowers suffering the most from foreclosures. Clinton lambasted mortgage lenders for “aggressively” pursuing borrowers who did not know any better. Clinton insists that her plan is a “comprehensive work-out, not a bail-out.” ... more.

 

Health Care
Everyone should have exceptionable and affordable health care regardless of their pre-existing conditions. There are three parts to health care reform: lowering costs, improving quality and making health insurance mandatory for everyone. The "American Health Choices Plan" would allow every American the right to choose the type of health care they want. Depending on income, she wants to place caps on how much insurance companies will charge people. She also supports a national health care plan as opposed to state-by-state health care. ... more.

 

Immigration
The U.S. needs comprehensive immigration reform, all of the illegal immigrants should not be deported. The answer, instead, is a guest worker program that guides those guest workers toward citizenship. In 2006, she voted to build the fence along the Mexican border. She feels illegal aliens should be given driver's licenses only in the absence of a national illegal immigration policy. ... more.

 

Iraq
She voted to authorize the war in Iraq in 2002, but has since continued to question the Bush Administration's policies concerning America's involvement in Iraq. She has never formally withdrawn her vote. She wants to end the war in Iraq and remove the majority of troops from the region, but says the U.S.'s national security interests in the region require a minimal amount of troops to stay in Iraq. Because of Iraq's proximity to Iran, al Qaida, oil and the U.S.'s relationship with the Kurds Clinton believes that troops are still needed in Iraq. However, she does not want to establish a permanent presence in Iraq; and is also against the installation of U.S.bases in Iraq. more.

 

Taxes
She is in support of a fair and progressive tax system that forces those that make the most money to give back the most money as well. As part of her nine-point tax reform plan, Clinton would let Bush’s tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 expire in 2010. In addition, she would freeze the estate tax cuts at their 2009 levels. According to Clinton’s campaign, these cuts to Bush’s current tax policy would pay for her proposals without increasing the national deficit. Clinton admits that the Alternative Minimum Tax needs reforming, but does not completely back the plan of U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., to repeal the AMT and implement a 4 percent surplus tax on a single $150,000 income or married $200,000 income. Some critics argue though that Clinton’s promise not to increase the deficit — as opposed to decreasing it — is not enough to be deemed fiscally responsible ... more.

 

Yucca Mountain
Clinton has been an opponent, saying at an October Senate hearing that “Yucca Mountain is not a safe place to store spent fuel from our nation’s nuclear reactors.” She has said the fault lines and seismic activity in the area makes it unsafe. She said the containers that the waste would be stored in would have to be trusted not to rust for hundreds of thousands of years. She said the country does need to find a solution for storing nuclear waste, but Yucca Mountain is not the answer. Until a better solution is made, the country needs to make sure the waste is stored safely at the existing reactor sites. Clinton also voted in 2002 against a Senate bill that called for a nuclear dump at Yucca ... more.

 

-- Las Vegas Sun intern Jenna Kohler and new media managing editor Dave Toplikar compiled this report.

Email Newsletters

To view/update your newsletter subscriptions and interests, please visit our Preference Center.

The Sun

Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.