• Favors pay-as-you-go budgeting
• Did not favor a gas tax holiday
• Advocates closure of tax loopholes for companies that relocate abroad
• Advocates removing tax loopholes for the wealthy and providing tax relief to seniors
• Favored raising the minimum wage
• Would pay for economic program by drawing down troops in Iraq war, cutting certain corporate loopholes and raising taxes for the wealthy
• Would reduce spending on earmarks
• Favors workforce development and creation of high-wage jobs geared to new technology; also favors creating jobs by developing environmentally friendly energy sources
• Would reward companies for creating full-time jobs and increasing number of workers in U.S. relative to number overseas
• Advocates a windfall profit tax on the excessive oil profits to finance $1000 emergency rebates to help families
• Favors rebuilding and maintaining public infrastructure
• Supports noninterference with unionization
• Would invest in the sciences and basic research

• Balance the budget by 2013
• Favored a gas tax holiday
• Advocates closure of corporate tax loopholes and a lower corporate tax rate in order to create U.S. jobs
• Objects to removal of tax breaks for the wealthy; says the economy would be hurt
• Considers outsourcing of jobs to other countries to be good for America
• Favors leaving the minimum wage unchanged
• Would pay for economic program by vetoing especially costly bills and cutting the federal budget while continuing the Iraq War
• Would pay for tax cuts by creating new jobs in the clean energy sector and developing new automotive technologies to boost economic growth
• Would reduce spending on earmarks
• Advocates national job training programs for displaced workers
• Advocates a one-year discretionary spending pause, except for defense and veterans programs, to review the effectiveness of federal programs
• Is not a strong advocate for unionization

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Issue: The War in Iraq
Why should we care about Iraq? There have been more than 4,000 U.S. deaths in the Iraq war so far, plus millions of deaths of Iraqi people and displacement of others; thousands of U.S. soldiers have returned with serious physical and mental problems; there has been an expenditure of billions of U.S. dollars, resulting in cutbacks in funding of education at all levels, as well as Medicare, welfare and other social programs.

• Opposed the use of military force against Iraq
• Opposed troop surge in 2007
• Voted for a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008
• Advocates a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops; no longer indicates a specific duration but hopes combat troops will be out by spring of 2010
• Would leave only the troops needed for protection of our embassy, U.S. bases and civilians
• Voted for investigation of contract awards in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Would launch an effort to include Iraq's neighbors in bringing stability to Iraq.

• Voted for the use of force against Iraq
• Supported troop surge in 2007; considers the commitment of troops to be necessary for completion of the mission
• Supported Bush veto of a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008
• Would withdraw troops gradually as Iraqi forces are trained and equipped; is against a timetable for withdrawal
• Believes the US could be in Iraq many years but predicts that combat troops will be out by 2013
• Voted against investigation of contract awards in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Believes strategy in Iraq should involve limiting the influence of Iran, in addition to assuring freedom and stability in Iraq.

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Issue: Health Care
Why should we care about health care?  Because of the rising costs of health care; because there are millions of citizens with no health care insurance, resulting in less preventive medicine as well as more costly emergency room visits; because of the rising costs of prescription drugs; and because of serious health problems among Iraq war returnees.

• Would create a new national health plan allowing persons with no health care insurance to buy affordable (subsidized) insurance with guaranteed eligibility--mandatory only for children

• Advocates affordable premiums, comprehensive coverage, easy enrollment and simplified paperwork; would address disparities in access to health coverage

• Would keep federal health care promises to aging veterans

• Would work to increase the use of generic drugs

• Would allow U.S. citizens to buy prescription drugs outside the country if safe and less costly than in the U.S.

• Would promote preventive care and address management of chronic disease

• Advocates reform to prevent insurers from overcharging for malpractice insurance

• To reduce cost would increase use of information technology

• Would work for more choice in long-term care, not biased toward institutional care

• Supports greater funding for AIDS research and prevention;

• Supports requirement that employers who do not provide health coverage for employees pay into the national health insurance program 

• Would allow individuals below age 25 to be covered through their parents’ plan.

• Opposes federally mandated health care but would make state-administered insurance coverage available to low-income persons

• Would provide a variety of insurance choices; advocates walk-in clinics in retail outlets and community health centers to increase access to health care

• Would keep federal health care promises to aging veterans

• Advocates faster introduction of generic drugs

• Voted for allowing importation of prescription drugs from Canada

• Supports public health programs to reduce incidence of obesity and diabetes, with emphasis on prevention of chronic disease

• Advocates reform of medical malpractice insurance; advocates limits on malpractice settlements

• To reduce cost would increase use of information technology

• Favors tax-free medical savings accounts and health care dividends

• Advocates tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of health insurance coverage

• Would encourage small businesses to band together to negotiate lower rates with health care providers

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Issue: Immigration
Why should we care about immigration? There is the perceived loss of US jobs to immigrants, legal or illegal, who are willing to work for low wages; there is a need for immigrant labor in some farming operations; there is disagreement regarding granting eligibility for participation in Social Security and other social programs and concerning establishment of a pathway to legal residence and citizenship.

• Supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have improved border security and enforcement of existing laws and provided a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants

• Voted for allowing illegal aliens to participate in social programs including Social Security

• Would crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers but advocates a means for employers to verify employees' eligibility to work in U.S.

• Voted for establishment of a "guest worker" program

• Voted against making English the official language of the U.S. government

• Voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border

• Supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, not violate the law, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.

• Believes the legal limit on immigrants should be increased to keep families together and provide workers for jobs.

• Co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have improved border security and enforcement of existing laws and provided a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants

• Voted for allowing illegal aliens to participate in social programs including Social Security

• Voted for a "guest worker" program but would support only after the border is secure

• Voted for making English the official language of the U.S. government, but in 2007 was opposed to it

• Voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which authorized construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border

• Would use background checks to identify criminal aliens for prosecution and deportation, then ensure that the remaining undocumented immigrants  either leave or learn English, pay back taxes and fines, and pass a citizenship course as part of a path to legal status.

• Would implement an electronic employment verification system to ensure that individuals are efficiently screened for work eligibility; aggressively prosecute employers that continue to hire illegal immigrants

Sources and further information:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/ImmigrationFactSheet.pdf
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.immigration.html
http://www.ontheissues.org
http://www.procon.org/
http://www.issue2008.com/

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Issue: Education
Why should we care about education?  Dependence of the US on an educated citizenry; inadequate funding of education, resulting in cutbacks in early childhood education and after-school opportunities, as well as cutbacks at other levels of education; elimination of some subject matter areas from the curricula; loss of good teachers from the teaching profession; rising tuition, affecting ability to attend college.

• Advocates reform of No Child Left Behind – it is under-funded and has not been effective, though well intentioned

• Believes that increasing tuition is pricing the middle class out of higher education

• Supports charter schools

• Would support improved means of evaluating student progress

• Believes in incentives, including higher pay for teachers

• Favors increased support of high quality after-school learning opportunities

• Favors expansion of early childhood education by $10 billion per year

• Favors incorporation of service into middle and high school curricula and more service into college curricula

• Would use work study funds to pay students for public service rather than for campus jobs

• Believes that No Child Left Behind has been effective in improving public education.

• Agrees that increased tuition costs are pricing the middle class out of higher education

• Supports charter schools

• Supports vouchers for public or private schools

• Opposes nationally imposed standards

• Advocates expecting accountability of teachers and rewarding high performance

• Favors expanding Head Start programs so all children are ready to learn

• Has opposed funding for 21^st Century Learning Center after-school program

• Favors federal tax incentives for education costs

• Favors funding for online education

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Issue: The Environment
Why should we care about the environment?  Effect of climate change on the environment; increasing carbon emissions with expanding use of automobiles and other carbon-emitting equipment; current activity in building of new coal-fired power plants (20 under construction in the US); potential for intrusion into environmentally important areas in search for oil; effects of natural disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes and tornadoes.

• Advocates program to greatly reduce carbon emissions: 80% below 1990 levels by 2050

• Favors cap-and-trade system that would limit greenhouse emissions by allowing entities to buy and sell emission rights

• Supports a program such as the Kyoto Protocol; would work with other large energy-consuming nations in addressing climate change

• Promotes freedom from dependence on fossil fuels, development of clean energy, and  nuclear energy if clean and safe

• Would double federal science and research funding for clean energy projects; would invest $150 billion over 10 years to create Green jobs and clean energy economy

• Introduced legislation to reduce mercury and lead poisoning; voted for including gas and oil smoke-stacks in mercury regulations

• Would strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act

• Would fund greater energy efficiency throughout the economy

• Would reward forest owners, farmers and ranchers for planting trees and restoring grasslands, which captures carbon dioxide

• Advocates a program to strengthen emission controls: 60% below 1990 levels by 2050

• Favors cap-and-trade system that would limit greenhouse emissions by allowing entities to buy and sell emission rights

• Did not support the Kyoto Protocol but now recognizes global warming as a serious problem

• Would promote preservation of natural resources, use of alternative energy sources and nuclear energy

• Introduced Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007 to significantly reduce the nation's greenhouse gases, through trading markets and advanced technologies

• Voted for including gas and oil smokestacks in mercury regulations

• Would strengthen enforcement of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act

• Would preserve and expand national parks and wilderness areas

Sources and further information:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.environment.html
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/EnvironmentFactSheet.pdf
http://www.ontheissues.org/Environment.htm#Headlines
http://www.procon.org/
http://www.issue2008.com/

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Issue: Energy
Why should we care about energy? U.S. excessive use of energy, with consequent negative effects on the environment; U.S. dependence on foreign oil because of depletion of fossil fuel reserves; increased use of available world energy sources in developing countries; U.S. overdependence on corn as a source of ethanol for fuel, resulting in increased costs of corn for food use.

• Would mandate flex-fuel capable cars as well as $7,000 tax credit for fuel efficient car purchases by 2015

• Favors expanded ethanol production

• Supports windfall profit tax on oil companies to provide $1,000 rebate to families

• Supports further exploration of nuclear power if clean & safe

• Advocates further exploration of fuel from renewable resources

• Supports creation of energy efficiency green jobs

• Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade system

• Would invest $150 billion over 10 years in clean energy

• Proposes increasing fuel economy standards and would require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources by 2025

• Would create a Global Energy Forum and re-engage with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• Would provide $5,000 tax incentive for zero carbon emission car purchases

• Favors ethanol production

• Opposes windfall profit tax on oil companies

• Does not support drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge but favors offshore drilling

• Supports investment in nuclear power providing for safe storage of spent fuel

• Believes oil profits should be invested in nuclear energy

• Advocates further development and use of alternative fuels

• Believes in government mandated increases in fuel efficiency

• Co-sponsored a bill limiting greenhouse gas emissions through use of cap-and-trade system

• Would initiate the Lexington Project, a plan to eliminate U.S. dependence on foreign oil

• Believes in promoting use of domestic natural gas

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Issue: Social Security and Medicare
Why should we care about Social Security and Medicare? Increasing numbers of retirees becoming eligible for Social Security and potential for insolvency if steps not taken to reform the system; refusal of some physicians to take Medicare patients because of the unsatisfactory payment system; increasing costs of prescriptions and failure of the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices.

• Recognizes the need for action to prevent Social Security’s becoming insolvent

• Is strongly opposed to privatization of Social Security; opposes allowing workers to apply some of their payroll taxes into personal investment accounts

• Supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security payroll tax

• Favors increasing Social Security tax on incomes over $250,000

• Opposes raising retirement age

• Opposes use of the Social Security trust fund for “emergency” spending

• Would allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices for the Medicare program

• Would require companies to provide seniors with the information needed to easily evaluate Medicare prescription plans

• Supports closing the “doughnut hole” (drug coverage gap) in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program

• Recognizes the need for action to prevent Social Security’s becoming insolvent

• Supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal savings accounts that workers manage themselves

• Willing to raise the income cap on the Social Security payroll tax

• Prefers slowing the growth in benefits to raising taxes

• Opposes use of the Social Security trust fund for “emergency” spending

• Would promote competition to lower drug prices

• Favors reform of the Medicare payment system to providers of prevention, diagnosis and care

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Issue: Taxes
Why should we care about taxes?  An overly complex tax system; tax loopholes for corporations, as well as other special-interest groups and individuals; tax shelter abuse; imbalance between taxes of the wealthy and taxes of lower and middle class families

• Advocates simplification of the tax system and eliminating special interest loopholes

• Advocates tax relief for middle class workers and low income families

• Advocates repeal of the Bush administration tax cuts for the wealthy and increase taxes for incomes over $250,000 per couple

• Supports the estate tax

• Voted against repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax

• Voted for repealing the capital gains cut to provide additional military funding

• Voted against extending the Bush administration tax cuts through 2010

• Advocates tax relief for small businesses and incentives for companies to create jobs in the U.S.

• Advocates elimination of taxes for seniors making less than $50,000/year

• Supports eliminating marriage penalty and favors allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50% credit for child care

• Supports tax credits to lower the cost of health care

• Supports re-examining tax benefits for the top one percent of earners

• Favors a tax credit that would subsidize higher education costs for most American students

• Advocates simplification of the tax system and eliminating special interest loopholes

• Advocates lowering of taxes for middle class families

• Opposed the Bush administration tax cuts but now believes they must be extended; objects to removal of tax breaks  for the wealthy

• Voted for permanently repealing the estate tax

• Advocates repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax

• Voted against repealing the capital gains cut to provide additional military funding

• Voted against the 2003 Bush tax cut law but later voted in extending the  tax cuts through 2010

• Advocates removing the charitable deduction

• Advocates reduction of corporate tax rates from 35% to 25

• Favors doubling of the personal exemption for dependents

• Supports an increase in the medical expense deduction

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Issue: Women's Issues/Equal Rights
Why should we care about equal rights?  Discrepancy between payments to working men and women in comparable jobs; discrimination against female business owners by lenders; discrimination against minority groups in education, politics, religion; problems of physically handicapped persons' ability to gain access to public buildings because of building age or design

• Voted for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

• Supports preserving reproductive rights under Roe v. Wade.

• Opposes same sex marriage, however, opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; believes that legislation on the issue is a matter for the states.

• Supports a comprehensive approach to sex education that emphasizes abstinence but includes age-appropriate education on contraception.

• Supports revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act that would more clearly define disability and expand protection of the disabled from discrimination.

• Co-sponsored and helped reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

• Favors encouraging employers to offer flex-time scheduling and paid leave for family emergencies.

Senator McCain

• Opposed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

• Believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, leaving the issue to states

• Believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, however, opposed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; believes that legislation on the matter is a matter for the states

• Supports abstinence only position on sex education

• Cosponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act; supports revisions to the act that would more clearly define disability and expand protection of the disabled from discrimination.

• Favors encouraging employers to offer flex-time scheduling and unpaid leave for family emergencies.

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