Housing

1.  What is the underlying issue?  Why have we never been able, as a Nation, to figure out how to assure decent and affordable housing to tens of millions of Americans and why is the situation getting worse both at the homelessness tip and for the average family?

 Home ownership has long been an important indicator of financial well-being and the stability of neighborhoods. But it's also about pride. If you have the means to take ownership in your community, you have the motivation to give something back.

Our country saw improvements in a wide variety of indicators in the 1990s.  Under the Clinton economic plan, which I was pleased to lead the fight in Congress to enact, Hispanic home ownership increased to the highest levels in history.  Prosperity extended its reach but that has been eroded under the failed Bush economic plan, which has only widened the gap between the wealthy, and the middle-and lower-income families.  Fundamentally, we need a new president with an economic plan that will provide economic opportunities that have been denied for too many and thats why my bold economic plan, including universal health care, plans to create jobs and boost wages, and provide tuition assistance will truly make the tide rise for all boats.

The housing crisis is also one of community development. Since coming to Congress, I have worked hard to address the need to revitalize communities and provide families with quality, affordable housing.  However, I also realize that in order to reach that goal, initiatives are necessary to promote progressive housing policies that not only help families attain housing, but also provide a catalyst for community revitalization.

2.   As President, what programs or initiatives will you promote at the national level to complement efforts such as these that we are doing locally?

I would continue to build upon my twenty-six year record as one of the strongest leaders on affordable housing and community revitalization in the Congress.

First, I will establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States. This will provide funding for the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of safe and affordable housing for low-income families.  I have consistently supported legislation to implement such a fund.  I will also create a Single Family Home Ownership Tax Credit, which will help promote home ownership in our disadvantaged communities.

I firmly believe we must provide incentives to promote reinvestment in our older homes.   These residences are rich in history; unfortunately, many of them are located in dilapidated communities.  For many years, I have worked with my colleagues in Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that would create a 20% tax credit for homeowners who rehabilitate or buy a qualified historic house.  The plan would offer a maximum credit of $40,000 for a principal residence.  This would be another incentive for first time homebuyers to make an investment in their first home, while taking part in community revitalization and growth. 

I'll also increase federal oversight of financial institutions, by examining interest rates and the other costs associated with loans, as well as the fairness of their distribution. And to help potential victims avoid predatory lending, I'll increase funding for housing counseling programs. No one should ever feel that his or her money isn't as good as anyone else's, or is less protected than anyone else's. Consumer confidence is important, no matter what your skin color. It's time George Bush learned this lesson.

3.  For nearly a decade, there have been no real expenditure increases in programs for low income and homeless people/families (Section 8 and Public Housing and the McKinney Program).    What existing or new programs or initiatives do you feel are particularly vital to altering this situation and what would you do to promote them? 

As President, I will propose and encourage Congress to provide sufficient funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development so it may continue to provide the means necessary to encourage the goal of quality, affordable housing.  As Democratic Leader in the House, I consistently opposed Republican efforts to cut funding for HUD programs like Section 8, as well as fair housing programs that enforce anti-discrimination laws.  I also worked to support funding for housing counseling programs to assist low income, first-time home buyers to navigate the mortgage process.

I will propose to increase the funding level for HUD's Housing Counseling Program to $100 million annually to increase the availability of housing counseling for potential victims of predatory lending. I will also continue a close working relationship with HUD authorities at the federal, state, and local levels to identify ways HUD can continue to help communities and families.

Healthcare

1. Why are we, as a nation, unable to establish a system of health care that assures decent, affordable health care to all? 

For generations, our country has slowly worked to bridge the gaps. Medicare. Medicaid. The SCHIP program for low-income children.  Democrats won all those fights, and as Democratic Leader, I was proud to lead the fight for these programs.

But the most difficult challenge has remained unsolved achieving universal access to quality health coverage for everyone in America.

I remember well the obstacles we faced in trying to pass the 1994 Clinton health care plan, and all of us learned important lessons.  A health care plan dependent upon a vast bureaucracy cannot be passed. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot be negotiated. And a plan that diminishes the decision-making power of doctors and patients will not be tolerated.  

           
No member of Congress fought harder for universal health care in 1994. To me, 1994 was not a signal to retreat, but a call to arms.  As Ive said during this campaign, universal health care is truly the moral issue of our time.

We can achieve national, universal health care through the present system, and we should not aim for less.  There is great peril in passing a plan that patches holes in our system but creates more holes in the long-term.  That is why my plan will cover every American those who dont have health insurance today, and those who do. We need to cover the uninsured, but we also must address the fact that too many people are worried that they could lose the health care they have.  Instead of simply focusing on what to do when that happens, we need a health care policy that stops it from happening.  My plan will do that.

2.  What do you propose?  If you felt that we must move in increments, what are the critical increments that you see?  If you feel that, at long last, we can move more comprehensively on this issue, how do you see that happening politically and with what type of plan?

I have proposed a bold, ambitious plan to provide universal health coverage for the 44 million Americans without health insurance. My health care plan requires every employer in the country to provide health insurance to all their employees and provides tax credit to help every employer do so.  I include not only private employees, but also public employees, by reimbursing state and local governments for 60% of employee health insurance costs.

This will result in guaranteed, affordable health insurance for everyone who works and will also solve one of the top concerns of small businesses, state governments, and other employers alike:  the skyrocketing costs of providing health care for their employees.

For those who do not work, my plan will expand existing public programs. It will allow individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy-in to Medicare.  For the unemployed, I will provide a 65% federal subsidy for COBRA coverage. Finally, by extending Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid coverage to uninsured parents, along with enrolling more eligible children, we will truly prevent people from falling through the cracks.
 
I pay for my plan completely by repealing the failed Bush tax cuts.  An independent study shows that under my plan, lower health care costs and a burgeoning economy will provide $2,000 to $3,000 in increased benefits and income to an average, middle-class family compared to the $700 or $800 that same family now gets from the Bush tax cuts.

EMPLOYMENT

1.  How do you explain the reduction in good (living wage-decent benefits) jobs over the past 25 years?

I grew up in a blue-collar family that valued a hard days work. My dad was a milk truck driver and a Teamster. My mother was a secretary. Neither finished high school, but they worked hard and provided for us.  Ive spent my entire life fighting for people like my parents.  The fight for working families is in my bones.

In the Bush economy, weve lost 3 million jobs in 2 ½ years, because George Bush has only one idea:  tax cuts for the wealthy. This is shifting the tax burden and increasing the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Of those 3 million jobs lost, 2.5 million are manufacturing jobs.  In New Hampshire, one in five manufacturing jobs has disappeared under Bush. These jobs have gone overseas as corporations engage in a race to the bottom, scouring the world for the cheapest labor.
 
I have always fought trade deals that I thought would hurt American workers.  I led the fight against NAFTA and the China trade bill.  The results of these misguided agreements are unmistakable:  First we lost jobs to Mexico; now Mexico is losing jobs to China.  And now, the problem is extending beyond manufacturing. Technology jobs are going overseas as companies move operations to countries with no labor standards, where they are free to pollute the environment.

As president, I will stop this race to the bottom.  I have proposed an international, variable minimum wage - different for every country, but always ensuring a basic standard  and I will take my case to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Only when we stop this race to the bottom can we stop the erosion of well-paying U.S. jobs.
 

2.  What national domestic policies and international trade and development policies do you support that will expand decent jobs here and abroad and that will protect workers or allow them to organize safely to protect themselves?

Every plan I have proposed in this campaign is designed with one overarching goal:  to get the economy moving.  As president, I will repeal the Bush tax cuts, and instead provide health care for every American.

Ill reform our pension system so that no matter how often you change jobs, youll have a single pension when you retire. Workers should have mobility in our ever-changing economy without losing the guarantee of a secure retirement.

My Apollo 21 Energy plan will create jobs, while making America independent of Persian Gulf oil.  With a national investment, we can harness the technology of hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid vehicles, wind, solar and other renewable energy. I will make America energy independent in 10 years, and create two million jobs.

As President, I will stick by my guiding principle that trade agreements must be a force for progress here and abroad, and must include labor and environmental protections. Ill go to the WTO to work for an international, variable minimum wage, to ensure that every worker has a decent standard of living.

Ill also invest in the future by investing in education, starting with a Teacher Corps modeled on the Armys ROTC program, to pay the college loans of young graduates willing to teach in underserved areas.  Ill make the first $10,000 of college tuition tax deductible as well.

For an immediate impact on wages and jobs, Ill raise the minimum wage, accelerate the Highway Trust Fund and give US manufacturers a boost by repealing the current tax breaks for exporters - and replace them with a tax benefit for all US manufacturers who keep jobs here.

Finally, Ill continue my strong support of a workers right to bargain collectively, freely associate, and strike.  Ill work to enact card-check recognition, first-contract arbitration, and triple-back pay to even the playing field for workers looking to form a union.

3.  In what specific ways would you as President support efforts by groups such as GSOP to secure and retain local jobs that pay decent wages and help us to retain key, local enterprises in order to stabilize our communities?

I was able to go to college in part because of a church scholarship, so I know the profound impact community organizations can make in ones life.   I am a strong supporter of community organizations, and I share your commitment to helping workers gain better benefits.  My agenda reflects the need to help workers, while strengthening communities.  My health care plan requires every employer to offer health insurance to their workers, full-time or part-time - but also gives them resources to do it.  This is good not only for workers, but for small businesses.

As president, I will work to immediately raise the minimum wage by $1.50 an hour, and tie the increase to inflation.  Our goal must be to have a living wage that allows a full-time worker to provide for a family.

In addition, I have authored an earned legalization plan that would allow hard-working, tax paying immigrants who have played by the rules, lived in the U.S. for at least five years, and passed a background check to become legal residents. This is the right thing to do, and will stop the exploitation of these workers.

Finally, I will stop President Bushs assault on the right of workers to form collective bargaining units.  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is the most significant mechanism against businesses that attempt to block workers from forming collective bargaining units, and the Bush Administration is denying the NLRB the funds to vigorously pursue violations.  I will give the NLRB the funding necessary to do the job, and strengthen NLRB and OSHA.

Education

1.  Why are so many young people dropping out, failing, or unable to find decent work after graduating?

At the beginning of the 21st century, America is facing a crisis of family a quiet crisis, but one with profound implications for our children and our future.  The crisis has its roots in the daily struggle to balance the demands of earning a living and raising a child, at a time most parents have to work outside the home, at a point when schools and other community networks are stretched to the breaking point. This is the time when the federal government should be investing in our children.

The current Administration is not meeting its commitment to our children; in fact, it is failing our children in too many instances.  Instead of fully funding special education and strengthening public schools, Republicans offer a choice between vouchers and unfunded mandates.  Thats no choice.   The Administration is also attempting to roll back programs I fought for to help at-risk kids.  The Presidents 2004 budget decimated the COPS programwhich gets police into community centers, schools and neighborhoodsand cut funding for the 21st Century Learning Centers after school program by $400 million or 40 percent. 

Providing for children is the best investment a society can make, and you have my promise that Ill do exactly that as president.

2.  What do you see as the Federal role in primary and secondary education, what do you think about the No Child Left Behind Act, and what are key education initiatives that you would pursue as President? 

I benefited from great public schools and public school teachers growing up in St. Louis.  Every child, no matter where they attend public school in this country, should have the same opportunities to learn and succeed. 

The federal government must fulfill its promises to school districts.   We must fully fund the No Child Left Behind Act.  When I was Democratic Leader, we made a commitment to improve public education, and the President agreed.   Bush broke that promise.   I intend to restore it.  I will give Congress a budget that requested full funding of the education initiatives contained in the No Child Left Behind Act.   I also intend to fully fund special education at the 40 percent level that has been long-promised, but never fulfilled.  

The federal government has played an important role in targeting funds to the neediest children and schools.  I will focus on programs like Title I that form the core of equity in schools across the country.  I will continue my support for initiatives to modernize and construct new schools. 

I will create a Teacher Corps, modeled after ROTC, which would pay the college loans of students who agree to teach for five years.  Financial factors should not be a barrier to a young person becoming a teacher. 

I will restore and expand the 100,000 teachers program to reduce class size and the 21st Century Learning Centers after school program, two programs I worked with President Clinton to create and I firmly believe in.

GRASSROOTS

1.  Is there a place of influence for organizations such as GSOP in the modern power systems of our nation and the world?  If so, what is that place?

The power of grassroots movements to bring issues onto the national agenda is undeniable.  Grassroots movements led to the South African boycott that provoked an end to apartheid.  Activism in our country was responsible for first drawing attention to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and providing the necessary treatment and research funding.  Ive been proud to walk beside farmers protesting a failed farm policy; Ive been proud to walk beside workers protesting against failed trade agreements that dont protect jobs, the environment or raise standards-of-living.  And, Ive been proud to be a leader in a Democratic party where the core strength comes from its base and from its grassroots.  
2.  What would you do as President to promote the expansion of this sort of organization and of its concerns for deep democracy and for reducing the power of the elites?
 
It's easy in our political system to protect the powerful special interests, who can afford six-figure lobbyists to speak for them. It's hard to speak for those who have no voice in the halls of power: the working families that are the soul and strength of our country.  I will speak for working families throughout this campaign and as president.  I led the fight along with Senator John McCain for campaign finance reform, to take big money out of politics.  Despite strong oppositionthe Republicans blocked it three previous yearswe kept fighting because it was the right thing to do, and we fought until we won.
But, there is much work left to do.  Now, we must take on a task that matches campaign finance reform in difficulty and importance. We must repair a corporate tax code broken by special interest lobbyists. That's why I have re-introduced a bill that Senator McCain and I introduced in 2002, the Corporate Subsidy Reform Commission Act, a bill aimed at curbing the dependence of large corporations on special tax breaks and loopholes.
We must eliminate special interest tax breaks that benefit the few, at the expense of the many. We must put corporate welfare under the microscope, cut these loopholes and return that money to working families.

3.  If you become President, will you promise in the first 90 days of your administration to convene a summit of leaders of GSOP and similar grassroots organizations nationally to explore how such groups might play expanded roles in addressing the serious socio-economic issues that face our communities, our nation, and our world?

My campaign is reaching out to groups such as GSOP to hear your ideas and share my own ideas.   I will continue to do so as President.