Hillary Clinton
Tax Reform
- Raise the minimum wage and figure out how to make the tax system a fairer one. Right now, the wealthy pay too little and the middle class pays too much. (DD1)[1]
- Income Tax: Rates on Ordinary Income -- Adds a 4% surtax on income over $5 million.[2]
- Income Tax: Itemized Deductions -- Caps the tax benefit of itemized deductions at 28% of the deduction.[3]
- Income Tax: Credits -- Makes the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent.[4]
- Income Tax: Alternative Minimum Tax -- Creates a new minimum 30 percent rate on individuals earning over $1 million.[5]
- Income Tax: Rates on Capital Gains and Dividends -- Adds a 4% surtax on income over $5 million. Raises rates on medium-term capital gains (investments held for less than six years) to between 24% and 39.6%.[6]
- Corporate Income Tax: International Income -- Strengthens rules preventing inversions. Imposes an "exit tax" on unrepatriated earnings of U.S. firms going through inversions.[7]
- Estate Tax -- Increases the top estate tax rate to 45%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.[8]
- Other Taxes -- Establishes business tax credits for profit-sharing and apprenticeships. Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates. Establishes a tax on high-frequency financial transactions.[9]
Health Policy
- Affordable health care is a basic human right. [10]
In 1979, Hillary chaired the Arkansas Rural Health Advisory Committee, which focused on expanding health care access to isolated rural areas of the state.[11]
As first lady, she worked with Republicans and Democrats to help create the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which now provides health coverage to more than 8 million children.[12]
As senator, she introduced legislation to reduce the cost of health insurance expenses.[13]
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hillary pushed the Bush administration for $20 billion for recovery and to address health care needs of first responders who suffered lasting health effects from their time at Ground Zero.[14]
- Going forward, Hillary will build on these efforts and fight to ensure that the savings from these reforms benefits families.[15]
Defend the Affordable Care Act. She'll build on it to expand affordable coverage, slow the growth of overall healthcare costs (including prescription drugs), and make it possible for providers to deliver the very best care to patients.[16]
Lower out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. [17]
Reduce the cost of prescription drugs. [18]
Transform our healthcare system to reward value and quality. Hillary is committed to building on delivery system reforms in the Affordable Care Act that improve value and quality care for Americans.[19]
- Hillary will also work to expand access to rural Americans, who often have difficulty finding quality, affordable health care. She will explore cost-effective ways to broaden the scope of health care providers eligible for telehealth reimbursement under Medicare and other programs, including federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. She will also call for states to support efforts to streamline licensing for telemedicine and examine ways to expand the types of services that qualify for reimbursement.[20]
Hillary is continuing a lifelong fight to ensure women have access to reproductive health care. As senator, she championed access to emergency contraception and voted in favor of strengthening a woman’s right to make her own health decisions. As president, she will continue defending Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health services including breast exams and cancer screenings to 2.7 million women a year.[21]
Drug Policy
- Stop imprisoning marijuana users
She has not taken a position about legalizing recreational marijuana. She supports the use of medical marijuana. She believes that we have got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana. She urges more states, cities, and the federal government to begin to address this so that we don't have this terrible result of a huge population in our prisons for nonviolent, low-level offenses that are primarily due to marijuana. (DD1)[22]
Middle East
- No-fly zone in Syria, but no American troops on the ground
We don't want American troops on the ground in Syria. We had to put together a coalition, and that it should include Arabs, people in the region. We are already flying in Syria just as we are flying in Iraq. I have advocated that the no-fly zone--which of course would be in a coalition--be put on the table, to figure out what leverage we have to get Russia to the table. Diplomacy is not about the perfect solution; it's about how you balance the risks. (DD1) [23]
(Not helping Free Syrian Army left vacuum for ISIS to fill
The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad---there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle---the failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled.
Source: Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic , Aug 10, 2014 [24] )
Trade
Immigration
Environmental
Entrepreneurship Innovation
Economy
- New College Compact: tax cut of $2,500 per student, lower interest rates on student loans (HCWE)
- 15% tax cuts on businesses that share profits with their employees (HCWE)
- increase funding for research and infrastructure (HCWE)
- raising the minimum wage up to $15 and expansion of overtime rules (ABOUT)
- cutting the red tape that prevents people from starting businesses (HCWE)
- expanding access to capital (HCWE)
- closing tax loopholes (HCWE)
- increase access to education by providing access to "quality preschools" to all Americans over the next 10 years (HCWE)
- reform executive compensation to favor long term value over short term growth (HCWE)
- raise short term capital growth taxes for people earning more than $400,000 a year (ABOUT)
- tax cuts to the middle class and small businesses (HCWE)
- paid family leave (HCWE)
- Investments held between one and two years would be taxed at the maximum income-tax rate of 39.6%. Assets held for longer would be taxed on a sliding scale, such as 36% for those held 2-3 years, 32% for those held three to four years, and 20% (the current rate) for those held for six years or more. (FOX Business)
Alzheimer's Disease
- invest $2 Billion per year in Alzheimer's research (HCWAD)
- increase reliability of funding until 2025 (HCWAD)
- establish action plans with researchers and experts (HCWAD)
- Medicare coverage for treatment plans and documentation (HCWAD)
- reauthorization of the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program (HCWAD)
- get the Social Security Administration to raise awareness about benefits covered by Medicare (HCWAD)
Campaign Finance Reform
- Overturn Citizens United (HCCFR)
- require outside groups to publicly disclose political spending (HCCFR)
- establish small-donor matching system (HCCFR)
Campus Sexual Assault
“I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault: Don’t let anyone silence your voice. You have the right to be heard. You have the right to be believed, and we’re with you.” (HCCSA)
- comprehensive support to survivors at every campus
- transparency about campus disciplinary procedures and filing complaints in the criminal justice system (HCCSA)
- enact sexual violence prevention educational programs in campuses and secondary schools
