Hillary Clinton
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Hillary Clinton was born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, going on to earn her law degree from Yale University. She married fellow law school graduate Bill Clinton in 1975. She later served as first lady from 1993 to 2001, and then as a U.S. senator from 2001 to 2009. In early 2007, Clinton announced her plans to run for the presidency. During the 2008 Democratic primaries, she conceded the nomination when it became apparent that Barack Obama held a majority of the delegate vote. After winning the national election, Obama appointed Clinton secretary of state. She was sworn in as part of his cabinet in January 2009 and served until 2013. In the spring of 2015, she announced her plans to again run for the U.S. presidency.
Tax Reform
Clinton's Tax Reform (section page):
- 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)
- Income Tax: Rates on Ordinary Income -- Adds a 4% surtax on income over $5 million.(TF)
- Income Tax: Itemized Deductions -- Caps the tax benefit of itemized deductions at 28% of the deduction.(TF)
- Income Tax: Credits -- Makes the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent.(TF)
- Income Tax: Alternative Minimum Tax -- Creates a new minimum 30 percent rate on individuals earning over $1 million.(TF)
- 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%.(TF)
- Corporate Income Tax: International Income -- Strengthens rules preventing inversions. Imposes an "exit tax" on unrepatriated earnings of U.S. firms going through inversions.(TF)
- Estate Tax -- Increases the top estate tax rate to 45%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.(TF)
- 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.(TF)
Health Policy
Clinton's Health Policy (section page):
- Affordable health care is a basic human right. (HC)
- In 1979, Hillary chaired the Arkansas Rural Health Advisory Committee, which focused on expanding health care access to isolated rural areas of the state.(HC)
- 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.(HC)
- As senator, she introduced legislation to reduce the cost of health insurance expenses.(HC)
- 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.(HC)
- Going forward, Hillary will build on these efforts and fight to ensure that the savings from these reforms benefits families.(HC)
- 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.(HC)
- Lower out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. (HC)
- Reduce the cost of prescription drugs. (HC)
- 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.(HC)
- 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.(HC)
- 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.(HC)
Drug Policy
Clinton's Drug Policy (section page):
- 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)
Middle East
Clinton's Middle East (section page):
- No-fly zone in Syria, but no American troops on the ground (OTI)
- 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. (OTI)
- 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) (OTI)
- Not helping Free Syrian Army left vacuum for ISIS to fill (OTI)
- 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 ) (OTI)
Trade
- Chief advocate for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
- Clinton supported deals with Oman, Chile and Singapore during her tenure in the Senate. As secretary of State, she was a chief advocate as talks commenced surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the largest worldwide deals in recent history.
- TPP agreement creates more growth and better growth. (Source: Megan R. Wilson in TheHill.com weblog, "Clinton vs. Warren" , Aug 24, 2014) [1]
- Global trading system isn't up to standards of fairness
- The current global trading system is distorted not only by barriers to entry in developing and emerging economies, but by the power of special interests in developed countries, including the US. To make trade fairer as well as freer, developing countries have to do a better job of improving productivity, raising labor conditions, and protecting the environment. In the US, we have to do a better job of providing good jobs to those displaced by trade. (Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, p.513 , Jun 10, 2014) [2]
- China benefits from WTO and should play by WTO rules (Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, p.513 , Jun 10, 2014) [3]
Immigration
- Hillary has shown longstanding, steadfast commitment to America’s immigrants throughout her career. As president, she will work to ensure a fair and just immigration system.[4]
- As president, Hillary will:
- Fight for comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a path to full and equal citizenship. [5]
- Defend President Obama’s DACA and DAPA executive actions. [6]
- Do everything possible under the law to go further to protect families. If Congress continues its refusal to act on comprehensive immigration reform, Hillary will put in place a simple, straightforward, accessible system for parents of DREAMers and others with a history of service and contribution to their communities to be able to make their case and be eligible for deferred action as well. [7]
- Conduct humane, targeted immigration enforcement. Hillary will focus enforcement resources on detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety, and work to ensure refugees who seek asylum in the U.S. have a fair chance to tell their stories. [8]
- End family detention. Hillary believes we should end family detention for parents and children who arrive at our border in desperate situations. We have alternatives to detention for those who pose no flight or public safety risk, such as supervised release, that have proved effective and cost a fraction of what it takes to keep families in detention. [9]
- Close private immigrant detention centers. Hillary will end private immigrant detention centers. She believes we should move away from contracting out this critical government function to private corporations and private industry incentives that may contribute—or have the appearance of contributing—to over-incarceration. [10]
- Expand access to affordable healthcare to all families. Hillary sponsored the Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act in the Senate, which later became law and allows immigrant children and pregnant women to obtain Medicaid and SCHIP. [11]
- Promote naturalization. [12]
Environmental
- "I do believe that the green-collar job piece of [the economic stimulus package] is important. That’s why I have $5 billion to do it." (DD 2008) [13]
Entrepreneurship Innovation
- Hillary Clinton will be the small business president. [14]
- Here’s how Hillary will make it easier to start and grow a small business in America:
- Providing tax relief. Hillary will simplify tax filing and provide targeted tax relief for small businesses. [15]
- Improving access to capital. Hillary will leverage the best ideas from the private sector and government to give small-business owners access to financing to build, grow, and hire. And she will do that in part by easing burdens on community banks that provide credit to small-business owners and families looking to invest in their futures. [16]
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
Climate Change
“You don’t have to be a scientist to take on this urgent challenge that threatens us all. You just have to be willing to act.” (HCWCC)
- "Goal: Have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of Hillary's first term." (HCWCC)
- "Goal: Generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years of Hillary taking office." (HCWCC)
- reenact the Clean Power Plan (HCCCFC)
- propose a Clean Energy Challenge, which includes a Climate Action Competition, Solar-X Prize, improving the power grid, expansion of the Rural Utilities Service, (HCCCFC)
- reduce barriers to low income individuals switching to renewable energy providers, increase tax incentives, increase use of renewable energy at federal and public buildings, invest in research and development (HCCCFC)
- "modernize infrastructure" and "energy and climate security" (HCCCFC)
Criminal Justice System
Hillary believes our criminal justice system is out of balance. In her first major speech of the campaign, she said we have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America and called for an end to the “era of mass incarceration.” [17]
“Black lives matter. Everyone in this country should stand firmly behind that. ... Since this campaign started, I've been talking about the work we must do to address the systemic inequities that persist in education, in economic opportunity, in our justice system. But we have to do more than talk—we have to take action.”[18]
