Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton

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

Clinton's Trade (section page):

Trade Agreements

• 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. (OTI)
  • TPP agreement creates more growth and better growth. (Source: Megan R. Wilson in TheHill.com weblog, "Clinton vs. Warren" , Aug 24, 2014) (OTI)

• 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." (OTI)

• China benefits from WTO and should play by WTO rules (Source: Hard Choices, by Hillary Clinton, p.513 , Jun 10, 2014) (OTI)
  • "We should focus on ending currency manipulation, environmental destruction and miserable working conditions [in China]. I acknowledge the challenge of lifting millions of people out of poverty. China argued this outweighed any obligation to play by established rules. I countered that China and other emerging economies had benefited greatly from the system the US had helped create, including their membership in the World Trade Organization, and now they needed to take their share of responsibility." (OTI)

• "The Greek crisis as well as the Chinese stock market have reminded us that growth here at home and growth an ocean away are linked in a common global economy. Trade has been a major driver of the economy over recent decades, but it has also contributed to hollowing out our manufacturing base and many hard-working communities. So we do need to set a high bar for trade agreements. We should support them if they create jobs, raise wages, and advance our national security. And we should be prepared to walk away if they don't." (The International Economy)

"TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements" - Hillary Clinton 2012 (PF) "It was just finally negotiated last week, and in looking at it, it didn't meet my standards." Hillary Clinton 2015 (PF)

Immigration

Clinton's Immigration (section page):

• 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.(HC)

• As president, Hillary will:
  • Fight for comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a path to full and equal citizenship. (HC)
  • Defend President Obama’s DACA and DAPA executive actions. (HC)
  • 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. (HC)
  • 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. (HC)
    • 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. (HC)
    • 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. (HC)
  • 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. (HC)
  • Promote naturalization. (HC)

"I will stand up against any effort to deport dreamers. Immigrants are vital to our economy." (kens5)

Environmental

Clinton's Environmental (section page):

• "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)

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Clinton's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (section page)

Hillary's four ways to jump start small business: http://www.inc.com/hillary-clinton/four-ways-to-jump-start-small-business.html

1. Cut the red tape
2. Expand access to capital
3. Tax relief
4. Expand access to new markets

"I want to be a small-business president, a president who does make it easier to start and run a small business in this country, so it seems less like a gamble and more like an opportunity. We have to level the playing field for our small businesses," Clinton said. [CNBC]

Support of Small Business

• Cut red tape in process to start businesses (HCW - SB)
• Provide tax relief and simplify tax filing (HCW - SB)
• Encourage tapping of new markets (HCW - SB)
  • Use innovative new platforms so companies can sell anywhere in America and the world (e.g. Amazon and Ebay)
• Improve access to capital by easing burdens on community banks (HCW - SB)
  • Easing burdens on community banks that provide credit to small-business owners and families looking to invest in their futures—without compromising protections for consumers or introducing new risks into the financial system

Technology

• "One of the best ways to drive jobs and improve our nation’s competitiveness is to invest in infrastructure and scientific research." (HCW-AI)
• "I understood that new technologies would reshape how we practiced diplomacy and development. We discussed how these tools were value-neutral. We had to act responsibly to maximize technology's benefits while minimizing the risks. Technology was opening up new avenues to solve problems and promote America's interests and values. We would focus on helping civil society across the world harness mobile technology and social media to hold governments accountable, document abuses, and empower marginalized groups, including women and young people." (OTI-HCT)

Quotes

• “We have to do the best possible job of sharing intelligence and information. That now includes the internet, because we have seen that ISIS is a very effective recruiter, propagandist and inciter and celebrator of violence. That means we have to work more closely with our great tech companies. They can't see the government as an adversary, we can't see them as obstructionists. We've got to figure out how we can do more to understand who is saying what and what they're planning.” (DD3)
• “I would hope that, given the extraordinary capacities that the tech community has and the legitimate needs and questions from law enforcement, that there could be a Manhattan-like project, something that would bring the government and the tech communities together to see they're not adversaries, they've got to be partners.” (DD3)

Jobs and Business Policy

Clinton's Jobs and Business Policy (section page)

Hillary believes the defining economic challenge of our time is raising incomes for hardworking Americans. Hillary understands that in order to raise incomes, we need strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth (HC)

• Strong growth
  • Hillary will invest in infrastructure, clean energy, and scientific and medical research to create jobs and strengthen our economy. And she’ll provide tax relief to working families and small businesses. (HC)
  • Provide tax relief for families. (HC)
  • Unleash small business growth. She’s put forward a small-business agenda to expand access to capital, provide tax relief, cut red tape, and help small businesses bring their goods to new markets. (HC)
  • Create a New College Compact. Hillary’s New College Compact will invest $350 billion so that students do not have to borrow to pay tuition at a public college in their state. Her plan will also significantly cut interest rates on student loans and enable an estimated 25 million Americans with student debt to refinance at today’s lower rates, saving the typical borrower $2,000 over the life of their loans. (HC)
  • Boost public investment in infrastructure and scientific research. Hillary has called for a national infrastructure bank that would leverage public and private funds to invest in projects across the country. She will call for reform that closes corporate tax loopholes and drives investment here, in the U.S. And she would increase funding for scientific research at agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. (HC)
  • Lift up participation in the workforce—especially for women. Issues like equal pay, paid leave, and affordable child care are crucial to lifting incomes for working families. (HC)

• Fair growth
  • Ensure more workers share in near-record corporate profits. Corporate profits are near record highs—but workers have not shared through rising wages. Profit sharing is linked to higher pay, benefits, and productivity. That’s why Hillary’s plan creates a 15 percent tax credit for companies that share profits with workers on top of wages and pay increases. (HC)
  • Raising the minimum wage and strengthening overtime rules. Hillary has supported raising the federal minimum wage to $12, and believes that we should go further than the federal minimum through state and local efforts, and workers organizing and bargaining for higher wages, such as the Fight for 15 and recent efforts in Los Angeles and New York to raise their minimum wage to $15. She also supports the Obama administration’s expansion of overtime rules to millions more workers. (HC)
  • Reform our tax code so the wealthiest pay their fair share. Hillary supports ending the “carried interest” loophole, enacting the “Buffett Rule” that ensures no millionaire pays a lower effective tax rate than their secretary, and closing tax loopholes and expenditures that benefit the wealthiest taxpayers to pay for her plan to make college affordable and refinance student debt. (HC)
  • Expand early learning. Hillary’s proposal would work to ensure that every 4-year-old in America has access to high-quality preschool in the next 10 years. (HC)

• Long-term growth
  • Put an end to “quarterly capitalism.” We need an economy where companies plan for the long run and invest in their workers through increased wages and better training—leading to higher productivity, better service, and larger profits. Hillary will revamp the capital gains tax to reward farsighted investments that create jobs. She’ll address the rising influence of the kinds of so-called “activist” shareholders that focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term growth, and she’ll reform executive compensation to better align the interests of executives with long-term value. (HC)
  • Impose accountability on Wall Street. Hillary will defend the Wall Street reforms put in place after the financial crisis—and she’ll go further. She’ll tackle dangerous risks in the financial sector and prosecute individuals and firms when they commit fraud or other criminal wrong-doing. (HC)

On accepting $675,000 from Goldman Sachs

"But did you have to be paid $675,000?," Cooper asked. "Well I don't know," Clinton responded. "That's what they offered." (LP)

• New College Compact: tax cut of $2,500 per student, lower interest rates on student loans (HCW - E)
• 15% tax cuts on businesses that share profits with their employees (HCW - E)
• increase funding for research and infrastructure (HCW - E)
• raising the minimum wage up to $15 and expansion of overtime rules (ABOUT)
• cutting the red tape that prevents people from starting businesses (HCW - E)
• expanding access to capital (HCW - E)
• closing tax loopholes (HCW - E)
• increase access to education by providing access to "quality preschools" to all Americans over the next 10 years (HCW - E)
• reform executive compensation to favor long term value over short term growth (HCW - E)
• 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 (HCW - E)
• paid family leave (HCW - E)]
• 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 (HCW - AD)
• increase reliability of funding until 2025 ((HCW - AD)
• establish action plans with researchers and experts (HCW - AD)
• Medicare coverage for treatment plans and documentation (HCW - AD)
• reauthorization of the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program (HCW - AD)
• get the Social Security Administration to raise awareness about benefits covered by Medicare (HCW - AD)

Campaign Finance Reform

• Overturn Citizens United (HCW - CFR)
• require outside groups to publicly disclose political spending (HCW - CFR)
• establish small-donor matching system (HCW - CFR)

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.” (HCW - CSA)

• comprehensive support to survivors at every campus (HCW - CSA)
• transparency about campus disciplinary procedures and filing complaints in the criminal justice system (HCW - CSA)
• enact sexual violence prevention educational programs in campuses and secondary schools (HCW - CSA)

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.” Media:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf

• "Goal: Have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of Hillary's first term." (HCW - CC)
• "Goal: Generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years of Hillary taking office." (HCW - CC)
• reenact the Clean Power Plan Media:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf
• propose a Clean Energy Challenge, which includes a Climate Action Competition, Solar-X Prize, improving the power grid, expansion of the Rural Utilities ServiceMedia:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf
• 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 Media:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf
• "modernize infrastructure" and "energy and climate security" Media:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf

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.” (HC - CJ)

“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.” (HC - CJ)

Religion

Clinton's Religion (section page):

Quotes

Clinton's Quotes (section page):

Drug Policy

• "We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue" DD4

Health Policy

• "I want us to defend and build on the Affordable Care Act and improve it." DD4

• "The Republicans just voted last week to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and thank goodness, President Obama vetoed it and saved Obamacare for the American people." DD4

Jobs and Business Policy

• "Small businesses have to create most of the jobs, and we’re not creating and growing small businesses." DD5

Tax Reform

• "I’m not going to tell people that I will raise your incomes and not your taxes, and not mean it" DD5

Sources Key

• ABOUT = [1]
• FOX Business = [2]
• HC - CCFC = Media:Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf
• HCW - CFR = [3]
• HCW - AD = [4]
• HCW - CC = [5]
• HCW - E = [6]
• HCW - CJ = [7]
• HCW - CSA = [8]
• HCW - SB = [9]