Presidential Candidates on the Issues
A look at where each candidate stands on key issues.
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Education - Barack Obama: Obama’s Education Department has instituted the Race to the Top competitive grant program to encourage school districts to create innovative ways to ensure that students graduate from high school college- or career-ready. The administration also has restructured and expanded federal financial aid programs.Newt Gingrich: Gingrich supports the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program, but says he would “dramatically shrink” the Education Department and eliminate most of its regulations.Mitt Romney: Romney favors No Child Left Behind’s federal accountability standards and has reversed an earlier position that would shutter the Education Department.Rick Santorum: Santorum proposes a “significantly” smaller Education Department. He also believes that early-childhood education programs are an attempt by government to “indoctrinate” children.(Photo: MIKE B...
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Health Care - Barack Obama: The Affordable Care Act is Obama’s signature domestic legislation. It requires and guarantees coverage for all individuals, including people with pre-existing conditions, and creates an insurance exchange plan to help control the growth of health care costs.Newt Gingrich: Gingrich says he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, but he does support prohibiting insurers from canceling or increasing rates for people who become sick while insured. He also supports a tax credit or deduction to help people buy coverage and allowing people to buy coverage across state lines.Mitt Romney: Romney would work to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He wants to prevent people who are “continuously covered” for a certain period from losing coverage if they get sick, lose their job or need another policy. He also would allow people to use medical savings accounts to pay for ...
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Housing/Foreclosure - Barack Obama: Under Obama, the Justice Department, state attorneys general and banking regulators have collectively negotiated a $26 billion landmark settlement with five major banks that will help two million homeowners refinance their loans or lower the principal owed and to end fraudulent, abusive lending practices. Obama says that even more must be done to help struggling borrowers.Newt Gingrich: Gingrich does not believe that the government should do anything to help ease the foreclosure crisis. He also has proposed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac be broken up into smaller units and over a five-year period gradually stop being under government control.Mitt Romney: In October Romney said that the foreclosure crisis should run its course and hit bottom and does not believe that the federal government should intervene to help borrowers refinance their loans...
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Environment - Barack Obama: The Obama administration has expanded clean air and water regulations, established new safety regulations for offshore drilling and negotiated an agreement with auto manufacturers to improve fuel economy. The president also plans to offer incentives to manufacturers who make their facilities more energy-efficient and has encouraged the use of wind power and solar energy.Newt Gingrich: Gingrich proposes an Environmental Protection Agency whose mission is environmental solutions and scientific research to create “more energy, more jobs and a better environment simultaneously.”Mitt Romney: Romney once believed that humans are contributing to global warming, but now says the cause of climate change is unknown. He proposes removing carbon dioxide from the Clean Air Act’s list of pollutants and would amend EOA clean air and water regulations “to ensure the co...
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Veterans - Barack Obama: President Obama has pushed for tax credits and other incentives for businesses to hire unemployed veterans in the American Jobs Act and through executive orders. He also is calling for a new conservation program that would put them to work on trails, roads and other public projects and also is seeking funding from Congress to help cities and states hire vets as first responders. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden created Joining Forces, an initiative to support veterans and military families.Newt Gingrich: At a veterans’ issues forum in Iowa, Gingrich called for increased investment in services provided to veterans, including health care, education and career.Mitt Romney: Romney says he would eliminate inefficiencies in the military and use the savings to help improve veterans’ care. He also has suggested providing vets with vouchers that they can use to seek c...