SwiftVets.com

[WallaceNails]

People here have asked for a debate on the “issues” of the 2004 Presidential Campaign. Well, here it is.

I have gathered the info on the voting records and the plans of Bush and Kerry on the major issues. For each issue, you will find the candidates “record” on that subject. Then you will find their “plans” for the next four years. I added some of my own thoughts on each issue. Most info was taken directly from each candidates official website.

EXPERIENCE

Executive Experience

Position Sought = President of the United States (Chief Executive-Executive branch)

Bush
--4 years as President of the United States (Chief Executive-Executive branch)
--6 years as Governor of Texas (Chief Executive- Executive branch)
--CEO/Majority Owner of Texas Rangers Baseball Team

Kerry
--20 years in US Senate (1 of 100 senators- Legislative branch)
--2 years Lt. Governor of Massachusetts (No. 2 man in Executive Branch)


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Commander-in-Chief Experience

Position Sought = President of the United States (Commander in Chief of all US Military Forces)

Bush
--4 years as President of the United States (Commander in Chief)
-Led US in a new kind of war never seen on the planet (War of Terror vs Terror organizations of Global reach)
-Led US forces in 2 successful military campaigns (Afghanistan and Iraq)

Kerry
--Zero years experience

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THE ISSUES:

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EDUCATION

Education record

Bush
--No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(Requires States to have a plan in place to ensure that all students become proficient at reading and math and that achievement gaps are closed between students of different socio-economic backgrounds.)
--Better Education for Students and Teachers (Best) Act of 2001
--Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives
--School choice program in the FY 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill

Kerry
--Voted FOR President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001 (Signed by Bush)
--Voted FOR Better Education for Students and Teachers (Best) Act of 2001 (Signed by Bush)
--Education Bills sponsored by Kerry in 20 year Senate Career –Zero

Education Plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Record/Education.aspx
-Build upon the Bi-partisan No Child left Behind program
-Historic Levels of Funding - President Bush's overall Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 budget represents a 49% increase for elementary and secondary education since FY 2001.
-$583 million in new funding for education and job training programs.
--Plans for Strengthening Access to Post-Secondary Education and Job Training (expand opportunities for workers to access post-secondary education to get the job training and skills to compete in a changing and dynamic economy and fill jobs in emerging industries )
--Improving High School Education—($100 million to help striving readers, $120 million to improve math education, $40 million to bring professionals with subject-matter knowledge into the classroom, an additional $28 million for Advanced Placement teacher training, and $12 million to expand the State Scholars program to all 50 states to encourage high school students to take a rigorous curriculum.)
--Strengthening and Modernizing the Perkins Vocational Education program-($1 billion in annual funding from the Perkins Vocational Education program into a new Secondary and Technical Education program)
--Presidential Math and Science Scholars Fund(establishing a new public-private partnership to provide $100 million in grants ($50 million in federal funding to be matched with $50 million in private funding) to low-income students who study math or science)
–The Inclusion of 12th graders in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
-FY 2005 budget increases funding for the Pell Grant program by 47%

The President’s 2005 budget would increase:
-Elementary and secondary education funding by 49% since 2001, from $24.8 billion to $37 billion
-Overall Department of Education funding by 36%, from $42.2 billion to $57.3 billion
-Title I funding for disadvantaged students by 52% (a $4.6 billion increase)
-Special education funding by 75% (a $4.7 billion increase)
-Funding for teacher recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers by 39%, from $2.1 billion to almost $3 billion
-Funding for reading programs by four times, from $286 million to $1.26 billion


Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/education/
-Plans to establish a National Education Trust Fund
-Plans to enact a new bargain that offers teachers more, including better training and better pay in troubled schools, and asks for more in return, including fast, fair ways to make sure that teachers who don't belong in the classroom don't stay there.
-Plans for a “School's Open 'Til 'Six" initiative will offer after-school opportunities to 3.5 million children, through programs that are open until 6 p.m. and offer safe transportation for children.
-Plans for a fully refundable College Opportunity Tax credit on up to $4,000 of tuition for every year of college and offer aid to states that keep tuitions down.

My views on Education

Bush believes that education is the responsibility of each state. I agree. The states and the local school boards know better than the Federal Government on how to educate their children. My property taxes goes to my local school district and I want that money used by the people closest to the situation. What Bush’s plan has done is demand that each State/District come up with their own unique plan to satisfy certain reading and math goals. His plan has also made more options and choices available to parents on how/where their child is educated. I like Kerry’s idea of the College Opportunity Tax credit and I hope that he will introduce it in his very first education related bill while fulfilling his Senate term for the next two years.

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HEALTH

Health Issues record

Bush
--Unborn Victims of Violence Act 2004 (Signed by Bush)
--Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit bill –2003 (Signed)
(All seniors will be guaranteed access to affordable prescription drug coverage under Medicare)
--Funded 1,200 new and expanded health center sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people in under-served areas by 2006. Created New Health Savings Accounts
--2002 bill making $100 million available to states to establish and support high-risk pools.
--Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001(Signed by Bush)

Kerry
--Unborn Victims of Violence Act 2004 (Voted No) (Signed by Bush)
--Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit bill –2003 (Kerry did not vote) (Signed by Bush)
--2001 Bipartisan Patient Protection Act (Voted - Yes) (Signed by Bush)
--Health issues Bills sponsored by Kerry in 20 year Senate Career –Zero

Health Issues plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Record/HealthCare.aspx
--Plans for Medical Liability Reform (address the skyrocketing medical malpractice premiums through national adoption of proven minimum standards to make the medical liability system more fair, predictable, and timely.)
--Plans for Association Health Plans (AHPs) (enables small employers to pool together in order to offer health insurance options to their employees by giving small businesses the same purchasing power that large employers and unions have)
--Refundable Tax Credit (a refundable tax credit that will make health insurance more affordable to millions of Americans who do not have employer-provided insurance or public insurance)
--HSA Deductibility(allow individuals with HSAs to deduct 100% of the premium for their catastrophic health care coverage from their taxes)
--Health Information Technology(use modern health information technology to achieve high-quality care, reduce preventable medical errors, and reduce costs. President Bush’s FY’05 Budget request doubles the amount of funding for demonstration projects for broader adoption of health IT systems in communities and states to $100 million)

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care/
--Plans to Give small businesses tax credits to cover up to 50% of premiums for low to moderate income workers
--Plans for allowing individuals to buy into the Congressional Health Plan to ensure access to quality coverage, as well as provide tax credits to make it more affordable
--Plans will reduce prescription drug prices by allowing the re-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada, overhauling the Medicare drug plan, ensuring low-cost drugs, and ending artificial barriers to generic drug competition.
--Plans to think of innovative ways to cut health care costs by addressing new ways of doing paperwork and administrative processing

My views on Health

The big issue here seems to be health insurance. Don’t get this confused with health CARE. Its not the same. I cant seem to find in the US Constitution where it states that health INSURANCE is a right or an entitlement. Taking money from one segment of society to provide some type of Insurance doesn’t SOLVE the problem we have of sky rocketing health care fees and prescription drug fees. What is the cause of high health care costs? One of the main causes is the enormous cost of malpractice insurance. Doctors cant stay in business because they have to pay huge premiums to cover their ass in case they are sued. Who pays for this?—We all do—in the form of high fees to visit the doctor. Bush has a plan to try and get this under control. I don’t know if its possible. I remember the days when you didn’t need health insurance and you could go to any doctor you wanted. The care costs were driven by the open market and competition. We need those days again. I don’t like the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit bill that Bush signed and Kerry voted for. I think its another one of those “entitlements” that are not constitutional. Kerry’s plan to re-import drugs from Canada shows that he doesn’t understand how and why the drugs are much cheaper there then in the USA. If you want to indirectly hurt the drug companies ability to finance R&D on new drugs, then go ahead and do what Kerry wants. We need some major health care system reform, but socialized medicine is not the answer IMO. I fully support the ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.

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ECONOMY

Economic Record

Bush
-Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (Signed by Bush)
(Reduce all income tax rates and make other tax cuts totaling $1.35 trillion over 11 years including reducing the tax penalty for marriage and gives larger tuition deduction)
-Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001 (signed by Bush)
-Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 (signed by Bush) (would provide temporary business tax breaks and extend for thirteen weeks unemployment benefits)
-Terrorism Risk Protection Act 2002 (signed by Bush)(Authorize through 2005 a federal loan program to help the commercial casualty and property insurance industry cover future terrorist-related losses.)
-Jobs and Growth Tax Act of 2003 (signed by Bush)(would reduce taxes by $350 billion in fiscal 2004)

Kerry
-Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (Voted – No) (Signed by Bush)
-Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001 (Voted – No) (signed by Bush)
-2002 Budget Resolution-Prescription Drug Benefit (Voted – No) (amendment that would make up to $300 billion available for a Medicare prescription drug benefit for 2002 through 2011.)Amendment was passed
--Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 (Voted- Yes) (signed by Bush) (would provide temporary business tax breaks and extend for thirteen weeks unemployment benefits)
-Terrorism Risk Protection Act 2002 (Voted-Yes)(signed by Bush)(Authorize through 2005 a federal loan program to help the commercial casualty and property insurance industry cover future terrorist-related losses.)
-Jobs and Growth Tax Act of 2003 (Voted – No)(signed by Bush)(would reduce taxes by $350 billion in fiscal 2004)
-Budget resolution FY2004 (Voted- No) Resolution Passed (calls for a 10-year package with $350 billion in tax cuts, a $400 billion Medicare overhaul and $791 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal 2004.)
-Internet Access Tax bill 2004 –(Kerry did not vote)(Extends the Internet tax moratorium for four years)
--Kerry has sponsored multiple bills to help small businesses over his 20 year Senate career

Economy Plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Record/Economy.aspx
--Plans to make the 2001 tax cuts that cut taxes for every single tax player-permanent
-- President’s FY 2005 budget calls for cutting the deficit in half over the next five years.
--1.5 million jobs created since last August
--Plans for making health care costs more affordable and predictable (proposed association health plans, health savings accounts and medical liability reform.)
--Plans for reducing the burden of frivolous lawsuits on our economy with reform
--Plans for ensuring an affordable, reliable energy supply
--Plans for streamlining regulations and paperwork requirements (reduce the number of regulations so business owners can focus on their business rather than spending hours on paperwork)
--Plans for opening new markets for American products and services
--Plans to implement the more than 57 recommendations outlined in the Commerce Department’s Manufacturing Report
--Plans for seven million more affordable homes in the next 10 years
--Plans to lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/economy/
--Plans to raise taxes for the top income earners ($200,000 or more)
--Plans to cut taxes for businesses that create jobs here in America instead of moving them overseas.
--Plans to work at enforcing our trade agreements
--Plans to make middle class taxes go down
--Plans for 99% of American Business to get a tax cut
--Plans to cut the deficit in half during his first four years in office

My views on the Economy

The Bush tax cuts helped the economy, there is no doubt. I want them to be permanent. He cut tax rates for every person that pays taxes. That put money back into the economy and helped create jobs. Kerry is even joining the fray by claiming he will cut taxes(for some) Our economy took a big hit from 9/11 and the recession a few years ago and we are on the way up now. 4-6% unemployment is about a good as can be expected and 1.5 million jobs have been created since last August. I like it anytime Bush or Kerry mentions tax cuts. I don’t like Kerry’s plan to increase taxes on the upper part of the tax bracket. I think that policies like that only punish people for doing well and he is doing it to try and fund his giveaway programs.

I am very nervous as to the hit the economy will take after another 9/11 type attack. That attack almost killed our financial markets. The terrorists are targeting our financial districts and its only a matter of time before they hit one again.

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HOMELAND SECURITY

Homeland Security Record

Bush
-Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 (signed by Bush)
-Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Bush Signed) (joined 22 agencies into a new cabinet-level Homeland Security Department with the responsibility to protect domestic security.)
-Creation of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center
-Container Security Initiative 2004
-Smart Border Declaration 2004
-Homeland Security Command Center
-Airport security and Air Marshal programs enhanced
-Reorganization of the FBI
-Operation Liberty Shield (Continuous Coast Guard air and surface patrols)
-Operation Joint Venture (Identify and remove persons with unknown or questionable identities with access to restricted areas of military installations)
-National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (Individuals who satisfy certain risk factors to register and be fingerprinted and photographed.)
-Project BioShield (designed to accelerate the acquirement of next-generation vaccines and other products to counter bioterror threats)
-Biowatch program (equipment to quickly detect the spread of terrorist agents like anthrax in time to distribute life-saving medicines to citizens affected.)
-Increased security at critical facilities for water supplies, power plants, bridges, and subway systems.
-Established cybersecurity office
-Provided $7.8 billion in grants between 2002 and 2003 to help state and local responders and emergency managers prepare for terrorist attacks.


Kerry
-Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001 (Voted – Yes)(signed by Bush)
-Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Voted-Yes)(Bush Signed) (joined 22 agencies into a new cabinet-level Homeland Security Department with the responsibility to protect domestic security.)
-2003 Vote to confirm the nomination of Tom Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security (Kerry did not vote)

Homeland Security plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Record/HomelandSecurity.aspx
--Implement many goals and programs recommended by the 9/11 commission.
--Calls for Congress to extend the PATRIOT ACT
--Expand and strengthen the capabilities of the Central Intelligence Agency
--Calls for Congress to create the position of a National Intelligence Director
--Will establish a National Counter-Terrorism Center

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/homeland_security/homeland_plan.html
--Plans for a new strategy for homeland security
--Calls for improving our ability to gather, analyze, and share information so we can track down terrorists and stop them before they cause us harm,
--Calls for better securing our airports, seaports, and borders
--Calls for hardening likely terrorist targets
--Calls for improving domestic readiness
--Calls for winning the war on terror without losing the values of freedom and justice for all that make us proud to be Americans.

My views on Homeland Security

I support the PATRIOT ACT. I like most of the Homeland Security measures that Bush has taken since 9/11. I would like to see more things done to seal off our borders. I think that is a major vulnerability that neither Bush or Kerry is addressing very well. It seems like terrorists can enter from Mexico or Canada with ease. Kerry really doesn’t have much to offer in his plans except to say that he will do Homeland Security “better” (what ever that means?..) It bothers me that Kerry didn’t show up to vote on the confirmation of the Secretary of Homeland Security.

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NATIONAL SECURITY

National Security Record

Bush
-Authorization for Use of Military Force 2001 (Bush Signed) joint resolution that would authorize the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against parties responsible in any way for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
-Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq-2002(Bush signed) (Vote to pass a joint resolution that would authorize the use of force against Iraq)
-Border Security – 2002 (Bush signed) (Call for passenger ships and planes traveling from other countries to provide immigration officials a list of crew members and passengers before arriving.)
--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Bush signed)
-Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act, 2004 (Bush signed) (appropriate $86.5 billion in supplemental spending for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, in Fiscal 2004.)
-2003, coalition forces acted with skill and bravery to liberate the Iraqi people and remove a grave and gathering danger to America and the world.
-2001, with less than a month’s notice, American and British forces joined with local anti-Taliban troops in an assault on the al Qaeda network and the Taliban regime that gave it safe harbor in Afghanistan.
-2004 budget provides over $9 billion to begin the deployment of defenses against long-range ballistic missile threats, including new interceptors to be deployed over the next two years.
-2004 proposed increases of between $2 billion and $3 billion in intelligence spending, to a total of nearly $35 billion.
-2003 budget funds four Trident ballistic missile submarines and development of “stealth ships”
-funded next-generation weapons systems such as : Unmanned aerial vehicles; Unmanned underwater vehicles; The Army’s Land Warrior technology; Small precision bombs; Space-based radar and space control systems

Kerry
1991-Discontinue production of B-2 bomber (Voted –Yes) (Resolution rejected)
1992 –Resolution to Cut $2,686,572,000 from the bill for production of additional B-2 stealth bombers, halting production of the B-2 fleet at 15 planes instead of the 20 planes requested by the administration. (Vote – Yes) (Resolution Rejected)
1992-Seawolf Nuclear Submarine Funding (Voted – No) (Cancel funding for a second and third Seawolf nuclear submarine.) (resolution rejected)
1992-Defense Spending Reductions (Voted –Yes) (Reduce the defense spending levels for smaller weapon projects by $8.8 billion in fiscal 1993) (Resolution rejected)
1993-Ballistic Missile Defense Funding (voted – Yes) (Cut the Ballistic Missile Defense program from $3.4 billion to $3 billion)
1994-Eliminate funding for Trident II Submarines (Voted – Yes)
1994-Cut $150 million for additional B-2 stealth bombers (Voted – Yes)
1994-Cut $6 Billion dollars for Intelligence (Voted – Yes) (Resolution Rejected)
1995-Amendment to limit use of land mines in three years (Voted – Yes)
1996-National Defense Authorization Act, 1997 (voted – No)( Vote to adopt the joint House-Senate conference report authorizing $265.6 billion for defense activities in fiscal year 1997)(adopted)
1996-National Missile Defense (voted – Yes) (To reduce funding for a national missile defense program.)
1997-Chemical Weapons Penalties & Sanctions (Voted – No)( bill making unlawful the acquisition, transfer or use of any chemical or biological weapon, among other provisions.) (Bill Passed)
2000-Permanent NTR with China-Weapons Sanctions (Voted –Yes) (Vote to table [kill] an amendment that would require sanctions against China or other countries if they were found to be selling illicit weapons of mass destruction. )
-Authorization for Use of Military Force 2001 (Voted-Yes)(Bush Signed) joint resolution that would authorize the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against parties responsible in any way for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
-Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq-2002 (Voted – Yes) (Bush signed) (Vote to pass a joint resolution that would authorize the use of force against Iraq)
-Border Security – 2002 (Voted – Yes)(Bush signed) (Call for passenger ships and planes traveling from other countries to provide immigration officials a list of crew members and passengers before arriving.)
-2004 resolution that would condemn the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. (Kerry did not vote)(Resolution passed)
-National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (Kerry did not vote) (Bush signed)
--Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act, 2004 (Voted – No)(Bush signed) (appropriate $86.5 billion in supplemental spending for military operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, in Fiscal 2004.)
-Fiscal 2004 Defense Authorization (Kerry did not vote) (Resolution passed)
-Supplemental Appropriations Act to Support Department of Defense Operations in Iraq for Fiscal Year 2003 (Kerry did not vote) (resolution passed)

National Security plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Record/NationalSecurity.aspx
The Bush strategy has three pillars:
--We will defend the peace by opposing and preventing violence by terrorists and outlaw regimes.
--We will preserve the peace by fostering an era of good relations among the world’s great powers.
--And we will extend the peace by seeking to extend the benefits of freedom and prosperity across the globe.

--Plans to continue Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
--Plans for closing bases no longer needed to meet Cold War threats that have ended, this new initiative will bring home many Cold War-era forces while deploying more flexible and rapidly deployable capabilities in strategic locations around the world.
--Taking advantage of 21st century military technologies
--Expand U.S. defense relationships with allies and build new partnerships(tailored to optimally balance our 21st century military requirements, our relationships with allies and partners, local conditions, and the impact of a U.S. presence on host nations.)
--Provide for both a regional and global forward presence (require forces deployed overseas to be ready for missions anywhere in the world, regardless of where the forces are based )
--Enable rapid power projection. (Improve rapid response capabilities for distant contingencies, because our forces will not likely fight where they are stationed. This requires an updated transport infrastructure to facilitate movement of forces, prepositioned equipment along transport routes, and lean command structures for deployable operations.)
--Focus on capabilities instead of numbers. (Leveraging U.S. advantages in speed, reach, precision, knowledge, and combat power is now the defining concept for military action. )

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/national_security/
--Launch And Lead A New Era Of Alliances (The threat of terrorism demands alliances on a global scale)
--Modernize The World's Most Powerful Military To Meet New Threats (plan to transform the world's most powerful military to better address the modern threats of terrorism and proliferation).
--Deploy All That Is In America's Arsenal (deploy all the forces in America's arsenal - our diplomacy, our intelligence system, our economic power, and the appeal of our values and ideas)
--Free America From Its Dangerous Dependence On Mideast Oil (free America from its dangerous dependence on Mideast oil. By tapping American ingenuity, we can achieve that goal while growing our economy and protecting our environment.)

My views on National Security

I fully support the way that Bush is conducting the War on Terrorism. I think that he has the right team in place to fight this war and make the needed changes in our Military Structure to continue the fight and prepare for the new challenges our country will face. I am bothered by Kerry’s record of voting against new weapons systems and intelligence funding. I don’t like Kerry’s reliance on the UN/France/Germany to determine if the USA can act on issues that we feel are in our National Security interests. I don’t like the fact that Kerry voted against funding the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don’t have any trust in Kerry to make the tough decisions that a Commander-in-Chief is required to make.

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ENVIRONMENT

Environment Record

Bush
-FY 2005 budget request- ($4.4 billion for conservation programs that include funding for wetlands – an increase of $1.5 billion (53 percent) over FY 2001--$21 million, an increase of $13.3 million, for the Department of the Interior’s Water 2025 Initiative.)( $1.4 billion for the Superfund)
-Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (Bush Signed) (helping restore the health and vitality of forests and rangelands, and helping reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires)
2004-Sponsoring, with international and private-sector partners, a $1 billion, 10-year demonstration project to create the world’s first coal-based, zero-emissions electricity and hydrogen power plant (FutureGen).
-2003 budget provided $4.5 billion for global climate change-related activities -- a $700 million increase. This includes the first year of funding for a five-year, $4.6 billion commitment to tax credits for renewable energy sources.
- Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 (Bush signed)(Authorizing the Federal government to begin cleaning up pollution and contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes)
-Brownfields Legislation (2002)-(Bush Signed) (Accelerating the cleanup of abandoned industrial sites, or brownfields, to better protect public health, create jobs, and revitalize communities)

Kerry
-National Laboratories Partnership Improvement Act of 2001
(Voted – No)(Vote to pass an amendment that would remove the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard (CAFE) and instead direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish a new automobile efficiency standard in 15 months.) (Amendment Passed)
-Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (Kerry did not vote)(Bush Signed)

Environment Plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Agenda/Chapter.aspx?ID=5#ev
--Clear Skies Initiative: President Bush will work to secure passage of the Clear Skies Initiative to reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury by 70 percent and help the states meet tougher new air quality standards.
--Clean Air Interstate Rule: President Bush will complete the Clean Air Interstate Rule, which will require the steepest emissions cuts in over a decade.
--Mercury Rule: President Bush is the first President to propose caps on emissions of mercury and he will finalize the rule that will cut mercury emissions from power plants by 70 percent. --Farm Bill Conservation Programs: President Bush will aggressively implement programs that will dedicate a record $40 billion over a decade to restore millions of acres of wetlands, protect habitats, conserve water, and improve streams and rivers near working farms and ranches.
--Initiate Environmentally Safe Exploration: President Bush will seek to promote environmentally sound domestic oil production in just one percent of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which could provide up to 1 million barrels of oil a day for nearly 20 years.
--Ensure Greater Electricity Reliability: President Bush will work to modernize our electricity grid, establish mandatory reliability standards, and encourage new transmission investment, in order to help prevent a repeat of last year’s blackout that affected 50 million people.
--Encourage Use of Efficient Technologies: President Bush will provide incentives for deployment of efficient technologies for storage and transmission of energy, further contributing to the reliability of our electric grid.
--Promote Conservation and Support Energy Technologies: The President’s plan will provide $4 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of energy technologies.

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/environment/
--Plan to Create Cleaner, Greener Communities-(improve the environment in backyards and communities across America--revitalize contaminated industrial sites, get toxins out of communities, guarantee our children access to clean, safe parks and baseball fields, and take on traffic congestion and sprawl. )
--Enact A Conservation Covenant With America(Enact a Conservation Covenant with America to ensure balanced protection for our public lands and adequate resources to enhance our national parks)
--Protect Our Health By Reducing Dangerous Air Emissions (Plug loopholes in the law, take aggressive action to stop acid rain, and use innovative, job-creating programs to reduce mercury emissions and other emissions that contribute to global warming.)
--Restore America's Waters (Implement a "Restore America's Waters" campaign, an integrated approach to protecting our precious, limited water resources. Work with states on the toughest water quality challenges, restore damaged watersheds, protect wetlands, invest in our waterfronts and coastal communities, and protect our oceans.)

My views on the Environment

I am all for conservation and helping keep our environment clean and safe. I want policies that will help the environment, but not kill the economy. Nobody wants dirty air or dirty water. We all have to breathe and drink the same stuff. Both Kerry and Bush have some good ideas on helping our environment. I don’t like the Kyoto accords as written and neither does Bush or the Senate (The US Senate voted 95-0 against Kyoto) Kerry is against exploration of ANWR for additional oil and he is against eliminating the CAFÉ standards that cause high gas prices at the pump. Those two things must be done.

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ENERGY

Energy Record

Bush
- National Energy Policy 2001-(Needs passing by Congress)(The Administration has completed implementation of nearly 75% of the more than 100 recommendations contained in the President’s comprehensive National Energy Policy (2001)that were able to be done without legislation )
- Energy Omnibus bill, 2003(Bush signed) (reform the electricity system, overhaul the nation's energy policies, and make available approximately $15 billion in energy-related tax incentives.-Direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish a new CAFE standard within 15 months to two years. It would support the use of alternative energy and call for utilities to increase their dependence on renewable fuels--Develop and implement measures to lessen dependence on foreign oil by 1 million barrels per day by 2013--call for the Department of Energy to set targets and timelines to maintain the production of 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010, and 2.5 million vehicles annually by 2020.)

Kerry
-Energy Omnibus bill, 2003(Voted – Yes)(Bush signed) (reform the electricity system, overhaul the nation's energy policies, and make available approximately $15 billion in energy-related tax incentives.-Direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish a new CAFE standard within 15 months to two years. It would support the use of alternative energy and call for utilities to increase their dependence on renewable fuels--Develop and implement measures to lessen dependence on foreign oil by 1 million barrels per day by 2013--call for the Department of Energy to set targets and timelines to maintain the production of 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010, and 2.5 million vehicles annually by 2020.)

Energy Plans for next term

Bush
http://www.georgewbush.com/Agenda/Chapter.aspx?ID=1#en
--Increase Domestic Energy Exploration and Production
--Initiate Environmentally Safe Exploration – (Promote environmentally sound domestic oil production in just one percent of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which could provide up to 1 million barrels of oil a day for nearly 20 years.)
--Promote Natural Gas Production – (Provide incentives to develop natural gas production from deep formations in shallow waters in the Gulf of Mexico, but not off the coast of Florida.)
--Build an Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline – (Work to ensure construction of an Alaska natural gas pipeline to increase domestic natural gas supplies.)
--Promote Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – (Facilitate construction of LNG terminals to meet growing demands for natural gas.)
--Continue Energy Partnerships – (Continue to develop a North American energy partnership to develop closer energy integration with Canada and Mexico.)
--Help Build Refineries – (Remove unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to help build new refineries to increase domestic capacity.)
--Utilize Nuclear Power –(Ensure a future for nuclear power as a viable and emissions free energy source.)
--Modernize the Electricity Grid
--Ensure Greater Electricity Reliability –(Work to modernize our electricity grid, establish mandatory reliability standards, and encourage new transmission investment, in order to help prevent a repeat of last year's blackout that affected 50 million people.)
--Encourage Use of Efficient Technologies – (Provide incentives for deployment of efficient technologies for storage and transmission of energy, further contributing to the reliability of our electric grid)
--Promote Conservation
--Support Energy Technologies – (Provide $4 billion in tax incentives to spur the use of energy technologies.)
--Help in the Construction of Energy-Efficient Homes –(Fulfill commitment to provide $1.4 billion over ten years to make homes more energy-efficient.)
--Improve Vehicle Fuel Economy – (Advance a broad strategy to foster development of new technologies, provide a $4,000 tax credit to purchase hybrid gasoline-electric and other highly fuel efficient vehicles, and improve the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program to increase fuel economy in a way that saves lives and American jobs.)
--Support Clean Coal Technology
--Develop Clean Coal Technology – (Continue his commitment to provide $2 billion over ten years to develop clean coal technologies.)
--Promote Markets for Clean Coal Technology – (Implement a market-based approach to cutting air pollution that will create a nearly $50 billion technology and services market for clean coal rather than forcing a shift to other fuels to meet air standards.)
--Pursue FutureGen Initiative – (President Bush will lead this international public-private partnership to create the world's first zero-emissions coal-based power plant, producing electricity and hydrogen while capturing carbon dioxide. )
--Increasing Alternative and Renewable Energy
--Expand Use of Ethanol and Biodiesel – (Work to secure passage of a renewable fuel standard requiring five billion gallons of ethanol or biodiesel in motor fuels by 2012.)
--Encourage Renewable Energy – (Work to extend the tax credit for production of electricity from renewable resources including wind, solar, and biomass.)
--Develop Hydrogen Technology – (Continue his $1.7 billion, five-year initiative to development for hydrogen technologies, including automobiles, homes, and businesses powered by hydrogen fuel cells with virtually no pollution.)
--Support Energy R&D – (Dedicate research and development funding to increase America's energy security, including advancing and promoting clean energy resources from renewable sources like wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower and developing the next generation of energy-efficient technologies such as high temperature super-conducting wires.)

Kerry
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy/
--Explore And Develop New Energy Source (Plan will invest in the research and exploration needed to turn ideas into fuel and develop renewable energy sources.)
--Develop Tomorrow's Technology Today—(Take the lead in developing the new technology and production methods needed to ensure that resources such as coal and natural gas are used more efficiently and cleanly, and fully integrated into the New Energy Economy.)
--Make America Energy Independent Of Middle East Oil (Our security in the war on terror demands an end to our dependence on Middle East oil)
--Improve Efficiency In Automobiles
--Improve Efficiency In Government, Homes, Offices, And Communities
--Make Coal Part Of The 21st Century Technology Solution
--Ensure And Expand Natural Gas Supplies And Safeguard Gas Markets

My views on the Energy

I work in the Oil and Gas industry. We are probably at a crisis point in the world known as “Peak Oil” This is when worldwide Demand starts to outreach worldwide Supply. This is a huge crisis that will hit us before “Alternative” sources of energy are available for us to use in a daily working fashion. We need to start drilling in ANWR right away. We need to strengthen our alliance with Russia and sponsor major projects in producing oil in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. We need to develop the oil fields in Iraq ASAP. We need to build more domestic refineries and ease up on environmental regulations for drilling and exploration with-in the USA. Kerry doesn’t have the experience or the knowledge of the industry to help us through this crisis. He just doesn’t. The fact that he is fighting off attempts to drill in ANSW shows that he has no clue as to the seriousness of our situation.


REFERNCES

George W. Bush website: http://www.georgewbush.com/

John Kerry website: http://www.johnkerry.com/index.html

Project VoteSmart (Congressional voting record)
http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=S0421103&PHPSESSID=5219382e73c20f1e900f54da2bb98e49

AFL-CIO Kerry sponsored bills
http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/politics/kerry_bills.cfm
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FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!!

[rb325th]

Appreciate the work you placed into this. However given this Site is about John Kerry and the SBVFT I will be moving this t the Geedunk Forum.
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U.S. Army 1983-1995, 11C1P/11H2P NBTDT