Presidential candidate John F. Kerry on issues

10/22/04

By Justin D. Norris,
Staff Writer

After a series of presidential debates, the American public still has not seen all of John Kerry and his stance on the issues. This is a guide to the Senators position on various issues that range from the economy and society to international policy:

Abortion. The Kerry-Edwards team does not plan to appoint somebody to the Supreme Court to turn over the historic Roe vs. Wade decision, which in 1973 legalized abortion. They do not support the partial-birth abortion ban, because it does not allow the exception for situations where the mother’s health is at risk.

Concurrent with the abortion issues, Kerry-Edwards also wants to see the expansion of stem-cell research using embryos.

Budget and Economy. Kerry plans to create 10 million new jobs during his presidency. He plans to offer incentives such as reforming international tax law so that companies will try to keep jobs in the United States. He plans to slow down outsourcing, which moves American jobs overseas. Kerry wants to follow Clinton’s plan to halve the national deficit in four years as well as sustain consumer policy to keep the economy rolling.

Crime. Senator Kerry condemns the death penalty except in the cases of international terrorism. Kerry voted “no” on limiting death penalty appeals and requiring DNA testing for all federal executions. He also voted for repealing federal speed limits and does not believe there should be mandatory prison terms for crimes involving firearms.

Education. “The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was a good idea, but was not properly funded,” said Senator Kerry.

Kerry wants to spend nearly $2.4 billion to reduce class size, while he does not want to see $75 million spent on abstinence education or to allow voluntary prayer in school. The senator also plans to increase funding for immigrant students by $1 billion annually to improve English proficiency, increase funding for teacher and principal development by 100%, increase funding for disadvantaged students by 50%, and reward schools that exceed their standards while sanctioning those that fail to show improvement. Kerry would like to give incentive to college students with a national service program that would allow students substantial tuition cuts if they work for a federal community service program such as volunteering in a nursing home or working for AmeriCorps.

Foreign Policy. Senator Kerry wants to include Eastern European countries, like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, into NATO, which would give these countries military assistance and would allow certain restrictions to be lifted from them. Kerry also voted “yes” to lifting trade restrictions against Vietnam and Cuba. He also plans to set forth a five-to-ten year plan that would help Africa with preventing AIDS, increasing food funding, education, debt relief, and setting up democratic institutions. He would like to see more interaction and cooperation between the United States and other countries to be more successful in overcoming the conflict in Iraq, as well as other fronts on the War on Terrorism.

Jobs. John Kerry would like to see the minimum wage increase $1.50 in the next few years from $5.15 to $6.65 andto increase it thereafter proportionally to inflation. He would like to close the gap of employment opportunities between minorities and whites. 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, and Kerry plans to take back those jobs by slowing down outsourcing and providing incentives for corporations to hire more Americans. Kerry’s voting record has been characterized as pro-labor, which puts more emphasis on working families and economic justice to the workplace.

War and Peace. Kerry feels that pre-emptive striking is permissible only when U.S. survival is being threatened, however he does not want to see a misapplied pre-emptive doctrine. Kerry wants the United States to be more committed to the Arab-Israeli conflict and wants to have other nations involved to attain peace.

Kerry supported Clinton’s 1998 decision to launch long range cruise missiles against Afghanistan and Sudan. John Kerry supported the invasion of Iraq, but hesitated because he wanted to see more diplomacy with Iraq as well as other nations.

Kerry wants to see more allies sharing the burden in the fight against insurgents in Iraq, more attention taken away from American troops with the training of Iraqi troops, and more involvement with the UN in rebuilding Iraq.

Welfare and Poverty. Kerry’s plan to lift Americans out of poverty is to raise the minimum wage so that by 2007 it has reached $7.00. He would like to see a Earned Income Tax Credit that rewards the most hard-pressed families that are working. His plan is to invest in programs that educate disadvantaged youth for jobs; encourage more women and minorities to pursue degrees in math and science; invest in funding for life long learning so that workers of all levels can work their way up the ladder. Kerry also helped to form the housing trust fund which provides lending to low and middle class families, and would like to see welfare reform finished by moving able recipients into paying jobs.

To find out more about John Kerry or any other candidate running for office visit http://www.ontheissues.org, a non-partisan organization that provides non-biased information to American voters.

To view all articles by this writer Click here.

Posted by Setonian Online at October 22, 2004 02:05 PM