OBAMA:
ENERGY
Cut oil imports in half by 2020, expand domestic production
Have an all-of-the-above approach to energy independence and increase production of natural gas, wind and solar energy
Double fuel efficiency standards
TAXES
Keep taxes low for middle class families
Simplify the tax code
Households making more than $1 million should not pay a smaller share of income than the middle class
JOBS
Invest in education, small businesses, infrastructure and research
Eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and create tax incentives for businesses bringing jobs back home
Double exports and create 1 million new manufacturing jobs
GUN RIGHTS
Enforce current laws pertaining to weapons
Strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System
Prevent criminals and mentally unbalanced individuals from purchasing firearms by checking record before gun sales
MILITARY PRESENCE ABROAD
Return troops from Afghanistan and end the war by 2014
Secure vulnerable nuclear materials
Commit to Israel’s security
VETERANS
Prevent the VA from undergoing automatic budget cuts
Streamline veterans’ transitions to civilian life through job training
Create a Veterans Job Corps conservation program to put 20,000 veterans to work in America and encourage the private sector to hire veterans
EDUCATION
Invest in community colleges to provide education and career-training
Reform federal campus-based aid programs to shift aid away from colleges that don’t keep net tuition down
Increase college graduates and contain cost of tuition by rewarding states willing to systematically change their higher education policies and practices
HEALTH CARE
Provide quality, affordable and reliable health insurance
Stop insurance company abuses
End to health insurance discrimination
IMMIGRATION
Pass comprehensive bipartisan immigration reform
Focus enforcement on those who endanger communities, and de-emphasize low priority cases like students, veterans, citizens and military families
Oppose Arizona’s S.B. 1070 that requires police to check immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion someone is undocumented
WOMEN’S ISSUES:
End health insurance discrimination
Protect a woman’s right to choose
Passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
ROMNEY:
ENERGY
Achieve energy independence by 2020
Have the private sector lead development of new energy technologies and have the states control energy production
Approve the Keystone XL pipeline, promote regulatory cooperation with Mexico and Canada
TAXES
Make a 20 percent cut in marginal tax rates
Maintain current tax rates on dividends, capital gains and interest
Eliminate taxes for taxpayers with adjusted gross income below $200,000
JOBS
Amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect the right of business owners to use money as they see fit, and guarantee a secret ballot in all union certification elections
Reverse executive orders that tilt the playing field towards organized labor
Consolidate federal retraining programs and funding and return management to the states
GUN RIGHTS
No additional laws to restrict Second Amendment rights
Expand access and opportunities for hunting and shooting and defend the right of individuals to protect family, home and property
Enforce existing laws and punish criminals who misuse firearms
MILITARY PRESENCE ABROAD
Commit to a multi-layered national ballistic-missile defense system and set core defense spending at 4 percent of GDP
Establish clear lines of authority and accountability for each weapons system to remain on time and on budget, and institute a shorter design and delivery process.
Work closely with Israel to maintain a strategic military edge, and work with Turkey and Egypt to fix their relationships with Israel
VETERANS
Modify the Post 9/11 GI Bill to give veterans in-state tuition regardless of residency
Help veterans find skilled trade employment by creating state credentialing and licensing standards
Allow veterans to see a TRICARE (military health insurance) provider at the VA’s expense if the VA cannot provide timely health care.
EDUCATION
Reverse nationalization of student loans and return to bank-based student lending
Refocus Pell Grant dollars to those who need them the most
Stem rate of increase in grant funding to go with the rate of inflation and hold down rate of tuition/fee increases
HEALTH CARE
Executive order to allow the federal government to issue Obamacare waivers to the states, and repeal Obamacare
Put states in charge of regulating local insurance markets and caring for poor, chronically ill, or uninsured
Give block grants to the states for Medicare and limit federal standards on insurance coverage
IMMIGRATION:
Implement immigration strategy to bolster the economy, ensure security, keep nuclear families together and address illegal immigration
Grant permanent residency to foreign students who obtain advanced degrees
Speed up process of temporary work visas and create an effective mandatory employment verification system
WOMEN’S ISSUES:
Restore the economy and get women to work
Overturn Roe v. Wade, return power to determine abortion laws to the states
End federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood
