| Human Dignity and a Consistent Ethic of Life |
| ISSUE | NETWORK | SenatorMcCain(R) | SenatorObama (D) |
| Education | Education is integral to meaningful and robust participation in social and economic life. Equal access to early childhood through higher education should not depend on individual or community economic status. | Believes school competition and parent choice are the best way to guarantee quality education for all. Supports vouchers that empower parents to choose the schools their children attend, a higher deduction for Education Savings Accounts, and tax-deferred Family Security Accounts that can be used for higher education. | Believes early childhood education curbs dropout rates, and reduces education attainment & performance disparities. Supports increasing Head Start funding and quadrupling Early Start to include a quarter of a million at-risk children. Supports increased teacher pay, charter schools, and a $4,000 annual tax credit for higher education. |
| Healthcare | Equitable access to quality, affordable healthcare is a fundamental human right. | Believes cost containment is the best way to expand access. Supports tax credits for individuals rather than employer purchased insurance to foster competition and restrain prices. Will work with states to develop Guaranteed Access Plans for those rejected by insurance companies. Voted against expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, stating it would cover too many adults and middle-income children. | Believes quality coverage for all is the most pressing healthcare issue. Emphasizes quickly expanding healthcare coverage by offering tax credits for low and middle income households and reforming markets to guarantee insurability for those in job transition or with preexisting conditions. Supported expanding State Children’s Insurance Program coverage to an additional 4 million low-income children. |
| Housing & Homelessness | Housing impacts health, employment, family and community. Respect for human dignity requires that every person should have access to safe, decent and affordable housing. | His HOME plan offers federally backed fixed rate mortgages to subprime borrowers who live in their home and are in danger of foreclosure. Supported bills providing at-risk veterans with housing and support services. Voted against a fund expanding affordable housing in 2000, but has taken no position on current legislation doing the same. Did not sign the New Hampshire Coalition Champions’ Pledge to End Homelessness | Cosponsored legislation to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to build 1.5 million units over ten years, as well as legislation allowing those facing foreclosure to modify their mortgage terms or refinance with a federal guarantee. Authored legislation to prevent homelessness, pairing housing for at-risk veterans with support services. Signed the New Hampshire Coalition Champions’ Pledge to End Homelessness. |
| Hunger | In a world of plenty, all people should be free of hunger and have reliable access to nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate food. Despite Food Stamps, school lunch & breakfast, and international food aid, 35.5 million Americans remain food insecure and 820 million worldwide are undernourished. | Will end policies like ethanol subsidies, tariff barriers and sugar quotas that contribute to higher food costs. | Believes programs like Food Stamps and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program are effective policy measures to fight domestic hunger, and has vowed to increase Food Stamp funding. Will improve food access in urban and rural areas by supporting local food systems, funding farm-to-school projects, and allowing schools to give priority to local producers. |
| Protecting Life | A consistent ethic of life requires that we address war, abortion and capital punishment. This includes reliance on diplomacy and development instead of war; caring for pregnant women, their children (both before and after birth), and their families; and restorative justice rather than retributive punishment. | Will withdraw troops when Iraqi forces can safeguard their country. Supports an abortion ban with exceptions in cases of rape, incest and risk to the mother’s life. In 2005, voted against expanding health services and education to reduce unintended pregnancy. Will seek ways to promote adoption as a first alternative to abortion. Supports the death penalty. | Pledges to withdraw all combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months. Opposes an abortion ban. In 2005, voted to expand health services and education to reduce unintended pregnancy. Wants to guarantee paid maternity leave, leave for parents with sick children, and affordable daycare. Supports the death penalty. Authored an Illinois law requiring videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases to ensure fair prosecutions. |
