Hillary Clinton in 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum

On Corporations: Stop bankruptcies to get rid of pension responsibilities

On Education: Total change in No Child Left Behind

On Environment: Support green-collar job training

A: I have supported a green building fund and green-collar job training with the AFL-CIO that will put a lot of people too work. And it’s important that we do this, because we can create millions of new jobs.

On Environment: Put someone in charge of Katrina recovery who actually cares

A: Well, the first thing I would do is put somebody in charge who actually cared about the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and was willing to really do what it took. I outlined a 10-point plan--I can’t say it in 30 seconds--but briefly it is put somebody in charge, make sure that the White House has a system where that person reports to the president, which is what I would expect every single day. And my questions [to the person in charge] would be: What have you done to get the hospitals open? What have you done to get people to move back? What have you done to make sure the levees are strong enough to withstand whatever might come next? We’ve got to recognize rebuilding New Orleans is an American problem, not a New Orleans or Louisiana problem alone.

On Foreign Policy: Our fiscal responsibility undercuts Chinese power over us

BIDEN: They’re neither. The fact of the matter is, though, they hold the mortgage on our house. This administration, in order to fund a war that shouldn’t be being fought and tax cuts that weren’t needed--we’re now in debt almost a trillion dollars to China.

CLINTON: I want to say amen to Joe Biden, because he’s 100% right. You know, 6 years ago, we had a balanced budget and a surplus; now we are in deep debt with a rising deficit, and it is absolutely true that George Bush has put it on the credit card, expecting our children and grandchildren to pay for it. We’ve got to get back to fiscal responsibility in order to undercut the Chinese power over us because of the debt we hold. We also have to deal with their currency manipulation. We have to have tougher standards on what they import into this country. I do not want to eat bad food from China or have my children having toys that are going to get them sick. So let’s be tougher on China going forward.

On Government Reform: End no-bid contracts, end revolving door in government

A: I believe we’ve got to have fundamental reform in Washington. I’m in favor of, especially after Bush and Cheney and Rove, to clean up what they’re leaving behind--to end the no-bid contracts, the revolving door in government. I think it’s absolutely essential that, you know, we get rid of all of the contracting out of government jobs, which has really undermined the quality of services. But you know, I think it is also the case that I have fought for all of these issues against a lot of special interests for a very long time. I fought the drug companies and the insurance companies in ‘93 and ‘94. I fought them again on the Medicare prescription drug benefit. I fought the banks on bankruptcy reform. So I think that my record on standing up and fighting for people really speaks for itself.

On Principles & Values: Bring your brooms & vacuum cleaners; we got to clean up DC

There’s going to be a lot of repair work to do, and I’m going to ask people to come to Washington. Bring your brooms. Bring your vacuum cleaners. We’ve got to clean the place out and get to work together.

On Social Security: Make sure nobody ever tries to privatize Social Security

On Technology: Infrastructure investment creates jobs AND improves security

A: We have to make investments in infrastructure. This will create jobs, not only if we once again focus on our bridges, our tunnels, our ports, our airports, our mass transit--it will put millions of people to work--but it is also part of homeland security. We need to have a better infrastructure in order to protect us. And it’s not only the physical infrastructure, it is the virtual infrastructure, like a national broadband system that our police and firefighters can actually access and use to be safe. So I think that we’ve got to look at this, with the disaster that we see, from the levees of New Orleans to the bridge in Minneapolis to what happened to us in New York City on 9/11, as the highest priority, and it will be at the top of my list when I’m president.

On War & Peace: Strategizing about Pakistan destabilizes a nuclear power

CLINTON: People running for president should not engage in hypotheticals. And it may well be that the strategy we have to pursue on the basis of actionable intelligence--but remember, we’ve had some real difficult experiences with actionable intelligence--might lead to a certain action. But I think it is a very big mistake to telegraph that and to destabilize the Musharraf regime, which is fighting for its life against the Islamic extremists who are in bed with al Qaeda and Taliban. And remember, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. The last thing we want is to have al Qaeda-like followers in charge of Pakistan and having access to nuclear weapons. So you can think big, but remember, you shouldn’t always say everything you think if you’re running for president, because it has consequences across the world.

On War & Peace: Redeploy responsibly, with regional diplomatic effort

On Energy & Oil: Invest in alternative energy; jobs that won’t be outsourced

On Free Trade: Smart, pro-American trade: NAFTA has hurt workers

A: Well, I had said that for many years, that NAFTA and the way it’s been implemented has hurt a lot of American workers. In fact, I did a study in New York looking at the impact of NAFTA on business people, workers and farmers who couldn’t get their products into Canada despite NAFTA. So, clearly we have to have a broad reform in how we approach trade. NAFTA’s a piece of it, but it’s not the only piece of it. I believe in smart trade. Pro-American trade. Trade that has labor and environmental standards, that’s not a race to the bottom but tries to lift up not only American workers but also workers around the world. It’s important that we enforce the agreements we have. That’s why I’ve called for a trade prosecutor, to make sure that we do enforce them. The Bush administration haven’t been enforcing the trade agreements at all.

On Free Trade: No fast-track authority for this president

On Free Trade: Better approach: real trade adjustment assistance

On Principles & Values: If you want a winner to take on right wing, I’m your girl

For 15 years I have stood up against the right-wing machine, and I’ve come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I’m your girl.