Obama Cabinet members actions and issues


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Budget & Economy     Julian Castro: Too-tight credit market hurts minority home ownership.     Rahm Emanuel: Economy was in freefall in 2008; we're still recovering.

Civil Rights     Eric Holder: GOP voter suppression impacts African American women.     Tom Vilsack: Resolved all USDA discrimination lawsuits.     Susan Rice: Under Obama LGBT employees treated same as co-workers.     Thomas Perez: Make good on opportunity for people with disabilities.     Thomas Perez: Expand opportunity for marginalized communities.     Thomas Perez: Women still earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to men.     Arne Duncan: Same-sex couples should be legally allowed to marry.     Tom Vilsack: 2011: Gay marriage at state level only, for now.     Tom Vilsack: Religion is important, but no one religion should dominate.

Drugs     Susan Rice: Admitted to past drug use, none since 1990.     Tom Vilsack: $51.4 million for opioid abuse clinics in rural communities.     Tom Vilsack: Cannabis one of the most valuable commodities in agriculture.

Education     Hilda Solis: $500M for businesses partnerships at community colleges.     Arne Duncan: Engage innovation community with early learning community.     Kathleen Sebelius: Engage innovation community with early learning community.

Energy & Oil     Tom Vilsack: Bio-based energy for greater independence and flexibility.     Susan Rice: Failed to take climate change seriously, now making efforts.     Steven Chu: Increase Efficiency and Conservation of Energy.     Steven Chu: Coal is my worst nightmare.     Steven Chu: Nuclear waste issues are still not fully resolved.

Environment     Julian Castro: At HUD: $1 billion National Disaster Resilience Competition.     Julian Castro: More funding for lead-safe regulations in low-income housing.     Thomas Perez: Coal dust: Shouldn't sacrifice your life for your livelihood.     Kathleen Sebelius: Environmental justice strategy: protect polluted communities.

Families & Children     Tom Vilsack: Born into an orphanage and adopted in 1951.     Thomas Perez: Expand access to paid leave & overtime protections.     Thomas Perez: US Is only industrialized nation without paid family leave.     Thomas Perez: Focus on reducing child labor internationally.

Foreign Policy     Hillary Clinton: Work toward Arab Spring not being hijacked by extremists.     Hillary Clinton: 1% of budget on foreign aid maintains our global leadership.

Free Trade     Susan Rice: China is US's most consequential international relationship.     Tom Vilsack: Government negotiations facilitate favorable trade.

Government Reform     Tom Vilsack: No more cherished right than the right to vote.

Health Care     Thomas Perez: ObamaCare is an important part of anti-poverty efforts.

Homeland Security     Susan Rice: Diversity is America's strength, including national security.     Thomas Perez: DOL helped reduce veteran unemployment from 8.7% to 4.3%.     Hillary Clinton: We responded to Benghazi immediately, and for the long run.     Chuck Hagel: Supports the full repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.     Chuck Hagel: Hezbollah & Hamas are terrorists; Israeli self-defense ok.     Chuck Hagel: Regrets using the term "Jewish lobby" for pro-Israel groups.     Tom Vilsack: Boost production of aviation biofuels for military use.

Immigration     Janet Napolitano: Deferring DREAMer deportations about priorities, not policy.     Thomas Perez: Fixing broken system brings 11M workers out of shadows.

Jobs     Thomas Perez: Long-overdue increase in the minimum wage, and index it.     Thomas Perez: Include homecare workers in minimum wage & overtime laws.     Thomas Perez: Full-time minimum wage workers should not live in poverty.

Principles & Values     Thomas Perez: First Latino elected to the Montgomery County Council.     Tom Vilsack: Surprised young people don't think US is greatest nation.

Social Security     Thomas Perez: Can't cling to defined benefit mentality in modern world.

Technology     Tom Vilsack: Bio-based products reduce rural American unemployment.     Hillary Clinton: PIPA: When information is stifled, Internet is diminished.     Hillary Clinton: WikiLeaks tears at fabric of government.

War & Peace     Hillary Clinton: Policy of prevention, not containment, on Iranian nukes.     Chuck Hagel: Keep options beyond containment for Iran.     Hillary Clinton: Agrees with Newt Gingrich that Iraq policy is a mess.

Welfare & Poverty     Julian Castro: ConnectHome: make HUD the Department of Opportunity.     Thomas Perez: War on Poverty has reduced poor from 30% to 13%.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Arne Duncan Former Cabinet Chuck Hagel Cabinet-2015 Eric Holder Cabinet-2015 Hilda Solis California Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger Hillary Clinton Democratic Presidential candidate Janet Napolitano Cabinet-2013 Julian Castro Texas Mayor of San Antonio; HUD Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Kansas Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (HHS) Rahm Emanuel Cabinet Steven Chu Former Cabinet Susan Rice Maine Domestic Policy Thomas Perez Cabinet Tom Vilsack Iowa USDA Secretary