Topics in the News: Entitlement Reform
Amy Klobuchar on Health Care
: Jun 26, 2019
Medicare/Medicaid can be step towards universal care
I think we share the goal of universal health care. This idea is that you use Medicare or Medicaid without any insurance companies involved, you can do it either way. And the estimates are 13 million people would see a reduction in their premiums,
12 more million people would get covered. I think it is a beginning and the way you start and the way you move to universal health care.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Amy Klobuchar on Health Care
: Apr 22, 2019
Supports public option for Medicaid & Medicare
First of all, we need to bring down premiums -- and they're affecting everyone. You can do that many ways. One of my major proposals is to bring back that Public Option idea that's been floating around, that should have been put in, in the first place.
That gives you a choice. You could do it with Medicaid, you can do it with Medicare, so that you have a less expensive option to pick from.
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Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back
Amy Klobuchar on Health Care
: Mar 31, 2019
For public option, taking on Big Pharma
As president, I would immediately put in a public option proposal to Congress and that could be for Medicaid or Medicare. But that is also a way to get to our goal of universal health care coverage. I would make sure that we have negotiations for prices
under Medicare, that we bring in less expensive drugs from places like Canada and that we stop the practice where big pharma pays off their competitors to keep their products off the market.
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Source: ABC This Week 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary
Amy Klobuchar on Health Care
: Feb 18, 2019
Medicare-for-All for the future; public option now
Q: Your opinion on expanding ObamaCare?A: I believe we have to get to universal health care in this country. We have to make sure that we build on the work of the Affordable Care Act. We need to expand coverage so that people can have a choice for a
public option. You can do it with Medicare. You could also do it with Medicaid. This is a bill that I am an original co-sponsor of. It basically says let's expand Medicaid so you can buy into Medicaid and it will bring the prices down and we can cover
more people. The other part of the equation is doing something about prescription drugs. I have one of the original bills to push to have Medicare negotiate prices, lift the ban, bring in less expensive drugs from Canada and stop the practice where
pharma pays off generics to keep their products off the market.
Q: And Medicare for all?
A: I think it's something that we can look to for the future, but I want to get action now.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Howard Schultz on Health Care
: Jan 18, 2019
Single-payer health care is a false promise
Schultz earned praise for the benefits he provided Starbucks retail workers, including health-care coverage options for part-time employees. But he also has signaled a willingness to break with Democratic orthodoxy. "We have to go after entitlements,"
he said in the CNBC interview last year. He also dismissed as "false promises" the proposals for single-payer health care and guaranteed federal jobs that have become popular on the left, saying that they were fiscally unworkable.
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Source: Washington Post on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Beto O`Rourke on Health Care
: Oct 18, 2018
Open to different ways to get to universal health care
We could expand Medicaid. We could introduce Medicare as an option on the exchanges. Concerned about rising premium costs? Let's control them with some downward pressure by introducing Medicare as an option, lower price,
expand selection and choice. There are many roads that will get us there. It may not happen all at once. It may take us some time. We can't allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Joe Biden on Social Security
: Aug 7, 2018
Freeze entitlements; don't favor special interests
Biden toured the country in 1985 chiding groups like unions and farmers for being too narrowly focused and complained that Democrats too often "think in terms of special interests first and the greater interest second."
In the latter case, Biden was specifically complaining about their opposition to his calls for a spending freeze on entitlements and an increase in the retirement age.
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Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Larry Hogan on Health Care
: Jul 1, 2018
Maryland Model: total cost of care all-payer model
Governor Larry Hogan signed and officially enacted Maryland's Total Cost of Care All-Payer Model, known as the "Maryland Model," in a signing ceremony at the Maryland State House.The Maryland Model is an innovative approach to healthcare provider
payment that is unique to Maryland and made possible via a contract between the state and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The new model contract is expected to provide an additional $300 million in savings per year by 2023,
totaling $1 billion in savings over five years.
Said Gov. Hogan, "Today, we are taking another major step forward in our efforts to ensure that every Marylander has access to quality healthcare. It is my hope that these actions will be an example
to the nation that when both sides of the aisle and all levels of government come together to develop innovative solutions, we can make real progress toward addressing our healthcare challenges and making care more accessible and more affordable."
Click for Larry Hogan on other issues.
Source: July 2018 newsletter (MD Governor's office press release)
John Hickenlooper on Education
: Aug 6, 2017
Reinvent bipartisan apprenticeships & workforce training
Q [to Kasich]: Are you working with Gov. Hickenlooper on issues other than healthcare?Gov. John KASICH (R-OH): Gov. Hickenlooper and I have talked about the issue of entitlements, to get this problem of rising debt under control. This could be a good
start.
HICKENLOOPER: [Our bipartisan model could apply to] almost anything. Look at the need to reinvent the way we do work force training: 2/3 of our kids are never going to get a 4-year college degree, and we really haven't been able to prepare them
for an economy where the new generation of jobs require some technical capability. We need to look at apprenticeships. We need to look at all kinds of internships. That's the kind of thing that Republicans and Democrats could work on together.
And go down the list, all the economic development work. Those are issues where we should be able to roll up our sleeves say, "we may disagree about this, but we all agree that we want to make sure that everybody has a chance to earn their own future."
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Source: CBS Face the Nation 2017 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
John Kasich on Social Security
: Aug 6, 2017
Deal with all entitlements or we'll drown in debt
Q: You've been working with Gov. Hickenlooper (D-CO) on healthcare--KASICH: Look, this is just insurance. At some point, we have got to deal with the underlying problem that is caused by rising health care. At the same time, Gov. Hickenlooper and
I have talked about the issue of entitlements. Look, we're going to drown our children and grandchildren in debt, which is going to kill our economy, if we don't begin to deal with Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, all the entitlements, and start
to get this problem of rising debt under control. So, this could be a good start.
Q [to Hickenlooper]: Are there other issues on which governors can work together like this?
Gov. John HICKENLOOPER (D-CO):
Oh, sure, almost anything. We should be able to roll up our sleeves say, "we may disagree about this, but we all agree that we want to make sure that everybody has a chance to earn their own future."
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2017 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
John Kasich on Homeland Security
: Apr 25, 2017
Cutting Pentagon budget doesn't weaken defense
[In the 1980s when I sought to cut wasteful spending in the military], my thinking was this: Just because you're out to curb some of the ridiculous costs doesn't mean you're out to weaken the nation's defense. The Pentagon budget was bloated; yet only
a few people were speaking out against it. The talk all over Washington was about the need for cuts in our social welfare and entitlement programs, while there was an unspoken agreement that we were not supposed to be critical of our defense spending.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Two Paths, by John Kasich, p. 99
John Kasich on Principles & Values
: Oct 28, 2015
Get this country moving again
My concern is we are on the verge, perhaps, of picking someone who cannot do this job. I've watched people say we should dismantle Medicare and Medicaid. I've heard them talk about deporting 10 or 11 million people, splitting families.
I've heard about tax schemes that don't add up. We need somebody who can lead; we need somebody who can balance budgets, cut taxes. I did it in Washington, in Ohio, and I will do it again, if I am President, to get this country moving again.
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Source: GOP "Your Money/Your Vote" 2015 CNBC 1st-tier debate
John Kasich on Social Security
: Oct 10, 2015
Fix Social Security by lowering benefits
We can't balance a budget without entitlement reform. What are we, kidding? He initially said young people would see "a lot" lower benefit, before correcting himself to
say perhaps not "a lot," but some amount. Kasich told reporters that Democrats "basically allowed this program to get to a point where it could go bankrupt" and said they should focus on proposals to fix the problem.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: CNN 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Health Care
: Jun 16, 2015
Don't cut Medicare; grow the economy to keep benefits
What does Donald Trump believe? Entitlements: Do not cut Social Security or Medicare benefits. Grow the economy to save those programs.The real estate tycoon told CPAC in 2013 that Republicans should not cut Social Security or Medicare because most
Americans want to keep the benefits as they stand now. His solution is unclear, but he has indicated that general economic growth would play a role. Trump tweeted in May that he knows "where to get the money from" and "nobody else does."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Bernie Sanders on Social Security
: Mar 21, 2015
Strengthen the social safety net, instead of weakening it
Millions of seniors live in poverty and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country. We must strengthen the social safety net, not weaken it.
Instead of cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition programs, we should be expanding these programs.
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Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Donald Trump on Health Care
: Jan 24, 2015
Save Medicare & Medicaid without cutting them to the bone
He pledged to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid "without cutting it to the bone" by "making the country rich again." He vowed to repeal Obama's Affordable Care Act and replace it with something better, although he didn't provide any details.
Trump made no effort to woo mainstream GOP elected officials. He remarked, "I am a Republican, and I am disappointed with our Republican politicians because they let our president get away with absolute murder."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Des Moines Register on 2015 Iowa Freedom Summit
Bernie Sanders on Social Security
: Jan 15, 2015
We must strengthen the social safety net, not weaken it
Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans:
Millions of seniors live in poverty and we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country. We must strengthen the social safety net, not weaken it. Instead of cutting
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and nutrition programs, we should be expanding these programs.Health Care as a Right for All:
The United States must join the rest of the industrialized world and recognize that health care is a right of all, and not a privilege. Despite the fact that more than 40 million
Americans have no health insurance, we spend almost twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation. We need to establish a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system.
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Source: 12 Steps Forward, by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Cory Booker on Social Security
: Aug 23, 2013
Don't raise retirement age, except maybe for young workers
Booker has been deemed suspicious when it comes to entitlement reform. The sole concrete criticism was Booker "hinting that he'd be open to raising the Social Security retirement age for young people -- before backtracking furiously when progressives
called him on it." Booker had been paraphrased in the Bergen Record as saying that he "opposes raising the retirement age for most people in the country -- except, perhaps, for people in their 20s or younger."
When the vagueness of that position prompted furious criticism, Booker tweeted that he opposes all cuts to Social Security and Medicare; would, if anything, expand the programs; and also opposes raising the retirement age and curbing benefits
through the "chained CPI" inflation index. But the case against Booker seems to rest chiefly on tone and approach. It seems clear Booker will not be riding to Washington on a wave of esteem from national progressives.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic, "Why Do Liberals Hate Booker," by Molly Ball,
Donald Trump on Immigration
: Mar 15, 2013
Citizenship for illegal immigrants is a GOP suicide mission
Donald Trump said the Republican party will lose elections if it reforms the nation's entitlement programs and will hand
Democrats 11 million votes if Congress grants citizenship to illegal immigrants, likening the reform efforts to a "suicide mission."
"The fact is 11 million people will be voting Democratic. You can be out front. You can be the spearhead. You can do whatever you want to do, but every one of those 11 million people will be voting Democratic," he said. "It is just the way it
works.""You have to be very, very careful, because you could say that to a certain extent the odds aren't looking so great for Republicans, that you are on a suicide mission," he said. "You are just not going to get those votes."
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Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Washington Times
Donald Trump on Social Security
: Mar 15, 2013
Cannot change Medicare or Soc.Sec. and still win elections
[At CPAC, Trump said}: "As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it
just really is not going to happen," Mr. Trump said, adding that polls show that tea partyers are among those who don't want their entitlements changed. "What we have to do and the way we solve our problems it to build a great economy."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2013 Conservative Political Action Conf. in Washington Times
Barack Obama on Budget & Economy
: Feb 12, 2013
Uphold full faith & credit of US; keep government open
I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform won't be easy. The politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our economy, and visit hardship on millions of
hardworking Americans. So let's set party interests aside, and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. And let's do it without the brinksmanship that stresses consumers and scares off
investors. The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next. Let's agree, right here, right now, to keep the people's government open, pay our bills on time, and always
uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America. The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another.
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Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Tulsi Gabbard on Social Security
: Nov 6, 2012
No budget cuts to Medicare and Social Security
We need to protect Medicare and Social Security. We should always care for our kupuna and those who are unable to care for themselves; this is who we are. Many in Congress want to keep tax breaks for the wealthy and other "entitlements" and
instead cut costs by sacrificing Medicare and Social Security in order to get our budget under control. Sacrificing Medicare and Social Security is not acceptable and I will stand up against such efforts.
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Source: 2012 House campaign website, votetulsi.com, "Issues"
Joe Biden on Health Care
: Oct 11, 2012
Medicare gives seniors choice, even if Rx prices negotiated
BIDEN: If we just did one thing--allow Medicare to bargain for the cost of drugs like Medicaid can--that would save $156 billion right off the bat. RYAN: And it would deny seniors choices.
BIDEN: All you seniors out there, have you been denied
choices? Have you lost Medicare Advantage?
RYAN: Because it's working well right now.
BIDEN: Because we changed the law!
Q: Why not very slowly raise the Medicare eligibility age by two years, as Congressman Ryan suggests?
BIDEN:
I was there when we did that with Social Security, in 1983. We made the system solvent to 2033. We will not, though, be part of any voucher [that says] when you're 65, go out there, shop for the best insurance you can get; you're out of Medicare.
This voucher will not keep pace with health care costs, because if it did keep pace with health care costs, there would be no savings.
RYAN: A voucher is you go to your mailbox, get a check and buy something. Nobody's proposing that.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate
Barack Obama on Social Security
: Oct 3, 2012
Tweak Social Security like Reagan did, but keep entitlements
Q: Do you see a major difference between the two of you on Social Security?OBAMA: I suspect that, on Social Security, we've got a somewhat similar position. Social Security is structurally sound. It's going to have to be tweaked the way it was by
Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. But the basic structure is sound. But I want to talk about the values behind Social Security and Medicare--what's called entitlements.
You know, the name itself implies some sense of dependency on the part of these folks. These are folks who've worked hard, and there are millions of people out there who are counting on this. So my approach is to say, how do we strengthen
the system over the long term? And in Medicare, what we did was we said, we are going to have to bring down the costs if we're going to deal with our long-term deficits, but to do that, let's look where some of the money's going.
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Source: First Obama-Romney 2012 Presidential debate
Elizabeth Warren on Social Security
: Jul 11, 2012
No unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes
Most independent deficit analysts say entitlement projected spending will need to be reduced to solve the budget deficit. We should start there before we even consider breaking the promises we made to our seniors.
It would be a breach of trust--and just plain poor economic policy--to jeopardize these programs with unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes, especially when the wealthy and well-connected continue to enjoy special tax deals.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Donald Trump on Health Care
: Dec 5, 2011
Kill ObamaCare before it becomes a trillion-ton weight
Obamacare can't be reformed, salvaged, or fixed. It's that bad. Obamacare has to be killed now before it grows into an even bigger mess, as it inevitably will. Obamacare takes full effect in 2014. If it's not repealed before then, it will be more than
just another failed government entitlement program--it will be the trillion-ton weight that finally takes down our economy forever.
Obamacare is a heat-seeking missile that will destroy jobs & small businesses; it will explode health-care costs; and it will lead to health care that is far less innovative than it is today. Every argument that you'd make against socialism you can make
against socialized health care, and any candidate who isn't 100% committed to scrapping Obamacare is not someone America should elect president. Repealing Obamacare may be one of the most important and consequential actions our next president takes.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.121-122
Donald Trump on Social Security
: Dec 5, 2011
Social Security isn't an "entitlement"; it's honoring a deal
Social Security faces a problem: 77 million baby boomers set to retire. Now I know there are some Republicans who would be just fine with allowing these programs to wither and die on the vine. The way they see it, Social Security and Medicare are
wasteful "entitlement programs." But people who think this way need to rethink their position. It's not unreasonable for people who paid into a system for decades to expect to get their money's worth--that's not an "entitlement," that's honoring a deal.
We as a society must also make an ironclad commitment to providing a safety net for those who can't make one for themselves.Social Security is here to stay. To be sure, we must reform it, root out the fraud, make it more efficient, and ensure that the
program is solvent.
Same goes for Medicare. Again, people have lived up to their end of the bargain and paid into the program in good faith. Of course they believe they're "entitled" to receive the benefits they paid for--they are!
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p. 68-69
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Jan 26, 2011
Repealing healthcare reform would cost $250B
The bipartisan fiscal commission concluded that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it--in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.
This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. The health insurance law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part
of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit.
Still, I'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year--medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2011 State of the Union speech
Mike Pence on Social Security
: Sep 26, 2010
Reform Social Security to ensure its solvency
Q: What about entitlement spending? Are you going to raise the retirement age as Boehner suggested might be a good idea on Social Security?A: We'd keep our promises to seniors and near seniors, but for Americans under the age of 40, we absolutely
have to begin to reform Medicare and Social Security in ways that'll ensure its long-term fiscal solvency. But let me assure you, the Pledge to America Republican reform agenda] is not the end-all, be-all, it's meant to be a good start.
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Source: Meet the Press 2010 interview of Mike Pence
Mike Pence on Social Security
: Aug 8, 2010
Down-the-road raising of the Social Security retirement age
Top Republican leaders in the House offered a fairly strong signal on Sunday that they would favor a down-the-road raising of the Social Security retirement age as part of an effort to revamp the entitlement program. Later during the "Meet the Press"
program, Mike Pence was asked if he supported the idea. The Indiana Republican stammered around for a bit, echoing the same talking point concerning the need for "an adult conversation about domestic spending and entitlements."
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Source: Huffington Post, "Retirement Age": 2016 Veepstakes
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Jan 29, 2010
Medicare is major driver of our long-term liabilities
Pres. OBAMA: The major driver of our long-term liabilities, is Medicare and Medicaid and our health care spending. That's going to be what our children have to worry about. Now, [Rep. Paul Ryan's] approach--if I understand it correctly, would say we're
going to provide vouchers of some sort for current Medicare recipients at the current level.Rep. RYAN: No.
Pres. OBAMA: No?
Rep. RYAN: People 55 and above are grandfathered in.
Pres. OBAMA: But just for future beneficiaries, the basic idea would
be that at some point we hold Medicare cost per recipient constant as a way of making sure that that doesn't go way out of whack, right?
Rep. RYAN: We drew it as a blend of inflation and health inflation. Medicare is a $38 trillion unfunded liability--
it has to be reformed for younger generations because it's going bankrupt. And the premise of our idea is, why not give people the same kind of health care plan we here have in Congress?
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama Q&A at 2010 House Republican retreat in Baltimore
Barack Obama on Government Reform
: Jan 27, 2010
Freeze discretionary government spending for 3 years
Families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same. So tonight, I'm proposing specific steps to pay for the trillion dollars that it took to rescue the economy last year.
Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will.
Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.
We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2010 State of the Union Address
Michael Bennet on Social Security
: Jul 2, 2009
Preserve the integrity of entitlement programs
We need to take a serious look at reforming our entitlement programs. Social Security is our most successful retirement program and it provides the only path to a secure retirement for millions of Americans. Similarly,
Medicare is the only way to get quality health care for many Americans. We must find a way to preserve the integrity of these programs while reducing the increasingly large impact they have on the overall federal budget.
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Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, bennetforcolorado.com "Issues"
Barack Obama on Social Security
: Oct 7, 2008
Good health care and tax reform will save entitlements
Q: How should we fix Social Security and other entitlement programs?OBAMA: If we get our tax policies right so that they’re good for the middle class, if we reverse the policies of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the
first place and that Sen. McCain supported, then we are going to be in a position to deal with Social Security and deal with Medicare, because we will have a health care plan that actually works for you, reduces spending and costs over the long term, and
Social Security that is stable and solvent for all Americans and not just some.
McCAIN: What we have to do with Medicare is have the smartest people in
America come together, come up with recommendations, and then, like the base-closing commission idea we had, then we should have Congress vote up or down.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 second presidential debate against John McCain
Barack Obama on Budget & Economy
: Sep 26, 2008
Spending freeze is like a hatchet where you need a scalpel
Q: In the middle of a huge financial crisis that is yet to be resolved, how this is going to affect you not in small ways, but in major ways, and the approach you would take to the presidency.
McCAIN: How about a spending freeze on everything but Defense, Veterans Affairs and entitlement programs? We ought to seriously consider, with the exceptions of caring for our veterans, national defense and several other vital issues.
OBAMA: The problem with a spending freeze is you’re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel. There are some programs that are very important that are currently underfunded. I want to increase early childhood education.
We’re currently spending $10 billion a month in Iraq when they have a $79 billion surplus. It seems to me that if we’re going to be strong at home as well as strong abroad, that we’ve got to look at bringing that war to a close.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 first presidential debate, Obama vs. McCain
Jesse Ventura on Government Reform
: Apr 1, 2008
1996: Dole & Clinton conspired to limit presidential debates
In 1992, when Ross Perot scared the pants off the two parties by getting almost 20% of the vote, that entitled him to nearly $30 million of our tax dollars if he chose to run again in '96. Shouldn't that entitlement--and the fact that he received one out
of every 5 votes--also have automatically qualified Perot to take part in any '96 debates?Well, that wasn't allowed. That year, it was Bill Clinton running for reelection against Bob Dole. Dole did not want Perot in the debates, because he felt it
would erode his conservative base. Clinton did not want debates at all because he was so far ahead. So, the two of them made a backroom deal. They would eliminate Perot if Clinton was allowed to say how many debates there would be, and when. They took
this to the Federal Debate Commission and, of course, it was rubber-stamped. That's how we were denied seeing Perot take part in a spirited 3-person debate. That year, the only two debates were held--by design--at the same time as the World Series.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.285-286
Jesse Ventura on War & Peace
: Apr 1, 2008
Iraq war drains resources from social programs
Prior to invading, Donald Rumsfeld said that Iraq's oil would pay for everything. So much for that big idea. The fact is, this war is not only draining America's resources, it's likely to eventually bankrupt us. And who is paying the biggest price?
When you realize that the new Bush budget also cuts $66 billion out of Medicare payments to the elderly over the next 5 years, and another $12 billion out of Medicaid for the poor, it's kind of a no-brainer. The NY Times recently noted that, for what
the war is costing, we could've instituted universal health care, provided nursery school education for every 3- and 4-year-old, and immunized kids around the world against numerous diseases--and still had half the money left over.
At the same time,
shortly before we turned over supposed control to the Iraqis, the US Federal Reserve sent over, on military aircraft, the biggest cash shipment it's ever made--more than $4 billion, amounting to 363 tons of dollars on these huge pallets.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.263
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Oct 30, 2007
Tackle insurance companies on reimbursement system
We need to deal with the insurance companies. On Medicare and Medicaid, the reimbursement system is not working the way it should.
Instituting a universal health-care system that emphasizes prevention will free up dollars that potentially then can go to reimbursing doctors a little bit more.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic debate at Drexel University
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Oct 30, 2007
Insurance companies cannot deny people coverage
My proposal gives the insurance companies an ultimatum. They have to get into the business of actually providing insurance, instead of trying to avoid covering people. They cannot deny people coverage. They cannot have a pre-existing condition which is
not covered. That is one of the biggest problems that doctors face. They face this constant barrage of harassment and bureaucratization from the private insurance world. We need to clean up Medicare & Medicaid. They’re not as friendly as they need to be.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic debate at Drexel University
Mike Gravel on Health Care
: Mar 24, 2007
Phase out Medicare and Medicaid over time
Q: What is your plan for providing preventative and diagnostic services for health care for our seniors, people with disabilities and all Americans?A: One of the facets of my plan would be to keep in place Medicare and Medicaid and phase them out over
time. Because plans to put everybody on Medicare aren’t going to fly financially and just can’t be met. We are in deep economic difficulty and in debt. So when you talk about the seniors, this is where you have these health regional boards where in that
region they’ll be defining what goes into these various vouchers. And they’ll change every year depending upon your personal history as you get older. We know it costs less for young people and it costs more for old people. That’s just the nature of the
situation. So I don’t have any magic to take care of the seniors. All I can say is I can set up a structure that will have checks and balances where they’ll have a better say, they’ll have a better say than they have today.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Mar 24, 2007
Require electronic medical record for all federal healthcare
I want to start requiring that people who do business with the government, namely Medicare, Medicaid, VA, you name it, they’re going to have to move toward electronic medical records. And I’m willing to put some up front money into that to create a
system where all these different health care IT systems can talk to each other, [so no matter where you are], you start with a history. After Hurricane Katrina I went down to Houston to see the people who had been evacuated, most in them from the
convention center. The elderly, the frail. People who were very dependent upon health care, their records were gone. Those 15 pieces of paper were destroyed. And a lot of doctors told me their biggest problem was trying to figure out what prescriptions
to give to people. The only people they could help were the people who had shopped at chain drug stores because they had electronic medical records. If we had that for all of our health records, we’d get costs down & we’d have higher quality health care.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas
Amy Klobuchar on Immigration
: Oct 15, 2006
Opposes Social Security for illegal immigrants
Q: You oppose Social Security for illegal immigrants?KLOBUCHAR: Yes, I do.
KENNEDY: If you look at the record, she said she would support the Senate immigration bill, that would give benefits to
12 million people that didn’t have benefits. $5 billion cost to Social Security. If you included Medicare and Medicaid, that’d be $50 billion.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 MN Senate debate, on Meet the Press
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Oct 11, 2006
FDA should compare drug effectiveness--not just safety
In 2003, President Bush and Congress upset their conservative base by creating the largest new entitlement program since the Johnson presidency.Hillary opposed the bill, on the grounds it was not comprehensive enough. She supported numerous amendments
that would have enlarged the program and further increased government involvement in the dispensation of prescription drugs.
One of her amendments sought to order the National Institutes of
Health to conduct and compile more drug studies, as well as to advise and inform patients and doctors about which drugs work best. The amendment was specifically aimed at increasing the government’s role in medicine. Clinton defended it by noting, “While
the FDA is responsible for determining safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs compared to a placebo, there is no government entity responsible for examining whether drug A is more effective at treating a particular condition than drug B.”
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 75-76
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Oct 1, 2006
The market alone can’t solve our health-care woes
President Clinton took a stab at creating a system of universal coverage, but was stymied. Since then, public debate has been deadlocked.Given the money we spend on health care, we should be able to provide basic coverage to everyone. But we have to
contain costs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
The market alone cannot solve the problem--in part because the market has proven incapable of creating large enough insurance pools to keep costs to individuals affordable. Overall, 20% of all patients
account for 80% of the care, and if we can prevent disease or manage their effects, we can dramatically improve outcomes and save money.
With the money saved through increased preventive care and lower administrative and malpractice costs, we would
provide a subsidy to low-income families and immediately mandate coverage for all uninsured children.
There is no easy fix, but the point is that if we commit to making sure everyone has decent care, there are ways to do it.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.183-185
John Kasich on Budget & Economy
: Nov 1, 1996
Require balanced budget; block grant everything to states
Q: Do you support amending the US Constitution to require an annual balanced federal budget?A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the use of block grants given to states, rather than federal spending, in the following areas: Agriculture?
A: Yes.
Q:
Education?
A: Yes.
Q: Farm subsidies?
A: Yes.
Q: Food stamps?
A: Yes.
Q: Law enforcement?
A: Yes.
Q: Medicaid?
A: Yes.
Q: Medicare?
A: Yes.
Q: School lunches?
A: Yes.
Q: Welfare?
A: Yes.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Congressional 1996 National Political Awareness Test
Page last updated: Aug 01, 2019