PBS News Hour: on Budget & Economy


James Webb: Cut budget by bottom-up review of all programs

Webb told the Des Moines Register editorial board in June that he would cut the federal budget by calling for "bottom-up program reviews" in all federal agencies. In a December 2014 press conference, the Democrat told reporters that as president he would work across party lines to try and reduce the national debt. As a senator, Webb voted against a balanced budget amendment. As Secretary of the Navy, Webb resigned from office in protest over proposed budget cutbacks at the Pentagon.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Jul 2, 2015

Bobby Jindal: Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced federal budget

Jindal supports a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. As president, Jindal's spending priority would be defense and he has called for increased military spending. While he has not recently outlined a specific approach to Medicare and Social Security, in 2005 Jindal supported President Bush's proposal to create voluntary personal savings accounts as an option for workers.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Jun 24, 2015

Rick Perry: Cap federal spending at 18% of GDP

Where Rick Perry stands on key issues: While running for president in 2011, Perry's long term budget proposal included capping federal spending at 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product and passing a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. In that 2011 proposal, Perry pledged to balance the U.S. budget by the year 2020.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Jun 3, 2015

Rick Santorum: Cap size of government budget at 18% of GDP

Santorum wants to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget. He would also cap federal government expenditures at 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product. To achieve that, the former senator wants to freeze pay for non-defense-related federal employees for four years and decrease the federal workforce by 10 percent.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series May 27, 2015

Bernie Sanders: Break up large banks; add fees for high-risk investments

Sanders would divide large banks into smaller entities and charge a new fee for high-risk investment practices, including credit default swaps. In addition, he believes the Federal Reserve is an opaque organization which gives too much support to large corporations. His pushed for a 2011 audit of the Fed and he would use the Fed to force banks into loaning more money to small businesses. Finally, he would ban financial industry executives from serving on the 12 regional boards of directors.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Apr 30, 2015

Marco Rubio: Freeze spending for everything but defense at 2008 levels

Rubio supports balancing the federal budget within 10 years and has long advocated freezing spending for everything but defense at 2008 levels. This year, the Florida senator proposed raising defense spending. He voted for the Senate Republican plan, which balances the budget and cuts $4.3 trillion in spending, including funds from Medicare and other programs.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Apr 13, 2015

Rand Paul: Balance the budget: slash spending, raise defense

Paul has outlined one of the most aggressive spending cut proposals in Congress--it would balance the federal budget within five years. At the same time, in 2015 Paul ended years of calling for cutbacks in defense spending and proposed increasing the Pentagon's budget by $190 billion.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series Apr 7, 2015

  • The above quotations are from PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series.
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2016 Presidential contenders on Budget & Economy:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018