Al Gore in CNN political race coverage
On Education:
$36B for tuition after saving Medicare & Social Security
Gore told an audience that he hoped to boost college attendance and graduation rates by making college tuition tax-deductible, giving tax credits and deductions for college savings and keeping interest rates low for student loans. The full tuition
strategy could cost the government as much as $36 billion. Immediate preservation of the Social Security and Medicare programs would ensure that education stayed a viable government priority leading into the next decade and beyond.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 8, 2000
On Energy & Oil:
Use oil reserves so heat doesn’t become a luxury
Gore proposed that the government tap into the nation’s 570-million-barrel strategic oil reserve in an effort to drive down the costs of gasoline and home heating oil. “I’m not satisfied when the oil to heat your home becomes more of a luxury than
an affordable necessity.” Gore also called on Congress to create a permanent home heating oil reserve for the Northeast and for the appropriation of $400 million in emergency funds to help low-income families cope with extreme price spikes.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 21, 2000
On Environment:
Vow to protect environment from special interests
We’re going to fight to beat back the rogue special interests who want to mine and drill and clear-cut our national heritage into oblivion. We’re not going to let them do it.
This Earth is not in a liquidation sale, America is going to lead the new way toward a new day of hope and health for all of our people.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jul 24, 2000
On Immigration:
Citizenship for 1.2M cleared backlog, but sacrificed quality
One of Gore’s attempts to improve government produced such confusion that thousands of people became citizens without adequate background checks, the Justice Dept. says in a new report, and “compromised the integrity” of the INS process. [But] the
report said there is no evidence that the 1996 election motivated the crash program. Under the crash “Citizenship USA” program, a part of Gore’s government reinvention effort, about 1.2 million people were given citizenship from Oct. 1995 to Sept.
1996, [with the intent of] eliminating a massive backlog of nearly 500,000 citizenship cases at INS. The waiting period for citizenship had been as much as three years.
The investigators found that the crash program put quantity over quality. The INS
had processed applicants so quickly that in many cases citizenship was granted before the INS received criminal background checks from the FBI. But the report said there was no way to determine how many unqualified individuals gained citizenship.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Aug 1, 2000
On Jobs:
Preserve free-flows, pristine peaks, & salmon fisheries
“We act today so that, years from now, Americans will still be able to paddle free-flowing waters and hike pristine peaks, enjoying these extraordinary stretches of our natural heritage.. Mine will be an inclusive approach based on solid science,” Gore
said. “The federal government alone can never restore the salmon here, it will take the cooperation of the states, local governments, tribes, private landowners and all who are affected by this issue,” Gore continued. “Extinction is not an option, and
massive economic dislocation is not an option“ Gore pledged. ”I’ll make sure that as we restore the salmon, we do it in a way that is fair to the region’s industries, farmers and working families.“
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jun 9, 2000
On Principles & Values:
Gore affirms his commitment to working people
“I am going to be running with the teachers and the farmers and the bus drivers and the hard working men and women of this country. I’m going to be running with the people, not the privileged.”
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jul 26, 2000
On Social Security:
Use balanced budget to save Social Security, not Wall Street
Gore pledged to make Social Security a top priority, maintain its guaranteed benefit, and make the program more fair for women. Gore’s plan is aimed at keeping Social Security solvent through at least 2050 by
continuing to balance the budget, paying down the national debt and using the interest saved from debt reduction to shore up the Social Security Trust Fund. Gore also argued that privatization plans would divert
Social Security funds to the stock market and risk taxpayer dollars. He warned that a downturn on Wall Street could bankrupt Social Security, force benefit cuts, or lead lawmakers to increase the retirement age.
Source: CNN.com coverage
May 12, 2000
On Social Security:
Bush didn’t know Soc.Sec.is federal; don’t trust him with it
Gore spent the day hammering at comments Bush made on Social Security. Bush said his [partial privatization] plan scares some people “because they want the federal government controlling the Social Security, like it’s some kind of federal program.” Gore
pressed his frequent argument that Bush’s plan effectively promises about $1 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund to two groups of people: younger workers paying into the system, and older workers receiving current benefits. “That program,
which is indeed a federal program, reshaped the later years of our human life cycle-and it provided dignity,“ Gore said. ”If four days from a national election, he doesn’t know Social Security is a federal program, that may explain why he has been so
willing to loot the money from the trust fund.“
In an earlier appearance in Iowa, Gore was blunter: ”Do you want to entrust the Oval Office to somebody who doesn’t even know Social Security is a federal program?“
Source: CNN.com coverage
Nov 3, 2000
On War & Peace:
Don’t let OPEC take advantage of Americans
Gore said Americans “are being taken advantage of in an unfair way” by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). “The basic question is whether or not you’re going to have a president who is willing to fight for the people big oil and
foreign oil, and I’ve never hesitated to do that.” Oil prices on the international markets hit a 10-year high this week, which could undermine the economic strength that has underpinned Gore’s campaign.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 20, 2000
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024