John Kerry on Budget & Economy Jr Senator (MA), Democratic nominee for President

Restore pay-as-you-go for fiscal discipline

KERRY: I'll tell you exactly how I can do it: by reinstating what Pres. Bush took away, which is called "pay as you go." During the 1990s, we had pay-as-you-go rules. If you were going to pass something in the Congress, you had to show where you are going to pay for it and how. Pres. Bush is the only president in history to [rescind pay-as-you-go]. I'm going to reverse that. We're going to restore the fiscal discipline we had in the 1990s.

BUSH: I'll tell you what PAYGO means, when you're a senator from Massachusetts, PAYGO means: You pay, and he goes ahead and spends. He's proposed $2.2 trillion of new spending, and yet the so-called tax on the rich raises $800 billion by his account. There is a tax gap. And guess who usually ends up filling the tax gap? The middle class.

Incentives to create jobs at home and end corporate welfare

We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.
1. We want new incentives to revitalize manufacturing.
2. Investment in technology & innovation that will create the good-paying jobs of the future.
3. Close the tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping our jobs overseas. Instead, we will reward companies that create and keep good paying jobs where they belong-in the good old USA.

We can do better on economy--lift people out of poverty

Base policy on broad growth and progressive taxation

We cannot go back to the 1909s, and we should not simply restore the Clinton administration's policies. But there are certain bedrock, mainstream principles that can and must power our engines of economic growth:
• Economic growth is built on the talent and hard work of all our people, not just wealthy elites.
• Both private and public investment play a role in building the infrastructure for growth.
• Government must ensure a fair and honest marketplace for business competition, labor-management cooperation, and investors with enforceable standards of integrity for financial and accounting systems and corporate executives.
• The progressive system of taxes, which distributes the burden of self-government in proportion to the ability to pay, can and should be maintained without discouraging enterprise or wealth.

No excuse for special tax cuts for the rich

A: The first thing we have to do is to roll back the Bush tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. Fiscally responsible tax cuts for working families can grow the economy, but there is no excuse for special tax cuts for the rich. Then we can create jobs and invest in our people. With the right economic plan, we can turn our economy around, invest in people and reduce deficits all at the same time.

Require full disclosure about subprime mortgages.

Sen. DODD: Today we are facing a crisis in the mortgage markets on a scale that has not been seen since the Great Depression: over 2 million homeowners face foreclosure at a loss of over $160 billion in hard-earned home equity; over one out of every 5 subprime loans is currently delinquent. These high default rates have frozen the subprime and jumbo mortgage markets and infected the capital markets to the point where central banks around the world have had to inject liquidity into the system to avoid the crisis from spreading to other segments of the market.

One of the fundamental causes of this serious crisis is abusive and predatory subprime mortgage lending. The Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act of 2007 is designed to protect American homeowners from these practices, and prevent this disaster from happening again. The legislation will:

• realign the interests of the mortgage industry with borrowers to insure the availability of mortgage capital on fair terms both for the creation and sustainability of homeownership;
• establish new lending standards to ensure that loans are affordable and fair, and
• provide for adequate remedies to make sure the standards are met; and create a transparent set of rules for the mortgage industry so that capital can safely return to the market without bad lending practices driving out the good.

In the coming months, the housing crisis is going to get worse. We will need to continue to press lenders and servicers to provide real relief for homeowners threatened with foreclosure.

Reform mortgage rules to prevent foreclosure & bankruptcy.

• Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 - refinance mortgages originally financed through a qualified subprime loan.
• Makes FY2008 appropriations for emergency needs of states and local governments to redevelop abandoned and foreclosed homes; and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation for foreclosure mitigation activities.
• Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2008 - Authorizes a bankruptcy plan for individuals with regular income to provide for payment of such claim for a period of up to 30 years. Creates a principal residence homestead exemption for debtors over 55 years of age.
• Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to set forth additional disclosure requirements governing any extensions of credit (not only mortgages) secured by the dwelling of a consumer.

Ban abusive credit practices & enhance consumer disclosure.

Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 or the Credit CARD Act of 2009:
• Tile I: Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require advance notice of any increase in the annual percentage rate of interest (APR) pertaining to a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan.
• Imposes a freeze on interest rate terms and fees on canceled cards.
• Sets limits on fees and interest charges, including a prohibition against penalties for on-time payments.
• Allows imposition of an over-the-limit fee only once during a billing cycle. Prohibits its imposition in a subsequent billing cycle.
• Requires fees for cardholder agreement violations and currency exchanges to be reasonable.
• Prohibits a creditor from furnishing information to a consumer reporting agency concerning a newly opened credit card account until the credit card has been used or activated by the consumer.
• Title II: Enhanced Consumer Disclosures: Requires the creditor to provide a toll-free telephone number at which the consumer may receive information about accessing credit counseling and debt management services.
• Revises requirements relating to late payment deadlines and penalties.
• Requires a periodic statement of account to disclose: (1) the date by which a payment must be postmarked, if paid by mail, in order to avoid the imposition of a late payment fee; and (2) any possible resulting increase in interest rates for late payments.
• Title III: Protection of Young Consumers: Prohibits issuance of a credit card on behalf of a consumer under age 21, unless the consumer has submitted a written application meeting specified requirements.