Abortion
Supports abortion rights.
"I am passionately
pro-choice."
Affirmative action
In favor of affirmative action.
"The unemployment rate for African Americans today is more than
twice that of white Americans, and the top ranks of corporate America
remain almost exclusively white. Plain and simple, the playing field
is not level. I am an unequivocal supporter of affirmative action."
Budget and economy
Will not support bills that will put country
into deficit.
"I have pledged that we will not go into deficit spending
unless we enter a recession, when the automatic stabilizers in
our economy for unemployment insurance and other things kick in
to cause that. I will not vote for any bill that will put us into
deficit. Furthermore, I won't vote for any tax increase, exception
possibly with regard to tobacco taxes, in the first six years that
I am in the Senate."
Campaign finance
Favors reform.
"I support
[campaign finance reform], but to have real impact, we're going
to have to open the airwaves...People who want to be advocates for
the public have to pay enormous sums of money to be able to express
their points of view...Until you stop having a stimulus, a need to
access significant resources, you're not going to be able to have
people doing anything other than hire great lawyers to find new
ways to raise money."
China
Supports linking human rights to trade.
"I support China's entry into the World Trade Organization, but
we should not grant China permanent normal trade relations until
and unless it implements environmental, labor, and safety standards.
The annual review of our trading relationship with China is the
only leverage we have to achieve this."
Crime
Opposes the death
penalty.
Education
Supports the universal right to public education,
preschool through college.
"I want to build the best public school
system in the world."
Gun control
Strongly favors gun control.
"The
NRA's lock on the Congress needs to be broken. I will fight day
in and day out for the toughest possible gun control."
Health care
Favors universal access to health care, with restrictions, and supports
greater federal funding for health coverage.
"I have tried to talk
about a composite of initiatives that will bring everyone within
the private sector under an umbrella of coverage within the health
care system in the country. If we do that, I think it'll go a long
way toward making sure that our hospitals are secure financially,
and we will have incentives for people to be doctors and nurses
and technicians...It's not just a social bleeding heart view; it's
actually a practical one."
Labor
Supports increasing the minimum
wage.
"The minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation. I support
legislation increasing the minimum wage to $6.15 an hour. But, quite
frankly, I don't believe $6.15 an hour is high enough. I support
indexing the minimum wage to inflationŠand I oppose efforts to exempt
welfare recipients in welfare-to-work programs from federal minimum
wage standards."
Social Security
Opposes privatization.
"I'm not
for privatizing, but I do believe that the federal government should
treat the Social Security trust fund like we treat state and local
government pension funds. We ought to manage it on a thoughtful
fiduciary basis. And I think we ought to put it in index funds and
manage it over a period of time."
Tax reform
Opposes making income
tax flatter and lower; opposes elimination of the inheritance tax.
"[These changes could] set up an unequal playing field of such dimensions
that people can't get ahead."
Trade
Favors supporting and expanding
free trade.
"I support the goals of NAFTA and the WTO to develop
freer and fairer trade among all peaceful nations."
Sources: VoteCorzine.org, N.J. senatorial debate, Issues2000.org.
