Bill Clinton's Promises
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/PROMISES, PROMISES/ {centered masthead}
Once Bill Clinton is in office, he will (according to himself) provide
health care for everyone. He will see to it that good, high-paying jobs
are widely available and that no working family falls below the poverty
line. He will wipe out adult illiteracy in five years. He will guarantee
all Americans a college education or two years' vocational training. He
will protect the environment and workers' rights without costing business
growth. He will cut the federal deficit in half in four years--without
raising taxes on the middle class. It's a beautiful thing. Thanks to the
research arm of the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies,
you can now keep all the inspiring Clinton pledges at your fingertips:
Date Broken
1 "Vote for me and we'll produce more natural gas in _
Texas." -- /Dallas Morning News/, January 11, 1992 |_|
2 "The West should establish a $6 billion fund to help
stabilize the Russian ruble." -- /New York City, _
April 1, 1992 |_|
3 "I will streamline the federal government and change the
way it works; cut 100,000 bureaucrats and put 100,000
police officers on your streets of American cities." _
-- New York City, July 16, 1992 |_|
4 "I promise you I will never bash public employees." _
-- /Dallas Morning News/, June 18, 1992 |_|
5 "I would want the first judge I appointed to believe in
the right to privacy and the right to choose." _
-- /PBS/, July 7, 1992 |_|
6 "[What] would work is to raise the top tax rate on people
with gross incomes above $200,000 to 35 percent or 36
percent and put a surtax on people with incomes of a
million dollars or more a year." -- /Time/, _
July 20, 1992 |_|
7 "We should pay up--and pay now--the past dues we owe to _
the U.N." -- New York City, April 1, 1992 |_|
8 "If I become president, we will keep a glatt kosher
kitchen in the White House." -- New York City, _
April 1, 1992 |_|
9 "Under our health care system, all Americans will have
access to quality and affordable health care through
coverage from their employer, or if they're unemployed,
through their government." -- Jersey City, NJ, _
October 29, 1992 |_|
10 "I want a leaner bureaucracy and more investments." _
-- /Time/, July 20, 1992 |_|
11 "A national apprenticeship program for non-college-bound
young people so they can get good jobs, fully fun Head
Start--those things are not terribly expensive." _
-- "Face the Nation"/ (CBS), October 6, 1991 |_|
12 "To the fathers who have chosen to abandon their children
by neglecting their child support: Take responsibility
for your children, or we will force you to do so." _
-- New York City, July 16, 1992 |_|
13 "U.S. [NATO] troop levels can be safely reduced to a force
in the range of 75,000 to 100,000" -- /Europe/, _
October 1992 |_|
14 "As soon as the Pentagon issued a study which said there
was no basis in national security for discriminating based
on sexual orientation of Americans who wish to serve in
the military, I said I would act on the study." -- _
Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 1992 |_|
15 "I am going to send Al Gore to Capitol Hill to take the
lead in passing our program in the first 100 days of the
new administration." -- Little Rock, Ark., _
July 10, 1992 |_|
16 "I would bring in all the players within the first 60 days
and tell them to develop a national health care plan." _
-- /Dallas Morning News/, October 7, 1991 |_|
17 "The Clinton-Gore Administration will view the support of
generic industrial technologies as a priority mission."
-- Clinton's /"Technology: The Engine of Economic _
Growth,"/ issued September 21, 1992 |_|
18 "My first priority would be to pass a jobs program, to
introduce it on the first day I was inaugurated." _
-- St. Louis, MO, October 11, 1992 |_|
19 "My plan offers $50 billion in new investments over the
next four years--new incentives for the private sector,
an investment tax credit, urban enterprise zones, new
business tax incentives, research and development
incentives and others." -- /Arizona Republic/, _
June 28, 1992 |_|
20 "At the very least, 10 percent of the $76 billion that
the government now spends each year on research should
be redirected from the Pentagon's research budget to
civil efforts." -- Clinton's /"Technology: The Engine _
of Economic Growth," Issued September 21, 1992 |_|
21 "We can give you a country again where we are pro-growth
and pro-environment. Where we are pro-business and
pro-labor, where we are pro-civil rights and pro-civil
order, where we are pro-family and pro-choice." _
-- Portland Oregonian, July 26, 1992 |_|
22 "When it comes to AIDS, there should be a Manhattan _
Project." -- Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 1992 |_|
23 "We can pledge right now that for every dollar we reduce
the defense budges on research and development, we'll
increase the civilian research and development budget
by the same amount." -- Georgetown University, _
November 20, 1991 |_|
24 "I want to increase federal funding for research,
prevention and treatment [for AIDS]." -- Jersey City, _
NJ, October 29, 1992 |_|
25 "I support a strong American role in the U.N. and with the
European Community to end Serbian aggression. I have
supported the use of multilateral military force, if _
necessary." -- /Europe/, October 1992 |_|
26 "My administration will stand up for democracy and buttress
democratic forces in Haiti, Peru and throughout the _
Western Hemisphere." -- /(AP)/ August 14, 1992 |_|
27 "We need not just a new generation of leadership, but a
new gender of leadership. This is a minority I enjoy _
being in." -- /Phoenix Gazette/, July 15, 1992 |_|
28 "Those who can [after two years on welfare] will have to go
to work, either by taking a job in the private sector or_
through community service." -- /"Putting People First"/|_|
29 "The United States should lead the fight to slow global
warning, instead of dragging our feet and ignoring
important scientific data." -- New York City, _
April 1, 1992 |_|
30 "I want to appoint one person, one man or woman, to
oversee and coordinate all federal efforts related to
this issue [AIDS]." -- Jersey City, NJ, _
October 29, 1992 |_|
31 "A Clinton-Gore Administration will not permit American
firms again to sell key technologies to outlaw states _
like Iraq." -- /(AP)/ August 14, 1992 |_|
32 "I certainly will give every consideration to Hispanic
candidates for the Supreme Court." -- /Dallas Morning _
News/, July 2, 1992 |_|
33 "The old adage /mi casa, su casa/ will be true when my
house is the White House." -- /Dallas Morning News/, _
July 2, 1992 |_|
34 "All the money by which we reduce defense research and
development I would put immediately into domestic,
commercial research and development." -- /Dallas _
Morning News/, August 16, 1992 |_|
35 "I will elevate economics; create an Economic Security
Council similar to the National Security Council." -- _
Los Angeles, CA, August 13, 1992 |_|
36 "My administration will reduce our forces, but maintain
a credible presence in Europe and Asia." -- Portland _
Oregonian, September 1, 1992 |_|
37 "I want people like some of you in this audience to be
part of a Clinton Administration, not because of or in
spite of your sexual orientation, but because America _
needs you." -- Los Angeles, CA, May 18, 1992 |_|
38 "You live in a country that makes it harder to raise
children than any country in the world. You vote for
me and I'll give you family values." -- /Portland _
Oregonian/, July 26, 1992 |_|
39 "If I become president, I will have a cabinet that looks _
like America." -- /Portland Oregonian/, July 26, 1992 |_|
40 "After this election is over, I will continue to reach
out to the American people. I'll get back on a bus
when I'm president. I'll go back and have town
meetings, and let ordinary people ask me questions. I
will not hide behind the walls of the White House." _
-- /(AP)/ September 25, 1992 |_|
41 "My strategy puts people first by investing more than
$50 billion each year over the next four years to put
America back to work -- the most dramatic economic
growth program since World War II." -- /(AP)/ _
June 22, 1992 |_|
42 "With the dwindling Soviet threat, we can cut defense
spending by over a third by 1997." -- Georgetown _
University, November 20, 1991 |_|
43 "I propose that the U.S. must take the lead in putting
together a bridge loan to help Russia make the
transition from its old system to its new economy." _
-- New York City, April 1, 1992 |_|
44 "Middle-class taxpayers will have a choice between a
children's tax credit or a significant reduction in _
their income tax rate." -- /"Putting People First"/ |_|
45 "Vote for me and we'll conserve more energy all over _
America." -- /Dallas Morning News/, January 11, 1992 |_|
46 "We'll restore the dignity of blue collar work by
guaranteeing an apprenticeship program to every
non-college bound student in the United States of _
America." -- San Diego, CA, June 15, 1992 |_|
47 "We will link China's trading privileges to its human
rights record and its conduct on trade and weapons _
sales." -- Los Angeles, CA, August 13, 1992 |_|
48 "We'll seek to raise the average goal for automakers to _
45 miles per gallon." -- Philadelphia, April 22, 1992 |_|
49 "We'll pass a national bottle bill to encourage
recycling by creating small deposits on all glass and _
plastic bottles." -- Philadelphia, April 22, 1992 |_|
50 "I will not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for _
these programs." -- East Lansing, MI, October 19, 1992 |_|
To subscribe to /The Limbaugh Letter/ call 1-800-457-4141
--
pete@missing.kludge.com (Pete Bowden) {SYStem OPerator}
The Missing Link BBS, (805) 925-1129
Compiled by Charles Green, Observer Washington Bureau
This material was assembled from President-elect Bill Clinton's speeches,
positions taken in presidential debates and from his book, _Putting People
First_.
1. Abortion
A. End the "gag" order that restricts abortion counseling in
federally funded clinics.
B. Permit federal medical research using aborted fetal tissues.
C. Nominate abortion-rights supporters to the Supreme Court.
D. Work to enact a Freedom of Choice Act ensuring the legality
of abortions.
E. Support testing of RU-486, the French birth control pill.
F. Allow self-paid abortions to be performed in military medical
facilities overseas.
G. Work to repeal the ban on federally funded abortions.
H. Oppose federal attempts to limit abortions through parental
consent requirements and mandatory waiting periods.
2. Agriculture
A. Expand agricultural research and development.
B. Streamline Agricultural Department field offices.
C. End taxpayer subsidies for honey producers.
D. Consolidate USDA forms.
E. Appoint a Sect. of Agriculture respected by farmers.
3. AIDS
A. Appoint an AIDS policy coordinator to oversee federal policies.
B. Lift the ban on travel and immigration to the United Sates for
those with the AIDS virus.
C. Increase funding for AIDS research, prevention, and treatment.
D. Speed up the approval process for AIDS-related drugs.
E. Promote a national AIDS education and prevention initiative to
inform children about the disease.
F. Support efforts to make condoms available in schools.
G. Provide health care coverage to all Americans with HIV as a
part of a national health care program.
H. Oppose mandatory HIV testing in federal programs such as the
Peace Corps, Foreign Service, and Job Corps.
I. Provide drug treatment on demand to stop the spread of HIV by
intravenous drug users.
J. Increase funding to better understand the behaviors that put
people at risk for HIV.
K. Improve access to experimental therapies.
L. Provide voluntary, confidential or anonymous testing for AIDS
and HIV for every American who wants it.
M. Provide counseling on AIDS and HIV for every American who wants
it.
N. Establish formal dissemination of state-of-the-art information
about AIDS to health professionals and people with HIV.
O. Raise the level of underrepresented populations in clinical and
community-based research.
P. Prohibit health plans from providing lower coverage for AIDS
than for any other life-threatening illnesses.
Q. Fully fund the Ryan White Care Act to provide $275M to cities for
AIDS treatment.
4. Arms Control
A. Ratify the START treaty and subsequent agreement of June 1992.
B. Try to achieve a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty through a phased
approach.
C. Conclude a chemical weapons convention banning the production,
stockpiling, or use of chemical weapons.
D. Support research on a limited missile defense system to protect
the United States.
E. Improve the Atomic Energy Agency's capacity to inspect suspect
facilities through surprise inspections.
F. Demand that other countries tighten their export laws regarding
nuclear weapons.
5. Arts
A. End content restrictions on federally subsidized art projects.
B. Continue federal funding for the arts.
C. Help the arts become an integral part of education in every
community.
6. Budget deficit
A. Reduce the budget deficit by more than half in four years.
B. Enact a line-item veto to allow Presidents the authority to
strike specific projects from spending bills.
7. Bureaucracy
A. Cut 100,000 federal workers.
B. Cut White House and congressional staffs by 25%.
C. Freeze spending on federal consultants.
D. Create an Economic Security Council to coordinate international
economic policy.
E. Require federal managers to achieve 3% administrative savings.
F. Save $17.1B over four years through management reforms at the
Resolution Trust Corp., the S&L bailout agency.
8. Children
A. Establish a children's tax credit.
B. Fully fund Head Start and other preschool programs.
C. Provide more health care services for low-income women and
children.
D. Fully fund the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program.
E. Establish more rigorous standards for licensing child-care
facilities.
F. Crack down on deadbeat parents by using the Internal Revenue
Service to collect child support and start a national deadbeat data bank.
G. Create a childcare network as complete as the public school network.
9. Cities
A. Require a nationwide network of community development banks to
provide small loans to low-income entrepreneurs and homeowners in inner cities.
B. Require companies with federal construction contracts in low-income
areas to set up a portion of their operations in the neighborhoods and employ
local residents.
C. Create urban enterprise zones in inner cities that would give
businesses and regulatory breaks to firms locating there.
D. Require financial institutions to invest in their communities.
E. Allow cities to redirect 15% of their federal aid to meet
community needs.
10. Civil Rights and Diversity
A. End the ban on gays and lesbians in the military
B. Support federal civil rights legislation for gays and lesbians
but exempt religious organizations.
C. Life damage caps for women, people with disabilities and religious
minorities in workplace discrimination cases.
D. Crack down on violence against women in the workplace, college
campuses, and homes.
E. Increase the number of women and minorities in the top levels of
government.
11. Crime and drugs
A. Put 100,000 new police officers on the streets through the national
service plan.
B. Establish community "boot camps" to discipline first-time nonviolent
offenders.
C. Enact the Brady bill requiring a five-day waiting period for
potential handgun purchases.
D. Make schools eligible for federal assistance for metal detectors
and security personnel
E. Encourage states to give school officials greater authority to
conduct locker and automobile searches.
F. Make high-crime communities eligible for federal aid for proven
anti-crime measures.
G. Ban assault rifles and limit access to multiple-round clips.
H. Stiffen criminal penalties for white-collar crimes, including
environmental crimes.
I. Require criminals to serve prison sentences in "real prisons," not
"high tech summer camps."
12. Defense
A. Reduce Pentagon spending by $100B through 1997.
B. Reduce US troop levels in Europe to between 75K and 100K troops.
C. Reduce the number of Navy aircraft carriers from 12 to 10.
D. Prohibit deployment of a massive space-based defense program
such as Brilliant Pebbles. (?)
13. Defense conversion
A. Offer early retirement and a prorated pension for military personnel
with 15-20 years experience.
B. Expand the GI Bill to allow military personnel to take a one-year
educational leave of absence with pay before retirement.
C. Create a national defense jobs inventory to match skills with
civilian jobs.
D. Provide grants for professionals formerly engaged in defense work to
master civilian technologies.
E. Increase investment in civilian high-tech research and development
with every dollar cut from defense R&D.
F. Make special conversion loans and grants available to small-business
defense contractors.
G. Create a civilian advanced technology agency.
H. Permanently extend the R&D tax credit to stimulate private
investment.
I. Encourage states that offer alternative certification programs for
military personnel who retire and take jobs in education, law enforcement,
health and other occupations.
14. Disabilities
A. Expand long-term care choices for persons with disabilities.
B. Provide children with disabilities an education alongside
classmates without disabilities.
C. Increase special education, professional training and job training
for persons with disabilities.
15. District of Columbia: support statehood for DC
16. Education
A. Give every American the opportunity to borrow money for
college.
B. Replace the existing student loan program with a National
Service Trust Fund. Students could repay loans through community service
or a portion of their income.
C. Give parents the right to choose the public school their
children attend.
D. Create a national information network to link every home,
business, classroom, and library by the year 2015.
E. Establish national standards and a national examination
system in core subjects.
F. Give every adult a chance to get a high school diploma.
G. Increase the high school graduation rate from 71% to 90% by
the year 2000.
H. Increase Chapter One funding for schools with low-income
students.
I. Encourage differential pay to attract and retain teachers
with needed specialties and teachers in inner-city and rural areas.
J. Promote alternative certification for those who want to make
teaching a second career.
17. Election Reforms
A. Sign a bill requiring states to register people to vote when
they apply for a driver's license.
B. Place voluntary spending caps on House and Senate campaigns
and provide some public financing to candidates who abide by the caps.
C. Cut maximum Political Action Committee contributions to a
candidate from $5K to $1K.
D. Lower the cost of air time for candidates advertising on
radio and television.
Spell Checked and reformatted by Nathan Mates (nathan@cco.caltech.edu)
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