Party: Democrat
Current job: U.S. senator from New York
Birth date: October 26, 1947, Chicago, Illinois
Education: Wellesley College, B.A., 1969; Yale University Law School, J.D., 1973
Family: married to William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (1975-present); children: Chelsea (1980)
Religion: Methodist
Major Election Issues: Hillary Clinton's Position
Clinton supports abortion rights and expressed disagreement with the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that upheld a federal ban on “partial birth" abortions. She is active in numerous campaigns aimed at reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies, including championing the Prevention First Act, which provides access to family planning services for low-income women, provides comprehensive sex education, and requires insurance to cover contraception. Clinton also supports parental notification laws for minors.
Clinton believes in reforming the No Child Left Behind Act, including attracting and supporting more outstanding teachers and principals and increasing access to high-quality early education. Clinton also proposed the Student Borrowers Bill of Rights, a comprehensive set of reforms that would eliminate unscrupulous lending practices.
Clinton’s environmental focus is on reducing energy consumption. She proposes stronger energy and auto efficiency standards, including an increase in fuel efficiency to 55 miles per gallon by 2030. She supports a significant increase in green research funding and intends to spur the green building industry by retrofitting and modernizing 20 million low-income homes.
Clinton intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. She intends to do this by using a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, creating stronger energy and auto efficiency standards, increasing green research funding, phasing out incandescent lightbulbs, and using incentives for green building and retrofitting of non-energy efficient existing structures.
Clinton intends to create a plan that offers affordable coverage to all Americans, improves health care quality, provides tax credits for working families who purchase health care, and doesn’t allow denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. She also proposes tax credits to small businesses that provide health care to workers.
Clinton believes President Bush's focus on Iraq has distracted him from the war on terror effectively. She believes the key to keeping the United States safe is engaging the nation's enemies in conversation.
Clinton supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation which would have increased funding for improved border security, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a path to citizenship for some immigrants. She also supported 2007 immigration legislation which would have granted a path to citizenship and established a new guest worker program. She places a strong emphasis on reform that includes strong borders, penalties for those who exploit undocumented workers, a legal path to citizenship for some immigrants, and family reunification.
Clinton opposes same-sex marriage but supports civil unions and believes states should ultimately decide the issue. Clinton supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and federal hate crime legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.
Clinton opposes Bush's plan allowing workers to divert some Social Security payroll taxes into private retirement accounts.
Clinton believes that the United States must work to restore its standing in the world and work with other nations to advance peace around the globe. She believes in engaging the nation's enemies with diplomacy, supporting public education in developing countries, and creating global coalitions to fight global issues, including climate change, AIDS, poverty, and terrorism. Clinton is an advocate for stopping the violence in Darfur, achieving peace in Northern Ireland, and aiding Israel to resist terrorism and live peacefully.
Although Clinton voted to use military force in Iraq, she has since voted for a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008 and has opposed Bush’s plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq. As president, she intends to implement a three-step plan to bring U.S. troops home, stabilize the region, and replace military force with a new diplomatic initiative to engage countries around the world in securing Iraq's future. The goals of the plan are non-interference, mediation, and funding reconstruction.
