CORRECTION: Early voting at UTPA begins Monday and will be in the Student Union, not the Library as the Voting guide states.

Immigration

Position :
For DREAM Act
For Comprehensive Reform
2012 Promises :
Work with Congress to get the DREAM Act back
Pass bipartisan immigration reform
Record:
Proposed a new rule to keep families together by allowing certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to apply for legal status from inside the U.S.

Immigration

Position :
System currently excludes too many that could help grow economy
Current porous border allows illegal immigrants to enter
Should welcome legal immigration
DREAM Act immigrants should have the chance to become permanent citizens by serving in the military
Opposed to amnesty

2012 Promises :
Work with Congress to raise visa number caps
Every foreign student who obtains an advanced STEM degree should be granted permanent residency
Speed up the visa process
Control the border via fence, officers and a system to ensure people do not overstay visas
Mandatory employment verification system
Give citizens and legal permanent residents priority in requesting citizenship for family members
Record:
Vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition in public Massachusetts universities

Higher Education

Position :
Wants to double Pell  Grant funding
Establish college tax credit
Created the Community College to Career Fund. This builds up community colleges with special grants.
2012 Promises :
Signed new law that makes it easier for college students to pay back student loans, starting with new borrowers in 2014
Implemented Race to the Top program. This is to promote an increase in the amount of college graduates.
Record:
Voted to add $3 billion to education, training, employment and social services programs in 2007. Federal revenues would rise by $180 million.

Higher Education

Position :
U.S. education is spending too much and not getting results.
Higher education is both more important and less affordable
2012 Promises :
Eliminate certification requirements that discourage new teachers
Strengthen and simplify the financial aid system
Welcome private sector participation
Replace burdensome regulation
Record:
Supported English immersion classes for students that cannot speak English and opposed bilingual education.

Foreign Policies/National Security

Position :
For drawing down troops in Afghanistan
Prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea
Record:
In 2008, Obama voted on a bill that approved of the US-India Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. In 2010, President Obama announced an international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years

Foreign Policies/National Security

Position :
The U.S. cannot be weak because it would usher in a dangerous era of uncertainty
Opposes privatizing the VA
2012 Promises :
Increase Navy shipbuilding rate from nine to 15 a year
Reverse Obama defense cuts
Unclog and Expand the VA
Grant all veterans using the GI Bill in-state tuition
Record:
Passed “Welcome Home Bill” in 2006, giving those National Guard soldiers called to duty after Sept. 11, 2001 a bonus

Federal Budget

Position :
Cut taxes by $3,600 for the typical middle class family making $50,000 a year over his first term
2012 Promises :
Use savings from ending war in Iraq to pay down debt and invest in infrastructure
Eliminate tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas
Return millionaire tax rates to what they were under Clinton’s presidency
Record:
Signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into legislation to cooperate with House amendments and pass a bill that raised the national debt limit and established discretionary spending limits

Federal Budget

Position :
Fix the tax code to encourage job growth
Regulations burden the economy
Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Legal Services Corporation
Reduce subsidies for The National
Reduce federal employee compensation
Reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent
2012 Promises :
Curb federal spending by repealing Obamacare
Reduce federal spending on entitlement programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security
Cut the corporate tax rate to 25 percent
Eliminate “the death tax,” a tax on inherited estates
Record:
As governor presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and the closure of corporate tax loopholes

Health Care

Position :
For “OBAMAcare,” or  The Affordable Care Act
Record:
Obama agreed to override a veto, in 2008, on a bill that would extend and expand Medicare coverage for a variety of programs and would amend regulations about Medicare fee-for-service programs. In turn this would raise the yearly amount covered by Medicare of health care costs connected with mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders until 100 percent of related costs are covered in 2014.

Health Care

Position :
Against Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act) Opposes privatizing the VA
2012 Promises :
Will issue an executive order that paves the way for the federal government to issue Obamacare waivers to all 50 states. He will then work with Congress to repeal the full legislation as quickly as possible
Record:
Version of Mass. health care bill included requiring every citizen who can afford health care to buy it or face tax penalties
Vetoed part of health care bill that would have placed a fee on businesses with fewer than 11 employees that did not provide coverage

Social Issues

Position :
Supports same-sex marriage
Supports right to choose when it comes to abortion issue
Record:
Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”  in 2010. President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009

Social Issues

Position :
Overturn Roe v Wade and make abortion a states’ issue
Against Same-sex marriage Opposes privatizing the VA
2012 Promises :
Will appoint an attorney general who will defend the Defense of Marriage Act but he will also champion a Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Will overturn Roe v Wade and end federal abortion advocates like
Record:
Opposed same-sex marriage while governor of Massachusetts
In 2005, Gov. Romney vetoed a bill authorizing an emergency contraception drug