Sanders and Clinton on the Major Issues*

ISSUE SANDERS CLINTON NOTES REPUBLICANS

WALL STREET VS. MAIN STREET

MINIMUM WAGE Supports raising to $15.

Supports raising to $12.

Keep as is.

2001 BANKRUPTCY BILL

Opposed. Voted for. The bill, which failed (a similar bill passed in 2005), was promoted by the credit card and banking industries and would have made it more difficult for people to get relief from debts through bankruptcy.

Voted for.

TARP WALL ST BAILOUT

Voted against the bill because it did not address too big to fail and it did not have appropriate oversight or address deregulation.

Voted for. Voted for.

BREAK UP BIGGEST BANKS

For. Against. Between 2001 and 2014 Bill Clinton earned more than $5 million from UBS, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and Barclays Capital.

Of the nearly $10 million Hillary Clinton earned in lecture fees in 2013 alone, nearly $1.6 million came from Goldman Sachs, UBS, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank.

Against.

Against.

REINSTATEMENT OF GLASS- STEAGALL

For. Against.

SOCIAL SECURITY Wants to expand it by raising amount of income subject to payroll tax.

Wants to protect it. Clinton has hinted at means testing, which Democrats have always seen as the beginning of the end of Social Security.

Privatize and/or raise retirement age.

COLLEGE TUITION Wants it to be free, paid for by a tax on Wall St speculation.

Would provide more federal aid to states.

Both want the government to no longer make a profit from student loans.

No plans to help/

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT

KXL PIPELINE Opposed. Supported as Secretary of State, came out against in September, 2015.

The Huffington Post reported that “Nearly all of the lobbyists bundling contributions for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign have at one time or another worked for the fossil fuel industry.” 

Support.

OFFSHORE DRILLING Opposes. Supported until December, 2015.

Support.

FRACKING Opposes. Supported until January, 2016.

Clinton encouraged fracking around the world as Secretary of State.

Support.

PRICE ON CARBON Supports. Opposes. Oppose.

HEALTH CARE AS A HUMAN RIGHT

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Supports single payer but amended ACA to fund Community Health Centers and voted for the bill.

Supports universal coverage but with private insurance, not single payer.

Clinton has taken in roughly $13.2 million from the health sector, including $11.2 million when she was a senator and $2 million during the 2016 campaign. Between 2013-2015 she received $2.8 million in speaking fees from the industry.

Oppose.

MARIJUANA Supports right of states to legalize.

Would reclassify to a lower legal category.

Drug companies are supporting Clinton more than any other candidate of either party.

No change.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

IRAQ WAR Voted against. Voted for. Voted for.

* Compiled as a public service by a supporter of Bernie Sanders (who voted twice for Bill Clinton). Chris Landry 2/2/16 (v6).

MILITARY SPENDING Supports reduced spending.

Has not called for reduced spending.

No cuts.

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Opposes. Supported until October, 2015.

Clinton advocated for the TPP 45 times as Secretary of State.

Support.

LOBBYING AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST

There were at least 13 occasions (worth $2.5 million) when Bill Clinton received a six-figure speaking fee from trade groups or corporations that were lobbying at the State Department while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

PATRIOT ACT 2001 AND 2006

Voted against. Voted for. Voted for.

CLEMENCY FOR EDWARD SNOWDEN

Supports. Opposes. Oppose.

DOMESTIC SPYING Opposes. Seems to support. Support.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

100% rating from Planned Parenthood.

100% rating from Planned Parenthood.

Clinton has been a leader in introducing legislation to protect and expand women’s access to reproductive health care.

Oppose.

CIVIL RIGHTS

SAME SEX MARRIAGE Has publicly supported equal rights since 1970s.

Opposed for many years, came out in support in 2013.

Oppose.

IMMIGRATION Voted against Kennedy-McCain bill in 2007 because unions were worried about jobs. Now in favor of expanding Obama’s action on immigration.

Supports Obama’s action on immigration

Clinton ignored DREAM Iowa activists while campaigning in September, 2014. Sanders met with them that day and supported their criticism of the Obama administration.

Want to limit severely.

RACIAL JUSTICE Supports affirmative action and restoring the Voting Rights Act and would appoint Justices  in support. Does not support reparations

Supports affirmative action and restoring the Voting Rights Act and would appoint Justices  in support. Does not support reparations

When she was First Lady, Clinton supported the 1996 welfare reform bill that disproportionally hurt black families without attempting to help them out of poverty. In 1994, she used a racist “super predator” meme in support of the crime bill, saying “We can talk about how they got that way but first we have to bring them to heel.”

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

DEATH PENALTY Opposes. Supports. Support.

GUNS Has voted against Brady bill several times.

Supports Brady bill. Sanders has changed his position and now opposes immunity to gun manufacturers and distributors. Both support background checks.

Oppose Brady bill.

PRIVATELY RUN PRISONS

Opposes. Opposes as of October, 2015.

Under pressure from Black Lives Matter and others, Clinton cut ties with prison industry and gave their campaign donations to charity in October, 2015.

Support.

MONEY IN POLITICS

PAC MONEY $0 Approaching $1 billion

These are figures for their own PAC fundraising. The candidates can do little to stop other Super PACS from supporting them.

NET WORTH $330,000 $31.1 million Bill and Hillary Clinton have a net worth over $100 million.