U.S. involvement in trade agreements should be based on what is best
for American workers. Exports are important to the Illinois economy.
Our trading partners should be required to meet labor and
environmental standards and protect human rights to ensure that their
trade is fair.
I also support vigorous enforcement of our domestic trade laws that would limit illegal and unfair importation of commodities like agricultural products and steel from countries that dump those products on U.S. shores.
We must enforce our trade laws and assist Americans
whose jobs are affected by imports. We should continue to press China
to stop manipulating its currency and to provide greater labor rights
and political freedoms.
I have insisted that so-called Fast Track authority, which would allow the Executive Branch of the federal government to negotiate trade agreements without Congressional input, be subject to meaningful protections of workers' rights and the environment.
We need greater tax fairness. America's tax code should draw more
from those who are able to pay more and have benefited the most, while
asking less from those who are struggling to meet basic needs. I have
supported a wide range of tax cuts for families, as well as targeted
tax cuts to address special burdens such as the high price of college
tuition.
We need to identify our nation's highest priorities, fund these
priorities appropriately, and cut back on programs that are less
valuable. Unfortunately, President Bush's excessive tax cuts for
wealthy special interests and his mismanagement of the economy have
left us with the largest budget deficits in history. That debt burden
falls unfairly on our children and grandchildren, and much of the debt
is held by China, Japan, and the OPEC nations. Deficit spending is
often needed when an economy is struggling, but we need to restore a
commitment to fiscal discipline as soon as possible.
I have introduced legislation to provide tax credits to self employed
persons and to small businesses that help their employees pay for
health insurance. Families also need tax credits to help with college
costs and child care expenses.
No one likes to pay taxes, but the federal government needs to collect
revenue to pay for important services that the government can provide
more effectively than the private sector. Congress should continually
search for ways to streamline governmental activities to ensure that
taxpayer dollars are being used wisely, and we should take seriously
the fundamental unfairness of passing today's bills on to our children
and the generations that follow.
The tax cuts signed by President Bush in 2001 and 2003 have created
the largest level of federal debt in our nation's history, approaching
$10 trillion. Our annual deficit also is approaching record
territory. Some of the President's tax cuts should be allowed to
expire. I support keeping taxes on middle class families as low as
possible and therefore believe that some of the Bush tax cuts should
be retained – including the 10% tax bracket, the child tax credit, and
marriage penalty relief. But the tax rates applied to the wealthiest
families in America should be restored to the levels in place during
the 1990s when the economy flourished under President Clinton.
