“Race to the Top” Wants to reward schools who choose to raise standards and innovate in education Thinks “No Child Left

1. Obama Romney EDUCATION • “A Chance for Every Child” • Wants to promote school choice for students in failing schools • Thinks schools will improve due with increased competition for students • Thinks “No Child Left Behind” is imperfect, but supports the idea of measurable standards for schools • Wants to recruit and reward good teachers • Thinks that schools should be held to high standards • “Race to the Top” • Wants to reward schools who choose to raise standards and innovate in education • Thinks “No Child Left Behind” is too restrictive • Doesn’t want schools to have to cut teachers • Focused support on Community Colleges to make sure we are educating people for the available jobs • Reformed the way student loans are paid back to give relief to recent graduates

2. Obama Romney HEALTHCARE • Views Obamacare as a $500 tax increase • Thinks States are better positioned to provide healthcare mandates for their citizens • Thinks states can experiment and learn from each other to find what works best • Promotes free markets and competition as a way to improve quality and cut healthcare prices • Advocates patient centered approach where patients get to make the decisions concerning their care • Obamacare – Passed the Affordable Care Act • Provides a cheap alternative for people who don’t have private insurance • Places restrictions on how insurance companies can increase rates and when they can drop coverage • Extended how long recent college graduates can stay on their parents’ insurance • Places emphasis on preventative care

3. Obama Romney IMMIGRATION • Con DREAM Act – Thinks amnesty is a bad idea, but agrees with part of the legislation • Thinks illegal immigrants steal jobs from Americans • Thinks we should work to attract MORE highly skilled immigrants to compete for jobs and bring skills to the economy • Wants to reform temporary Visa system • Pro Fence • Pro States taking the lead to enforce federal law • Wants to keep families together • Pro DREAM Act – created a Homeland Security directive to match some of the failed legislation • Thinks illegal immigrants are generally hard workers, but end up depressing wages for others • Pro Fence • Con States taking the lead to enforce federal law • Thinks we should prioritize who we deport first • Wants to keep families together

4. TAXES Obama Romney • Wants to make sure the wealthiest Americans are paying higher taxes and not using loopholes • Advocates the “Buffet Rule” • Thinks we need to cut spending, but not as much as Romney • Wants to increase the estate tax for those transferring more than $3.5 million • Cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 28% • HIGHER TAXES ON WEALTHY • Wants 20% cut in all marginal income tax rates • Keep tax rates steady for interest, dividends, and capital gains while eliminating these taxes for anyone earning less than $200,000 in these areas • Remove the estate tax • Cut corporate tax rate from 35% to 25% to encourage job growth • Strengthen tax cuts for research and development • LOWER TAXES/SMALLER GOVERNMENT

5. ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT Obama Romney • Wants to increase domestic oil and gas production, but not at the expense of the environment • Advocates clean energy, promised to create jobs in green energy • Denied construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline due to concerns of a lack of information • Thinks we need to be careful with energy regulation • Wants to lower oil prices by reducing demand for oil • Clean Energy and Safe Regulation • Wants to find and use America’s existing energy resources (oil, gas, coal) • Thinks that Obama has wasted money on failed green energy companies and initiatives • Would approve the Keystone XL Pipeline immediately • Thinks some regulation is necessary, but that less is needed • Wants to lower oil prices by increasing supply of oil • More Energy and Less Regulation

6. Obama Romney JOB CREATION • Focused on reviving U.S. manufacturing • Wants to eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource overseas • Will provide incentives for companies who create jobs in U.S. • Prefers stricter regulations to prevent future economic meltdowns • Invested in Community Colleges to help train and retrain workers • Wants to be tougher on China to crack down on their advantages • Reduce marginal tax rates and corporate tax rate to get businesses to hire more workers • Reduce government spending to accommodate tax cuts • Reduce or eliminate regulations that restrict business • Wants to encourage free trade in global markets • Will reduce the power and influence of unions • Re-orginize retraining and re-employment efforts with a focus on state control • Wants to be tougher on China to crack down on their advantages

7. Obama Romney DEBT AND DEFICIT • Wants greater emphasis on making wealthy people pay their fair share in taxes to reduce the deficit • Wants to eliminate Bush-era tax cuts • Does not approve increasing military spending • Will invest in education, research and technology to promote long-term economic growth to boost revenue • Interested in cutting government waste • Not interested in cutting entitlements such as Medicare • Will cut programs that are unworthy of borrowed money from China • Cap government spending at 20% of GDP • Will cut non-security discretionary spending most heavily • Will work to repeal Obamacare, privatize Amtrak, cut spending on Arts, Planned Parenthood, and Foreign Aid • Shift programs to state level to improve efficiency • Cut federal workforce and federal employee pay