Education is the #1 priority in this country. We are exploding into The Information Age, and it is critical that our students have all the necessary resources in each and every public school. The debate rages about how best to accomplish that, but no one debates that creative tactics need to be used. One of the ways we can do this is by shifting some of the discretionary money from the Defense Budget to the Education Budget. This can be accomplished without weakening our national defense and without raising taxes.

In this Information Age, it is critical that the delivery of the message is not controlled by only a handful of corporations. I am truly concerned by the mega-mergers that are occurring in the radio-television-internet industries. We are rapidly approaching a point in our global life where a few very powerful individuals and corporations can control the flow of information. If the Federal Government has any role in this, it is to ensure that the voice and message of the people, whatever that voice or message might be, must be allowed to flourish. The Federal Government needs to stand tall and strong behind the principle that the operators of the airwaves are simply stewards, not owners. It is not that I fear large companies; rather it is that I am deeply concerned how they manifest that stewardship. I am firmly in favor of Low Power FM Radio, and will work to ensure its passage.

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Abortion

When a woman is faced with an unwanted pregnancy, for whatever reason, she must make a difficult and life-changing decision. Whichever way she decides, her life will never be the same.

If she decides to go ahead with the pregnancy, the responsibilities of motherhood will be with her always. And should she decide to terminate the pregnancy, she should at least be assured that the procedure will be safe, secure and legal.

I am firmly pro-choice. For a generation now, a woman's right to choose has been constitutionally protected, and it should remain that way. Despite what anyone may feel about that Supreme Court decision, overturning Roe v Wade would prove to be completely counterproductive and create more problems than it would solve.

This country has proven that Prohibition doesn't work. The federal government should not be in the business of legislating extremely personal decisions in individual lives. Choosing to have an abortion, or choosing not to have one, must remain a private decision, and there should be no interference from the government.

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Budget and Spending

Every year, Congress and the President wheel and deal over the Budget for the Fiscal Year. Every year, some of the same arguments get made about cutting this program or re-funding that program or abolishing that pork-barrel item. And as far as I can tell, that process will continue.

Far and away, the largest item in each year's Federal Budget is the Defense Department Budget. The current budget is in excess of $300 billion for this fiscal year.

According to Lawrence Korb, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Reagan Administration, the United States is funding the Defense Department today at Cold War levels without any good reason. In fact, the United States spends more each year on Defense than all of its potential adversaries put together. He maintains slashing up to $42 billion out of the defense budget would not harm the United States capability to defend itself or meet its commitments worldwide. If we were to do this just once, we could enact a discretionary shift of funds to education, health and various social programs. This would strengthen our nation's schools and provide healthier citizens without weakening our national defense, with no increase in taxes.

Generally speaking, I would seek to allocate budget funds as follows:

I would maintain the status of federal funding for

Foreign Aid, Housing Projects, Law Enforcement, Medicaid, Medicare, NASA, Welfare, Armed Forces Personnel Training, CIA Appropriations, Military Hardware

I would increase the status of federal funding for

AIDS Programs, Arts Funding, K-12 Education, Environmental Programs, Job Training Programs, Student Loan Programs, Pay for Active Duty Personnel, Military Space Shuttle Missions

I would decrease the status of federal funding for

New Weapons Development

Now is the time to act while we have the economic opportunity in this country to examine and make different and difficult budgetary decisions.

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Campaign Finance Reform

For decades, the United States has found it to be in our own best interest to provide billions of dollars each year to help foster emerging democracies. It is time for the United States to provide a billion dollars each campaign season to return the election cycle to the voters and not the special interests.

Recently, Vice President Al Gore introduced a comprehensive campaign finance reform plan that I support. Briefly, this plan would:

Ban soft money. This is the centerpiece of the proposals that Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold, and Representatives Chris Shays and Marty Meehan championed.

Enact New Lobbying Reforms, which would require lobbyists to, among other things, disclose officials to whose campaigns they've contributed and meetings they've attended, and for Congress to post this information every month on the Internet.

Strengthen the Federal Election Committee by devoting more resources and nominating reform activists to the FEC.

Require "527" Committees to file Statements of Organization or lose their Tax-Exempt Status. These committees have used a federal court ruling to hide their donors from the public and to fund attack ads.

Improve Disclosure of Issue Advocacy Ads. Any advocacy ad broadcast within 60 days of an election must disclose their sources of funding.

Provide Candidates Targeted in Issue Advertisements Equal Air Time. The FCC will be requested to require broadcasters to provide candidates in campaigns targeted by issue advocacy ads with an equal amount of free broadcast time.

Support Television Time for Democracy. Broadcasters would be encouraged to voluntarily set a standard of five-minutes a night of candidate-centered discourse in the thirty days preceding an election.

Fund The Democracy Endowment. Similar to a university or college endowment, the Democracy Endowment would raise $7.1 billion within a seven year period, after which the interest from investments would be used to finance the campaigns of general election candidates who agree not to accept any other sources of funding.

You can find complete details on this proposal at algore2000.com

I support overhauling the way campaigns are financed because I believe it is in everyone's interest to take the overarching influence of Big Money out of each election cycle. That, in turn, would spur an overwhelming energy to the pool of candidates.

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Crime

Today's prisons have way too many people in them, for way too many reasons. While I support "truth in sentencing" for violent criminals to serve the full sentence for which they've been convicted, there must be a more multi-pronged effort to avoid cluttering up our prisons with people who are convicted of non-violent crimes.

Violent criminals need to stay behind bars. And the penalties for the possession of illegal firearms should be increased.

But there must be sentencing guidelines that are effective, enforceable and even-handed.

I support funding programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills, and job placement assistance when released. I also support expanded funding for community policing programs, as well as increased funding for independent community organizations, such as The Boys and Girls Clubs. Plus, I support programs such as the Midnight Basketball Leagues that might help keep someone out of prison altogether.

I firmly oppose the death penalty. In 1846, Michigan became the first civilized area in the world to ban the death penalty, and there is no reason to lift the ban.

However, a case can be made where the death penalty is appropriate for Major Crimes against the State, such as the Oklahoma City bombing.

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Drugs

The question that needs to be asked is, "What is the absolute best way for us to deal with the scourge of drug abuse?"

As our nation's drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey said in December 1999, "Our dominant approach of primarily incarcerating drug offenders has been a failed social policy."

Gen. McCaffrey is not alone. New Mexico's conservative Republican governor, Gary Johnston, recently advocated the legalization of all drugs. His position: "Control it. Regulate it. Tax it. Educate people truthfully about its dangers. If we legalize it, we just might have a better society."

Other conservatives, including newspaper columnist William F. Buckley and economist Milton Friedman, have for years advocated the legalization of drugs.

I do not support the legalization of all drugs. But I do agree that our current policies have failed, that we're not educating our kids truthfully, and it is time to look at different solutions to this problem that affects every element of American life.

Prohibition has been constitutionally proven to be absolutely ineffective. In much the same way, our war on drugs has only proven to make criminals out of hundreds of thousands of people who have been in possession of illegal drugs.

The United States spends many billions of dollars a year fighting the drug war, most of which goes toward interception. Only a relative pittance is for rehabilitation and education. Since we're not stopping the drugs from coming in anyway, why not shift some of the funding? Drug use and abuse, on a personal level, is more of a health care issue than a criminal issue. If we were to take the billions of dollars spent each year and split it evenly between interception and rehabilitation/education, the people abusing drugs would have a better chance of getting help and staying out of prison.

I am not so naïve to think that this position is one that will be immediately embraced by the general electorate. And I would not make this issue a top legislative priority. But if we, as a society, are to move forward, we must begin to look at better ways to reduce the use, abuse and crime that revolves around drugs.

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Economy and Employment

Over the past eight years, we have witnessed a boom of over 20 million jobs. This unprecedented work explosion has been because of the incredibly rapid rise of The Information Age. While we cannot expect another 20 million jobs over the next eight years, neither should we expect the job market to dry up.

Many of the jobs created during the Clinton-Gore administration have been good, high-paying tech jobs in what is now almost completely a Service Economy. It's been said that there is no manufacturing economy anymore; rather, it is a service-oriented business with a manufacturing base.

To that end, we must maintain the economic policies and thoughts of the past eight years, expand on them and tailor them to the ever-changing marketplace.

I'm in favor of increasing the minimum wage, and increasing funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers. I'm in favor of establishing Enterprise Zones in areas with large numbers of unemployed people. I would encourage employers to offer their employees the option of flex-time scheduling, comp-time and unpaid leave to attend to family responsibilities. I'm in favor of providing tax credits for businesses that provide on-site child care.

In short, I'm in favor of creative solutions to solve the two-track dilemma of work vs. home: meeting market demand and raising a family. In the 21st Century world, these issues are symbiotic. And we can figure out how to do it correctly.

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Education

One of the basic tenets of American democracy is the right to access to a free, quality education. Our public schools are the best way to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities for education and advancement.

I do not support vouchers in any way, shape or form. Vouchers, besides being already ruled unconstitutional in several states, would only help those few students who would get them. Vouchers inherently harm the remaining students at public schools by stripping away funding, thereby adding to the spiral of decline the public schools are in.

I'm not a big fan of charter schools, either. Although this cat is out of the bag, and charter schools are here to stay, I am deeply concerned that charter schools are, quite often, run by for-profit organizations. If profits decline in any business, it is up to the CEO to figure out a way to get the profits back up. If a charter school's profits begin to wane, the charter school may cut back on services that would affect the product. And in this case, the product is our kids. Our kids are not a product. They are our future.

There are hidden costs to charter schools that are badly harming public school districts. The vast majority of charter school students in Michigan are elementary students. Elementary students cost less to educate than high school students, who need more and bigger facilities. So when a student leaves public school for a charter school, the state funding follows the student. But the public school district is still obligated to pay the teacher, administrators, custodians, school buses, heat, water and electricity.

Education should never be treated as a profit-and-loss business affected by the vagaries of marketplace competition.

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Environment

I am a firm believer that we can protect our environment and grow the economy at the same time. I also believe it is folly to think that our modern-day lifestyles have no effect on global climate and global change.

I would strengthen the Clean Water Act. I would act to protect Michigan's greatest natural resource, The Great Lakes, by working with other Great Lakes States legislators. It is not hyperbole to say that in the 21st Century, clean, fresh water will be the single greatest commodity sought. In Michigan, we are blessed with clean, fresh water, and we must do everything in our power to be visionary guardians.

I would encourage the development of alternative fuels to reduce pollution, and strengthen the emission controls on all gasoline or diesel powered engines, including cars and trucks. I'd support an increase in federal taxes on gasoline or diesel powered engines to promote conservation and alternative fuel development. I'd promote the selling of pollution credits between nations to encourage industries to decrease pollution levels. I'd work to impose stricter national air quality standards. I'd strengthen the restrictions on clear-cutting on federal lands.

Everything we have comes from the Earth. We must do our best to protect it.

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Federalism

Since this country began, debate has raged over who has responsibility for what areas of governing. Today especially there is great philosophical discussion over local rights, states rights and federal oversight.

In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson discussed his "essential principles of government." Among them are "…the support of State governments in all their rights…the preservation of the General Government in its whole Constitutional vigor…(and) …the absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority."

Sounds good to me.

The Federal Government should rightly keep an eye on everything that goes on throughout our land. In certain egregious instances, only the Federal Government has the power to rectify a wrong. But each level of government, local, state and federal, has its own sphere of influence.

In general, I believe:

The Federal Government has the primary responsibility for

Border Security, Defense, Medicaid, Medicare, Welfare, Social Security

Civil Rights Enforcement, Environmental Cleanup, Job Training, Low-Income Housing, Transportation Infrastructure

Education, Law Enforcement

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Foreign Policy

Traditionally, partisan issues end at our shores. But clearly our interests do not.

On this ever-shrinking globe we all live, there is no place in the 21st Century for isolationism. And while we cannot, and should not impose our views on whichever country or region we choose, we cannot and should not shrink from promoting democracy wherever and whenever we can.

I firmly support the United States involvement in the United Nations. I believe the United States should pay its debt to the United Nations.

I support NATO and the efforts of the US to include a unified thought process about how best to handle conflicts in the European theater.

I believe that time is coming quickly to re-think our diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba.

And though there are legitimate concerns, I support the One-China Policy the United States has maintained over the years. While we should encourage Taiwan in its growing efforts at democracy and independence, we must work diplomatically with Beijing to ensure that the co-existence of the past 50 years remains more peaceful than simply tolerant.

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Guns

There are nearly 275 million people living in the United States, and there are nearly as many guns. It is unconscionable to not address this issue head on.

The arguments against gun control invariably revolve around the Second Amendment: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

No one is seriously talking about taking all guns away from people. First of all, it would be impossible to do that. But I cannot see our Founding Fathers agreeing to let anyone and everyone have all the assault weapons they want.

I would ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons. I would increase federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. I'm in favor of background checks at gun shows, with at least a 72-hour waiting period. I am in favor of picture ID licensing, similar to a driver's license, for gun owners. I am firmly in favor of requiring manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on firearms. And I support the research into the various technological advances that can be developed in guns and gun safety in the near future.

I have personally seen and felt the horror and loss associated with gun violence. We've all witnessed the tragic shootings at our nation's schools over the past few years. We must stop this madness now.

Additionally, I will refuse any money from any organization that is connected with the pro-gun industry or the pro-gun lobby.

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Health Issues

As a small business owner, I am fully aware of the costs of health care. I also know other small business owners who cannot afford health care coverage because of rising premiums.

I support the concept of universal health care to cover all Americans regardless of income. Whatever its look at the final draft, we must find a way to provide coverage for all Americans, because helping others inevitably comes back to help ourselves.

I support health care strategies focused on prevention, including health education and natural medicines and remedies. Smarter prevention can help fight skyrocketing health care costs. I support the Patient Bill of Rights. I'm in favor of allowing small business owners, the self-employed and workers whose employers do not provide health insurance to have the same deductibility for health costs as corporations and large employers. I would expand the eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts, which would be taxed if used for any purpose other than medical costs.

I would allow states and local communities to use federal funds for needle-exchange programs to combat the spread of HIV. And I would support the medical use of marijuana, if voted on and passed by a community or state.

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Immigration

Our diversity is our strength. We are all immigrants in this country.

Millions of us poured through the gates on Ellis Island and took our place in the land where dreams do more than exist. We came here from all points around the world, and though we often refer to ourselves as Irish or Dutch or French or African, in our hearts we know that we are American.

It is demographically provable that in the mid-21st Century, our minorities will be the majority. We have no reason to fear this.

We do have limited space, however, and we must remain diligent in the numbers of legal immigrants we allow to enter the United States each year.

I would provide extra federal aid to states with higher numbers of immigrants for necessary medical and social services.

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Social Security

I maintain that saving Social Security, in place now for 65 years, is a conservative thing to do. The question is, how best to make Social Security secure.

Vice President Gore has outlined a proposal to strengthen Social Security until at least 2050 through a fiscally-disciplined, common-sense plan that assures all of the Social Security surpluses go to debt reduction and Social Security. His proposal includes a plan to modernize Social Security and make it fairer for women by eliminating the "Motherhood Penalty" and increasing benefits for women.

However the debate ends up, it is imperative that we do not break the trust that has been formed over generations by all of us who pay into Social Security and expect to see a return on that investment.

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Taxes

When discussing tax cuts, it seems to make a lot more sense to me to provide smaller, more targeted tax cuts for business and investment growth rather than a large, across-the-board tax cut. To that end, I would support the more modest tax cut plans the Democrats have put forward rather than the $800 billion tax cut at the heart of the Republican platform.

I do support eliminating the marriage-tax penalty.

But I do not support eliminating the IRS. I do not support replacing the current tax structure with a flat tax. I do not support a national sales tax. I do not support placing sales taxes on e-commerce. I do not support requiring a super-majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise taxes.

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Term Limits

The impetus for the Term Limit movement was a growing feeling among the electorate to simply Throw The Bums Out! While that is perhaps a noble sentiment, it is misguided.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being a career politician. If your representative is doing a good job, and he or she wants to continue serving, then I see no problem.

The problem comes in when voters don't pay attention to what their representative is doing. And then, with or without Term Limits, the representative gets away with being mediocre at best or nefarious at worst.

Term Limits provide an artificial sense of change. It is true that a fresh set of officeholders comes in to power every so often, but they are inevitably replacing a series of Lame Ducks who may have had no incentive to do the best job possible in their last term.

I oppose term limits for every office except the President of the United States, who is barred from running for a third term by the 22nd Amendment. Term Limits do nothing except drive down voter involvement, and on a larger scale, ultimately hurt the smaller states.

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Trade

I grew up in Detroit, and my father was a contract negotiator who traded wits with Jimmy Hoffa, Walter Reuther, Douglas Fraser, Leonard Woodcock and other Labor giants. It was an automotive town, and Detroit ruled the world.

But that was then. Today, General Motors owns parts of Isuzu, Suzuki, Subaru and Fiat and wants to buy Daewoo. Ford owns all or part of Mazda, Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover, and also wants to buy Daewoo. Chrysler is owned by Daimler, who just bought a big chunk of Mitsubishi. Other automotive manufacturers are gobbling each other up. Rumors abound that General Motors itself may be swallowed by the Rupert Murdoch empire.

Organized Labor provides a fundamental basis upon which the automotive industry, and its tentacled industries, operate. Unions, no matter what the industry, are good for American workers. They provide fair wages, good benefits, health care and other important issues for all workers. They raise the standard of living for both the current generation and generations to come. And Organized Labor shows the way for other emerging economies to deal with fair treatment for its workers. There may not yet be enough Unions in shops around the world, but fair play and collective bargaining are powerful chips that will eventually win out wherever things are made.

But this is a global economy. The idea of closing our borders is utterly ridiculous. I support NAFTA, and would support broadening it to include other countries in the Western Hemisphere. I understand the need for the World Trade Organization, and though there are legitimate disagreements over inclusion and policies, I support our continued presence in the WTO. I also support giving the President fast-track authority to deal with international trade issues.

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Welfare and Poverty

There are 6 billion people on Earth. More than 3 billion of us live in abject poverty in underdeveloped countries. 22% of us around the world live on less than a dollar a day.

In the United States, there are far too many people living at or below the poverty line. And though there are fewer people on the welfare rolls today than there were five years ago, there's still too many.

We must be willing to tackle the causes of poverty here at home by methods that have traditionally been employed by the United States in developing countries. I'm in favor of providing tax incentives for companies to hire and train homeless people who want to work. I'm in favor of providing incentives to businesses willing to locate in poverty-stricken zones in the United States, rather than taking the buildings and jobs with it to other countries.

We need to increase funding of homeless shelters and low-income housing projects. I would increase funds for housing assistance for welfare recipients who need housing to get or keep a job.

And I believe we should maintain the current welfare-to-work requirements in order for states to qualify for block grants.

But whatever we do, however the debate turns out, we must not, we cannot, turn our backs on the people here at home, and indeed around the world, who live in poverty. Helping them helps us.

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