Al Gore Will Use Prosperity to Give Families the Tools They Need to Stay Strong...

Al Gore Will Use Prosperity to Give Families the Tools They Need to Stay Strong -- Educational Opportunities, Retirement Security

Al Gore calls for "a new commitment to strong families and strong values." To help strengthen America's families, Gore will use the nation's prosperity to invest in public schools, make higher education more affordable and protect Social Security.

"I know government can't solve a family's problems. Parents have to take more responsibility, and spend more time with their children. But I believe a smaller, smarter government can give families more tools, more choices, and more opportunities in their own lives -- more of a chance to achieve what they want for the future. That's what I'm fighting for." -- Al Gore

Gore will use the nation's prosperity to invest in all Americans -- not just a privileged few. He would offer $500 billion in tax cuts for the middle-class families that need it most. His plan would help families afford child care, pay for college and save for retirement. Gore would devote the largest share of the surplus to paying down the national debt and eliminating the debt by 2012. Debt reduction would help keep interest rates low to help families pay home mortgages and student and car loans.

In contrast, George W. Bush 's $1.6 trillion tax cut, which primarily benefits the wealthy, drains much of the budget surplus. This massive tax cut also leaves few resources to improve education, help families pay for college costs or child-care costs.

"I want to lead an America where we strengthen families, honor our parents, and care for all God's children. I want to lead a nation where it's not a struggle to find time with your children to give them the love and attention they need to grow up with the right values, with a right heart and a right spirit." -- Al Gore

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES BY MAKING COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE
"I'm not satisfied when the building blocks of hope and opportunity -- like college tuition and retirement savings -- seem like distant, unaffordable dreams." -- Al Gore

• Gore would make most college tuition tax deductible. Gore would provide families with a tax deduction or a 28-percent tax credit on up to $10,000 of tuition and fees. This credit would apply to all post-secondary education, including college, graduate school or skills training.

• Bush offers no plan to make most college tuition tax deductible.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES BY INVESTING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
"I'm not satisfied when a single child is squeezed in an overcrowded classroom -- hungering to learn and to grow, but barely able to capture the teacher's attention." -- Al Gore

• Gore would improve the nation's schools. His comprehensive education plan would offer pre-school for all 4-year-olds, reduce class sizes by hiring more qualified teachers and help local school districts rebuild and modernize the nation's public schools. Gore would promote school choice by tripling funding for publicly accountable charter schools and reforming 100 of the lowest-performing school districts by fostering competition and universal public school choice.

• Bush drains money away from the nation's schools. Bush's massive tax cut leaves few resources to invest in the nation's schools. His proposal to offer school vouchers would drain funding away from public schools to help fund private institutions.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES BY MONITORING ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
"I'm not satisfied when parents have to struggle to raise their kids in a culture of too much meanness, and not enough meaning." -- Al Gore

• Gore has called on the entertainment industry to stop marketing adult material to children. Gore has set a six-month deadline for the entertainment industry to adopt the recommendations of the Federal Trade Commission and enforce a voluntary, uniform policy that prohibits the marketing of adult-rated products to children.

• Bush has no plans to make the entertainment industry stop marketing adult material to children.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES BY PROTECTING RETIREMENT SECURITY
"Families should never have to choose between parent and child." - Al Gore

• Gore would protect and expand retirement security. Gore would place Social Security in an off-budget "lock box," so that surpluses could only be used for the federal retiree program or to pay down the national debt and not for massive tax cuts or pork barrel spending. He would also create Retirement Savings Plus accounts to encourage families to save tax free for retirement and supplement -- not replace -- their guaranteed Social Security benefit.

• Bush drains $1 trillion from Social Security. Bush has admitted that he would drain $1 trillion of the Social Security Trust Fund into private accounts for younger workers, but he has also promised the same money to seniors for their benefits. He cannot keep both promises, but will be faced with a choice between benefit cuts up to 54 percent or bankrupting Social Security 14 years early.

Al Gore has fought to improve the lives of children and families across America. As part of the current administration, Gore worked to provide health insurance to millions of uninsured children through the creation of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Gore and the administration proposed and won funding for the HOPE scholarship tax credit program -- the largest single investment in higher education in 30 years. As vice president, Gore also led the administration's efforts to forge a voluntary TV ratings system with the major networks, as outlined in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Under the Clinton-Gore administration, the African American unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest on record, median incomes have risen to record levels, and the African American poverty rate has fallen to the lowest in history.