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Prosperity for Rural America
John McCain recognizes that agriculture is one of America's greatest strategic assets. All Americans benefit from the safest and most efficient food production and distribution system in the world. Throughout our history, American farmers, ranchers, timbermen, and commercial fishermen have formed part of the bedrock of our prosperity.
The benefits of American leadership in agriculture extend well beyond our borders - America's contribution to meeting the food, fiber, feed and energy needs of a growing world population through efficient production and technology innovation are critical to our national security and world peace.
The continuing success of American agriculture and the health of America's rural heartland require leadership that understands that productivity and innovation are created by the effort, ingenuity and investment of individual Americans. Our nation's security depends on the health of American agriculture. As President, John McCain will address the key issues facing agriculture and rural America:
- Establishing a comprehensive energy strategy
- Controlling taxation and regulation
- Judicial restraint and preserving property rights
- Providing a sustainable, market-driven risk management system for farmers
- Promoting agricultural markets and reducing trade barriers
- Improving incentives to invest in technology and rural infrastructure
- Encouraging common-sense conservation and food safety measures
- Securing America's borders and implementing a fair and practical immigration policy
- Recognizing the role of agriculture in national security
- Strengthen America's economic competitiveness by eliminating wasteful government spending
There is no single guaranteed path to America's energy security. We cannot afford to ignore any option that moves us toward this urgent goal. Our challenge today is to encourage investment in all available options for energy security. We must avoid distorting the food, feed and energy markets by focusing on specific solutions or technologies, recognizing that complex energy production and distribution systems require a critical mass before they become economically efficient. We must recognize the importance of the bio-fuel technologies available to us today, regardless of whether they become long-term solutions or serve as a transition toward continued innovation and investment in tomorrow's energy solutions. America should look to its government to provide a tax and regulatory framework that fosters a predictable environment and encourages long-term investment in energy technology, production and distribution networks as we rely on private investment to overcome the challenges of developing new energy solutions.
Our nation's future security and prosperity depends on the next President making the hard choices that will break our nation's strategic dependence on foreign sources of energy and will ensure our economic prosperity by meeting tomorrow's demands for a clean portfolio. John McCain has made the necessary choices - producing more power, pushing technology to help free our transportation sector from its use of foreign oil, cleaning up our air and addressing climate change, and ensuring that Americans have dependable energy sources. John McCain firmly believes in and will lead the effort to develop advanced transportation technologies and alternative fuels to promote energy independence.
John McCain's proposal to address America's energy security includes:
- Expanding domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production
- Taking action now to break our dependency on foreign oil by reforming our transportation sector
- Investing in clean, alternative sources of energy
- Protecting our environment and addressing climate change - a sound energy strategy must include a solid environmental foundation
- Promoting energy efficiency
- Addressing speculative pricing of oil
John McCain believes alcohol-based fuels hold great promise as both an alternative to gasoline and as a means of expanding consumers' choices. Some choices such as ethanol are on the market right now. The second generation of alcohol-based fuels like cellulosic ethanol, which won't compete with food crops, are showing great potential.
John McCain supports flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and believes they should play a greater role in our transportation sector. In just three years, Brazil went from new cars sales that were about 5 percent FFVs to over 70 percent of new vehicles that were FFVs. American automakers have committed to make 50 percent of their cars FFVs by 2012. John McCain calls on automakers to make a more rapid and complete switch to FFVs.
Read more about the Lexington Project and John McCain's commitment to lead American to energy independence.
Read what John McCain has said about the urgency of addressing America's energy security.
"Alcohol fuels made from corn, sugar, switch grass and many other sources, fuel cells, biodiesel derived from waste products, natural gas, and other technologies are all promising and available alternatives to oil. I won't support subsidizing every alternative or tariffs that restrict the healthy competition that stimulates innovation and lower costs. But I'll encourage the development of infrastructure and market growth necessary for these products to compete, and let consumers choose the winners. I've never known an American entrepreneur worthy of the name who wouldn't rather compete for sales than subsidies."
John McCain, April 24, 2007
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John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan that will create millions of good American jobs, ensure our nation's energy security, get the government's budget and spending practices in order, and bring relief to American consumers. Small businesses are critical to job growth, especially in rural America. John McCain is committed to supporting family businesses with:
Reducing the estate tax rate to 15 percent and permitting a generous $10 million exemption to enable farmers and ranchers to pass along their heritage to the next generation.
- Low individual tax rates
- Access to capital from low tax rates on dividends and capital gains
- Limiting the unnecessary intervention of government regulations that severely alter or limit the ability of the family farm to produce efficiently
- Improved investment and research incentives to ensure that farmers and ranchers have access to the most modern technology
- Bringing the budget to balance, reducing federal borrowing, and controlling spending to reduce the burden on the economy
- Providing a responsible safety net for farmers when they're confronted with natural disasters and inadvertent government policies that adversely affect markets and the farmer's ability to produce
Read more about how the John McCain Economic Plan will help bring reform, prosperity and peace to America.
John McCain believes that one of the greatest threats to our liberty and the Constitutional framework that safeguards our freedoms are judges who usurp the role of the people and their elected representatives and legislate from the bench. As President, John McCain will nominate judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat. Read more about John McCain's judicial philosophy.
John McCain believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect. We have a responsibility to ensure that criminals who violate the law are prosecuted to the fullest, rather than restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime. Law abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their rights because of criminals - criminals who ignore gun control laws anyway.
America needs a risk management program for agriculture that reflects the realities of the global marketplace for food, fuel and fiber in the 21st century. When farmers suffer from a natural disaster such as droughts or floods, we should assist them - this is a commitment we have made to our farmers and John McCain will honor it.
John McCain is firmly committed to bringing the agriculture community together to develop a sustainable market-driven system of risk management. Rapidly rising input costs and fluctuating commodity prices threaten the financial stability of American agriculture. The 21st century global agriculture market is too complex for America's farmers to rely on an outmoded system of pre-determined countercyclical payments that assumes narrow trading bands for these input costs and commodity prices. A market-based system of risk management will furthermore eliminate the influence of special interests on America's agricultural policy.
John McCain will focus agriculture policy on meeting the food, fiber, feed and energy needs of America and the world. As President, John McCain will approach America's agriculture policy with the goal of ensuring our farm, ranch, timber and commercial fishing industries are competitive in the global marketplace. Consistent with his longstanding position, John McCain opposes subsidies, which distort markets, artificially raise prices for consumers, and interfere with America's ability to negotiate with our international trading partners to the detriment of the entire agriculture community. John McCain understands the power of American leadership in helping other countries solve their poverty problems through agricultural development. By maintaining America's long tradition of developing and sharing agricultural technology, American farmers can continue to have trading partners that buy high value US products.
John McCain believes that rural America can best be served by a comprehensive development strategy to increase economic opportunities which will include lower taxes, strong markets, a vibrant economy, high-tech connectivity, protection from natural disasters, better choice and availability of health insurance, better quality education and retirement security. John McCain's commitment to technology and innovation will support prosperity and the quality of life in rural America:
John McCain supports a 21st Century green revolution. Optimizing the use of land, water and other resources requires a robust scientific research agenda. As President, John McCain will direct the USDA to carry out comprehensive research to help develop more stress-resistant, higher yielding crops to increase production per acre. This will not only be critical to addressing our worldwide food needs, but also necessary to combat global warming. John McCain will also promote conservation programs that encourage maximum environmental stewardship, vital to assisting farmers in the improvement of America's soil, water, air and wildlife habitat.
John McCain believes that American farmers and ranchers can continue to integrate environmental policies that maintain quality wildlife habitat near and downstream of farmland. The past quarter century has shown that environmental stewardship programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetland Reserve Program have helped reduce wetland loss, improve water quality, and minimize soil erosion. As America builds a new energy economy which includes bio-diesel, cellulosic energy and other agricultural energy sources, common-sense conservation programs should be incorporated into the good agriculture practices central to sustaining healthy ecosystems.
John McCain believes that the 65 million Americans who live in America's rural heartland deserve 21st century services, jobs, education and healthcare. John McCain realizes that advances in agriculture, information technology, and business opportunities will allow rural Americans to create their own economic opportunities that are the key to expanding economic prosperity throughout rural America. John McCain supports improving the flow of private capital, broadening the availability of technology, supporting the rapid evolution of biofuels technology into a sustainable industry and strengthening the infrastructure necessary to deliver the economic output of rural America to the global market.
John McCain will move the United States toward electricity grid and metering improvements to save energy. John McCain will work to allow a serious investment in upgrading our national grid to meet the demands of the 21st century. Rural America can play a leading role in generating energy from bio-fuel, bio-mass, geothermal, solar and wind sources, but in order for this energy to reach consumers nationwide, we must improve and advance our grid system. John McCain believes that America must reduce the barriers to developing energy generation facilities and transmitting the energy necessary to meet the goal of national energy security.
John McCain supports risk capital for investment in American innovation. Innovation requires risk capital to turn bold ideas into reality. A ready supply of capital willing to invest in innovative ventures has been a hallmark of America. To maintain our innovative edge, our next President must promote conditions that encourage private investment. John McCain knows the stakes - and he knows what it will take for America to remain competitive. Federal tax and fiscal policy must create and protect the incentives to innovate.
John McCain will encourage innovation by keeping capital gains taxes low. Cutting edge ventures fail more than they succeed and it takes daring to invest in unproven ideas. High capital gains taxes dampen incentives to create something new. It discourages the effort, to the detriment of society, if the government confiscates too large a share of the profits for those who succeed.
John McCain will lower the corporate tax rate to 25 percent to retain investment in American technologies. Currently, the United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, and it is the American worker who suffers the consequences. When corporations put their money and investment into countries with lower tax rates, those companies invest less in American facilities, new hires, worker training, and employee compensation. A 2006 study by the Congressional Budget Office found that 70 percent of the corporate tax burden falls on the American workers. John McCain will help our nation compete more aggressively against the likes of China, South Korea, Singapore and Ireland by bringing taxes to a competitive level that encourages entrepreneurs to reinvest their earnings in American workers.
John McCain will allow first-year expensing of new equipment and technology. To provide an immediate boost to capital expenditures and reward investments in cutting edge technologies, John McCain would allow companies to expense the costs of new equipment or technology in the first year. The additional investment stimulated by such expensing will drive economic growth.
John McCain will pursue high-speed Internet access for all Americans. John McCain has long believed that all Americans should have access to high-speed Internet services and receive the economic opportunities derived from technology. Access to high-speed Internet services facilitates interstate commerce, drives innovation, promotes educational achievements, allows access to health services, and literally has the potential to change lives. As president, John McCain would continue to encourage private investment to facilitate the build-out of infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet connectivity all over America. However, where private industry does not answer the call because of market failures or other obstacles, John McCain believes that people acting through their local governments should be able to invest in their own future by building out infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet services. For this reason, Senator McCain introduced the "Community Broadband Bill," which would allow local governments to offer such services, particularly when private industry fails to do so.
John McCain has proposed a "People Connect Program," which will reward companies that offer high-speed Internet access to underserved, low-income customers by allowing those companies to write off the cost of that services. John McCain will also work to enable communities to build information infrastructure when private companies will not by offering government-backed loans or by issuing bonds with low interest rates.
John McCain has fought special interests in Washington to force the federal government to auction inefficiently-used wireless spectrum to companies that will instead use the spectrum to provide high-speed Internet service options to millions of Americans, especially in rural areas. As president, John McCain would continue to encourage research and development in technologies that could bring affordable alternatives to all Americans.
John McCain would seek to accurately identify un-served or under-served areas where the market is not working and provide companies willing to build the infrastructure to serve these areas with high speed internet services incentives to do so. He also supports private/public partnerships to devise creative solutions and help rural area and towns and cities in their efforts to build-out broadband infrastructure through government-backed loans or low-interest bonds.
Read more about John McCain's commitment to Technology and Innovation
John McCain believes that globalization is an opportunity for American agriculture. Ninety-five percent of the world's customers lie outside our borders, and we need to be at the table when the rules for access to those markets are written. To do so, America should continue to engage in multilateral, regional and bilateral efforts to reduce barriers to trade, level the global playing field and vigorously defend the rights of American agriculture within global trading rules. John McCain will stand up for producers by holding America's trading partners accountable under existing and future trade agreements.
John McCain believes America should continue to be a leader in agriculture technology. Technology is the key to meeting the food, fiber, feed and fuel needs of a growing world population. American leadership in bio-technology holds the promise of continuing to improve yields, reducing reliance on petroleum-based inputs, and improving the long-term sustainability of agricultural production. John McCain's economic policies will promote a reliable investment environment, encouraging continuing investment in agricultural technology. John McCain will push for the abolition of trade barriers which are not based on sound science to ensure that American farmers and ranchers who invest in technology and innovation can participate fairly in the global marketplace.
John McCain will work to strengthen the economy, stabilize the dollar and balance the budget by the end of his first term. The near-term path to balance is built on reasonable economic growth, comprehensive spending controls, and bi-partisanship in budget efforts. Read more about John McCain's fiscal discipline and bringing the budget to balance by 2013
John McCain supports fully funding food and nutrition programs and carrying out a robust Emergency Food Assistance Program. He supports indexing food stamps to reflect the current cost of living and he would fill shortfalls in the Emergency Food Assistance Program. John McCain also supports providing marketing tools for the fruit and vegetable industry focused on promoting healthier American diets.
John McCain will implement temporary worker programs that will reflect the labor needs of the United States in both the high-tech and low-skilled sectors while protecting the employment opportunities for US workers. John McCain will reform the H-2A visa program to provide a non-bureaucratic, adaptable, useable program that is reflective of market needs and protects both the immigrant and US workers. John McCain will implement a secure, accurate, and reliable electronic employment verification system to ensure that individuals are screened for work eligibility in a real-time fashion and provide responses to employer inquiries in a prompt and timely manner to provide both the employer and employee security in their hiring decisions. Read more about John McCain's plans to secure America's borders and fix our immigration system.
"We must prove we have the resources to secure our borders and use them, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States. When we have achieved our border security goal, we must enact and implement the other parts of practical, fair and necessary immigration policy. We have economic and humanitarian responsibilities as well, and they require no less dedication from us in meeting them."
John McCain, April 14, 2008
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A strong agricultural sector is fundamental to American national security. American leadership in agricultural technology and innovation can help address the growing food, fiber, feed and fuel needs of the world, reducing the hunger and poverty where terrorism finds its roots. Agriculture's contribution to reducing America's reliance on foreign oil will help reduce the flow of money that now enriches some of our worst enemies.
John McCain believes America must focus on protecting its agriculture production, processing, and distribution systems from contamination and terrorist attack. We must be vigilant against disruptions and attacks on our agricultural production system and ready to respond quickly to ensure the trust of the American people in the safety of our food. John McCain believes Americans should be able to trust in the safety and reliability of their food, regardless of its origin. In the aftermath of 9/11, John McCain fought for the creation of an independent 9/11 Commission to identify how to best address the terrorist threat and decrease our domestic vulnerability. He fought for the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. As President, John McCain will take it as his most sacred responsibility to keep America free, safe, and strong - an abiding beacon of freedom and hope to the world. |
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