U.S. Senator John McCain has a long career of public service. After
graduating from the Naval Academy in 1958, John McCain began his career as a
Naval aviator. In 1982, he was elected to Congress representing what was then
the first congressional district of Arizona. John McCain is the Republican
candidate in the 2008 Presidential election. You can learn more about him at
JohnMcCain.com.
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Immediate Help for American Families
Across America, families are facing economic
challenges. Gas prices are rising, mortgages are threatened, and thousands have
lost their jobs. Now is the time to act and John McCain has outlined several
near-term, tangible plans to address some of the challenges confronting
Americans today.
Helping Americans Confront Higher Living Costs:
John McCain Will Help Americans Hurting From High Gasoline And Food
Costs. Americans need relief right now from high gas prices. John
McCain will act immediately to reduce the pain of high gas prices.
John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday.
Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline
prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax
and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
John McCain Will Stop Filling The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) To
Reduce Demand. International demand for oil is bolstered by federal
purchases for the SPR. There is no reason to fill it when oil is so expensive;
the overall SPR is of adequate size, and when it places further upward pressure
on prices.
John McCain Will End Policies That Contribute To Higher Transportation
And Food Costs. Ethanol subsidies, tariff barriers and sugar quotas
drive up food prices and hurt Americans. However, we cannot take the wrong
direction and cut off trade for American goods.
Helping Americans With The Housing Crisis:
John McCain Is Proposing A New "HOME Plan" To Provide Robust, Timely And
Targeted Help To Those Hurt By The Housing Crisis. Under his HOME Plan,
every deserving American family or homeowner will be afforded the opportunity to
trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects their home's
market value.
Eligibility: Holders of a non-conventional mortgage taken after
2005 who live in their home (primary residence only); can prove creditworthiness
at the time of the original loan; are either delinquent, in arrears on payments,
facing a reset or otherwise demonstrate that they will be unable to continue to
meet their mortgage obligations; and can meet the terms of a new 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage on the existing home.
How It Works: An individual picks up a form at any Post Office
and apply for a HOME loan. The FHA HOME Office certifies that the individual is
qualified and contacts the individual's mortgage servicer. The mortgage servicer
writes down and retires the existing loan, which is replaced by an FHA
guaranteed HOME loan from a lender.
John McCain Calls For The Immediate Formation Of A Justice Department
Mortgage Abuse Task Force. The Task Force will aggressively investigate
potential criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage industry and bring to justice any
who violated the law. The DOJ Task Force will offer assistance to State
Attorneys General who are investigating abusive lending practices.
Keeping The Credit Crunch From Hurting College Students:
John McCain Is Proposing A Student Loan Continuity Plan.
Students face the possibility that the credit crunch will disrupt loans for the
fall semester. John McCain calls on the federal government and the 50 governors
to anticipate loan problems and expand the lender-of-last resort capabilities
for each state's guarantee agency.
Pro Growth, Pro-Jobs Tax Agenda
Cutting Taxes For The Middle Class:
John McCain Will Cut Taxes For Middle Class Families. John
McCain will permanently repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) – a tax that
will be paid nearly exclusively by 25 million middle class families. Repealing
this onerous tax will save middle class families nearly $60 billion in a single
year. Under McCain's plan, a middle class family with children set to pay the
AMT will save an average of over $2,700 – a real tax cut for working families.
John McCain Will Double The Personal Exemption For Dependents.
John McCain believes the tax code should be less of a burden on those, whether
they are mothers and fathers or single parents, who are trying to raise a
family. He proposes to raise the personal exemption for each dependent from
$3,500 to $7,000.
Pro-Growth Tax Policy:
John McCain Will Keep Tax Rates Low. Entrepreneurs are at the
heart of American innovation, growth and prosperity. They create the ultimate
job security – a new, better opportunity if your current job goes away.
Entrepreneurs should not be taxed into submission.
John McCain Will Maintain The Current Income And Investment Tax Rates
And Fight The Democrats' Plans For A Crippling Tax Increase In 2011.
Left to their devices, Democrats will impose a massive $100 billion tax hike,
almost $700 per taxpayer every year. John McCain has also long sought permanent
and immediate reform of the estate tax, and supports raising the exemption from
taxation on estates up to $10 million while cutting the tax rate to 15 percent.
John McCain Will Make It Harder To Raise Taxes. John McCain
believes it should require a 3/5 majority vote in Congress to raise taxes.
John McCain Will Reward Saving, Investment And Risk-Taking. Low
taxes on dividends and capital gains promote saving, channel investment dollars
to innovative, high-value uses and not wasteful financial planning. John McCain
will keep the current rates on dividends and capital gains and fight anti-growth
efforts by Democrats.
John McCain Will Improve Business Investment Incentives. John
McCain proposes to permit corporations to immediately deduct the cost of
equipment investment, providing a valuable pro-growth investment incentive.
Expensing of equipment and technology will provide an immediate boost to capital
expenditures and reward investments in cutting-edge technologies.
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