Hillary Clinton’s Vision for An Economy Where Our Businesses, Our Workers, and Our Consumers Grow and Prosper Together

On Monday, Hillary Clinton and Hillary for America announced a plan that will ensure that businesses, workers, and consumers can all grow and prosper together. This would be a stark contrast from today’s economy in which one typically suffers at the expense of the others. HFA released details of her plan which are outlined below. The full plan can be read on The Briefing.

Hillary Clinton believes we need to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. But today, there are still powerful interests fighting to protect their own profits and privileges at the expense of everyone else. Too many of the rules and incentives in our economy encourage those at the top to abuse their power and take advantage of consumers, workers, small businesses, and taxpayers. That makes it tougher for even well-meaning CEOs to take the high road.

In recent months, we’ve seen three egregious examples of these problems. We saw a drug company, Mylan, excessively raise the price of lifesaving EpiPens without justification. We saw one of our country’s biggest banks, Wells Fargo, bully thousands of employees into committing fraud on unsuspecting customers. And now we’ve learned the latest on Donald Trump: In one year, he lost nearly a billion dollars; he stiffed small businesses, laid off workers, and walked away from hardworking communities; and he apparently got to avoid paying taxes for nearly two decades—while tens of millions of working families paid theirs. That’s what he calls “smart” business.

Today, Clinton is offering her vision for an economy where our businesses, our workers, and our consumers grow and prosper together. She’s outlining a set of proposals to rewrite the rules so that more companies that do right by workers, small businesses, customers, and taxpayers.

Clinton will:

1. Eliminate Tax Breaks that Allow Corporations and the Wealthy to Avoid Paying Their Fair Share

• Shut down the “private tax system” for the most fortunate, starting by immediately closing egregious loopholes and restoring basic fairness to our tax code.
• Reform our tax code to reward investments in America – and stop companies from shifting jobs and profits overseas

2. Protect Consumers from Unfair and Deceptive Practices

• Strengthen consumer financial protection, including by restricting practices that businesses like Wells Fargo have used to lock the consumers they’ve harmed out of court
• Respond to unjustified price increases in long-standing, lifesaving drugs like EpiPens

3. Promoting Free and Fair Competition and Stopping Big Businesses from Hurting Small Business

• Crack down on big companies that repeatedly exploit their power to stiff small businesses – and give small businesses the power to respond
• A new commitment to promote competition, address excessive concentration and the abuse of economic power, and strengthen antitrust laws and enforcement

4. Rewrite the Rules So Workers Share in the Profits They Create

• Reward companies that share profits with their employees, not just their executives
• Fight for unions that built the American middle class and strengthen collective bargaining
• Encourage businesses to provide worker training and apprenticeships
• Make the minimum wage a living wage and fight for equal pay and overtime
• Guarantee paid leave and make affordable, high-quality childcare available to all

Full fact sheet available here.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: The Briefing

Tim Kaine, Bill Clinton Campaign for Hillary Following Debate

Just hours after the conclusion of Monday’s night debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Hillary’s running mate, Time Kaine, spoke at a canvass kickoff event in Orlando, Florida. During the event, he spoke about the importance of voting and ensuring that everyone registered to vote. “I don’t have to tell you how important Florida is. (In) Florida, the election is going to be very, very close,” he said. While in Orlando, Kaine visited the site of the “Pulse” nightclub shooting with former Representative Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly. A video from Kaine’s event will be added when/if available.

In Ohio, Bill Clinton spoke at National Voter Registration Day events in Toledo and Cleveland. In Toledo, he spoke about last night’s debate saying that it is clear which candidate is working for everyone and which candidate is running for himself. Bill spoke about a number Hillary’s platform points, but he focused on job growth and ensuring that the economy works for everyone and not just those at the top. He went on to say that it is important that everyone register to vote and head to the polls in November to ensure that their voice is heard. “We‘ve got a chance to do something together where nobody is left out and left behind. We need to go seize it and it all starts in Ohio by registering and voting,” he said. A video of Bill’s speech is below.

Bill wrapped up the day speaking at a rally in Cleveland. He spoke about a number of Hillary’s key platform points and attacked Trump for his divisive views. But Clinton’s primary focus was voting and ensuring that everyone is registered. “This election is about you and your future and you need to claim it,” he said. On National Voter Registration, he urged everyone to vote because they have a voice. And he encouraged those in attendance to ensure their friends and family were registered as well saying, “I want you to promise yourselves that you’re going to vote, you’re going to get people registered. You’re going to get them to vote.”  A video of Bill’s speech is below.

Anne Holton, the wife of Kaine, attended three events in Michigan today. The first was a voter protection roundtable event in Detroit where she spoke about the importance of voting and ensuring that the right to vote is protected. Holton then traveled to Livonia where she took part in a phone bank at a local Hillary for America office.

Holton’s final event of the day was in Ann Arbor where she spoke at an organizing event. Speaking to volunteers and supporters at a local campaign office, Holton urged them to ensure that they, their friends, and their family are all registered to vote and exercise their right on November 8. Holton stressed the importance of Michigan saying, “I’m going to talk about you. You are the key to this election. You all know that, right? You all know Michigan is often the key to the national election.” Video’s from Holton’s events will be posted when/if available.

In New York City, a fundraiser was held on behalf of Hillary for America. The event featured a conversation with Laura Benjamin, Anahi DeCanio, Peter Gumpel, Drue Kataoka, Martha McAleer, and Leonore Robins.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Cleveland.com, The Michigan Daily, Click Orlando, ABC News, Toledo Blade, Detroit Free Press

Hillary Clinton Writes Open Letter to Wells Fargo Customers

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton published an open letter to Wells Fargo customers following the discovery that the majority of bank branches across the country were involved in illegal activity. The Justice Department has responded, and the bank has fired thousands of its employees. In her letter, Clinton condemns Wells Fargo for their actions and outlines her plans to ensure that banks cannot gamble with customers’ money. A copy of Clinton’s letter is below.

Dear Wells Fargo Customers,

In America, we have faith that when we open up a checking account, we aren’t opening ourselves up to being scammed. Whether you use a local credit union or community bank or one of the big national chains, we take it for granted that those institutions are fulfilling this basic responsibility to their consumers.

That’s why I was deeply disturbed when, last week, we found out that Wells Fargo had engaged in widespread illegal practices over many years.  The bank secretly opened up millions of accounts for customers without their consent – betraying their customers, misusing their personal information and leading many to be slapped with unjust fees and other charges. Today, Wells Fargo’s CEO will appear before Congress. He owes all of you a clear explanation as to how this happened under his watch.

There is simply no place for this kind of outrageous behavior in America.

Our economy depends on a strong and safe banking system to help keep it moving. But even after Americans spent years working hard to recover from the Great Recession, the culture of misconduct and recklessness that preceded that crisis too often persists.

I have a plan to address it.

First, we need to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The unfair and abusive practices at Wells Fargo remind us that we need tough watchdogs looking out for customers.  The CFPB worked with local authorities and enforced the law – assessing its highest penalty ever, and bringing the bank’s illegal activity into the national spotlight.

Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and Wall Street lobbyists are desperate to dismantle this effective agency, which is dedicated solely to protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices.  I won’t let them put the CFPB under their thumb.  I’ll protect the CFPB and make sure it can continue its essential work on behalf of the American people.

Second, we need real consequences when firms on Wall Street break the law. This past week, we learned that one of the Wells Fargo executives that oversaw the division that ripped off its customers left the bank – not with a pink slip, but with a $125 million payout.  It’s hard to imagine that top executives were unaware of a problem that involved thousands of the firm’s employees.  After all, they imposed sales targets and compensation incentives in ways that led to this behavior.  And it’s frustrating that a bank can simply pay a fine and keep doing business as usual – with massive compensation for the executives responsible.  That compensation should be clawed back.

I’ve put forward an agenda to enhance accountability on Wall Street. Executives should be held individually accountable when rampant illegal activity happens on their watch.  Their compensation should take a hit if their companies pay major fines.  And they must face appropriate legal consequences if they break the law.

Third, we need to make sure that no financial institution is too big to manage.  I’ll put additional safeguards in place to address the risks that the big banks continue to pose to our system.  And if any bank can’t be managed effectively, it should be broken up.

I’ll appoint regulators who will stand with taxpayers and consumers, not with big banks and their friends in Congress.  I’ll fight hard to make sure that Wall Street is working for Main Street – not the other way around.

We need to keep pushing to make the financial system safer and fairer. Let’s do it together.

Sincerely,

Hillary Clinton

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: The Briefing

Hillary Clinton Statement on CFPB Fine of Wells Fargo

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau imposed a $100 million fine on Wells Fargo for secretly creating hundreds of thousands of bank accounts for their customers. Hillary Clinton released the following statement:

“Yesterday, we learned that one of the largest banks in America secretly opened hundreds of thousands of bank and credit card accounts for their customers, moving money across accounts and charging fees without customer knowledge or consent. There is simply no place for this kind of outrageous behavior in America, and I applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its forceful response.

Donald Trump wants to dismantle the CFPB and repeal the crucial rules we put on Wall Street after the financial crisis, but yesterday’s action is a stark reminder of why we need a strong consumer watchdog to safeguard against unfair and deceptive practices. And it’s yet another example of how much is at stake in this election.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: CFPB

Clinton Calls for Passage of the Miners Protection Act

Hillary Clinton released a statement on Thursday calling for the passage of the the bipartisan Miners Protection Act, a bill sponsored by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The plan would rescue the pension offered by the United Mine Workers (UMW) and ensure that retired miners continue to receive their benefits. UMW will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday to gather support for the bill. In her statement, Clinton expresses her support of the act saying that it will ensure that miners receive the benefits they have earned. A copy of Clinton’s statement is below.

“I firmly believe that if you spent your life keeping the lights on for our country, we can’t leave you in the dark. For more than a century, America’s coal miners have put their own health and safety at risk to provide affordable and reliable energy for the nation. They are entitled to the benefits they have earned and the respect they deserve.

That’s why I am proud to stand with Senator Joe Manchin and the United Mine Workers of America in calling on Congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and give the Miners Protection Act a vote before the benefits of these hardworking men and women start expiring later this year.

We also have a shared responsibility to reinvest in the coal communities that have been an engine of American economic growth. That’s why last fall, I proposed a comprehensive revitalization and job creation plan including building 21st-century infrastructure and high-speed broadband, repurposing abandoned minelands and power plants to support new economic activity, and creating a Coal Communities Challenge Fund to support locally-driven economic development priorities in small business, agriculture, health care, tourism, housing, and other industries.

And we need to invest in carbon capture and sequestration, which will reduce emissions from coal and natural gas combustion, and will help us meet the global climate challenge more quickly and at lower cost, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. That’s why I support Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Act, which Senator Kaine has also co-sponsored.”

Throughout her campaign, Hillary Clinton has stood up for the healthcare and retirement security of American miners and their families and challenged attempts by coal companies, including Patriot Coal, Peabody Energy, Alpha Natural Resources, and Walter Energy to use bankruptcy courts to shirk their responsibilities.

While under pressure some of these companies have since reversed course, a federal backstop is required to protect coal miners, their families, and their communities. Hillary Clinton has called for such a backstop as part of her plan to revitalize coal communities.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, be sure to subscribe to the campaign’s official Podcast, With Her.

News Source: Bloomberg, Vincennes Sun-Commercial, Charleston Gazette-Mail

Read: Hillary Clinton’s Broad Presidential Platform

Since launching her campaign last April, Hillary Clinton has outlined a number of major platform points in a series of speeches. Now that it it is clear the general election will be Clinton versus Republican Donald Trump, it is important that Clinton continue to deliver substantive speeches and combat a Trump platform that seems to offer no substance or foundation. Clinton’s platform is built on a career of public service and an understanding of domestic and foreign policies. While not everyone may agree with points of her platform, taken as a whole it is clear that she has put together a solid plan to more the country forward and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to live up to their full potential.

When Clinton has introduced a major platform topic, we add it to the Platform category of the website. Looking through Clinton’s speeches and policy proposals, a clear plan emerges. From Clinton’s kickoff rally in June 2015 to the announcement of the proposed cap on child care costs and expanded early childhood education earlier this month, a list of Clinton’s platform speech topics and announcement dates are below:

• June 13 – “Four Fights” of Campaign
• July 13 – Economic Agenda
• July 27 – Climate Change
• July 31 – Cuban Embargo
• August 10 – College Affordability
• August 18 – Drilling in the Arctic
• August 26 – Agriculture
• September 1 – Substance Abuse
• September 8 – Campaign Finance Reform
• September 9 – Nuclear Agreement with Iran
• September 14 – Sexual Assault
• September 22 – Prescription Drugs
• September 23 – Clean Energy
• October 5 – Gun Control
• October 7 – Trans-Pacific Partnership
• October 8 – Wall Street
• November 4 – US – Israeli Relations
• November 10 – Department of Veterans Affairs
• November 12 – Coal Communities
• November 19 – ISIS and Global Terrorism
• November 20 – Middle-Class Taxes
• November 22 – Caregiver Tax Credits
• November 29 – Infrastructure
• December 8 – Manufacturing (Part 1)
• December 15 – Immigration Reform
• December 15 – Anti-Terrorism
• December 16 – Buffett Rule
• December 20 – LGBT Rights
• December 22 – Alzheimer’s Disease
• January 5 – Autism
• January 11 – Fair Share Surcharge
• February 12 – “Breaking Every Barrier Agenda”
• March 4 – Jobs
• March 23 – Counterterrorism
• April 1 – Manufacturing (Part 2)
• April 13 – Department of Immigrant Affairs
• April 13 – Environmental and Climate Justice
• May 10 – Improved Child Care and Early Childhood Education
• May 25 – Infrastructure Revitalization in First 100 Days
• May 31 – Plan to Assist Military Families
• June 2 – Foreign Policy
• June 13 – Reduction of Gun Violence
• June 24 – Immigration Reform
• June 25 – Democratic National Committee Platform
• June 28 – Empowering Young People to be Entrepreneurs
• June 29 – Initiative on Technology and Innovation
• July 6 – Debt-Free College
• July 7 – Protections for Small Businesses
• July 9 – Universal Health Care

For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Clinton Proposes Protections for Small Business

On Thursday, Hillary Clinton and her campaign released her proposal to protect small businesses that do business with larger businesses. Clinton cited the failure of Republican Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casino as an example of a decision that harmed a number of small, local businesses. The key point of the plan to prevent big business from stiffing small businesses when the bill is due. The plan would give small business owners the tools to fight back. The full proposal can be read on The Briefing, but an outline of the plan is below:

• Enhance legal protections for small businesses that are repeatedly stiffed by large firms and give them better tools to protect themselves against predatory behavior by large companies.
• Use the leverage of more than $400 billion in federal government contracting to encourage businesses to pay their suppliers in full and on time.
• Expand working capital for small businesses so they can thrive and grow, and weather difficulties when larger customers stiff them or do not pay on time.
• Strengthen oversight and penalties when large companies repeatedly stiff smaller businesses and give small businesses better tools to protect themselves against predatory behavior.
  • Ensure federal regulatory oversight of proven bad actors.
  • Stop large companies from using expensive litigation hurdles to deny small businesses their right to a remedy – and give small businesses recourse to take on predatory behavior.
• Use the leverage of more than $400 billion in federal government contracting to ensure big businesses pay their suppliers on time.
  • Push for prompt payment through the power of the federal purse.
  • Expedite payments to federal contractors.
  • Increase federal contracting with small businesses.
• Expand support for working capital so small businesses can grow and thrive.
  • Expand access to working capital.
  • Lower working capital fees for small businesses in underserved communities.

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Briefing, The Washington Post

Hillary Clinton Statement on Passage of Puerto Rico Debt Bill

On Wednesday, Congress passed a debt relief plan for Puerto Rico which has begun defaulting on its debts. The bill has been sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bill includes a number of provisions including the creation of an oversight committee. Hillary Clinton released a statement in which she expressed her concern over the creation and appointments to the committee. She vowed to continue working with Puerto Rico if elected president, and promised to work to bring more benefits to the territory. A copy of Clinton’s statement is below:

“Puerto Rico’s continuing economic crisis has caused real suffering for the people of the island.  The bill the Senate passed today is the best chance we have of averting a fiscal crisis on July 1. The bill is by no means perfect, and I continue to have serious concerns about some of the provisions it contains. That’s why, as this bill is implemented, I will continue to stand with the people of Puerto Rico to ensure that the oversight board created by this legislation is made up of members who will act in the best interest of Puerto Ricans, and protect their health care, pensions, wages, and well-being. And it is past time that we put the interests of American citizens ahead of hedge fund profits—which is why I will fight with the people of Puerto Rico to put the island’s economy back on a stable and prosperous path, including by ensuring Puerto Rico is treated equitably under federal law.”

En español:

“La continua crisis económica de Puerto Rico ha causado gran sufrimiento en los puertorriqueños. El proyecto de ley aprobado hoy por el Senado es la mejor opción que tenemos en este momento para evitar una crisis fiscal el 1ro de julio. El proyecto no es para nada perfecto y continúo teniendo serias preocupaciones sobre algunas de las provisiones. Es por eso que a medida que la ley se implemente yo continuaré estando del lado del pueblo de Puerto Rico. Quiero asegurarme que la junta de supervisión creada por esta legislación esté compuesta por miembros que actúen trabajando por el mejor interés de los puertorriqueños, protegiendo su sistema de salud, sus pensiones, sus salarios y su bienestar. Desde hace tiempo deberíamos haber puesto los intereses de ciudadanos estadounidenses por encima de las ganancias de los gestores de fondos. Es por eso que lucharé junto con el pueblo de Puerto Rico para poner la economía de la Isla de vuelta en un camino de estabilidad y prosperidad, incluyendo asegurarnos de que Puerto Rico sea tratado con igualdad bajo la ley federal.”

For all the latest, follow our Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Wall Street Journal