Hillary Clinton: Why You Should Vote for Me

The following op-ed appears in Monday’s issue of USA Today:

Hillary Clinton: Why you should vote for me
Hillary Clinton
USA Today
November 6, 2016

In January, America is going to have a new president. Things are going to change — that much is certain. The question is, what kind of change are we going to have?

We can build an economy that works for everyone, or stack the deck even more for those at the top.

We can keep America safe through strength and smarts — or turn our backs on our allies, and cozy up to our adversaries.

We can come together to build a stronger, fairer America, or fear the future and fear each other.

Everything I’ve done, as first lady, senator, or secretary of State, I’ve done by listening to people and looking for common ground, even with people who disagree with me. And if you elect me on Tuesday, that’s the kind of president I’ll be.

Here are four priorities for my first 100 days — issues I’ve heard about from Americans all over our country.

First, we will put forward the biggest investment in new jobs since World War II. We’ll invest in infrastructure and manufacturing to grow our economy for years to come. We’ll produce enough renewable energy to power every home in America within a decade. We’ll cut red tape for small businesses and make it easier for entrepreneurs to get the credit they need to grow and hire — because in America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it. We’ll pay for it all by asking the wealthy, Wall Street and big corporations to finally pay their fair share. And this commitment will go far beyond the first 100 days. Creating more good jobs with rising incomes will be a central mission of my presidency.

Second, we will introduce comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The last president to sign comprehensive immigration reform was Ronald Reagan, and it was a priority for George W. Bush. I’m confident that we can work across the aisle to pass comprehensive reform that keeps families together and creates a path to citizenship, secures our border, and focuses our enforcement resources on violent criminals. This is the right thing to do, and it will also grow our economy.

Third, to break the gridlock in Washington, we need to get secret, unaccountable money out of our politics. It’s drowning out the voices of the American people. So within my first 30 days, I will introduce a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. We should be protecting citizens’ rights to vote, not corporations’ rights to buy elections.

Fourth, we need to get started on end-to-end criminal justice reform. Too many people have been sent away for far too long for non-violent offenses. I believe our country will be stronger and safer when everyone has respect for the law and everyone is respected by the law.

There’s so much more we need to do together, and we certainly won’t get it all done in the first 100 days. But we’re going to roll up our sleeves and get to work for American families — and I’ll never, ever quit.

I want to be president for all Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents; Americans of every race, faith and background.

My opponent has run his campaign on divisiveness, fear and insults, and spent months pitting Americans against each other. I’ve said many times that Donald Trump has shown us who he is. Now we have to decide who we are.

Because it’s not just our names on the ballot this year. Every issue we care about is on the ballot, too. This is about who we are as a country — and whether we are going to have change that makes us stronger together, or change that pushes us further apart.

It all comes down to this. I love our country. I believe in our people. And I think there’s nothing we can’t achieve if we work together and invest in each other.

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: USA Today

Hillary Clinton Announces Plan to Boost Small Businesses

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton announced a plan she would introduce as president to boost small businesses. She introduced her plan in an article for LinkedIn followed by a teleconference with members of the press and several small business owners. Clinton warned of Donald Trump’s past business practices with small businesses arguing that a Trump presidency would not be good for small business owners. The comprehensive plan builds on her overall economic plan which would create millions of jobs by investing in infrastructure upgrades and clean energy. Small businesses play into her overall plan as they will provide American workers and products. An outline of the plan is below and the full plan is available on The Briefing.

1. Make it easier to start a business and become profitable
   • Push states to make it faster and cheaper to start a business
   • Working with states to standardize licensing requirements
   • Making technical assistance and resources available to states
   • Provide incubators, mentoring, and training to 50,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners in underserved communities
2. Make it easier to get financing and find investors
   • Streamline regulation and cut red tape for community banks and credit unions
   • Harness the potential of online lending platforms
   • Reduce the burden of student debt by allowing entrepreneurs to defer student loan payment
   • Promote the 100% tax exclusion on capital gains for long-term small business investments
   • Expand and streamline the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company program
   • Support new innovative ways to assess creditworthiness for small business owners
   • Expand access to credit in underserved communities
   • Give the SBA administrator the authority to continue providing 7(a) loan guarantees to small businesses
   • Expand access to working capital by expanding the SBA’s working capital guarantee programs
3. Make it cheaper and faster to file taxes and pay for tax relief
   • Work to create a new standard deduction for small businesses
   • Allow 4 million small businesses with gross receipts under $1 million to take advantage of “checkbook accounting”
   • Allow small businesses to immediately expense up to $1 million in new investments
   • Quadruple the start-up tax deduction to significantly lower the cost of starting a business
4. Make it easier to offer health care and other benefits to employees
   • Simplify and expand the healthcare tax credit
   • Allow more small businesses pool together to offer retirement plans
5. Make it easier to work with the federal government
   • Work to completely revamp the digital experience for small businesses
   • Use the leverage of more than $400 billion in federal government contracting to encourage businesses to pay their suppliers in full and on time
   • Guarantee a 24-hour response time to small businesses with questions about federal regulations and access to capital programs
   • Ensure that Small Business Development Centers are placed in the highest-need communities with staff that speaks the language of local residents
   • Work to ensure that federal regulations aren’t unnecessarily holding small businesses and our economy back
   • Increase federal contracting opportunities for women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses
   • Defend and strengthen the Export-Import Bank
   • Encourage small business exports by expanding SBA funding for export development
6. Make it easier to fight back when you’re getting stiffed

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: LinkedIn, The Briefing, Bloomberg, Forbes

Hillary Clinton Statement on Louisiana Flooding

On Monday, Hillary Clinton released a statement following devastating flooding in Louisiana that has claimed 13 lives and damaged tens of thousands of homes. She called on her supporters to donate to the Red Cross so that much needed supplies can be sent to the affected areas. Clinton also calls on Congress to pass funding to combat Zika virus as the flooding will likely breed mosquitoes. A copy of Clinton’s statement is below.

“This month’s floods in Louisiana are a crisis that demand a national response. More than 30,000 people have been rescued by the Coast Guard, National Guard, and other emergency responders. Thousands of people have lost everything. At least 13 lost their lives. We must make sure that all resources are brought to bear in responding to the crisis and helping communities rebuild.

That is why I have called on supporters of this campaign to give what they can to the Red Cross, to bring much-needed aid and supplies to the more than 100,000 people affected by the floods. We also need to make sure that this crisis is not compounded by another, by ensuring mosquito abatement is happening hand-in-hand with flood response, to reduce the risk of mosquitoes that could carry the Zika virus from gaining a foothold in Louisiana.

The best way to help Louisianans affected by these terrible floods is to make sure they have the resources they need today. I am committed to visiting communities affected by these floods, at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response, to discuss how we can and will rebuild together.

In times of crisis, Americans have always come together to lift each other up, support each other, and rebuild stronger and better than before. That is what we must do now in Louisiana, and I am committed to standing with Louisianans every step of the way.”

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: ABC News

Hillary Clinton Drums Up Support in Iowa

On Saturday, Hillary Clinton hosted two town hall events and took part in one Iowa Democratic party event. It was a busy day in Iowa for Hillary for America with a number of high profile Democrats and celebrities meeting with voters. Clinton was also formally endorsed by The Des Moines Register this afternoon. But for Clinton, she remained the trail meeting with as many voters before the upcoming caucus. The first event of the day was in Clinton where she responded to recent questions about her health and stamina saying that she is healthy and that she would “match my endurance against anybody.” Clinton spoke to the crowd about a number of topics, then took questions during the town hall portion of the event. Videos from the Clinton appearance are below.

During a “Hard Hats for Hillary” event in Davenport, Clinton met with union members saying that she would fully support them as president. She spoke about how she has already been endorsed by twenty-four unions, including some of the largest in the nation. She spoke about her work to help those in the working class by raising the minimum wage and not weakening unions’ rights to collectively bargain. She then took questions from the voters in attendance.

For the final event of the day, Clinton stayed in Davenport for the Scott County Democratic Party’s Red, White & Blue Banquet. She was not the only Democratic presidential candidate in attendance as Martin O’Malley attended the event as well. Clinton spoke about her plans to bolster the economy, improve America’s infrastructure, and expand clean energy. She also pledged to not raise taxes on those in the middle class. Videos from the Davenport events will be posted when/if available.

Clinton remains in Iowa through early next week. For all the latest, follow our revamped Scheduled Events page and follow Clinton on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

News Source: The Washington Post, The Des Moines Register, Quad-Cities Online