Abortion
In January of 2007, Bill Richardson was named a "Champion of Choice" by NARAL-NM for his career spanning record of protecting and fighting for the right to choose. We can work together to make abortion safe, legal and rare. And we should do everything we can to support quality prenatal care and early child health care so that newborns and infants have the support they need to grow.
Budget & Economy
Our country faces a great economic challenge. Increasingly, highly-skilled workers across the globe are competing for -- and winning -- the most desirable jobs available. Many of these workers come from nations with governments that have made the three essential choices that grow economies and create jobs:
1. They are choosing to invest in the future rather than spending extravagantly on present-day consumption
2. They are investing in science and technology, and
3. They are investing in their workers through education and workforce development
I have a plan to meet these challenges by encouraging innovation and expanding economic opportunity.
Our nation is more than a piece of land or a set of laws. Our nation embodies the belief that tomorrow can be better than today. Together, we can do this. We can restore fiscal responsibility to our government. We can be the catalyst for innovation. And we can keep America's promise to its Middle Class workers. A strong economy is the engine of everything that America does and everything we want this country to be. I have the experience and the record of accomplishment to meet the economic challenges we face and to lead our country into the future.
Campaign Finance
No Stance Provided
Civil Rights
As Congressman, Ambassador, Secretary and Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson has been a champion of civil rights, equality, freedom and the rule of law. As President, Bill Richardson will continue to fight for and protect the rights and freedoms that make America so great.
As Governor, Bill Richardson has expanded anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation, signed into law the state's first hate crimes legislation for acts including those based on sexual orientation, and provided state health insurance for domestic partnerships. He supports domestic partnerships and worked hard to secure them in New Mexico in a special session this year. His legislation failed by only one vote and he will fight for domestic partnerships again in the next legislative session.
Corporations
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Crime
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Drugs
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Education
Improving our schools has been central to my work turning around New Mexico. As Governor, I worked hard on behalf of teachers, investing in higher salaries and expanded benefits for those who have given our communities so much. We raised New Mexico teacher salaries from 46th in the nation to 29th, and increased the number of "highly-qualified" teachers. I signed legislation that expanded full-day kindergarten and made Pre-Kindergarten available for thousands of four-year-olds across the state. As president, I will continue to be a champion for quality education, because our kids deserve the best.
At first, I thought we could fix No Child Left Behind -- but now it is clear that we can't, and that our students are suffering under this failed policy. It is imperative that the next president makes sure that states receive appropriate funding and are no longer forced to accept a one-size-fits-all program that punishes schools rather than providing them with the tools they need to succeed.
Energy & Oil
We must "Act Boldly and Act Now" in order to make America a Clean Energy Nation like I made New Mexico a Clean Energy State. Consider this a call to action, for Congress, the energy industry, and the public. I am calling for a New American Revolution -- an energy and climate revolution.
• Cut Oil Demand: 50% by 2020
• Create New Efficiencies And Energy Sources in the Electrical Sector: 50% by 2040
• Dramatically Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 90% by 2050
• Lead By Example and Restore America as the World's Leader
• Get It All Done Without Breaking the Bank
• Invite the Oil Companies to Become Energy Companies
Americans need energy to get to work, we need heat and electricity in our homes, schools and workplaces. We are hurt by unpredictable energy price cycles, and by our nation's energy policy failures. The way out of the cycle is to create competition, to support energy productivity, new technologies and alternative fuels. And everyone -- every American -- must make an effort to make us energy independent and combat global warming. Our national security and our planet depend on it. It's about creating a new energy economy here in the United States, and doing it quickly, with broad, bold strokes. It's the way to a bright, strong, prosperous future for the United States -- and for the world. I called for an energy revolution -- and now, today, I call on you to join it.
Environment
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Families & Children
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Foreign Policy
This administration’s lack of realism has led us to a dangerous place. We need to take a different path. A path based on reality, not unilateralist illusions. A path that understands that the gravest dangers that threaten us today do not threaten only us – and that therefore to pursue our national interest and meet these challenges we must work with our friends, our enemies, and everyone in between. This is a path not of hard words, but of hard work. A path of moral strength, not pious judgments. A path of strong diplomacy, backed up by a strong military and strong alliances. This is the path of American leadership.
We need to stop treating diplomatic engagement with others like a reward for good behavior. The Bush administration’s refusal to engage obnoxious regimes has only encouraged and strengthened these nations' paranoid and hard-line tendencies. The futility of this policy is most tragically obvious in regard to Iran and North Korea, who responded to Washington’s snubs and threats with intensification of their nuclear programs.
Free Trade
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Government Reform
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Gun Control
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Health Care
I believe that we need to make health care more affordable for all Americans, including those who are already covered. And any real solution to making health care more affordable for everybody must start with the commitment that all Americans should have health care coverage. America's moral values support the basic concept that no one should be denied the health care necessary to sustain their lives productively simply because of wealth or income.
My plan uses proven, existing models to expand coverage to those who currently don't have it. The plan creates more choices for Americans, not fewer -- and that includes the number one option that most people want, which is to keep the coverage they already have if they are satisfied with it. And by promoting affordable choices of coverage, emphasizing prevention and personal responsibility, spurring the spread of new technologies, cutting administrative overhead, and minimizing bureaucracy, we'll create verifiable cost savings that offset the needed investments and coverage expansions. That's why I can promise Americans universal -- and better -- health care without increased taxes.
Homeland Security
I believe that that we must protect those who protect us. Fire fighters, police officers, and other first responders spend their lives saving Americans and keeping us safe. It is unconscionable, then, that George Bush and the Republicans in Congress have spent the six years since 9/11 ignoring the professional and personal needs of first responders and trying to under-fund and eliminate the very programs that keep us safe.
When I am President, that will change.
Immigration
I am committed to implementing comprehensive reforms that secure our borders and our ports and provide for an effective and humane immigration policy. As the Governor of a border state I deal with the effects of immigration, legal and illegal, every day. The federal government has not done enough to solve the problem. In 2005 violent crime, drugs, and crime were out of control along New Mexico's border with Mexico. I took action, declaring a state of emergency along the border, making $1.75 million available to local law enforcement agencies to increase patrols and add personnel. As a result, arrests are up, crime is down, and the flow of undocumented immigrants has slowed. The New Mexico border town of Village of Columbus, for example, saw an 80 percent reduction in crime.
Building a fence will not increase security, just as attempting to deport 12 million illegal immigrants is not feasible or reasonable. I believe a realistic immigration reform plan must address the problem from all sides -- securing the border, penalizing employers for knowingly hiring illegal workers, offering a tough but reasonable path to legalization, engaging Mexico in the reform process, and improving our current immigration quota system.
Infrastructure
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Iraq
The Iraq War is costing Americans $10 billion each month. By implementing my plan to de-authorize the war and withdraw ALL troops in six months, we can start redirecting these funds toward what matters most for Americans: improving education, expanding access to quality health care, and addressing the REAL security threats like the Taliban, nuclear proliferation, and global warming. My seven-point ‘New Realism' plan for Iraq describes in detail what is required.
1. De-Authorize the War Now
2. Troops Out in Six Months
3. No Residual Forces Left Behind
4. Promote Iraqi Reconciliation
5. Work With All Neighbors and Allies
6. Global Cooperation in Reconstruction
7. Redeploy to Address Real Threat
Principles & Values
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Social Security
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Tax Reform
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Welfare & Poverty
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My Contact Information
Bill Richardson
111 Lomas Blvd NW, Ste 200, Albuquerque, NM 87102