Political positions of Elizabeth Warren

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Elizabeth Warren is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party.

In January 2012, the UK magazine New Statesman, named Warren as one of the "top 20 US progressives". Other members on the list include Paul Krugman, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, and Rachel Maddow.

Economics

Jobs

Warren believes that America has both a short-term and a long-term jobs problem. Without a job and a paycheck, people can't spend money, and that is hurting businesses and depressing the economy. Warren notes that China spends 9% of its GDP on infrastructure, and Europe spends about 5% of GDP, while the US is spending only 2.4% and is looking for cuts. She supports a small tax increase on those making more than $1 million per year to pay for jobs such as rebuilding the roads, bridges, and water systems. She believes that the added money in circulation would help to build the economy as well.

Warren has a long record of working to assist self-employed workers and small businesses. She believes small business owners "need straightforward rules that any small business can deal with" rather than the present situation of "complex regulations that take an army of lawyers to work through." Warren supports making it easier for workers to organize for better wages, for better health care, and for better working conditions.

Warren is in favor of increasing the minimum wage and has argued that if the minimum wage had followed increases in worker productivity in the United States, it would now be at least $22 an hour.

Trade

Warren has criticized President Barack Obama's support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, believing that it gives corporations too much power and will negatively affect workers, and that the content of the agreement should not be secret.

Taxes

Warren supports the Buffett Rule, which would restore the Clinton tax rates on the top income bracket. She believes that the added revenues should be used to make college more affordable and help students pay off their student loans.

Energy and the environment

Warren supports investing in renewable energy rather than "hand[ing] out massive tax breaks to [nonrenewable] energy companies that are among the most profitable corporations in the world." She says that "as long as we subsidize dirty sources like oil, gas, and coal, we threaten the air we breathe and the water we drink." She also believes our reliance on oil and gas "...puts us at the mercy of OPEC. We are more likely to prop up foreign dictators or become entangled in wars that are about our energy needs rather than our long-term, strategic interests...Investing in clean energy technology is investing in our health, our environmental security, our national security, and our economic security."

Foreign policy and national security

Afghanistan

Warren opposes continuing the war in Afghanistan and supports withdrawing U.S. troops "as quickly as possible, consistent with the safety of our troops and with a transition to Afghan control." She believes that, "Ultimately, it is the Afghans who must take responsibility for their own future."

Israel

Warren supports a secure and democratic state of Israel and wants to ensure the security of Israel from external forces such as Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and others. Warren states she supports a two state solution, however believes Palestinian application for membership in the UN isn't helpful.

Iran

Warren has stated that Iran is a "significant threat" to the United States and its allies. She strongly supports sanctions against Iran.

Defense spending

Warren supports defense spending cuts. She has suggested reducing the size of the standing army to reduce deficit.

Structure of government

Campaign reform

Warren opposed the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling and supports the DISCLOSE Act which would limit the ruling.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Warren was an early advocate for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The bureau was established by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama in July 2010. In anticipation of the agency's formal opening, for the first year after the bill's signing, she worked on implementation of the bureau as a special assistant to the president. While liberal groups and consumer advocacy groups pushed for Obama to nominate Warren as the agency's permanent director, she was strongly opposed by financial institutions and by Republican members of Congress who believed Warren would be an overly zealous regulator. Reportedly convinced that Warren could not win Senate confirmation as the bureau's first director, Obama turned to former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and in January 2012, over the objections of Republican Senators, appointed Cordray to the post in a "recess appointment".

TARP oversight

On November 14, 2008, Warren was appointed by United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to chair the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The Panel released monthly oversight reports that evaluated the government bailout and related programs. During Warren's tenure, these reports covered foreclosure mitigation, consumer and small business lending, commercial real estate, AIG, bank stress tests, the impact of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on the financial markets, government guarantees, the automotive industry, and other topics.

Glass-Steagall legislation

Saying, "despite the progress we've made since 2008, the biggest banks continue to threaten our economy," in July 2015 Senator Warren, along with John McCain (R-AZ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Angus King (I-ME) re-introduced the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, a modern version of the Banking Act of 1933. The legislation is intended to reduce the risk for the American taxpayer in the financial system and decrease the likelihood of a future financial crises.

Social issues

Abortion

Warren supports abortion rights and opposes any Supreme Court nominees who "oppose legal abortion".

LGBT rights

Warren supports same-sex marriage and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

DREAM Act

Warren supports the passage of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform.

Gun laws

Warren supports reinstating an extended magazine long rifle weapons ban as well as more rigorous background screenings, including for people who purchase firearms at gun shows, and she opposes limits on the sharing of firearms trace information. On April 17, 2013, she voted to expand background checks for gun purchases.

Healthcare

Warren supports the Affordable Care Act and opposed repealing it.

In the 2008 book, Health at Risk, in the chapter Get Sick, Go Broke, Warren and Deborah Thorne wrote that “We approach the health care debates from a single perspective: maintaining the financial stability of families confronting illness or injury. The most obvious solution would be universal single-payer health care.” Warren has expressed support for medical marijuana.

Education

Warren has frequently expressed concern about the amount of debt college graduates face, and especially so when they are often unable to find employment after graduation. At her senate website she states:

"As I travel all across the Commonwealth, I meet young people who have done everything right: they played by the rules, they worked hard, they finished college, and yet they're finding themselves unemployed, drowning in debt, and in many cases, moving back home with mom and dad. These young people did all we asked of them - and they're getting slammed."

Warren has introduced legislation to reduce the interest rates on student loans. She sees the passage of legislation that would support students as a test of who legislators are working for: "...armies of lawyers and lobbyists to protect tax loopholes for billionaires and profits for the big banks...or those who work hard, play by the rules, and are trying to build a future for themselves and their families?"