Will Increase Health Care Costs and Reduce Access.McCain’s plan undermines existing employerbased health care and pushes workers into the private market to fight big insurance companies on their own. He will make health care premiums part of taxable income, essentially creating a new tax for working families. His plan will reduce benefits, increase costs and leave many with no health care at all. (CBPP, 4/5/06; Health08.org, Forum, 10/31/07; Los Angeles Times, 11/20/07; Commonwealth Fund, 6/2005) 

Supports Unfair Trade Deals. McCain voted for NAFTA and CAFTA, and to allow China to enter the WTO although the United States has lost more than 1 million jobs because of NAFTA and 1.8 million jobs since China entered the WTO. (H.R. 3450, Vote #395, 11/20/93; S. 1307, Vote #170, 6/30/05; H.R. 4444, Vote #251, 9/19/00; Economic Policy Institute, 10/9/07)

More of the Same. McCain supported President Bush’s positions 95 percent of the time in 2007 and an average of 89 percent over Bush’s two terms in office. (Congressional Quarterly Voting Study, 110th Congress) 

Opposes Our Right to Bargain. McCain voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field for workers trying to form unions, and for a national Right-to-Work-for-Less law that would attempt to eliminate unions altogether. (H.R. 800, Vote #227, 6/26/07; S. 1788, Vote #188, 7/10/96) 

Jeopardized Our Retirement Security. McCain supports privatizing Social Security, putting our retirement at risk, and raising the Medicare eligibility age. (SCR 83, Vote #68, 3/16/06; SCR 18, Vote #49, 3/15/05; S. Amdt.144 to SCR 18, Vote #47, 3/15/05; SCR 86, Vote #56, 4/1/98; SCR 86, Vote #77, 4/1/98; S. 947, Vote #112, S. Amdt. 445, Vote #115, 6/25/97)

McCAIN & BUSH: IS THERE REALLY A DIFFERENCE?
Sen. John McCain has long promoted the idea that he is a “straight-talking maverick” who challenges his party and stands up to his president. However, despite the media misrepresentation, McCain has not strayed too far from President George Bush’s line, especially on issues important to working families. McCain is not running for a term of his own; he is running on an extension of the agenda laid out by Bush in his fi rst two terms: tax cuts for the rich, privatizing Social Security and outsourcing jobs.

McCAIN VOTES WITH BUSH
McCain Voted with the Bush Administration 89 Percent of the Time. Since President Bush took office, McCain has supported Bush’s positions 89 percent of the time. McCain’s support of Bush’s policies reached as high as 95 percent in 2007. [Congressional Quarterly Voting Study, 110th Congress]

SHARES BUSH’S ROSY VIEW OF THE ECONOMY
Bush: Economy Is Inherently Strong. “I believe we can find common ground to get something done that’s big enough, effective enough so that an economy that is inherently strong gets a boost to make sure that this uncertainty doesn’t translate into more economic woes for our workers and small business people,” Bush said in the Cabinet Room. [Associated Press, 1/23/08]

McCain: Underpinnings of Economy are Strong. “I still believe our fundamental underpinnings of our economy are strong, but it’s obvious that we are facing  challenges which will require actions such as the Federal Reserve took today.” [“Lou Dobbs Tonight,” CNN, 1/22/08]

WANTS TO MAKE BUSH’S TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY PERMANENT
Bush: Make Tax Cuts Permanent. During his weekly radio address, Bush said, “To keep our economy growing, we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn, and Congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent.” [Presidential Weekly Radio Address, 1/7/06]

McCain: Make Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. “I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already.… And if we don’t make the tax cuts permanent, then they will experience what amounts to a tax increase.” [Republican Presidential Debate, MSNBC, 1/24/08]

McCain Voted for Tax Cuts for the Wealthiest Americans at the Expense of Working Families. McCain voted for a $60 billion tax cut bill benefiting families with incomes $100,000 or higher. The tax cuts would follow equally drastic cuts in spending on programs vital to working families. [S. 2020, Vote #26, 11/18/05]

McCAIN WANTS TO PRIVATIZE SOCIAL SECURITY
Bush: Fix Social Security Through Private Accounts. “As we fix Social Security, we also have the responsibility to make the system a better deal for younger workers, and the best way to reach that goal is through voluntary personal retirement accounts.” [President Bush’s State of the Union Address, 1/28/08]

McCain: Only Solution to Fix Social Security Is Private Accounts. “There is only one solution if Social Security commitments are to be honored without breaking the backs of the next generation: bold reform— genuine reform—that allows workers to invest some of their Social Security savings, privately, in higher-yielding accounts.” [Cato Institute]

McCain Voted for Bush’s Social Security Privatization Plan. In 2006, McCain voted for the Social Security Reserve Fund. The GOP proposal would shift Social Security’s annual surpluses into a reserve account that will be converted into risky private accounts. [SCR 83, Vote# 68, 3/16/06]

McCAIN SUPPORTS BUSH ON PRIVATIZING AND OUTSOURCING JOBS
Bush: Outsourcing Makes Sense. In 2004, the president’s economic report to Congress said, “When a good or service is produced more cheaply abroad, it makes more sense to import it than to make or provide it domestically.” [InformationWeek.com, accessed 2/26/08]

McCain: Global Economy Results in Outsourcing. “I’m not going to bring back a lot of these jobs. I can’t because with a global economy they’re headed the other way,” McCain said. [Technology Daily, 12/4/07]

McCain Supported Bush Administration’s Plan to Privatize and Outsource Federal Jobs. McCain voted to support Bush’s efforts to privatize federal jobs. The Bush administration has led a major effort to outsource and privatize hundreds of thousands of federal jobs, including those of 350 workers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. [H.R. 5631, Vote# 234, 9/6/06]

Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education (COPE) Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.