HILLARY’S SPEND-O-METER
If Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Could Enact All Of Her Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing $773 Billion In New Spending Over One White House Term. Keep reading for a breakdown of her proposals:
Updated November 5, 2007: Hillary Has Proposed A $150 Billion Energy Investment Plan Over 10 Years, Equal To $15 Billion Per Year; $15 Billion Multiplied By 4 Years = $60 Billion. “A $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund, paid for in part by oil companies, to fund investments in alternative energy. The SEF will finance one-third of the $150 billion ten-year investment in a new energy future contained in this plan.” (Hillary Clinton For President Website, www.hillaryclinton.com, Accessed 11/5/07)
Updated October 17, 2007: Hillary Proposed $1.75 Billion A Year In State Grants For Paid Family Leave And Child Care Programs; Multiplied By 4 Years = $7 Billion. “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton … proposed giving $1 billion in grants to states that enact paid family leave laws and said that she would support requiring employers to provide workers seven days’ annual paid sick leave. … Mrs. Clinton also proposed tens of millions of additional dollars for block grants for child care programs. Together, the new proposals that Mrs. Clinton announced … in New Hampshire would cost $1.75 billion a year.” (Patrick Healy, “Clinton Proposes Big Grants For Family Leave,” The New York Times, 10/17/07)
Updated October 12, 2007: Hillary Proposed An $8 Billion A Year College Affordability Program, Multiplied By 4 Years = $32 Billion. “And this week she unveiled … an $8 billion annual college affordability program.” (Russell Berman, “Rangel, Clinton To Clash,” The New York Sun, 10/12/07)
Updated October 11, 2007: Hillary’s Health Care Plan Would Cost $110 Billion Per Year, Multiplied By 4 Years (One White House Term) = $440 Billion. “Clinton’s price tag is $110 billion a year, but analysts say her [health care] plan will cost a lot more than that.” (Donald Lambro, Op-Ed, “Health Care Nightmare,” The Washington Times, 9/24/07)
Hillary Has Proposed 401(k) For All Americans, Funded In Part By The Government At A Cost Of Up To $25 Billion Per Year, Multiplied By 4 Years = $100 Billion. “Hillary Clinton unveiled her second-biggest proposal of the campaign so far – after health care — a plan to make 401(k) retirement savings plans available to all Americans. … Clinton’s ‘American Retirement Accounts’ would cost about $20 to 25 billion each year, Clinton’s advisors said yesterday.” (Marcella Bombardieri, “Clinton Targeting Middle Class,” The Boston Globe, 10/9/07)
Hillary’s Baby Bond Proposal Would Give $5,000 To Each Of The 4 Million Babies Born In The U.S. Each Year, Totaling $20 Billion Per Year, Multiplied By 4 Years = $80 Billion. “Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said … that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 ‘baby bond’ from the government … Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.” (Devlin Barrett, “Clinton: $5,000 For Every U.S. Baby,” The Associated Press, 9/28/07)
- “It Would Be Expensive — About $20 Billion A Year — And Clinton Offered No Way To Pay For It.” (Editorial, “Clinton’s Baby Boondoggle,” The Chicago Tribune, 10/2/07)
For Public Transit, Hillary Would Spend $1.5 Billion Per Year, Multiplied By 4 Years = $6 Billion. “
he proposed spending $1.5 billion per year for public transit …” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)
Hillary Would Spend $10 Billion On Bridges Over 10 Years, Equal To $1 Billion Per Year; $1 Billion Multiplied By 4 Years = $4 Billion. “After the Minnesota bridge collapse last month, she proposed … $10 billion over 10 years to redesign and reconstruct ailing bridges.” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)
Hillary Plans To Spend $1 Billion For At-Risk Mortgage Borrowers. “She has proposed $1 billion to help at-risk mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure.” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)
Hillary Would Commit $10 Billion For Education In Developing Countries Over 5 Years, Equal To $2 Billion Per Year; $2 Billion Multiplied By 4 Years = $8 Billion. “Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wants the U.S. government to commit $10 billion over five years to get young children in developing countries into school …” (Amy Fagan, “Hillary Seeks ‘Education For All,’” The Washington Times, 5/2/07)
Hillary Pledged $300 Million For “Second Chance Education.” “Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, vowing to ‘stop the revolving door from the streets to prison,’ pledged to invest $300 million as president into public-private programs for ‘second chance education’ and reintegrating ex-offenders into communities.” (Peter Hecht, “Clinton Vows To Back Programs For ‘Second Chance Education,’” Sacramento Bee, 10/1/07)
Hillary Committed $36 Million For School Phys-Ed Programs. “Smaller-ticket items … [include] $36 million for school physical-education programs.” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)
Hillary’s Universal Pre-K Would Cost $5 Billion The First Year, And Over The Next 5 Years Annual Expenditures Would Increase To $10 Billion, Meaning At A Minimum It Would Cost $5 Billion Per Year Over The First 4 Years; $5 Billion Multiplied By 4 Years = $20 Billion. Hillary Clinton’s “Fact Sheet” On Universal Pre-K: “The federal government will allocate $5 billion in the first year to states to establish and administer universal Pre-K. Over the next five years, the federal commitment will increase to $10 billion as states increase their commitment to Pre-K.” (Hillary Clinton For President Website, hillaryclinton.com, Accessed 9/28/07)
Hillary Would Increase The Number Of National Science Foundation Fellowships And Increase The Size Of Each Award, At An Annual Cost Of $378 Million; $378 Million Multiplied By 4 Years = Over 1.5 Billion. “Triple the number of NSF fellowships and increase the size of each award by 33 percent. … It is estimated that this would increase the annual cost of the program from $122 million to $500 million.” (Hillary Clinton For President Website, hillaryclinton.com, Accessed 10/10/07)
She Would Double The NIH’s Budget Over 10 Years – An Additional $28 Billion, Equal To 2.8 Billion Per Year; $2.8 Billion Multiplied By 4 Years = $11.2 Billion. “At a recent cancer forum, Mrs. Clinton said she would ‘double’ the National Institute of Health’s $28 billion budget … over 10 years.” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)
And Would Double The National Cancer Institute’s Budget Over 10 Years – An Additional $5 Billion, Equal To $500 Million Per Year; $500 Million Multiplied By 4 Years = $2 Billion. “At a recent cancer forum, Mrs. Clinton said she would ‘double’ … the National Cancer Institute’s nearly $5 billion budget over 10 years.” (Christina Bellantoni, “Democrats Can’t Afford ‘08 Promises,” The Washington Times, 9/20/07)