Presidential Candidate Questionnaire

3. In 2001, the Commission to Strengthen Social Security (CSSS) issued a report which rejected a scheme to mandate participation in Social Security for newly hired State and local government employees currently outside the Social Security system. Will you pledge to oppose any plan and veto any legislation which includes a provision mandating participation in the Social Security system for either current or newly hired State and local government employees that do not currently participate in Social Security?

Obama: I am committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security for future generations, without gambling Social Security benefits on the stock market, slashing benefits, or failing to protect retirees from seeing their basic benefits reduced. Any reform should strengthen retirement security for the most vulnerable, including low-income seniors, and maintain robust disability and survivors’ benefits. While some have proposed extending mandatory Social Security coverage to all newly hired public employees to help close our funding shortfall, I have not supported any plan to mandate this coverage.

Romney: One of the great strengths of our system of government is the principle of federalism — the idea that we are stronger as a nation when each state is given the freedom to pursue its own course and adopt the policies best for its own citizens. We have a president today who rejects this founding principle, and instead believes that Washington has the best one-size-fits-all solution to all of our problems. I disagree. That is why, across a broad range of issues, I have proposed taking power away from Washington and giving it to the states. If state and local governments want to provide their employees with alternative pension programs that provide retirement security, the federal government should welcome that effort instead of seeking to interfere with it.

4. The Fraternal Order of Police strongly supports legislation which provides minimal collective bargaining rights for public safety employees (i.e., law enforcement officers and firefighters). What is your position on public employee collective bargaining? In the 111th Congress, the FOP strongly supported H.R. 413/S. 1611, the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.” If elected, will your Administration actively support the enactment of similar legislation and will you sign the bill if it is passed by Congress? Would you also support similar provisions that would allow uniform and non-uniform Federal law enforcement officers to unionize and engage in collective bargaining?

Obama: In the Senate, I was an original co-sponsor of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, and I would sign this legislation with pride.

Romney: I disagree with the Fraternal Order of Police on this point. As I noted above, I believe that labor unions — including public employee unions — can be constructive forces in our communities and I would look forward to working closely with them as president. But it was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who observed that “the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.” I agree with this view, and I would not support an expansion of collective bargaining rights for public employees.

5. The Fraternal Order of Police strongly supports legislation which would articulate the rights of law enforcement officers who are, in a number of jurisdictions, denied their due process rights by police administrators and management. Are you a cosponsor of H.R. 1789, the “State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability and Due Process Act,” which protects the due process rights of law enforcement officers in non-criminal, administrative proceedings? If elected, will your Administration actively support its enactment and will you sign the bill if it is passed by Congress?

Obama: I remain committed to the protection of both political rights and due process rights of all workers, including those who put their lives on the line to defend others’ constitutional rights. I continue to support this important piece of legislation and if enacted by Congress, I will sign it.

Romney: I stand second to no one in my commitment to protecting due process rights for all Americans, and as president I will work to ensure that every level of government in the United States complies scrupulously with every applicable provision of our Constitution. Nowhere are such protections more important than in the context of law enforcement, where our public servants are repeatedly called upon to make split-second life-or-death decisions in the face of murky facts and when the possibility of mistake is unavoidable. However, I do not believe that it is the place of the federal government to impose specific processes or standards on state and local governments. As I described above, I believe that the principles of federalism have served our nation well and can continue to do so. Local communities should be responsible for the management of their own public safety institutions, and I expect that such local control will ultimately benefit not only the communities but also the law enforcement officers who serve them.

6. The Fraternal Order of Police strongly supports H.R. 327/S. 985, the “Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act,” which would expand the definition of “law enforcement officer” under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System to include all Federal police officers, as well as Customs and Immigration Inspectors. What is your position regarding the current disparity in the pay and benefits provided to law enforcement officers across the Federal government, and what measures will you support to ensure parity among the Federal government’s first responders? If elected, will your Administration actively support its enactment? Will you sign the bill if it is passed by Congress?

Obama: Yes, I continue to support the Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act and would sign this legislation if passed by Congress.

Romney: I have not carefully studied the current compensation policies for all types of public safety officers in the federal government. In general, I believe that we must make sure that all federal employees are fairly compensated for the work they do, taking account of the physical demands and threats to personal safety a job entails.

12 thoughts on “Presidential Candidate Questionnaire

Dear Brothers and Siters. We serve the risen Lord. Every decision we make in Law Enforcement is guided or should be guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. When you decide who to vote for, don’t consider wordly things, but consider what is in the bible. Which one of these candidates line up with your Christian views. Who is for for the unborn? I know most Police Officers would prosecute anyone who injures a fetus or kills a little baby. Who supports the rights of a man and woman to marry and concieve children in a natural God given way? What happens to many of the children of blended families, fatherless homes, domestic disputes? As our brother David pointed out, Mr. Obama said the Police Officers “acted stupidly” when they confronted an unidentified tresspasser until proven otherwise. Mr. Obama condemed the latino in Florida who shot a young black male before an investigation was complete. Where is the support for the police officers killed in the line of duty by the thugs and criminals in America? Do any of you know of Mr. Obama coming to the aid of a stricken Law Enforcement family like he did for the above cases I cited along with that college female who needs $3,000 / mth for healthcare so she can have uninterrupted sex while in college?? How about refusing to fight for the christian values? What about not agreeing to meet with the Israel President but appearing on the View and Late SHow? The battle in America is the same on your beat!! It is a battle between “GOOD” and evil. You have the wisdom and power to make a difference! Pray and discern the spirit. God Bless You All!

PrezBO is most assuredly a marxist and socialist. Government dependency for total life sustainability is not the answer, nor any substitute to individual accountability and responsibility. The National FOP lodge needs to be more transparent and informed about labor unions issues by state, rather than lumping altogether issues that don’t necessarily apply in all cases. At least Romney has a proven track record or creating jobs and troubleshooting issues that resulted in success rather than failure. What has the “community organizer” ever done in that regard? Four more years of Obama will further plunder this country into complete financial ruin and ultimately destroy whatever protections we currently have!

I agree with Gary’s assement. I graded the answers as 7 for Obama and 24 for Romney. As Gary stated Obama had some wins early on but failed miserably overall.

I do not understand how one can not take him as a socialist/Marxist whichever term you use but the 2008 election proved millions didn’t see it even though his book and his “we will fundamentally change America” he clearly said so.

Let’s just hope he fails in his bid to get a 2nd term that we can not afford.

As a military veteran and retired Police officer I’ve spent most of my life to serve & protect this country and its people. Your labeling of our President as a Marxist only exhibits your lack of knowledge concerning political views throughout the world. Our Presidend is as Democratic as any other in his views of fairness for the people. Obama 2012.

David is wise to doubt that Obama either likes LE or the FOP, just as he has nothing but contempt for the military. He will say or do anything for votes. I have never seen anyone who can lie so constantly. Don’t be fooled by him, Lorin. And yes – as Joe implies, he is a Marxist.

First, I do respect everyone’s individual opinion. I just wish I could understand how anyone can still believe Obama is in any way good for this great country of ours, much less the law enforcement! Think back at how he has been the first to jump out and publicly question law enforcements actions – such as the arrest of his law professor friend. It is obvious to me that he does not care for or respect law enforcement.
Let’s face it – all of Obama’s records are “sealed” and therefore, we know nothing about him other than the fact that he has more than doubled the nations debt in just three years and that he has done nothing that he said he would do. I am truly worried that if he is re-elected for another term our great country will suffer irreparible damage. He is a great speaker, but look what he has done and/or not done – not what he says! He is one of the best liars I have seen.

I just don’t believe our president genuinely likes Law Enforcement and/or the FOP. If he gets our support, I believe he would simply use this organization strictly as a political tool in his chest, and we would not realize any benefit or support. The FOP and LE overall may not get everything we would like to see take place under Romney, (and he does have his problems), but that would be better than being used or worse. I just cannot vote for or support Obama/Biden.

Mr. Obama has the slick answers, but Mr. Romney has in my opinion even when saying something I disagree with, the most honest answers. Mr. Obama is much more political, saying what we want to hear. Mr. Romney says what he believes.

Your mind is made up and there is no changing it. President Obama will continue to enhance the rights and grouth of the middle class whereas Mr Romney will continue his approach of establishing two classes; the very rich and the very poor. I don’t know many Police officers who are not considered middle class and I can’t believe Romney is going to make them rich. Obama is my choice to protect the rights of the people..

And it appears that your mind is made up as well. I recall being in class when a classmate got upset about comments made about the current president. She stated that she was a staunch member of the President’s political party. I told her that people who set their mind to vote for a label, and do not look at all the options scare me. The same applies here. No matter what happens or is discovered, You will only consider OBama

Excellent set of questions posted by the FOP to the candidates. Obama was able to align more closely with the FOP on a few of the labor related issues at the beginning, but otherwise his answers were largely political fluff. It seemed to me that Romney clearly understood, respected and sympathized more with the general law enforcement perspective and also his views on many of these issues more closely reflect the views shared by most Americans. I was impressed by the candid and pragmatic, yet thoughtful answers he provided.

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