Section One: Employees’ Rights Issues
1. The Fraternal Order of Police strongly supports H.R. 1332/S. 2010, the “Social Security Fairness Act,” which would repeal both the “Windfall Elimination Provision” (WEP) and the “Government Pension Offset” (GPO) in current law. The WEP penalizes certain public employees who also worked in the private sector and paid into the Social Security system, through a substantial reduction in their benefits, because they also collect a government pension. The GPO provision in current law causes the reduction or elimination of the spouse’s or widow(er)’s benefit from Social Security by two-thirds of the monthly amount received from the government pension. Are you a cosponsor of this legislation? If elected, will your Administration actively support its enactment and will you sign the bill if it is passed by Congress?
Obama: Throughout my career, I have stood with law enforcement. And I will never forget that the members of the Secret Service, including its uniformed division, put their lives on the line to protect my family and me. Even in tough economic times, when tough budget choices are needed, I have insisted on protecting proven efforts to support law enforcement and combat crime. My support for the men and women who put their lives on the line will never waiver.
The Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset raise important questions of fairness. A broader set of reforms are needed to strengthen Social Security for future generations. I support eliminating these two provisions within a comprehensive effort to reform Social Security to ensure that state and local employees are treated fairly.
Romney: Providing for the elderly is a bedrock commitment of our society, and both Social Security and government employee pension programs must be able to meet that obligation for generations to come. Unfortunately, today’s Social Security program is unsustainable over the long-term and defined benefit pensions are placing significant strain on government budgets. I am strongly committed to preserving Social Security for today’s seniors, who have planned their retirement around the program’s benefits. But I do not believe that it would be fiscally responsible to pursue policies that would increase Social Security liabilities.
2. In the past few years, politicians at the Federal, State and local level have demonized public sector unions– including unions representing law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers, who put themselves in harm’s way to protect their neighborhoods and communities, are being held up as objects of scorn and ridicule by these politicians who cite the cost of their hard-earned pensions and benefits as the reason for the government’s fiscal woes. What will you and your Administration do to halt these politically motivated attacks on public safety unions and how will your Administration bolster these organizations?
Obama: Our economy is stronger when we’ve got broad-based growth and broad-based prosperity. That’s what unions have always been about—shared prosperity. America cannot have a strong, growing economy without a strong, growing middle class and without a strong labor movement. And as long as I’m in the White House I’m going to stand up for collective bargaining.
The American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day. This is why I appointed Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor, and recently appointed three new leaders to the National Labor Relations Board who will uphold the rights of working Americans.
I stand with organized labor and public sector unions in condemning those who vilify public servants for doing their jobs. The Recovery Act kept hundreds of thousands of state and local workers on the job through the economic crisis, and provided $4 billion specifically for state and local law enforcement. I applauded Ohio voters for rejecting Issue 2, a law that would have stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights. This year, I am seeking more funding to help cities and states keep police officers and sheriffs’ deputies on the job. You can be assured that I will continue to support police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public servants at every turn.
Romney: Law enforcement officers provide an extraordinarily important service to our communities. We owe them and their families a great debt of gratitude for the risks they take every day in defense of our freedom and safety. As I have long believed and consistently pointed out, labor unions can perform an important and constructive role in our society. The work done by the Fraternal Order of Police — from education services to legal defense — offers an excellent illustration. We need a frank conversation in this country about how we can restore fiscal responsibility to our government, but the discussion must be conducted in a way that recognizes and respects the legitimate interests and concerns of all parties. In my administration, we will listen carefully to the perspective of the law enforcement community and I will ensure that those views are taken into account as we craft policies to address the challenges before us.
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.
Question 22 and the answers is about the most important to me. It cuts through the political BS on both sides…..I’m for Romney…at the very least he isn’t a Marxist!