Barack Obama

How he's voted:

May, 25, 2006: Voted for the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. The bill, which passed, included a guest worker program, National Guardsmen on the borders and a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Provisions also included higher fines for employers who hire illegal workers and 370 miles of barrier fencing along the border.

September 29, 2006: Voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006 authorizing construction of a 700 mile fence along the U.S. - Mexico border. The bill passed.

June 28, 2007: Voted to invoke cloture (limiting debate) on a bill that would overhaul U.S. immigration policies. The motion failed and the bill died.

What he's said:

In approaching immigration reform, I believe that we must enact tough, practical reforms that ensure and promote the legal and orderly entry of immigrants into our country. Just as important, we must respect the humanity of the carpenters and bricklayers who help build America; the humanity of garment workers and farm workers who come to America to join their families; the humanity of the students like my father who come to America in search of the dream. We are a nation of immigrants, and we must respect that shared history as this debate moves forward.

To fix the system in a way that does not require us to revisit the same problem in twenty years, I continue to believe that we need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace. And that means a workable mandatory system that employers must use to verify the legality of their workers. "But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America and what pushes them out of their home countries. Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should. And these goals are not mutually exclusive. We should not say that Spanish speaking or working class immigrants are only good enough to be temporary workers and cannot earn the right to be part of the American family.

With regard to the most pressing part of the immigration challenge, the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., we must create an earned path to citizenship. Now, no one condones unauthorized entry into the United States. And by supporting an earned path to citizenship, I am not saying that illegal entry should go unpunished. The path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship must be tough enough to make it clear that unauthorized entry was wrong."
Statement released May 23, 2007

More on his website: www.barackobama.com

How he's voted:

May 16 2007 -- Voted in favor of a measure to cut off funds for most Iraq military operations after March 31, 2008.

May 24, 2007 -- Voted against legislation to continue funding the war without a timeline for troop withdrawal.

What he's said:

The president has not made his case for going into Iraq."
Statement made as Illinois State Senator, September 25, 2002

Today I supported the Reid-Feingold plan, which would begin a withdrawal of troops in 120 days and end all combat operations on April 1, 2008. I supported this proposal not because I believe it is the best answer, but because I want to send a strong statement to the Iraqi government, the President and my Republican colleagues that it's long past time to change course in Iraq."
Statement issued May 16 ,2007

Enough is enough...[President Bush should not get] a blank check to continue down this same disastrous path."
Associated Press, May 25, 2007

It is long past time to turn the page in Iraq, where each day we see the consequences of fighting a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged. The single most important decision a President or Member of Congress can make is the decision to send our troops into harm's way."
Statement issued July 18, 2007

Plan for Iraq:
Introduced legislation calling for the redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. The plan allowed for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq as a basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces.

On his website: www.barackobama.com

How he's voted:

March 2, 2006: Voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. The bill passed.

September 28, 2006: Voted against a bill that authorized military tribunals to try detainees designated as alien unlawful enemy combatants. The bill allowed the use of some coerced testimony and evidence seized without a warrant and suspended the right of habeas corpus. The bill passed.

What he's said:

There will be 30-second attack ads and negative mail pieces, and we will be called everything from cut-and-run quitters to Defeatocrats, to people who care more about the rights of terrorists than the protection of Americans. While I know all of this, I'm still disappointed, and I'm still ashamed, because what we're doing here today -- a debate over the fundamental human rights of the accused -- should be bigger than politics."
Washington Post, September 29, 2006

I think most Americans would agree that if somebody is held they should at least be able to respond to the charges. The fact we don't have that is something that, over time, Americans are going to be embarrassed about."
International Herald Tribune, September 30, 2006

On the terrorism front, I'm happy to have that debate. The notion that the president has led a flawless policy on terrorism is an illusion."
Associated Press, September 21, 2006

On his website: www.barackobama.com

How he's voted:

July 29, 2005 Voted for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included tax incentives for greater domestic production of oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy as well as encouragement for conservation. The bill passed 74-26.

Dec. 21, 2005 Voted to remove language from a Defense Appropriations Bill that would have opened Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. The resolution to remove the language passed 48-45.

June 21, 2007 Voted for the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, which aimed to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, increase energy efficiency of products, buildings and vehicles and protect consumers from price gouging. Passed 65-27.

What he's said:

We depend on some of the most politically volatile countries in the Middle East and elsewhere to fuel our energy needs. It doesn't matter if they're budding democracies, despotic regimes with nuclear intentions, or havens for the madrassas that plant the seeds of terror in young minds. They get our money because we need their oil."
Crain's Chicago Business, September 4, 2006

For years, while foreign competitors were investing in more fuel-efficient technology for their vehicles, American automakers were spending their time investing in bigger, faster cars…Here in Detroit, three giants of American industry are hemorrhaging jobs and profits as foreign competitors answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient cars… "The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time…It starts with our cars, because if we truly hope to end the tyranny of oil, the nation must once again turn to Detroit for another great transformation."
Speech before the Detroit Economic Club, May 7, 2007

The key to achieving energy independence could lie in the heartland's fields and farms. Every dollar we invest in Illinois' ethanol and soybean disease prevention research centers is a dollar towards a larger, healthier crop and a cleaner, domestically produced energy source."
Statement issued July 20, 2007

On his website: www.barackobama.com