Rep. Kucinich supports a national single payer program, which he has introduced in Congress called "Enhanced Medicare for Everyone".

Directly from the candidate:

We must establish streamlined national health insurance, "Enhanced Medicare for Everyone." It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered, and will put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage will be more complete than private insurance plans; encourage prevention; and include prescription drugs, dental care, mental health care, and alternative and complementary medicine.

Rep. Kucinich supports a plan to make 20% of our electricity come from renewable sources by 2010. He proposes a ban on new hydro dams. Kucinich wants to strengthen environmental laws and increase penalties on polluters. He wants to make permanent nontoxic, safe substitutes for hazardous chemicals.

Energy efficiency:

Kuchinich proposes providing tax and other incentives to businesses that conserve energy, retrofit pollution prevention technologies, and redesign toxins out of their manufacturing processes.

Energy Research:

Kucinich's "Global Green Deal" would use our encourage research in renewable energy, producing jobs, lowering our reliance on foreign oil, and allow us to provide sustainable energy technology to developing nations. He would fund new energy technology research through NASA.

Changes to the tax code:

Rep. Kucinich wants to withdraw incentives for production of non-renewable energy.

International Agreements:

Supports the Kyoto Treaty

Directly from the candidate:

The EPA under the Bush Administration has stood for Every Polluter's Ally. The air and the water and the land are viewed by this administration as just another commodity to be used for private profit. We as a nation must turn our efforts towards the great work of restoring our air and our water and our land. We must view our natural resources as the common property of all humanity -- even more, as the commonwealth of all humanity. And so my candidacy arises from a philosophy of interdependence and interconnection, which respects the environment as a precondition for our survival.

I am not tied to any corporate interests that would strip our forests or pollute our air or water. Throughout my career, I have worked for structures of law that protect the environment, and the principles that animate my campaign are principles of sustainability. The principles that animate my life are principles of sustainability.

Rep. Kucinich supports making college tuition-free for students attending state universities, supports universal pre-kindergarten, more funding for fixing/building schools and opposes vouchers. He wants to triple Head Starts budget and allow it to run all day.

Head Start:

Kucinich has proposed an amendment to Head Start that would vastly expand the program by allowing all centers to run for a full day and by increasing the number of children who qualify for the program, raising family eligibility thresholds to twice the federal poverty line. He would tripling the Head Start budget to bring an additional 1.5 million children into the program.

Universal Pre-K:

Kucinich has introduced the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Act, a bill to create a free, universal, and voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 3- to 5-year-old children across the county. The cost of this program is $60 billion per year, which he would pay for by cutting the Pentagon budget by 15%. The Universal Pre-Kindergarten Act will provide funding to states to establish universal pre-kindergarten programs that build on existing federal and state pre-kindergarten initiatives. The program is voluntary and will be available free of charge to all families who choose to participate. The legislation requires pre-kindergarten programs to meet quality standards of early education and provides resources for the professional development of teachers.

Vouchers:

Kucinich strongly opposes vouchers.

School buildings:

Kucinisch co-sponsored the Better Classroom Act and the Expand and Build America's Schools Act, two bills to help communities make needed school repairs and expansions.

College tuition:

Kucinichs has a plan (no details yet) to provide tuition-free higher education to millions of students in state universities.

Directly from the candidate:

The right of every American child to a high-quality free public education is one of America's most treasured principles. We must improve the quality of public education in those schools that are struggling and expand public education to include pre-kindergarten beginning at age 3 for any families that want it, as well as tuition-free college for millions of students. I am here to act on my view that the education and well-being of our nation's children is a collective responsibility that all Americans share, and that education is a life-long process beginning long before a child enters kindergarten. Studies have shown that the most critical cognitive development occurs in the years from birth to age 3. That is one reason I have been a leading advocate for early childhood education, with a special emphasis on the support and care of low-income infants and toddlers.

Rep. Kucinich wants to pull out of NAFTA and cancel the WTO. He has a detailed jobs plan that would require a 15% cut in the military's budget to fund infrastructure projects. He would create a new federal bank to administer the loans. Kucinich supports raising the minimum wage to $8 and indexing it to inflation.

Infrastructure loans:

The Kucinich plan calls for the creation of a low-cost federal financing mechanism to administer $50 billion in zero-interest loans every year to localities for infrastructure projects for ten years. Twenty percent of these funds would be targeted for school construction and repair. The Kucinich plan also calls for a 15% reduction in the military budget, redirecting that $65 billion towards hometown security issues such as education, jobs, and health care for all. State and local governments would continue to issue bonds to finance infrastructure projects. But under the Kucinich plan, the federal government would be authorized to buy those bonds. States would have to repay the principal, but unlike normal municipal borrowing, these bonds would pay zero interest. So, the cost of borrowing for infrastructure improvement would be reduced by half.

The federal government would hold these bonds in the Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization (FBIM). The bank, as an extension of the Federal Financing Bank under the Treasury, would administer the loans. The loans would bear a small fee of one-quarter of one percent of the loan principal to cover the administrative costs of the FBIM. In order to provide the money for the loans, the FBIM would hold a portion of the Treasury securities that the Federal Reserve normally holds. The Fed currently holds about $300 billion in Treasury securities. Transferring about $50 billion annually to the FBIM would still allow the Fed to operate as it does now to add liquidity to the system. The Fed, instead of buying securities, would buy the mortgage loans of the states. This way, the FBIM's finances would be integrated by the Federal Open Market Committee so as not to disrupt its ability to promote economic stability. This amount would be varied, so that the funds could be used as a tool to foster stable economic growth. During times of economic slowdown, the FBIM would make more loans available to spur investment. During times of economic boom, the FBIM would make fewer loans available.

Minimum wage:

Kucinich would raise minimum wage to at least $8 an hour and create an index so that the minimum wage rises automatically with cost of living increases.

Visas:

Kucinich wants to replace our current H-1B and L-1 visa system.

Corporate regulation:

Kucinich wants to close the loopholes and offshore profit shifting that corporations engage in to get out of paying their fair share of taxes. He wants to increase the roles of the FTC, the SEC, and the Justice Department to crack down on corporate crime.

Farming:

Rep. Kucinich wants to provide incentives for farmers to join a collective bargaining unit -- with voluntary membership open only to active producers and the right to bring suit in federal court if an agribusiness doesn't bargain in good faith. He also seeks to create new markets by actively enforcing existing anti-trust laws and proposing new laws to force divestiture in concentrated markets, breaking apart monopolistic agribusiness companies and shifting farm economics towards higher commodity prices for farmers. To increase competition in the livestock industry, support a national ban on packer ownership of livestock. He wants to creating an indemnity fund -- financed by the corporations responsible for the technology -- for farmers who incur losses caused by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). To protect farmers, labeling GMO seeds with disclosure and liability information must be required. To protect consumers, food containing GMOs also requires labeling.

He proposes shifting USDA funding and focus away from the promotion of concentrated intensive and industrial agribusiness. The new focus would be designed to benefit family farmers, rural communities, the environment, and consumers, with policies crafted to enable farmers to earn a fair price and to provide safe, nutritious food to all people. Kuchinch wants to increase funding for regional food processing facilities, marketing assistance, farm-to-school programs, on-farm renewable energy, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Agricultural research and development institutions must be given funding priority to help family farmers make a transition to profitable and sustainable agriculture.

Directly from the candidate:

Our country is facing twin crises: high unemployment and a decrepit infrastructure. At the same time, millions of manufacturing and high-tech jobs are being shipped overseas. I have a plan that will turn our problems around and put Americans back to work in America.