The following are President George W. Bush's and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's responses to issue questions posed by The Associated Press.
Minimum Wage\nQ: What increases, if any, do you favor in the $5.15 an hour federal minimum wage?
Bush: "My first goal is to make sure that every American who wants to work can find a job. I would consider any reasonable proposal that phases in an increase in the federal minimum wage over an extended period of time -- provided it does not place unreasonable costs on small businesses or other job creators."
Kerry: "I believe that no one who works full time should have to raise their children in poverty. President Bush is standing in the way of fundamental fairness even as the purchasing power of the minimum wage is at a 30-year low. That's unacceptable. As president, I will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7 by 2007, giving a raise to nearly 15 million workers. Doesn't President Bush see that the minimum wage has fallen further and further behind the cost of living, and the impact of the last increase has been wiped away by inflation?"
Wildlife\nQ: How, if at all, should Endangered Species Act protections be changed?
Bush: "The law has led to the recovery of several threatened species, including the gray wolf. But even with its successes, ESA has been undermined by a flood of litigation, preventing the Fish and Wildlife Service from protecting new species and recovering plants and animals already listed as threatened or endangered. That is why my administration is providing federal grants on a competitive basis to individuals and groups engaged in voluntary conservation efforts on private lands that benefit imperiled species. With the help of more than $40 billion for wetlands and conservation programs as part of the 2002 Farm Bill, we are providing thousands of acres of new habitat for species and wildlife. I will continue working with Congress to build on these efforts in modernizing ESA for future generations."
Kerry: "It's a false choice that pits jobs against the environment. The conservation and recovery of endangered species aren't the enemy of jobs, but it will take more resources and more leadership than the Bush administration is providing. George Bush wants the Endangered Species Act rolled back, and one way to accomplish that is to do a terrible job implementing it. I believe we can do better. Instead of tearing down the law, I will improve it with a national commission to examine its implementation and ways to improve it. I will increase funding to protect habitat and work with landowners. And a Kerry-Edwards administration will encourage cooperative efforts to resolve conflicts between development and endangered species conservation."\nCountdown to Election: 25 days
