Mike Gravel
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Born: 05/13/30
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Key Campaign Platform (source: www.gravel2008.us)
- Iraq: Senator Gravel's position on Iraq remains clear and consistent: to commence an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops that will have them home within 120 days. The sooner U.S. troops are withdrawn, the sooner we can pursue aggressive diplomacy to bring an end to the civil war that currently consumes Iraq. Senator Gravel seeks to work with neighboring countries to lead a collective effort to bring peace to Iraq.
- Health Care: Senator Gravel advocates a universal health-care voucher program in which the federal government would issue annual health care vouchers to Americans based on their projected needs. Under the Senator's plan, all Americans would be fully covered and would be free to use their vouchers to choose their own health care professional. No one would ever be denied health insurance because of their health, wealth, or any other reason. A universal health-care voucher plan will also relieve American businesses of the financial responsibility of insuring their workers while ensuring that their workers get adequate care.
U.S.-India Relations
Notable Achievements
- In May 1971, Senator Gravel began a one-man filibuster that continued into September, forcing a deal to let the military draft expire. The drafting of the nation's youth had been defense policy since 1947. In order to save face and break the Senator's filibuster, the Nixon administration agreed to let the draft expire in 1973 if given a two-year extension in 1971.
- The decade of the 1970s saw the awakening by federal and state legislatures to the need to control environmental pollution. Mike Gravel 's service on the Environment and Public Works Committee throughout his Senate career placed him in a leadership role on every major piece of environmental legislation dealing with air, water, waste, and energy that emerged from the U.S. Congress during this period.
