Obama unveils sweeping middle-class relief plan

White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) unveiled a package of tax breaks and programs Wednesday in Iowa that he said would help middle-class Americans.

{mosads}As part of the initiatives, the senator proposed a $1,000 cut on payroll taxes for working families, the elimination of income taxes on retirees making less than $50,000 a year, a 10 percent tax credit on mortgage interest payments and a $4,000 tax credit for college tuition.

“We’re tired of tax cuts for the wealthy that shift the burden onto the backs of working people,” said Obama, who is trailing only Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) in the race for the Democratic nomination. “We need to give working families a break.”

The Illinois Democrat also promised to pass a universal healthcare bill that would cut family premiums up to $2,500 by 2012.

“Mark my words,” the senator said, “I will sign this bill by the end of my first term as president.”

Obama vowed to “press firms to put more money into their pension funds and require firms to disclose their pension fund agreements.”   

In another effort to provide relief for middle-class Americans, Obama proposed to create a credit card bill of rights that would ban unilateral changes to a credit card agreement. The senator also promised to expand both after-school programs and the Family Medical Leave Act, crack down on mortgage fraud and reform student aid programs.

Obama’s campaign estimated his proposals would cost $26 billion a year.