Protecting Michigan Families from Coronavirus
A MESSAGE FROM GARY:
For so many people, this is an incredibly uncertain and difficult time. The challenges the Coronavirus pandemic has brought are unprecedented, and we will have to work especially hard in the weeks ahead to fight this virus and the health and economic concerns it brings.

Michigan has been home to my family for five generations, and I’ve lived here my whole life. In difficult moments like this, I often think of how resilient the people of our state are — it’s just in our DNA. We’ve seen tough days before, and we will rise to meet this challenge and face it as we always have during times of turmoil: together.

And here is my promise to you: I will always stand up for Michigan. My number one priority is to keep you and your family safe, and I will never waver in my commitment to fighting for financial aid for working families, equipment to protect our doctors and nurses on the front lines and, now more than ever, working to expand access to affordable health care.

Stay safe. Stay strong. We will get through this together.

What Gary’s doing:

• Supporting Essential Workers: Gary is working to pass his proposal for a Heroes Fund to increase pay for essential workers on the frontlines of the pandemic.
• Providing Historic Unemployment Aid: Gary wrote, introduced and helped pass the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act to expand unemployment benefits and get more aid for more workers over a longer period of time.
• Expanding Free Testing for Coronavirus: Gary introduced and passed the Free COVID-19 Testing Act to make sure all Americans have adequate testing capabilities.
• Protecting Small Businesses: Gary fought to secure additional relief for small businesses, including $60 billion for minority-owned businesses and community lenders while working to expand the funding available for small business loans and grants in the CARES Act.
• Getting Funding for Hospitals, Health Care Workers and Our Health Care System: Gary worked tirelessly to provide more critical funding for already overstretched hospitals and is continuing to fight to get health care workers the supplies they need to stay safe on the front lines of the pandemic.
• Bringing Manufacturing Back to Michigan: One of Gary’s top priorities is to bring back American manufacturing of PPE, critical drugs and medical supplies — that’s why he’s fighting to pass his legislation to strengthen and boost Michigan manufacturing.
• Holding Government Accountable: Gary is investigating the federal government’s response to the pandemic and fighting for *Michigan to get its fair share of relief, including demanding answers on how small business loans were misallocated to large corporations and ensuring hospitals and health care workers get critical funding.

Strengthening Michigan’s Economy
Gary knows that our economy is powered by middle-class families like the one he grew up in, and he knows to keep our state strong, we have to stand up for small businesses. Small businesses create two out of every three jobs, and Gary believes that protecting them means strengthening the backbone of our state.

After working for over 20 years in business, Gary understands the unique challenges that small businesses face. During his time in the Senate, he has cut red tape and fought to ensure small businesses have the resources to thrive. Additionally, he helped secure a bipartisan law that helps entrepreneurs understand patent laws to protect their intellectual property.

Gary knows that Michigan has the greatest workforce in the world, and we have to expand their opportunities for our state to thrive. That’s why he’s working to create jobs by fighting to ensure Michigan is a manufacturing hub, and is expanding access to workforce training and skilled trades programs that have literally built our state’s economy. Gary knows that for many families, a certificate that leads to a good job can mean just as much as any four-year degree and has passed bipartisan legislation to expand career and technical education, apprenticeship programs and trade school opportunities for high school students and veterans.

Expanding Access to Affordable Health Care
Gary knows that no one should have to make the impossible decision between paying their medical bills and putting food on the table. That’s why he was proud to vote for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has opposed attempts to repeal it to protect the 1.7 million Michiganders with pre-existing conditions who depend on the ACA for protections.

Though Gary is proud to support the ACA, he’s also working for common sense fixes to make it work better for Michigan. That’s why he supported repealing the Cadillac Tax on high-cost employer plans to ease the burden on small business owners. He’s also working to expand coverage for middle-class families with solutions like a Medicare public option.

Gary knows that far too many seniors and others who rely on prescription medications are struggling to keep up with their skyrocketing costs. That’s why he helped lead and pass bills to get generic versions of insulin into the market more quickly, expand access to more affordable generic drugs and prevent big pharmaceutical companies from monopolizing the generic drug market. In addition, Gary helped introduce legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices to keep costs low and make sure more Michiganders can afford their life-saving medications.

Protecting Public Schools and Education
Gary and his family are proud products of Michigan’s public schools. Through his father, a public school English teacher, Gary saw firsthand the importance of having access to quality education. That’s why he’s advocated for better education opportunities for all Michiganders, from pushing to make higher education more affordable to expanding access to technical, vocational and apprenticeship programs. Gary has prioritized fighting so everyone — no matter where they live — can have access to affordable education.

In addition, Gary has stood up to special interests that have tried to gut funding for public education. From the beginning, he opposed the nomination and confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and has fought against her attempts to cut funding for Michigan’s public schools, including critical after school programs.

Gary is pushing to expand funding opportunities for technical and vocational education programs for Michigan high school students to help them realize their full potential and have the skills they need on the job. He’s passed legislation to lessen the burden of student loans and promote diversity in STEM fields, and he’s helped to secure a record amount of funding for Pell Grants to make higher education more affordable for all students, regardless of zip code.

Defending the Great Lakes and Environment In Michigan, the Great Lakes are central to our culture, economy and way of life. Gary grew up spending his summers on the Great Lakes and knows that we need to protect them for future generations.

Years before it was mainstream, Gary was working to combat climate change and defend our lakes by advocating for a Great Lakes drilling ban. While in the Senate, Gary authored and passed into law bipartisan measures to protect our lakes from catastrophic oil spills, and he successfully fought against budget cuts that would have eliminated Great Lakes funding, even helping secure historic Great Lakes funding to clean up contaminated lakes, beaches and waterways and prevent the spread of invasive species.

While areas like Flint and Detroit continue to struggle for clean and accessible water, Gary has taken action to uplift and support these communities by leading the fight to successfully pass emergency aid for Flint after the lead water crisis. He’s also helping to secure funding to expand Head Start for communities affected by lead water pollution and is a leader on cleaning up toxic PFAS chemicals, which have contaminated drinking water across the state. Gary helped convene the Senate’s first-ever hearing on PFAS, passed into law a ban on the use of PFAS firefighting foams on military bases, which has been a key source of PFAS contaminated water in our state, and he’s led efforts to establish clear standards on cleaning up and limiting exposure to these toxic chemicals.

Keeping Michigan Safe
As the Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee, Gary’s top priority is keeping Michigan — and the people who defend us — safe. He has worked to ensure our troops serving overseas are cared for, including fighting to get them a pay raise and working to ensure our men and women in uniform have the best equipment to protect them.

He also knows that we have to take care of our servicemembers once they come home. That’s why he wrote and passed into law a bill to help ensure those who are struggling with PTSD have access to the care they deserve. Further, Gary wrote a bipartisan law to help expand apprenticeship opportunities for veterans using their GI bill benefits to ensure they have the skills needed for a good-paying job.

Gary is working with members of both parties to strengthen our military, keep America safe and secure our borders. He wrote and passed key security measures, led the passage of critical anti-terrorism legislation and voted for over $1 billion in enhanced border security. He passed into law his bipartisan bill to better secure our border against illegal crossings and illicit drug trafficking, and he coauthored a bipartisan bill to hire 4,000 more border security officers to fix a critical shortage in staffing. He also wrote and passed bipartisan legislation to hire hundreds of inspectors at our borders to stop contaminated products from entering and protect Michigan’s marketplaces and our nation’s food supply.

Gary is proud to be an independent voice for Michigan in the Senate, which means ensuring our laws are enforced and keeping our northern and southern borders strong and secure. He supports a comprehensive approach to immigration reform and common sense laws to strengthen border security.

Fighting For Women
Empowering and supporting women is personal to Gary — he’s a father to two daughters, a husband and a brother of two sisters. He’s fought for women throughout his career.

One of the first bills he cosponsored in Congress was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to ensure that women get equal pay for equal work, and he continues to champion efforts to combat pay discrimination. To build more opportunities for women in the workforce, Gary passed bipartisan legislation to help increase the number of women working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Gary understands the unique challenges women face in dealing with domestic abuse and violence. That’s why he supported the landmark Violence Against Women Act to reduce intimate partner violence and provide resources to ensure that more women can be safe and healthy. He also led passage of the PAWS Act to support domestic violence shelters in providing pet-friendly housing so the facilities can provide support for both survivors and their pets.

Gary has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the National Organization for Women (NOW) as an advocate for reproductive freedom and the ability for everyone to make personal choices about their own bodies.

Standing Up For Agriculture and Rural Communities
Gary is a tireless advocate for Michigan’s farming and rural communities. He led the way to help protect our farmers from unfair foreign trade practices. In the Senate, he introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure our laws are enforced and that Michigan farmers — especially our cherry growers — are not disadvantaged by unfair trade practices.

He has also supported renegotiating unfair trade deals like NAFTA, and he fought to improve and voted for the bipartisan USMCA to help level the playing field for our farmers, workers and businesses. As the leading Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, Gary fought hard to pass bipartisan legislation into law to hire hundreds of agricultural inspectors at our borders to stop contaminated products from entering and protect Michigan’s marketplace and our nation’s food supply.

When it comes to supporting those who live in our rural communities, Gary knows you can’t leave anyone behind. That’s why he’s working to expand broadband internet access to support telehealth, remote learning and precision agriculture. Given that so many rural Michiganders rely on the vital services the US Postal Service provides, Gary has led the fight to maintain the service’s funding, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

Equity and Justice
Gary understands that African American and other underserved communities in Michigan are facing unique challenges. That’s why he’s focused on passing policies to empower these communities and uplift the work of local leaders and organizations. Whether working for immediate action to reform our broken criminal justice system, fighting to protect voting rights and expanding vocational training opportunities or working to address disparities in housing, health care and economic prosperity, Gary’s focused on building opportunities for everyone.

Gary is working with local community stakeholders including faith leaders, civil rights organizations and law enforcement groups to pass critical reforms to ensure greater oversight over law enforcement and to address racial disparities in policing. With the support of the NAACP, he introduced the bipartisan National Criminal Justice Commission Act to establish the first top-to-bottom review of our justice system in over 50 years and help set the agenda on critical reforms for our criminal justice system. He has also cosponsored national reforms like an outright ban on the use of chokeholds, accountability in the event of the use of deadly force by law enforcement and the requirement for fair and impartial independent investigations. Moreover, he supports measures to require federal law enforcement to clearly identify themselves and promotes the use of evidence-based practices to inform crime reduction programs.

Gary also knows that racial inequities in health care must be combatted by making care more affordable and accessible. In his work to expand access to affordable health care, Gary is a strong advocate of the Affordable Care Act and has passed legislation to help get lower-cost generic insulin and other generic medications to the market. Further, he cosponsored and passed the Maternal Health Accountability Act to create a grant program to help states track and reduce maternal deaths, which disproportionately impact Black women.

The need for clean water impacts every corner of the state, and Gary has championed policies to improve infrastructure so communities across our state have access to clean drinking water. To provide aid to Flint during the water crisis, Gary fought tirelessly for emergency assistance. He secured $100 million in emergency infrastructure for the city in addition to authoring legislation to require the government to investigate efforts to mitigate lead contamination.

Gary knows that uplifting Michigan’s urban areas and city centers has to be a priority. In Flint, he helped bring in $30 million for the Choice Neighborhoods Grant to replace the Atherton East public housing complex, plus nearly half a million dollars for Flint Community Schools to hire staff and improve the learning environment for students affected by leaded water. In Detroit, Gary supported the purchase of 59 new city transit buses and funding to revitalize Belle Isle. Gary has also secured funding for resources to keep communities and places of worship safe.

Gary is an advocate for the Minority Business Development Agency, and helped pass the Small Business Jobs Act to boost small businesses in and around Detroit through tax credits and access to low-interest loans. He has fought for and secured additional relief for minority-owned businesses and community lenders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gary is also an original cosponsor of the For the People Act, which would expand voting rights and reduce the influence of big money in politics.

Getting Results for Michigan
Gary has never been afraid to cross the aisle to get results and make government work for Michigan. That’s why nonpartisan groups like the Center for Effective Lawmaking, the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy have ranked him as one of the most effective and bipartisan members of the Senate. He has been ranked the fourth most effective Democrat in the Senate and the 12th most bipartisan Senator overall, in addition to receiving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship.

Throughout his time in the Senate, Gary has been a leader on bipartisan legislation to change the way we treat veterans with mental health issues, streamline government to save taxpayers millions of dollars and help ensure Michiganders have the skills they need to find good-paying jobs.

Last year, he championed the Great Lakes by securing historic funding for restoration projects and developing strategies to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. He also wrote and passed a bill to expand apprenticeship opportunities for our veterans, ensuring those who serve our nation have prospects for good jobs when they come home to Michigan.

As a leader on the Homeland Security Committee, Gary passed into law his bill to hire hundreds of agricultural inspectors at our borders to stop contaminated products from entering the country. Further, he worked across the aisle to provide additional resources to religious institutions and houses of worship to increase security from domestic terrorist attacks.

And when it comes to making government work, for Gary, it’s personal. Growing up, he was raised to believe you don’t spend money you don’t have, and those are the values he brings with him to work every day. He’s run his office so frugally that he’s returned over $2 million in taxpayer dollars to the U.S. Treasury and passed legislation to cut red tape and streamline the government to save taxpayers’ millions.

Gary is constantly working to keep Washington transparent and responsible. Under his oversight, Gary has helped pass legislation to eliminate millions in wasteful government spending and has led investigations to hold government agencies accountable for improper spending. ^[59]

Battle-Tested Leadership
The challenges Michigan faces on the road ahead have not and will not be solved by career politicians. Michiganders have been failed for too long by career politicians and their empty promises.

• I have a proven record of leadership in combat and as a job provider.
• I have experience protecting American lives and accomplishing missions in combat and saving workers’ jobs after the recession and financial crisis that Michigan faced.
• I care about getting results while career politicians only care about getting reelected. My whole life I have been taught to lead by example which is why all of my employees have access to the same exact health insurance that my family and I are on.
  

COVID-19 has created a health care crisis and an economic crisis. We need battle-tested leadership to overcome these crises and to prepare for tomorrow’s crises.

• We need Senators who have real-world experience in Washington, not career politicians.
• We need people who can work to solve problems.
• We need battle-tested leadership.

Restore the American Dream I am the walking result of the American Dream. My father, John A. James was born in 1941 in Starkville, Mississippi, across the street from Mississippi State University where, as a black man, he wasn’t allowed to attend. But, though vulnerable, my father refused to be a victim and went to Detroit for opportunity where he took one truck and a dream and grew it into a business that became the family business that thrived. My father chose to believe in the idea of America and American entrepreneurship, even though he had ample reason not to. And that idea is that anyone can accomplish anything in a country that truly offers ‘liberty and justice for all’.

We need to restore the American Dream. Anyone who wants it and is willing to work hard should be able to achieve it. My family went from poverty to prosperity in one generation. For those who want to work for it, there needs to be opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

Today, however, our American Dream is endangered. In these turbulent times, Americans’ economic anxieties are mounting. Career politicians and their special interest contributors have imperiled the American dream by imposing onerous and punitive tax policies; bloated federal spending; unnecessary and costly regulations; unfair trade agreements; and other ills upon our economy.

Despite the past three and half years of significant progress eliminating these ills— our economy boomed and families’ financial anxiety eased— the destruction brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic sent Americans’ economic anxieties rushing back.

• Now, more than ever, we must free Americans’ innovative capabilities in the core areas of ideation, capitalization, production, distribution, and consumption.
• Now, more than ever, we must strive to build an innovation-driven economy that will revitalize economic liberty and restore prosperity for all Americans.
• And now, more than ever, we must restore our American Dream.

Path to Prosperity
Michigan is facing some of the toughest challenges in its history. Our neglected neighborhoods and forgotten farm communities never recovered from the recession 10 years ago and the COVID pandemic situation made it worse.

We must take action to offer, for those who wish to achieve it, a path to prosperity by tearing down barriers, increasing access, and providing economic opportunity to those who are willing to work for it.

Education
An imperative step to widening the path to prosperity is to focus, not just on creating more jobs, but creating more job creators. Let’s reignite the economy, and lay out a pathway to prosperity for urban and rural America to achieve the American Dream.

Workforce Development
Michigan is the manufacturing capital of the world. From food to rocket ships, our workforce can out-work and out-produce any workforce in the world. But we need the right training and skills.

• I support allowing 4-day 40-hour work weeks where employees use the time outside to learn a trade or develop higher skills.
• In the U.S. Senate I would back key incentives defraying the cost of transportation and childcare.

Childhood Education
A child’s future should not be determined by their zip code now.

• We must support all education options—public, charter, and private.
• We need to give our teachers the resources they need including class supplies. The pandemic demonstrated how valuable good teachers are to society. Good teachers need to have incentives and compensation to reward them.
• K-12 needs to focus on critical thinking skills, mastery of fundamental math, English, and the essential life skills of financial literacy, responsibility, communication, accountability and leadership.
• Next, we need to train kids for a career, not just for college. College is one option. Skilled workforce training is another.

Expand Opportunity Zones and Entrepreneurial Opportunities
We must expand the tax base in this country and build up our workforce and our manufacturing at home so that we are more prosperous and more secure. We must act on ways to get more capital in the hands of rural and urban entrepreneurs and let them open up small businesses in disadvantaged and distressed communities.

• Building on Opportunity, there should be full support of Senator Tim Scott’s proposal to let state and local governments use the census tract to change opportunity zones to help those in need.
• Here at home, we must tend to the pillars of prosperity: low taxes, and tort and regulatory reform.
• We must oppose higher, job killing taxes, increase the research and development tax credit, expand small business’ tax credits, amortization, and depreciation schedules for investing and implementing technological innovations and improvements, and index capital gains taxes to the rate of inflation.

Overhauling Infrastructure: Roads, Bridges, Dams, Blight, and Broadband
It’s time we committed to Operation Overhaul and fixed Michigan’s infrastructure by land, sea, and air.

• In urban and rural communities, it involves improving our roads, bridges, dams, and sewers.
• It also involves blight remediation programs that would tear down dilapidated structures that lower property values and increase criminal activity.
• Finally, we need to provide broadband to all families. Students need it. Parents need it. A 21st century economy needs broadband.

Expanding Healthcare
In too many parts of our state, health, “wealth” and security are constantly under threat. This is what happens when our leaders put their personal concerns first and lose sight of those hurting the most. Michiganders deserve better. They deserve leadership that will put their health and their concerns above political gamesmanship

• We must emphasize preventative care and more wellness coverage including nutrition and fitness, and health insurance options that are affordable and increase access.
• After a lifetime of hard work, we must protect social security and Medicare from career politicians who will raid today what they promised yesterday.
• We must stop any attempts to raid and/or underfund the Social Security trust fund or cut our Senior Citizens’ benefits.
• And, we must absolutely continue to safeguard health insurance for those with pre- existing conditions.

Better Healthcare
Patient-Centered Reform
We need to have a market-based, patient-centered approach that must protect people with pre-existing conditions. And whatever plan I support must include tort reform and regulatory reform in a manner that lowers cost while increasing quality of care. We must increase transparency and competition to get the best care for folks.

I run an automotive supplier where I make sure my employees have access to the same insurance plan that my own family and I are on. I want to reform the parts of the Affordable Care Act that increase the cost of health care, give too many decisions to the government, and offer patients too few options. People in this country have a right to own their own healthcare.

I oppose the movement to eliminate employer-provided health care in exchange for a nationalized, socialized, single-payer health care system.

Wellness
We need people to be healthy. In addition to healthcare reform, we must get to the root causes of overall health in this country. We need a system that emphasizes preventive wellness care so to stop risks before they start. This includes increased funding for wellness coverage including mental health, nutrition and fitness, and health insurance options that are affordable and increase access.

Expanding Education
Everyone deserves a quality education regardless of geography, income, or age. There should be no wrong path to prosperity. We must support all of our schools and encourage education at all levels, including adult workforce development.

When it comes to our kids, we need to ensure that we are focused on learning. In-person education needs to be based on if we can return our kids to class safely and sensibly. Parents rely on schooling for education, nutrition, social welfare, and so many other needs. We need to provide the resources to families, teachers, and schools to ensure a top-notch education.

Taking Care of Our Veterans
We must keep our promises to our veterans, ease the transition to civilian life, and provide our heroes the best possible care.

Transition
John will continue to work for veterans and knows firsthand that the hardest battle our veterans face shouldn’t be the transition back into civilian life. John will work tirelessly for our veterans and military members, to make sure they receive the care, benefits, and respect that our nation’s heroes deserve.

Most people that enter the Armed Forces are going to get out. Recognizing that fact is something that should be ingrained in our in-processing and throughout military service. We don’t show up to battle and start looking for our essential gear, we go to battle with everything we need including the training that we need to be successful. We need to make sure service members have the resources and tools to be successful in transition before leaving the military and caseworkers to ensure transition to access to employment, benefits and other essential issues.

We must ensure that ALL veterans are taken care of, including Vietnam veterans still suffering from exposure to Agent Orange.

Veterans who may have been erroneously discharged from the military because of mental traumas like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) deserve to receive fair treatment and should not lose access to the benefits they have earned through their service.

Technology
Our veterans deserve the most up-to-date, best information available to get the health care and additional services that they’ve earned. We need to expand telehealth services for our veterans and make it easier to authorize, compile, and share medical records with various providers, schedule appointments, and learn and apply for benefits.

Talent
Skillsets developed in the military need to be paired with and recruited for skilled civilian job opportunities in the public/private sector. We must also focus on quality veterans’ job training programs and assist those seeking higher educational opportunities.

We must incentivize, attract, and retain the best medical professionals and administrators while holding the few bad actors at the VA accountable. The Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 was a great step in the right direction.

Protecting Our Environment
Everyone wants clean air and clean water. I grew up in Michigan enjoying the outdoors. My family enjoys the Great Lakes, like all Michiganders. Our natural resources, especially here in Michigan, need to be protected through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

We need realistic, bottom up regulatory reform which must be environmentally and economically sustainable. Regulation needs to be based upon science and common sense. Its mandates need to be affordable, achievable, and Constitutional.

• We need to remove burdensome regulations making it harder for our farmers and small businesses to operate. As a member of the US Senate I would join the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus to seek creative, practical solutions.
• We can be pragmatic about good environmental stewardship by incentivizing private sector innovation especially around energy, transportation and plastic production
• We can invest in our infrastructure with a future-focus.
• And we must work with our allies to hold the world’s biggest polluters accountable and assist where possible by exporting American made goods. Our economy and national security are strengthened through the increased use of domestic fuel supplies and innovation.

Secure the Border, Protect Our Country
Stopping Illegal Immigration
Securing our borders and implementing legal immigration is essential to national security and our economy. I understand how to secure a border because I’ve done it before. Sovereign nations must have secure borders and entry points. I support Kate’s Law and I will support defunding “sanctuary cities.”

Widening the Path to Prosperity
Legal immigration is an economic and moral imperative for the United States of America. We need more legal immigrants in the US, not less, but we need to ensure that our borders are secure. Preference should always be given to American workers willing to do a job, but there are many jobs in this country American workers don’t want to do that are simply going unfilled.

Unify the Nation
We need leaders who are proven unifiers because partisanship is tearing the Nation apart. Americans are hurting and scared right now. Whether it’s concern for their health well-being, concern about inequality, or simply hopelessness associated with financial anxiety and socio-economic immobility, Americans are desperately seeking wise and compassionate leadership.

We need real unity in Michigan and this nation. As malign forces, foreign and domestic, seek to destroy us, we need tested leadership to address the root causes of our persistent challenges with a future focus on a brighter future for America.

We must clearly identify both our real enemy and our common purpose – and pursue them both with abandon. I have been a leader and a unifier for my entire life and I will continue to be for the rest of it. But nothing will happen until we fix the partisanship that divides Washington. ^[59]