Agriculture
Agriculture and the issues that impact it are vital to Michigan’s 8th District. Bob Alexander believes
we must develop programs that will help keep and maintain our family farms. We should also invest
sufficient resources in USDA to establish standards and tests to ensure that what we consume
daily is safe and free of disease. It is time for leadership that looks to the future by helping
farmers help us become energy independent with investments in biofuels produced from crop waste,
switchgrass, and other sources. Bob brings a unique approach to farming issues, as he was a
Peace Corps agricultural adviser in southern India, and closely followed the
State Senate Agriculture Committee for several years.
Education
Bob Alexander, a teacher, knows that public education is the keystone to a quality education for our
children. His goal is to provide a quality public education to all students and to equip them with
the necessary tools to succeed in life, regardless of whether they choose to enter college or the
work force.
We need to reform the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and provide adequate funding and resources to achieve our goals under federal legislation, NCLB and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As our voice in Congress, Bob will invest in education to give our children the tools they need to succeed in today’s global economy including the opportunity for a university education, of which one of the finest is available right here in the 8th District at Michigan State University.
Protecting the Enviroment
Global warming has resulted in temperature increases on both land and sea. The melting of glaciers,
the rise in sea level, and the extinction of species are becoming more evident.
It is clear that that we must act now to protect our environment. We should place a
cap on the emission of carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and other gases that cause damage to
our environment. We must emphasize conservation of our resources and investment in the research
and development of clean and renewable energy sources.
Bob Alexander will work to make America energy independent, reverse global warming, and restore the environmental laws that have been gutted. He will work to create new, green jobs in fields like conservation and alternative energy that will also protect us from rising energy costs. Bob understands it is time that our Representative in Congress stand up for us and Michigan's precious environment, especially in protecting the Great Lakes and regulating the importation of trash.
Ethics Reform
Bob Alexander will fight for ethics and integrity in the United States Congress. Bob believes
that elected officials are accountable to the people who voted them into office.
There seems to be a collapse in the ethical standards within our Government, and
corruption appears to be such a common occurrence in recent years that people have
become numb to the word. We must restore Honesty, Integrity, and high Ethical Standards
in government. We should advocate for additional Ethics Reforms so that we, the people,
have a more transparent government, and our elected officials are held accountable for
their actions. Also, we must guarantee that our elections are conducted honestly and all
voting machines must have a verifiable paper trail.
Foreign Policy and the Iraq War
Bob Alexander will be a leader in ending the war in Iraq. Our troops have been doing an outstanding job for our country, it is time for them to come home to re-join their families. He supports a realistic plan of immediate phased withdrawal of our troops from Iraq over the next year. The U.S. must not maintain bases in Iraq. So far, we have lost more than 4,000 of our brave men and women. We are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a mismanaged war. Our tax dollars should be used to help families who are losing their homes, help pay for adequate healthcare, and help educate our children.
As our troops are brought home from war, they deserve the best America has to offer. From the hospitals through out-patient care they deserve accessible, high quality care for all of their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, not the present system that often gives second-rate care for America's finest.
Jobs and Working Families
Bob Alexander strongly supports Working Families and Individuals, and he will work hard to create jobs and educational opportunities here in Michigan. He will fight for Michigan's Working Families in the United States Congress, as he already has by co-directing a local petition drive that helped raise Michigan's Minimum Wage by 29%. To strengthen the working families in America, Congress must enact laws that would protect them and ensure that if they work hard, the government would provide them the tools to get ahead. For example, Congress should lower taxes for middle class families and provide affordable health care to all Americans, strengthen our unions (e.g., passage of the Employee Free Choice Act), and create trade policies that provide protection to our domestic labor force. The working men and women of our country form the backbone of the economy; therefore, their working conditions are an important component of the creation of economic policy.
Health Care
In a country like ours, with the world’s best-trained health care professionals and leading in medical innovation, every American should have access to quality, affordable health care. More than 47 million of our people, including 11 million children, do not have health insurance and even more struggle with the soaring cost of prescription drugs and needed services, many doing without.
Bob Alexander believes that health care should be affordable and accessible for all Americans. Medicare and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) should be expanded to provide broader coverage for the uninsured. Bob has worked locally through the Ingham Access to Health Care group that expanded health services to 16,000 of the 31,000 residents who were without care in the county six years ago. He has advocated for seniors through Citizens for Better Care. He was the Project Officer for 16 Medicaid Demonstration Projects that increased access to care, improved quality and reduced waste. As our voice in Congress, Bob Alexander will continue to work to ensure quality health care for all Americans.
Reproductive Freedom
Bob Alexander strongly supports a woman's right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy. Bob will also only support appointments to the federal bench that understand that the right of privacy is enshrined in the 14th amendment and those appointees will work to protect that right. Bob also understands the issue of unwanted pregnancies are part of a larger problem, and he will strongly endorse programming which is scientifically supported in preventing pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infections. As part of this overhaul of education about sexual health, Bob supports creating models wherein women are empowered to be active partners in their health care, and where the conversations between a woman and her doctor allow the two to discuss all potential outcomes of various health issues.
Social Security and Seniors
Bob Alexander opposes privatization of Social Security because it may leave many beneficiaries in poverty. Privatization adds a risk component to the equation that outweighs the potential rewards. Payouts would be based on inflation increases rather than earning increases over time, essentially freezing a retiree’s standard of living at whatever point he or she retires. We can strengthen future Social Security benefits by ensuring that the money borrowed from the "Social Security Trust Fund" is not depleted. We can also help working families build wealth such as private pensions to supplement benefits from Social Security. Bob opposes raising the age requirement to receive Social Security because it would harm people who have little or no choice about when they stop working and who have few resources other than Social Security. Many low-wage workers may be in physically demanding or unpleasant jobs, lack the skills, or be unable to secure other jobs by that age.
Veterans
We are all grateful to our veterans for the services they provided to our country. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in many soldiers with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is our obligation to provide our veterans with the best level of health care that we can. We should also support programs to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. Addressing the physical and mental needs of our returning veterans will entail investing in heath care professionals trained in the issues facing today's veterans, as well as additional training and support to retain the current staff to meet those issues. Further, many veterans need assistance integrating into a successful civilian career. This can include the need for additional education, job training and support with a job search.
