Summary

News

Gary Peters

Current Position: US Senator since 2015
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2020 US Senator

Throughout his career in public service, Gary has been a strong, independent voice for Michigan’s families and small businesses. He has focused on uniting our communities by fighting for the things that we all agree on — a stronger economy, good-paying jobs, affordable health care, a secure retirement and a fair chance for everyone to succeed.

In the 116th Congress, Gary serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.

For more information, see this Gary Peters post.

John James

Current Position: President of John James International
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2020 US Senator
Former Position(s): Ranger from 2004 – 2012

From the battlefield to the shop floor, John James has lived his life placing service before self. A husband, father, combat veteran, and businessman, John James believes Michigan deserves a U.S. Senator that can achieve tangible results.

While James was serving in Iraq, the recession was hitting Michigan hard and Detroit harder.  He looked at his hometown area and there were parts of Michigan that looked worse than war-torn Baghdad.  So, James came home to serve in a different way, as a job provider.

For more information, see this John James post.

Issues

Governance

Gary Peters 

Making Government Efficient & Effective

Governing by crisis through short-term extensions and budgetary gimmicks is hurting America’s economic growth, and Gary believes we need to take a practical, responsible approach to solving our nation’s fiscal challenges and developing a long-term budget. We cannot grow our economy by slashing vital investments in education, cutting-edge research or job training programs. Gary wants to end harmful spending cuts while making more targeted, strategic cuts to help reduce the deficit. At the same time, we need to be making smart investments in programs that will spur innovation and create good-paying jobs here at home.

A key part of fixing the budget is getting rid of unnecessary government spending and saving taxpayer money. The first bill Gary introduced as a new member of the Senate encourages the federal government’s vehicle fleet to use remanufactured automotive parts, which can help cut costs while reducing waste, without compromising safety. He has introduced bipartisan bills to make government more efficient and effective by reviewing duplicative and overlapping programs and by requiring Congress to debate and vote on spending cuts proposed in the President’s annual budget.

Gary is the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over government operations and studies the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of the federal government’s various agencies and departments.

John James 

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.

Civil Rights

Gary Peters

Fighting for Civil Rights & the Administration of Justice

While our nation was founded on the principles of equality, justice, and freedom for all, the struggle for civil rights and true equality continues today. Whether it is ensuring equal access to the ballot box, equality in our justice system or equal treatment under the law, Senator Peters is fighting to make our democracy stronger and fairer for everyone.Every Michigan voter should have the freedom to have his or her voice heard in our elections. Gary is committed to ensuring equal access to the ballot box for all Americans, supporting commonsense efforts to modernize our voter registration system, reduce long wait times to vote and prohibit deceptive practices that could discourage voting. With the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a vital part of the Voting Rights Act, Gary wants to find a sensible, bipartisan solution to restore the law and make sure it protects Michiganders.

As a member of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, Gary is also committed to helping ensure our law enforcement officers can do their jobs safely and effectively.  He has supported providing additional resources to law enforcement agencies, including funding for bulletproof vests and strong community-oriented policing strategies. Gary has also worked with civil rights groups and law enforcement organizations to address the tough issues confronting our nation today.  Civil unrest in our communities has underscored that the fact that our justice system faces serious challeges  – from unsustainable costs to overcrowded prisons to disparities in the grand jury process. It has been 50 years since our country’s criminal justice system last had a comprehensive, top-to-bottom review. That is why Gary is working with Senators on both sides of the aisle to create a National Criminal Justice Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of our criminal justice system and identify best practices to protect public safety, promote fairness and strengthen faith in our justice system.

No Michigan family should be discriminated against – period. Gary supported the Supreme Court’s historic decision affirming that every American has the right to marry the person they love and raise a family without fear that they will one day be torn apart. But LGBT Americans across the country still lack many legal protections afforded to other Americans. Gary wants to fix the patchwork of anti-discrimination laws that leave millions of Americans without a clear right to rent an apartment, eat at a restaurant, apply for a credit card or keep their jobs simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

John James 

N/A

Economy

Gary Peters

Creating Jobs & Growing Our Economy

Gary’s top priority in the Senate is growing our economy, creating good-paying jobs in Michigan and strengthening our middle class. Our economy has made great strides since the financial crisis, but there is more we can do to encourage our small and large businesses alike to grow and thrive. Michigan has a rich history of innovation and entrepreneurship, and Gary believes we need to continue fostering the new ideas that will fuel our state’s economic growth for decades to come.

Autos, Manufacturing & Trade

Michigan is the birthplace of the American auto industry, and its booming factories helped win World War II and build America’s middle class. In 2009, Gary worked with President Obama in the midst of the financial crisis to secure the loans necessary to rescue America’s auto industry. These companies have since come roaring back and created thousands of jobs in our state, and Gary wants to ensure that the cars and trucks of the future continue to be built in America and in Michigan.

We are on the verge of a technological revolution that will soon allow vehicles to communicate their location, speed, and other data electronically with each other and our transportation infrastructure. These technologies could reduce accidents by as much as 80 percent, reduce fuel consumption, cut congestion and save thousands of lives. As a member of the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, Gary is fighting to ensure these new technologies are being developed, tested and deployed right here in America. He has introduced bipartisan bills to promote investments in vehicle-to-infrastructure technology and to support smart investments in R&D for clean vehicle technologies.

Michigan is prepared to continue leading the way in advanced manufacturing, which supports the good-paying jobs that are essential to maintaining a robust middle class. Gary has been a strong supporter of funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the only public-private partnership dedicated to providing technical support and services to small and medium-sized manufacturers. He has also advocated for the long-term reauthorization for the Export-Import Bank, the independent federal agency that helps American companies sell their products overseas.

Gary believes that Congress must do more to bring balance to our trade agreements and address issues like currency manipulation and unfair trade and labor practices. Our trade policies should create a level playing field so that American workers and companies who play by the rules can get a fair deal and compete in today’s global economy. He has consistently stood up for tougher enforcement of existing trade rules and has supported strong funding for the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center to improve America’s ability to crack down on illegal trade barriers.

See post for more info.

John James 

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.

Education

Gary Peters 

Investing in Education

As a product of Michigan’s public schools, Gary understands that all of our children deserve a fair chance to succeed, and a good education gives them the tools they need to achieve their full potential. Education is a central component of economic development. If America does not lead the world in education, our future workforce will be less productive and less globally competitive. Gary is committed to a strong public education system that provides students with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century global economy. That means access to quality public schools for all children and affordable higher education for all who choose to pursue it.

Making sure that all of our children receive the best education possible starts with investing in our schools from early childhood to high school graduation. That includes funding science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education that will help keep American students globally competitive. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Gary helped write the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, which made landmark investments in STEM education and programs. In the U.S. Senate, Gary is now leading the effort to help shape federal research and development policy priorities previously authorized by the COMPETES Act to improve American innovation and competitiveness. To help our students succeed, we have an obligation to make sure our schools have the resources they need to give the next generation the brightest future possible.

Higher education is increasingly essential to a bright economic future, but the cost of college continues to become more and more burdensome for families. With the majority of college students now graduating with significant debt, making higher education more affordable for everyone is a top priority for Gary. That is why he helped introduce legislation to allow borrowers with outstanding student loan debt to refinance at lower interest rates available to new borrowers. He has also introduced bipartisan legislation to help private student loan borrowers rehabilitate defaulted loans and remove the default from their credit report after making a series of on-time payments.

Matching the skills we teach with the needs of local employers is critical to closing the skills gap that leaves businesses with unfilled job openings and people out of work. Michigan’s manufacturing and auto industries in particular depend on skilled trade workers, and Gary wants to ensure that our education system is designed to produce this workforce. Better training and coordination can help prepare workers for the job opportunities of today and tomorrow.

John James 

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.

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.

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 10-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.

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.

Environment

Gary Peters 

Environment

Representing a state that borders four of the five Great Lakes, Gary knows firsthand how important it is for our environment and our economy that we protect our natural resources.

The Great Lakes are a critical drinking water source, an economic engine and a vital part of our way of life in Michigan. Gary understands that we need policies to help preserve and protect this ecological treasure for future generations. About 40 million people in the United States and Canada count on the Great Lakes as a source of clean drinking water. They are the world’s largest system of fresh surface water, providing about one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water supply. Defending the Great Lakes against pollution and invasive species is essential – not just for preserving fish and wildlife in this fragile ecosystem, but for making sure this is a safe place for our kids and grandkids to swim and play. The Great Lakes also support more than 500,000 jobs in Michigan. From commercial shipping and agriculture to fishing, boating and tourism, the Great Lakes are deeply intertwined with key industries that drive our state’s economy.

Gary is a member of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, a bipartisan working group made up of Senators representing the states bordering the Great Lakes. He has been a leader on pushing for enhanced oversight of aging pipelines in the Great Lakes, such as the one running through the Straits of Mackinac, where a pipeline break could trigger an environmental disaster. Gary continues to support robust funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and is working to protect the Great Lakes from threats ranging from plastic micro-beads and Asian carp to proposed permanent nuclear waste storage. He is working to help Michigan’s waterfront communities develop smart, forward-thinking strategies to revitalize their local economies and make the most of their water resources.

We must constantly be looking towards the future by investing in clean energy job creation and supporting measures to tackle the threat of climate change, which exacerbates current challenges in the Great Lakes like algal blooms and invasive species. Gary is committed to building climate resiliency for our communities and standing firm against attacks on environmental protections. He will fight efforts to undermine our nation’s key environmental laws, and he has opposed plans to develop our most sensitive ecosystems, like the Arctic. He is working in Congress to permanently authorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an indispensable tool for protecting our state’s most treasured natural places for all to enjoy. He has also introduced the Vehicle Innovation Act to improve advanced vehicle technology R&D that will boost fuel economy, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

John James 

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.

Health Care

Gary Peters

Expanding Health Care Access

Michigan families deserve access to quality, affordable health care coverage that helps protect their financial future. Because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer discriminate because of pre-existing conditions. Women cannot be charged more than men for their health care simply because of their gender. Young people getting their start in life can stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26. People are no longer locked into a job because they need health care. Health care cost increases are finally being brought under control. Millions of Americans are finally gaining some measure of security and stability through affordable health coverage.

Gary supports bipartisan, commonsense efforts to fix the law to make health care reform work better for Michiganders and our small businesses, but he also understands that the law is helping millions of Americans access health insurance, and we cannot afford to lose these new protections and reforms. The Supreme Court has twice upheld key provisions of the law, and Gary will continue to stand up against partisan efforts to repeal the law and go back to a dysfunctional system that puts insurance companies in charge at the expense of Michigan’s families.

John James 

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.

Immigration

Gary Peters 

N/A

John James 

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.

Infrastructure

Gary Peters

N/A

John James 

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.

Safety

Gary Peters

Keeping America Safe & Secure

As a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Gary understands our country is facing critical national security challenges. Whether it’s preventing a nuclear-armed Iran or fighting terrorism and extremism, Gary is committed to keeping the American people safe and secure against these threats.

It is more important than ever that our federal, state, and local governments are able to effectively and efficiently respond to threats, natural disasters and other emergencies. As a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Gary is fighting to ensure we have the tools necessary to secure our borders, support our first responders, prepare and respond to natural disasters, protect critical infrastructure and information systems, and prevent terrorist attacks here at home and abroad.

John James 

N/A

Veterans

Gary Peters

Honoring Our Military & Veterans

Our brave men and women in uniform lay their lives on the line – often far away from their homes and families – to protect our freedoms and defend our way of life. After more than a decade at war, our nation has had a dramatic increase in the number of new veterans, including an influx of women and former guardsmen and reservists. We must ensure that when they call on us, we are there to help. Whether it’s fighting for increased funding for veterans job training programs or dealing with the VA backlog, Gary is always looking for ways to help our service members, veterans and military families who have sacrificed so much for us.

As a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and the son of a World War II veteran, Gary has a deep, personal commitment to keeping our promises to America’s veterans. In the Senate, Gary is working to ensure veterans who may have been erroneously discharged from the military because of mental traumas like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) receive fair treatment and don’t lose access to the benefits they have earned through their service. Gary has also introduced bipartisan legislation to extend a tax credit for small businesses that provide differential pay to military reservists and National Guard members called to serve on active duty.

John James 

Taking Care of Our Veterans

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.