NJ's 7th District Democratic Congressional Candidate

by Brian T Lynch, MSW

What follows is a summary to inform anyone interested as to the policy positions of the Democratic candidate for Congress from New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. Tom Malinowski may soon be replacing Republican Leonard Lance.

Tom Malinowski (D) NJ 7th Congressional District Candidate Positions Summary*

HEALTHCARE

 - Will defend the ACA, fix its flaws and evolve towards universal coverage.

 - Supports taxpayer-funded cost-sharing subsidies to share the burden of low wage earners

 - Supports access to contraceptive coverage

 - Supports elimination of pre-existing condition clauses

 - Advocates for a Medicare buy-in (purchase) plan

 - Will allow Medicare to be able to negotiate lower drug prices

 - Will allow state attorneys general to sue generic drug makers for excessively high prices

 - Supports laws to prevent pharmaceutical companies from blocking generic alternatives

 - Will increase funding and support for HIH research grants

 - Will allow stem-cell research

WAGE EARNERS

 - Supports an equal pay for equal work law to benefit women

 - Supports guaranteed paid family leave for new parents

 - Wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour

 - Opposes right to work laws and other attacks on collective bargaining

 - Opposes unsafe worker misclassification and other wage theft schemes

 - Will protect the prevailing wages of workers

ENVIRONMENT

 - Believes climate change is a threat and will support the Paris Climate Change Agreement

 - Opposes fossil fuel industry subsidies

 - Supports sensible safeguards against climate change

 - Opposes the PennEast and Pilgrim pipelines

 - Opposes offshore drilling

 - Supports and will defend the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

TAX REFORM

 - Will work to repeal and replace the GOP tax law with a fiscally responsible tax reform.

 - Supports middle-class tax deductions such as State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions

 - Wants to close corporate and special interest tax loopholes

 - Wants to bring foreign tax shelter money back onshore where it can be fairly taxed

IMMIGRATION

 - Supports bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform

 - Will funding better border security Encourage legal immigration

 - Encourages legal immigration

 - Will advocate for a tough but fair process to bring immigrants out from the shadows

 - Will strengthen employment verification

 - Supports DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program

 - Would end the practice of family separation by ICE

 - Opposes the Muslim travel ban

 - Supports granting additional protections to domestic and migrant farm workers

NATIONAL SECURITY

 - Will support the US State Department and frontline diplomats

 - Supports foreign trade policies that are fair to American workers and businesses

 - Opposes foreign trade wars

 - Will keep our NATO commitments

 - Will maintain sanctions on Russia while it continues aggression towards Ukraine

 - Supports Israel

 - Will support putting pressure on Iran to stop missile and nuclear weapons development

 - Will urge deterrence, sanctions and diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of N. Korea

 - Is for greater Congressional oversight of military overseas operations

 - Will defend global human rights and fight international corruption

FIREARMS CONTROL

 - Supports renewal of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban (AWB)

 - Prohibits domestic firearms manufacturers from producing military-style assault rifles

 - Limits ammunition magazines to ten rounds

 - Would raise the minimum gun purchase age from 18 to 21 years old

 - Opposes the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

 - Supports a court petition law to remove guns from people at risk to themselves or others

 - Supports legislation to prohibit ownership of armor-piercing ammunition

 - Support restrictions to the acquisition, sale, or transfer of body armor

 - Support repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment which restricts law enforcement gun tracing

 - Support universal background checks in all circumstances

CORRUPTION

 - Has pledged to not take campaign contributions from corporate PACs.

 - Supports a Constitution Amendment to overturn the SCOTUS Citizens United decision.

 - Supports an Honest Ads Act to keep a public registry of political ads and their funders

 - Supports codifying ethics rules to prevent conflicts of interest and lobbyist abuses

DEFENDING DEMOCRACY

 - Will fight to protect democratic institutions that keep us free and hold leaders accountable

 - Supports the independence of the Justice Department and the FBI

 - Will encourage law enforcement to pay close attention to all extremist groups, including     white supremacists

 - Opposes voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering

 - Will work to secure our voting process from electronic tampering and foreign influence schemes

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* This summary was compiled by me, Brian T. Lynch, from Tom Malinowski’s position statements as posted on the Malinowski for Congress Web page. I am not affiliated with his campaign. You can read his full position statements at this link:  https://malinowskifornj.com/issues-all/