United States Senate election in New Jersey, 2018

Education

As a product of public schools, federal loans and grants to become the first in his family with a college education, Bob understands how important it is to give every kid the chance at a first rate education. Bob will never stop fighting to ensure every child has access to early education, opportunities to attend quality public schools, and affordable secondary education. He also knows that we can’t reach these goals until we support schools, teachers, and parents to encourage young people to build a the skill-set needed to excel in the 21st century economy.

Environment & Climate Change

Bob has consistently fought for dramatic action to reduce the effects of climate change. He is a champion for protecting New Jersey’s beaches, coastal communities and green spaces. Bob is also focused on making New Jersey a leader in responsible renewable energy development to lower our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reinvigorate our workforce in the 21st century global economy.

Creating Good Paying American Jobs

Bob’s number one priority is creating more good paying jobs for the people of New Jersey. For too long through the economy has benefited the very top at the expense of the middle class. Bob is fighting for economic policies that increase wages, empower the middle class and small businesses, and foster social mobility. That means investments in infrastructure to put construction workers back to work, job training to make sure New Jersey has a skilled workforce for the jobs of the future, and tax policy that brings jobs back to American and penalizes outsourcing.

Health Care

Bob has always been committed to fighting for high-quality, affordable health care for all. As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, Bob has championed legislation to help families meet the challenges of autism, fought to protect a woman’s right to quality health services, advocated for investments in research funding for New Jersey’s hospitals and universities, and has been a champion for community health centers that provide care to underserved communities. Bob stood up against the Republicans’ misguided attempts to strip health care from millions of Americans, and said NO to a plan that hiked premiums for middle-class and working people, gutted the guarantee of essential benefits, disproportionately hurt women and the disabled and forced the most vulnerable to pay for a massive tax cut for the richest among us. Bob will continue fighting to defend and improve the Affordable Care Act while building on its success by working across the aisle so that millions of Americans can receive affordable coverage.

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Standing with Israel

Bob considers Israel among our most valued allies and supports officially recognizing Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, as well as the Administration’s recent decision to relocate the United States Embassy to the city. On a recent trip to Israel, Bob had the chance to meet with members of the Knesset as well as former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to discuss ways to strengthen the relationship between our two nations. He supports a continued Israeli-Palestinian peace process that results in a two-state solution where the Palestinians unambiguously recognize Israel’s right to exist. Bob considers Israel a beacon of democracy and innovation in the Middle East and throughout the world, and as Senator he will seek to strengthen our commitment to Israel and the Israeli people.

Energy Independence

Bob is a strong proponent of American energy independence and supports a multi-faceted energy strategy that includes more domestic production of oil and natural gas and continued support of nuclear power, which currently provides nearly 40% of New Jersey’s net electricity generation. He also backs smart investment in renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Bob opposes all drilling off the east coast. Period. It’s bad for the environment and the risk is far too high for our successful fishing and tourism industries.

Immigration Reform

Bob agrees with former President Ronald Reagan, who said: “A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.” We need to fix our immigration system in a comprehensive and compassionate way. That means securing our borders, opposing so-called Sanctuary Cities, and supporting law enforcement as they keep our communities safe. It also means creating a path to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants who may not have come here legally, but are building productive and constructive lives in America. We are a nation of immigrants. A nation that is made better, fuller, and stronger by the diversity and talents of our people.

Protecting the Homeland

As a former United States Marine, Bob strongly supports putting in place measures that protect America from foreign terrorists who seek to do us harm. Bob will work with the President and leaders in both parties to enhance our vetting process and reform our visa and green card programs to ensure that our homeland is secure and our citizens are safe.

National Defense

Bob spent 14 years in the United States Marine Corps, seven on active duty and seven in the reserves. In the Senate, he will be a proponent of increased defense spending to ensure a highly-prepared, trained, and effective armed forces. Bob will also fight to bring additional key missions to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Picatinny Arsenal, and Naval Weapons Station Earle, as well as the Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City Airport and the US Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May. Bob will vigorously oppose any future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) that targets New Jersey’s military installations, which are imperative to our national defense and a major source of jobs and economic investment throughout New Jersey.

Tax Relief

While the new tax reform bill will deliver real relief for many New Jerseyans and help spur economic growth and job creation, the fact remains that New Jersey is a high-tax state unfairly impacted by the $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Bob will fight to eliminate the cap, and make the individual tax cuts permanent, so New Jersey taxpayers can realize meaningful long-term relief.

Health Care Reform

As a board member of one of the country’s most forward-looking hospital and integrated clinical care systems and the leader of a major biotech company, Bob will be a driving force in the Senate to move us past the divisive partisan fights on health care. As Senator, Bob will promote policies that actually fix the system for patients and doctors, driving down costs, increasing consumer choice, and encouraging innovation.

Bob believes we need to address the increasing inequality of health outcomes and the social and economic issues impacting health care in our communities, while ensuring that high-quality care is accessible, affordable and delivers better value to all Americans. Bob will push for reforms that stop the system from discriminating against the sickest Americans and advocate for making payment systems based on value, performance and evidence-based approaches that provide transparency on cost and patient outcomes.

For the last two decades, Bob’s leadership has resulted in countless breakthroughs in treatment and cures. He will use this expertise to promote policies that incentivize bold experimentation and innovation that can find cures and lower costs.

Getting New Jersey’s Fair Share

New Jersey is currently 50 out of 50 – dead last – in the amount of federal investment we get back from Washington for the tax dollars we send there each year. The new SALT cap only makes it worse. It’s unacceptable. Bob will work across party lines and use his decades of private sector business experience to secure expanded investment in New Jersey’s priorities like transportation infrastructure, our military bases, higher education, healthcare, and beach replenishment.

Environment

Bob is an avid boater, fisherman, and conservationist who believes that climate change is real and that humans play a role in it. Bob will work with people in both parties to safeguard our air and water, and encourage the President to enter into agreements that protect our environment, while ensuring they are fair deals for American taxpayers and businesses. Additionally, he will support policies that encourage technological innovation and growing our renewable energy sector so that America will be a leader in clean, affordable energy.

Jobs & the Economy

As someone who has grown a business and helped to create thousands of good paying jobs right here in New Jersey, Bob understands the need for innovative policies that encourage economic growth and make our state more attractive for employees and employers. New Jersey is a high cost state that is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Millennials – those aged 18 to 34 – are leaving our state at the highest rate in the country, decimating our state’s future workforce.

Seniors and high earners are leaving New Jersey at a rapid pace, taking with them the capital we need to create new enterprises and the tax revenue we need to support critical government functions and charitable giving. The future Bob envisions for New Jersey is a bright one where our economy is growing, businesses small and large are thriving, and people have good paying jobs to support themselves and their families. He will use his decades of experience as a job creator to ensure that New Jersey’s economy is a robust 21st century economy where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and pursue their dreams.

Restoring Honesty & Integrity to Government

Incumbent Senator Bob Menendez has been severely admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee – a rare and bipartisan action taken by the Committee – for violating federal law and abusing his position. His indictment on federal bribery and corruption charges for taking lavish gifts from his convicted felon “best friend” was an embarrassment to New Jersey and underscores the need for raising the ethical standards of our public servants and strengthening anti-corruption laws in our federal government.

Bob Hugin believes that Congress should be held to a higher standard. As Senator, he will not accept any gifts from anyone, nor will he accept a taxpayer-funded salary. He has also committed to putting all of his assets in a blind trust, which will be restricted to investment and mutual funds. Neither he nor the Trustee will have access to any information on any specific investments being made.

Bob will work with non-partisan, good government watchdogs, and honest people on both sides of the aisle to close the loopholes in current law and act to restore faith and trust in our government by making sure corrupt politicians are held accountable and are forced to live by the same laws the rest of us do.

Infrastructure

New Jersey’s infrastructure is in dire shape. It’s damaging our economy and our quality of life. In spite of all the federal tax dollars New Jerseyans send to Washington, we are 50 out of 50 in investment back. That means we’re helping support infrastructure in other states while our roads and bridges are crumbling. Bob will fight for projects like Gateway, which includes the Portal North Bridge and Hudson Tunnel projects serving New Jersey, New York City and the entire Northeast Corridor.

Bob has called on President Trump and leaders in both parties to stop the partisan finger-pointing and move these important priorities forward. Bob will be New Jersey’s champion in Washington fighting to make sure our federal tax dollars are invested here to modernize our infrastructure, which will improve our economy, make our roads, bridges and tunnels safer, and create good-paying, high-skill jobs.

Term Limits

There is something wrong when Congress has approval ratings in the teens, but Senate and House incumbents are re-elected upwards of 90% of the time. That is why as Senator, Bob will support and sponsor legislation to pass term limits for both Members of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Gerrymandering and the powers of incumbency have protected ineffective career politicians for too long. In an era of partisan gridlock, Bob believes term limits will encourage more bipartisan cooperation and compromise in Washington by removing the pressure of re-election for a significant number of lawmakers in either party each year.

Cuba

Bob believes the previous Administration’s unilateral policy shift gave the Castro regime an economic lifeline, while doing little to improve the everyday lives of the Cuban people – for whom Bob has great admiration and respect. Bob would do everything in his power to gain extradition of escaped convict Joanne Chesimard, who was the first woman ever named to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list for the cold-blooded murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a routine traffic stop in 1973.

North Korea

As a Marine, Bob was deployed to South Korea and performed joint military training exercises with the South Korean military called Team Spirit. That experience and the fact that both of his sons are in the Marine Corps today, gives Bob a deep appreciation of the current situation on the Korean peninsula. The Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations all failed when it came to preventing North Korea from building a nuclear arsenal capable of striking our allies and even the United States, which is why Bob supports recent negotiation efforts to achieve denuclearization, peace in the region and a better life for the North Korean people. However, Bob believes that any deal made with North Korea must hold the regime accountable, and their compliance with all terms of the agreement must be continually verified. ^[38]