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Cory Booker on Families & Children

Mayor of Newark; N.J. Senator; 2020 presidential contender (withdrawn)

 


New estate tax to fund "baby bond" program

He wants the revenue from a new estate tax and from plugging the step-up loophole for inherited capital to go toward funding a "baby bond" program. This initiative would establish a savings account--accessible at age 18--for every newborn. The federal government would deposit $1,000 into these accounts at birth and add up to $2,000 a year after that, depending on family income. Kids from the poorest families would have a nest egg close to $50,000 by the time they hit adulthood.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary , Nov 19, 2019

Government funded savings account at birth

Booker has proposed some innovative solutions to generational poverty. His American Opportunity Accounts Act would give every child a savings account with $1,000, with the government making subsequent annual payments up to $2,000 a year depending on family income until the child is 18. At that point, the recipient could use the money for "allowable" expenses like college or buying a home. Booker has also introduced a plan to expand eligibility and refund amounts for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2020 Democratic primary , Apr 23, 2019

Opposes family separation policy at southern border

Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls , Feb 1, 2019

Paid family leave is a necessity

Paid family leave is something that must happen, because when a parent doesn't have to choose between being there for a sick child and paying rent, or when a single mom earns an equal wage for equal work, it empowers the most important building block in all of our nation, and that is the family.
Source: Speech at 2016 Democratic National Convention , Jul 26, 2016

Society struggles without paid family leave

Our society claims to value children, but struggling mothers get no paid family leave. The U.S. is the only developed country that doesn't offer government- sponsored paid family leave. Almost all of the world's nations--from Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo--offer this kind of support, but we don't.

Where people have no paid family leave, or vacation days, a child's illness is so much more than the minor stress and inconvenience my mother endured when I got sick. There is the added stress of how to pay a doctor or a co-pay, how to make rent if you miss a day's work to stay home with your child, how to cope with not being there when your son, hospitalized for asthma, calls for his mother.

Source: United, by Senator Cory Booker, p.133-4 , Feb 16, 2016

Job-protected time off for bereavement and illness

Booker announced that he has signed on to a legislative effort that protect grieving parents from losing their jobs in the event of a child's death. The Parental Bereavement Act would amend the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to give parents up to 12 weeks of unpaid, but job-protected, time off of work to cope with the death of a child. Roughly 3,000 American children between the ages of one and 14 die suddenly each year from accidents.

"Parents grieving the loss of a child shouldn't have to fear losing their job too," Booker said. "This bill is a common sense expansion of family protections that Americans rely on."

Booker also supports legislation that would provide paid family leave. Booker is an original cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year to recover from illness or take care of a loved one. He also is a cosponsor of the Family & Medical Insurance Leave Act, which would establish a federal paid family leave policy.

Source: 2016 Press Release from Senate office booker.senate.gov , Feb 5, 2016

Other candidates on Families & Children: Cory Booker on other issues:
2020 Presidential Democratic Primary Candidates:
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

2020 GOP and Independent Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (Libertarian-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (Green-NY)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich (R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence (R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
CEO Howard Schultz (I-WA)
Pres.Donald Trump (R-NY)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
V.C.Arvin Vohra (Libertarian-MD)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld (L-NY,R-MA)
Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty

External Links about Cory Booker:
Wikipedia
Ballotpedia

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
State Rep.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)





Page last updated: Feb 23, 2020