This blog is part of the series that focuses on the candidates who are running for President of the United States in 2016. This blog focuses on Chris Christie.
Chris Christie is the 55th Governor of New Jersey. He was first elected in 2009. He won re-election in 2013.
Health Care
According to his official website, Chris Christie proposes expanding the existing sliding scale for Medicare premiums for higher-income seniors. “If you can afford to pay more for your health benefits you will, and if you can’t you won’t”.
He proposes giving each state a set amount of Medicaid funds indexed to the number of enrollees in Medicaid. This would allow Medicaid to continue to provide more funding for states and low-income individuals when the economy is doing poorly.
For veterans, he proposes “anytime, anywhere, care”, which would allow veterans to receive their health care benefit from any medical institution. He also wants to hire a qualified professional who has run a major healthcare system in the United States to be the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Forbes reported that Chris Christie expanded Medicaid (under “Obamacare”) in 2013.
Women’s Health Care
NJ.com reported that Chris Christie has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood if he is elected President. He has vetoed funding for Planned Parenthood in New Jersey every year for the last six years.
Immigration
According to his official website, Chris Christie wants to build a wall to secure the border. He wants to eliminate funding for sanctuary cities, to use drones and electronic surveillance at the border, and to use “biometric technology” to keep track of people who enter the country on a visa (so they can be quickly removed when their visa expires).
Education
Chris Christie wants to expand access to charter schools. He has allowed students in “struggling districts” to have the option of attending a public school outside of their district of residence without cost to their parents.
He signed a new contract for teachers in Newark, New Jersey, that allows them to earn raises and be eligible for additional bonuses based in part on student performance. He wants to take away tenure for teachers who are “failing students”.
Jobs
Part of Chris Christie’s immigration plan includes fines for employers “for hiring illegal workers”. Those fines should be “double the profit a business has made from that worker”. He wants to require all employers to use e-verify to check the work status of employees.
He would also like to eliminate the payroll tax for those who are over age 62 and for those under age 25. He wants to “repeal Obamacare’s 30-Hour Workweek mandate”.
Image by Gage Skidmore on Flickr.
Related Articles at Families.com:
* Focus on the Candidates – Marco Rubio
* Focus on the Candidates – Carly Fiorina
* Focus on the Candidates – Jeb Bush