Tom Umberg on the Issues
HEALTHCARE
In the State Senate, I will protect the Affordable Care Act and fight to expand access to healthcare for everyone in California. I will stand up to the pharmaceutical companies, demanding transparency and lower prescription drug prices. During my service in the State Assembly, I defended reproductive health care and a woman’s right to choose. In the State Senate, I will advocate for funding for women’s healthcare including cancer screenings, contraception and essential education services.
As a military service member, our family always had universal healthcare. My wife Robin, Brigadier General USA (Ret.), served as a nurse, hospital administrator and Undersecretary for the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
Every Californian should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. In the State Senate I will fight the Trump Administration to expand healthcare, not take coverage away for those who need it most .
PUBLIC SAFETY
I’ve spent my career fighting corruption, stopping drugs from coming into our communities and protecting the rights of workers, immigrants and women. I’ll fight to reform our gun laws by standing up to the NRA to ban the kind of high-capacity weapons and ammunition that have been used in mass shootings across our nation. I understand that high-powered weapons don’t belong on our streets, and will fight to keep dangerous high powered guns and ammunition off our streets and out of our schools by banning assault weapons, toughening penalties for gun traffickers, expanding background checks and preventing those convicted of domestic violence from owning guns.
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, I prosecuted sexual assault cases and protected our civil rights. As a former Federal Prosecutor, I understand what it takes to keep our communities safe. We need more funding for community policing and to put an end to senseless gun violence.
Serving as the Deputy United States Drug Czar, appointed by President Clinton, I have a deep understanding of the strategies and resources needed to stop the current opioid epidemic, which is killing thousands of people every day in communities across California.
In the State Assembly, I was honored to receive the California Police Chiefs Legislator of the Year Award. I wrote laws that toughened penalties for domestic violence, rape, child abuse, kidnapping, and stalking. I also enacted stiffer penalties for selling drugs and committing gang-related felonies on school campuses. I am proud to have authored one of the toughest hate crime laws in the nation.
JOBS AND THE ECONOMY
As a small business owner, I run a business and meet a payroll. I will be a strong advocate for local small businesses, cutting red tape and unnecessary regulation.
I will work to diversify our local economy and bring more high wage jobs that provide healthcare and retirement security. But we need more than that.
The cost of housing is out of reach for too many people. We must provide incentives to build affordable housing and increase the range of options for young people, families and seniors.
EDUCATION
All children deserve the opportunity for a quality education. With today’s changing economy, we must ensure that youth, but especially girls and students from low income communities, have access to Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs, so they can be prepared for the careers of the future.
Our students need to be equipped to succeed in college or for careers that pay a living wage. We must make college affordable instead of saddling young people with burdensome debt.
In the State Assembly, I was proud to earn the PTA’s most prestigious recognition, the PTA Golden Oak Service Award, for my work on behalf of children and education. I authored a statewide School Facilities Bond Act providing $1.9 billion for school improvements and construction and won more than $60 million in funding to help low performing schools in Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Anaheim.
I also enacted school safety laws, including stiffer penalties for selling drugs and committing gang-related felonies on school campuses and secured more than $26 million for new building construction at UC Irvine.
ENVIRONMENT/COASTAL PROTECTION
For much of my life, California has led the country when it comes to environmental protection, and we need to return to that “Golden State Standard.” That means allowing us to enact our own, more stringent environmental protections, securing funding for those protections and stopping the efforts of the Trump Administration to undermine the EPA.
We must also stop the Trump Administration’s efforts for the largest expansion of oil and gas drilling in U.S. history, which would allow for expanded oil drilling off the Southern California coast. As Chair of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, I fought to protect our environment. I’ll use my experience as a prosecutor and legislator to stand against any federal actions that jeopardize our precious coastline.
VETERANS
I know firsthand the kinds of sacrifices our military men and women make. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their sacrifice and dedication to keep our nation safe. In the State Senate, I will be a champion for our veterans, ensuring they have access to education, job training, and affordable housing without long waits. We must provide our veterans with quality healthcare, including mental health services.
I am supporting Prop. 1 on the November ballot which is a bond that provides affordable housing for low-income Californians and our veterans.
IMMIGRATION
Immigrants built this country, and they need to be valued and treated with respect, not denigrated and scapegoated.
We need a comprehensive solution to immigration that will allow people to move through the process in a reasonable amount of time, protect our borders, and not separate families who are seeking asylum in our country.
In the near term, we need a plan to protect our DREAMers. These young people have been and will continue to be contributors to our community and economy. They exemplify what is best about our state.
