Jobs and Economic Development

Guiding principle: Families in the 9th District need sustainable and good-paying jobs in the sectors that will define the 21st Century economy: biotechnology innovation, renewable and green-energy manufacturing and development, and infrastructure improvement.

Shelli will work with business, labor, and community groups to bring new 21st Century jobs to our area. She will push to expand broadband technology to generate new telemedicine and on-line educational opportunities. Shelli will fight to make sure the 9th District gets its fair share of federal dollars that create new jobs. Her economic development plan will increase the minimum wage and provide job retraining to displaced workers. Shelli will fight to end tax breaks for corporations that send jobs overseas and, instead, provide incentives to companies that create jobs here in the U.S. Shelli believes companies that receive tax breaks should pay good wages.

Shelli’s 10-point Job Plan

1. Bring together business, labor leaders, and community groups to launch a new regional job-creation strategy that focuses on bringing sustainable, good-paying jobs to the 9th District, especially infrastructure improvement;

2. Increase support for cutting-edge university and private research to produce new products, industries, and technical jobs, particularly in biotechnology innovation, renewable and green-energy manufacturing and development;

3. Make the 9th District a leader in clean/green technology used to cut long-term production costs, make products more competitive, and create 21st Century jobs;

4. Expand broadband technology to generate new telemedicine jobs and online educational opportunities;

5. Increase funding for job retraining to help laid-off workers recover from the Great Recession, and work to increase the minimum wage;

6. Secure tax incentives to create new small businesses and more good jobs;

7. Fight for a level playing field by closing tax loopholes and special deals so small businesses can compete against big businesses;

8. End tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and reward companies that create jobs here in America and the 9th District;

9. Improve our public schools, universities, community colleges and technical programs to build a highly competitive workforce for the future; and

10. Protect student loans and grant programs.

Better Schools and Educational Opportunities

Guiding principle: All our kids and grandkids deserve a chance at a world-class education that will provide them with a bright, prosperous future.

Shelli will work to strengthen Indiana schools and make college more affordable by increasing the availability of student grants and low-interest loans. Shelli believes we need not only to expand worker training to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, but also to implement lifelong-learning opportunities so that those in the workforce can be retrained, enabling them to move up the economic ladder.

Affordable and Accessible Health Care

Guiding principle: All American families deserve the security that basic affordable and accessible health care provides.

Shelli will fight hard to move our nation’s approach to health-care policy in a direction that promotes less costly, more efficient care by expanding coverage, reducing waste and abuse, and focusing on preventive care. The sooner we close the gap between the insured and uninsured, the sooner we can reduce taxpayer cost of inefficient health-care practices, such as using hospital emergency-room care for non-emergencies. Shelli supports the reforms in the recent federal health-care legislation that expand coverage for dependent children up to 26 years of age, eliminate pre-existing illness discrimination, and close the gap in Medicare prescription-drug coverage known as the “donut hole” so that our seniors do not have to choose between medicine or food for the month.

Preserving Social Security and Medicare

Guiding principle: Our senior citizens must be guaranteed a secure and dignified retirement.

All their lives, our seniors have invested in their futures through Social Security and Medicare. Shelli will fight to protect Social Security from those in Congress who would jeopardize it with privatization schemes and risky investments in the stock market. She will oppose attempts to privatize Medicare or to raise premiums for seniors. Shelli believes any changes to Medicare must only be made after consultation with the seniors who rely upon it. She will also push for legislation to protect workers’ pensions and retirement benefits. Shelli Yoder understands the importance of supporting Americans as they build savings to retire with the dignity they have earned.

Fair and Effective Immigration Reform

Guiding principle: Solutions to our nation’s immigration policy must keep America secure and preserve basic American values.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down most of Arizona’s controversial immigration law on grounds that the issue is exclusively federal is another reminder that Congress is not doing its job. Congress’ failure to act created a state-by-state response that breeds fear, racial profiling, and inconsistent public policy. It is long past time for Congress to stop the partisan bickering and do the people’s work.

Shelli supports solutions in comprehensive immigration reform that keep America secure and preserve basic American values, including these four priorities:

1. Reform must secure the borders;

2. Reform must strengthen enforcement of our laws in America’s interior;

3. Immigration rules must include a temporary-worker program that relieves pressure on our borders; and

4. Reform must include a provision that allows for residency for those undocumented young people who were brought to the United States as children by a parent or relative and have served in the military or are attending college (the so-called “DREAM kids”).

Shelli will work across the aisle for a fair and effective immigration reform bill that accomplishes those four priorities.

Shelli also supports President Obama’s recent Executive Order on immigration which gives a group of young people – the DREAM kids, who grew up as Americans and some of whom have defended our country in the military – hope for the future. The Executive Order, however, is not a permanent solution. Rather, it is a short-term, stopgap measure that again underscores the fact that Congress is not doing its job.

It is long past time for Congress to stop the partisan bickering and pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for young people who were brought to the United States as children.

Click here to see Shelli’s responses to “Issues Questionnaires” from The Brown County Democrat, Corydon Clarion News, Bedford Times Mail, Bloomington Herald Times, Louisville Courier-Journal, Indianapolis WIBC 93.1FM & Indianapolis WTHR Channel 13