Bonnie Watson Coleman
Office
Running for U.S. Representative, New Jersey, District 12 (2018)
Biography
Bonnie Watson Coleman is one of New Jersey’s most respected and influential legislators, having been elected to the Legislature for eight consecutive terms. Throughout her career, Bonnie Watson Coleman has been a dedicated and outspoken advocate for women, the poor, the disadvantaged, and the vulnerable. She shattered racial and gender barriers by becoming the first African American woman to represent New Jersey at the federal level.
Among her many achievements during her first term, Bonnie has led the call for reforms to prisoner re-entry programs. She has fought tirelessly to shut the revolving door of recidivism for individuals who have returned from incarceration by authoring the End For-Profit Prisons Act, which would prohibit the federal government from contracting with for-profit prison corporations.
In addition to this, she was elected by her colleagues as the Vice Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, where she is also Ranking Member on both Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, and the Task Force on Denying Terrorist Entry into the United States. She also serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Bonnie’s efforts to restore critical women’s health care funding has been fruitful in the form of the MOM Act. Bonnie authored this act which would allow women to enroll in, or change their health coverage if they become pregnant.
Bonnie did not stop there. In 2016, she was a co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. This caucus was designed to study policy issues related to the continued success and accomplishments of that population; it is the first of its kind. She spearheaded legislation that would protect vulnerable Americans and communities by being an active member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.
Education, gun safety, environmental protection, and long-term unemployment are issues that Bonnie continues to promote and believe in deeply.
Bonnie is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, an active honorary member of the Girl Scouts of America and a former Deaconess at Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, N.J. Bonnie and her husband, William, reside in Ewing Township and are blessed to have three sons, William, Troy, and Jared; and two grandchildren, William and Kamryn.
Bonnie represents our shared democratic values. She is an advocate for hardworking families and cares deeply about the direction our nation is headed. We need her passion and her strong commitment to the American people to ensure that each and every individual has an opportunity to obtain the American Dream.
Source: Bonnie for Congress.com
Priorities
Job Creation
Bonnie Watson Coleman believes our focus on infrastructure should include Research and Development, spurring innovation that will revamp our health care, banking and telecommunications systems. We should incentivize the development of technologies that will take this nation to the next level. A key component to maintaining a strong workforce is investment in higher education and training programs for workers. Community colleges educate a significant portion of our workforce, and demand for workers with associate’s degrees continues to grow. We must support our community colleges because they give students the tools necessary to obtain high-paying and high-demand jobs in manufacturing, trade and other growing industries. We must also keep high-paying jobs on our shores by negotiating trade agreements that are fair to the American worker, and we need our tax code to incentivize investment in the American economy. Additionally, we should move from a minimum wage to a living wage.
Education
Bonnie Watson Coleman believes that providing our children with access to higher education or vocational education is critical to our nation’s advancement. But, education must be affordable. To this effort, Bonnie Watson Coleman is a strong supporter of Pell Grants and tuition forgiveness programs that reduce the high burden of obtaining degrees. In addition to affordable education, our children should be exposed to trade and vocational opportunities early.
Energy & Environment
Bonnie Watson Coleman led the way for New Jersey to invest in energy efficient appliances long before the green revolution took root. Now, she continues that mission of promoting common-sense, sustainable energy policies through solar, wind, and cutting our dependence on fossil fuels. It is critical that we ensure clean air and clean water for the sustainability of future generations. In Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman continue to be a leader in protecting our environment.
Gun Violence
Bonnie Watson Coleman believes that our goal should be to cultivate and preserve healthy communities. We must foster safe and nurturing environments for our children to grow and thrive. To be successful, we must reinforce the message of peace. Absent sufficient gun control laws, we risk the systematic dismantling of our communities.
Health Care
Our focus should be on keeping the healthy, healthy. We should reduce the costs of acute care and emergency room visits. We should consider the needs of individual communities in the implementation of health care policies. In Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman will continue to be a leading voice in the fight for access to affordable health care for all Americans.
LGBT Rights
As the wife of a Baptist minister and a Deaconess at her African American church, Bonnie Watson Coleman stood up and spoke for LGBT rights regardless of the external pressures. Bonnie spoke fiercely on the New Jersey Assembly Chamber in favor of granting marriage equality for all New Jersey couples. Her voting record shows that she has always voted in favor of any legislation that allows for equality of all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Social Security & Medicare
Today, millions of seniors depend on social security benefits as a primary source of income, and others depend on it as the only means to stay above the poverty line. We must consider the obstacles that keep so many from even getting by, including, rising health care costs, housing, job loss and depleted savings. Bonnie Watson Coleman believes that our values require us to defend and strengthen the protections guaranteed under the Social Security Act. If we fail to stand up to those in Washington who want to cut retirement, medical, survivors, disability, and unemployment benefits promised to us in the Social Security Act, we will fall utterly short of our goal, to help aging Americans stay above the poverty line.
When increased age leads to rising health care costs, Medicare serves as a safety net to provide millions of Americans with quality medical care. In Washington, Bonnie Watson Coleman will work to protect Americans from Tea Party attempts to cut Medicare, convert it to a voucher program, and raise the age for eligibility of benefits. The contributions that senior citizens have made to our country are immeasurable. In Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman will remain committed to providing seniors the opportunity to retire with dignity.
Voting Rights
Voting is one of the most fundamental rights of any democracy, and it is critical to preserve this freedom for all eligible voters. Bonnie Watson Coleman is steadfast in efforts to end voter suppression tactics used by the far right that keeps people from the polls on Election Day.
Women's Rights
Pay Equity - Bonnie Watson Coleman affirms the rights of all workers to equitable wages. She sponsored the Unfair Wage Recovery Act. Modeled after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Unfair Wage Recovery Act would have restarted the clock to file suit under the statute of limitations each time compensation is paid to a woman in furtherance of a discriminatory decision or practice. Bonnie Watson Coleman also supported the Wage Transparency Act, which would have provided women with a tool to help uncover pay disparity. In Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman will continue to fight for women to be paid equal wages for equal work.
Women's Health -Bonnie Watson Coleman believes that a woman’s right to choose is between a woman and her doctor. She is committed to protecting women’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care services including access to contraceptives, education regarding all reproductive options, and support for healthy pregnancies. Bonnie Watson Coleman will continue to defend a woman's right to choose and vigorously oppose attacks against it.
Source: Bonnie for Congress.com
Running for U.S. Representative, New Jersey, District 12 (2018)
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Bonnie Watson Coleman
...
Office
Running for U.S. Representative, New Jersey, District 12 (2018)
Biography
Bonnie Watson Coleman is one of New Jersey’s most respected and influential legislators, having been elected to the Legislature for eight consecutive terms. Throughout her career, Bonnie Watson Coleman has been a dedicated and outspoken advocate for women, the poor, the disadvantaged, and the vulnerable. She shattered racial and gender barriers by becoming the first African American woman to represent New Jersey at the federal level.
Among her many achievements during her first term, Bonnie has led the call for reforms to prisoner re-entry programs. She has fought tirelessly to shut the revolving door of recidivism for individuals who have returned from incarceration by authoring the End For-Profit Prisons Act, which would prohibit the federal government from contracting with for-profit prison corporations.
In addition to this, she was elected by her colleagues as the Vice Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, where she is also Ranking Member on both Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security, and the Task Force on Denying Terrorist Entry into the United States. She also serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Bonnie’s efforts to restore critical women’s health care funding has been fruitful in the form of the MOM Act. Bonnie authored this act which would allow women to enroll in, or change their health coverage if they become pregnant.
Bonnie did not stop there. In 2016, she was a co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. This caucus was designed to study policy issues related to the continued success and accomplishments of that population; it is the first of its kind. She spearheaded legislation that would protect vulnerable Americans and communities by being an active member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.
Education, gun safety, environmental protection, and long-term unemployment are issues that Bonnie continues to promote and believe in deeply.
Bonnie is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, an active honorary member of the Girl Scouts of America and a former Deaconess at Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, N.J. Bonnie and her husband, William, reside in Ewing Township and are blessed to have three sons, William, Troy, and Jared; and two grandchildren, William and Kamryn.
Bonnie represents our shared democratic values. She is an advocate for hardworking families and cares deeply about the direction our nation is headed. We need her passion and her strong commitment to the American people to ensure that each and every individual has an opportunity to obtain the American Dream.
Source: Bonnie for Congress.com
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Priorities