Toni’s Platform

Economy and Job Creation

Toni Casey supports the President’s Jobs and Growth Plan to energize the economy to create 1.2 million jobs by the end of 2004 and more than 100,000 new jobs in California.

Tax Reduction

  • Accelerate marginal tax rate reductions and make them permanent.
  • Eliminate the marriage tax penalty.
  • Eliminate the Death Tax.
  • Increase the child credit from $600 to $1000.
  • Increase equipment deduction from $25,000 to $75,000 for small businesses.
  • Eliminate double taxation on corporate dividends and retained earnings.
  • Enhance and permanently extend the R&D Tax Credit.

Free Trade

Toni Casey supports opening new international markets for U.S. companies through free and open trade policies.

Toni Casey supports the Trade Promotion Authority to allow President Bush to negotiate trade agreements so that U.S. businesses, small and big, can compete in a global economy. Boxer voted no.

Toni Casey supports China’s transition to a market economy and admittance to World Trade Organization (WTO).

Toni Casey supported NAFTA and sponsored two forums in Silicon Valley which changed Eshoo and Mineta from no to yes votes. Boxer voted against NAFTA.

Tort & Litigation Reform

Toni Casey supports tort reform to end frivolous lawsuits.

Toni Casey supported securities litigation reform in 1995 to reduce meritless securities litigation. The Private Securities and Litigation Reform Act of 1995 was vetoed by Clinton and became law after his veto was overturned by Congress. Boxer voted against the Reform Act and then led floor fight to prevent overturn of the veto.

Toni Casey supports the Class Action Fairness Act which would elevate class action suits that cross state lines to federal courts and ensure that court awards go to wrongfully injured parties rather than trial lawyers. The Act lost by one vote in the Senate late this year. Boxer voted no.

Bring Federal Tax Dollars Back to California

Toni Casey supports bringing $58 billion federal tax dollars paid by Californians and spent in other states back to California. California is subsidizing the programs and services of other states.

Not since Ronald Reagan was President has California experienced a positive balance of payments with the Federal government. The deficit has now reached $58 billion dollars. We need those dollars spent in California for our infrastructure, protection of our borders and our ports, and to address immigration solutions.

National Security

Toni Casey supports the President and his team of experts – Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, and Dick Cheney – in the war against terrorism.

Toni Cassey supports a strong military that has the most effective and well-trained armed forces with access to the latest technological advances and best weapon systems.

Toni Casey recognizes the necessity of having a national security military presence in California.

As President Reagan showed us, we will have peace only through strength. Diplomacy has a much better chance of success in Iran, North Korea and other trouble spots in the world because the world saw a decisive and deliberate President.

Senator Barbara Boxer has been one of the biggest opponents of President Bush’s strategy to end the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Barbara Boxer has consistently voted to cut defense spending from 1993 to the present.

Barbara Boxer was one of three senators to vote against the 2000 Defense Authorization Bill.

Barbara Boxer voted against the $2 billion for our first responders – our firefighters, police officers, and paramedics.

Barbara Boxer voted against the funds to support our troops in Iraq.

Immigration Reform

Toni Casey does not support the President’s three-year work permit proposal and proposes a tighter temporary work permit program. Casey is concerned that the President’s three year work permit could unintentionally produce immigrant workers without jobs by not reflecting the seasonal nature of jobs filled by temporary workers and thereby create the perception of amnesty, which she does not support.

Toni Casey’s six-point immigration reform plan is:

  • Tighten border security. The federal government must tighten border security to protect both our economic and homeland security. Toni Casey will support legislation to increase border control.
  • Enforce and strengthen employer sanctions. Casey will work to enact stricter penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants without temporary work permits.
  • Prohibit drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants. Casey will sponsor legislation denying federal transportation funds to any state that issues drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants.
  • Deny amnesty to illegal immigrants. Amnesty only encourages continued illegal immigration and is a slap in the face to immigrants who have come to the United States legally. Casey will work to defeat any immigration policy that grants amnesty to illegal immigrants.
  • Shift the cost of illegal immigration to the federal government. Immigration control is a federal responsibility and California is spending over $4 billion annually on illegal immigration. Casey will sponsor legislation to require the federal government to reimburse California and other states for those costs.
  • Create an employer based guest worker visa program and a jobs registry database. Casey supports a temporary work permit program offered to immigrants if those employers cannot fill the job with U.S. workers. The permit should be consistent with the employment period guaranteed by the employers; not to exceed one year with unlimited renewals based upon guaranteed job availability.

Education

Toni Casey understands that while education is a national priority with high standards, solutions are a local responsibility. One shoe does not fit all situations. Red tape and bureaucracy, which has promoted mediocrity in our schools, must be reduced.

Our student body has become increasingly immigrant and schools are where new immigrants learn the basic skills to succeed in society.

Schools are where the next generation of California’s work force must pick up the complex tools needed to prosper in our high-tech and information based economy. We must assure that every child, regardless of economic status or ethnic background, has access to a quality education.

Toni Casey supports holding teachers, administrators, and school boards accountable for our children’s education. Every child can learn and we cannot continue low expectations.

Toni Casey supports giving parents choice of schools and implementation of merit pay for teachers. Choice brings freedom, innovation, and competition. Vouchers or tax credits should be provided to parents whose children are in a failing school and there should be no limit on the number of charter schools.

Toni Casey supports the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, which President Bush signed, that doubles the NSF budget over the next five years.

Health Care

Toni Casesy supports the Medicare Modernization Bill recently signed by the President as a first step towards providing prescription drug benefits to seniors with the amount of coverage based upon need, introduces competition to Medicare coverage by giving seniors more choices to find the best coverage. It also improves tax-free health care savings accounts that can be used to pay out of pocket medical expenses.

Toni Casey believes that every citizen should have access to an affordable health plan provided by the private sector and supports Secretary Thompson’s four point health care plan:

  • Provides a vehicle to create a pool for all uninsured adults to spread the risk.
  • Uses private insurance companies to provide competitive affordable plans to the pool.
  • Offers a tax credit up to $1500 for medical insurance premiums for a single adult for a plan that would require 15% co-payment. This credit would be based upon financial need.
  • Expands the CHIP program (Federal program providing health care funds to the states for low income children) to their parents.

Toni Casey supports allowing small businesses full deduction of employee health plans and medical expenses as allowed by corporations.

Toni Casey supports medical malpractice reform.

Toni Casey supports a woman’s right to choose in early stages of pregnancy but does not support late term abortion.

Toni Casey supports the President’s ban on partial birth abortion.

Energy and the Environment

Toni Casey understands that energy independence must be a national goal. Almost 60% of our energy comes from OPEC.

Energy development and the environment can and must co-exist and this balance must be part of a truly comprehensive, long-term solution. The solutions must be balanced and based upon sound scientific studies as well as new technologies.