Jon Cooper: On the Issues

Supporting Progressive Values

Jon Cooper has been a proud progressive all of his life. He is 100% pro-choice, was a vocal opponent of the Iraq War (which led to his early endorsement of Barack Obama in the Presidential race) and has sponsored numerous bills to protect our environment and promote the use of clean, renewable
energy technologies.

Jon has advocated for fair and
comprehensive immigration reform. He believes that any health care reform plan should include a public option for insurance. Jon is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage and, in fact, is the highest-ranking openly gay elected official in New York to have legally wed his life partner.

Earlier this year, Jon received the “Long Islander Who
Has Made a Difference Award” from the Long Island
Progressive Coalition. He was the first elected official on
Long Island to be honored by the Sierra Club as their
“Environmentalist of the Year”. In addition to being backed by the LI Progressive Coalition and the LI Sierra Club, Jon has received past endorsements by organizations including NARAL, Planned Parenthood, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum and the Empire State Pride Agenda.

Jon has been endorsed by dozens of labor organizations
over the years, including CSEA, RWDSU, IBEW and the
Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. He is also
proud to have been endorsed in all of his re-election
campaigns by the Working Families Party and the
Independence Party.

Promoting Economic Development

Jon Cooper knows that one of the keys to lifting our state
and this nation out of the current recession is to invest in
our businesses and their employees. He has run a successful manufacturing company (with a union shop)
for more than 30 years, weathering many economic
downturns and making sure his employees did not lose
their jobs in difficult times. Jon is also a strong and
consistent friend of labor, which is quite unusual for a
business owner. In fact, he has served on the Jobs With
Justice Workers’ Rights Board, consistently advocating for
the rights of oppressed workers.

Jon’s experience as a small business owner has shown him the importance of economic development initiatives. New York State urgently needs new programs that will invest in our businesses to help them grow, and retain and create more jobs. We should provide targeted tax cuts that benefit companies in struggling regions of our state, whether they’re located upstate or on Long Island.

Jon also supports ending tax breaks for U.S. companies that ship jobs overseas. He instead wants to provide greater tax relief for companies that create jobs here at home.

Providing Middle Class Tax Cuts

Jon Cooper knows that providing
tax relief for the middle class is
key to jumpstarting our economy
and growing jobs. He fully understands the burden imposed
on hardworking New Yorkers by
unfair tax policies.

That’s why Jon wants to reform
the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which unfairly punishes taxpayers who live in high-tax states like New York. Originally designed to prevent wealthy people from paying little or no income tax, the AMT is not adjusted annually for inflation. As a result, New York
residents with gross incomes as low as $75,000 could be
subject to this additional tax.

Jon supports granting additional tax credits to further
reduce child care costs for middle class families. He also
wants to make college costs more affordable by providing
targeted tax cuts for higher education.

Making Health Care Affordable

Having spoken with hundreds of
New Yorkers who are struggling
to provide health care coverage
for their families, Jon Cooper
believes that access to affordable
health care is a right for all, not
a privilege for some. The fact that nearly 50 million Americans are currently uninsured is a national
disgrace. No family should have to sacrifice their life savings in order to provide medical care for their loved ones in the case of a catastrophic illness.

Jon supports providing additional tax credits for middle
class families so they can afford adequate health insurance. He also strongly believes that Americans should have the choice of a public health insurance option in addition to private plans.

Achieving Energy Independence

Jon Cooper believes that America’s continued reliance on foreign oil poses one of the gravest threats to not only our economy and our environment but also our national security. He supports increased federal funding for research to develop and improve green energy technologies and make them more
cost-effective. Jon also supports
the repowering of older power plants with current technology to increase energy generation and reduce emissions of global-warming pollutants.

In addition, Jon wants to provide larger tax incentives and/or low-interest financing to qualifying homeowners
and businesses in order to encourage energy conservation
and the increased use of clean, renewable energy such as solar power. His ultimate goal would be to completely
eliminate our nation’s importation of oil from the Middle East by 2030.

Reducing Gun Violence

Jon Cooper believes that making
our streets and homes safer should be a paramount issue. He supports reasonable measures to reduce gun violence, including the reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons and further restrictions on the sale of armor-piercing (“cop-killer”) bullets. In fact, one of the first bills that Jon introduced was a Child Access Prevention (CAP) law, which sought to keep loaded handguns out of the reach of unsupervised children.

Protecting Consumers

Jon Cooper has led efforts on Long Island to protect consumers. His legislative accomplishments include the nation’s first law prohibiting the sale of the deadly dietary supplement ephedra, which was subsequently banned at the federal level.

Jon has consistently fought against Big Tobacco, sponsoring numerous laws over the past decade to prevent underage tobacco use and reduce the threat posed by second-hand smoke. He has also worked to increase penalties against unlicensed contractors and other unscrupulous businesses that take unfair advantage of consumers.