Kay Hagan

Kay R. Hagan a Democrat, has represented the state of North Carolina in the Senate since 2009.

Budget and the Economy
On her campaign website, Hagan said she will work for a balanced budget by demanding pay-as-you-go rules and fiscal constraints. She supported tax cuts for the middle class and closing tax loopholes for corporations. She also said she will work to create good, secure jobs.

Crime
During the campaign, Hagan said she will work hard to lessen the amount of gangs, with a plan focusing on prevention, intervention and suppression. She supports expanding the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program to all high-risk area middle schools and high schools, the Gang Reduction Program, increasing mentoring and after-school programs like the 21st Century Community Learning programs, promoting partnerships with local universities, Boys and Girls clubs, scouting organizations, and faith-based groups to help discourage children from joining gangs. She also supports increasing penalties for gang violence, and fully funding Byrne Grants and the COPS programs.

Hagan also supports legislation to require sex offenders to register all Internet aliases with a federal database that would be accessible to social networking sites.

To curb the amount of violence against women, Hagan said she supports fully funding The Violence Against Women Act, and reauthorizing and funding the states so they can work through the backlog of DNA testing in cases of rape and other violent crimes. She also wants to increase federal funds to help state and local law enforcement expand DNA analysis, and authorize the taking DNA samples from all convicted felons prior to their release from prison.

Hagan said she will work to eliminate the disparity between crack cocaine and cocaine, and lower rates of methamphetamine production and distribution.

To help solve the problems with the prison system, Hagan said she supports increasing federal funding for the expansion of prisons, requiring a 40-hour work week for prisoners, fully funding the Second Chance Act to improve access to programs that help released prisoners find jobs and access to job training, drug and alcohol counseling, and mental health services.

Education
Hagan said she will support expanding access to Pre-K education, lower the cost of college and fix No Child Left Behind by providing increased funding, more flexibility, and measuring school progress. She also said she will work to expand the college tuition tax credit, offer loan forgiveness for those who do public service jobs after college, fully funding Pell Grants, and strengthen community colleges.

Energy and Environment
Hagan supports expanding tax credits for businesses and people who make their homes and workplaces more energy efficient, offering tax credits for buying hybrid vehicles, increasing fuel efficiency standards, incentives to American car manufacturers to produce more hybrid vehicles, implementing emission reduction policies, and increasing investments in public transportation. Hagan also believes that America should participate in international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She proposes creating an "E-8 of nations, including developed and developing countries, to find a solution that will make an impact on a global level. redirect these funds to invest in clean energy sources"

Equal Opportunity
Hagan wants to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunities for getting a good education, having a solid wage, and being treated respectfully. She supports changing the education system to improve quality by encouraging teachers to work in disadvantaged communities and increase early child learning by fully funding Head Start. To provide accessible, equal, and quality health care, Hagan supports reducing racial and ethnic health disparities by promoting community based solutions, expanding SCHIP, and reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Hagan said she will support efforts to expand the Equal Pay Act to cover discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, as well as gender. Hagan also seeks to encourage first time homeowner ship by extending the first-time homeownership tax credit from $7,500 to $10,000 for one more year, increase financial counseling for those who need it, and ensuring methods for families in trouble to stay in their homes. She also wants to revitalize public housing. She supports efforts to restore funding levels for the HOPE VI program, seeking reforms to ensure that all public housing units about to be demolished or redeveloped are replaced with new public housing developments, ensuring that new public housing units are energy efficient and environmentally sound.

To create opportunities for minority entrepreneurship, Hagan supports creating a National Infrastructure Bank, which would evaluate and finance major public infrastructure projects using bonds to rehabilitate mass transit, public housing, roadways, and water systems. She supports adding a section to this legislation that requires a certain percentage of the workforce carrying out the public works project is economically disadvantaged and that a percentage of contracts for these projects are allocated to minority-owned businesses.

Healthcare
To improve the healthcare system, Hagan supports using privacy-protecting electronic health records, lower prescription drug costs by allowing importation, eliminating wast in the Medicare Advantage program, expanding SCHIP, strengthening Medicaid eligibility,and giving assistance to states to meet Medicaid demands. She also supports giving small business tax credits to encourage giving all employees health coverage, allowing people aged 55-64 to buy into Medicare, and enforcing mental health parity. Hagan is also a proponent of preventative care, she proposes implementing a national preventative benefit, and grant programs for school health programs, especially those working on childhood obesity. Hagan supports providing funding for health care research, and domestic HIV/AIDS research.

Immigration
Hagan favors a solution to illegal immigrations that works to solve the problem at its core. She supports strengthening the border, and enforcing and toughening laws on employers who hire illegal immigrants knowingly. She also supports a guest-worker program that helps farmers and businesses legally get the laborers they need while being protective of American jobs.

Veterans
Hagan said she will help veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard by improving quality of life by expanding compensation and benefits, guaranteeing quality health care in good facilities, and improving the efficiency of the benefit claims process.

National Security and Iraq
Hagan supports withdrawing American troops from Iraq so that the focus can be on al Qaeda, improving the America's reputation in the world, and rebuilding the military. She also supports more funding for first responders to ensure they are ready for any domestic security issues.

Second Amendment
Hagan is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, and said she will continue to protect the rights of gun owners when in the Senate.

2008 elections
On May 6, 2008 she won the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). She went on to defeat Dole in the November 2008 general election.

Money in Politics
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Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:North Carolina and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * Race Tracker page on North Carolina’s Senate
 * Jessica Benton Cooney, "Dem Field to Challenge Sen. Dole Fills Out," CQ Politics, October 30, 2007.
 * See how you compare to Kay Hagan