ACCESS/ APIA Vote/ Michigan Muslim Community Council/ South Asian American
Voices for Impact : Questionnaire
Name: Gary C. Peters
City/Town of Residence: Bloomfield Township
Office Sought: U.S. Senate
Occupation: U.S. Representative
Education: I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alma College. I earned an M.A. from Michigan
State University, a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School, and an M.B.A from the University of
Detroit, Mercy.
Community Involvement: I have served on the Rochester Hills City Council, in the Michigan
State Senate, as the Commissioner of the Michigan State Lottery, and I am now in my third term in
the U.S. House of Representatives. I also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and held the rank of
Lieutenant Commander.
General Contact info for your Campaign Headquarters:
[email protected]
248-799-0850
Website: www.petersformichigan.com
1. Why should New Americans like Arab, Asian, and Muslim American voters in
your district vote for you? What expertise will you bring to this position sought?
As the son of an immigrant, I have always been committed to making sure that our nation
offers opportunity and equality for all. I support comprehensive immigration reform, which
will allow our nation’s businesses to hire the workers they need to grow and create jobs in
Michigan while allowing the best and brightest from across the world to find new
opportunities here. I have also worked to introduce bipartisan legislation to improve and
modernize refugee resettlement programs here in the United States and to elevate the
importance of these critical initiatives in the administration.
I have also introduced legislation that would expand federal contracting opportunities for
minority- and women-owned small businesses. I support extending the 8(a) Business
Development program at the SBA and increasing the government-wide contracting goals
for these groups as well as small businesses as a whole. I believe too many federal dollars
are spent on large contractors and that small businesses can be more efficient while
creating more jobs.
1
In addition to creating new economic opportunities, we need to make sure our nation is
both fair and just. I have cosponsored legislation to ban racial profiling – a practice that is
both ineffective and wrong. I have also cosponsored legislation that has been signed into
law that provides increased support for local law enforcement agencies to crack down on
hate crimes based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender
identity, and ethnicity.
I am a product of Michigan schools. I studied at Alma College and graduated Magna Cum
Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. While raising a family and working a full-time job, I took night
classes and earned an M.A. in Philosophy from Michigan State University, a J.D. from Wayne
State University Law School, and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the University of Detroit Mercy. I
was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities from Lawrence Technological
University.
For more than 20 years, I was a successful businessman. I was an Assistant Vice President
at Merrill Lynch and a Vice President at UBS/PaineWebber. As a financial advisor, I helped
families plan for their retirement and their children’s college education.
At 34, I felt I could be doing more for his community and nation and joined the U.S. Navy
Reserve. I became an expert pistol and rifle marksman, earned a Seabee Combat Warfare
Specialist designation, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. I was awarded the
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service
Medal.
My Reserve duty included time in the Persian Gulf during Operation Southern Watch. After
the September 11th terrorist attacks, I felt compelled to rejoin the U.S. Navy Reserve and
once again serve my country.
I am passionate about the need to prepare and mentor our next generation of leaders. I
have drawn on my business, management and government experience to teach courses in
finance at Wayne State University, strategic management and business policy at Oakland
University, and was the Griffin Endowed Chair of American Government at Central
Michigan University.
Frustrated by the gridlock I saw in Washington, in 2008, I ran for the U.S. House of
Representatives because I believed that middle class families, like mine, did not have a
strong, independent voice in Congress. Although I have served in Washington only a little
over five years, I have drawn on my business background to make Washington more
transparent and accountable for our tax dollars. I’ve led efforts in Congress to eliminate
wasteful, duplicative, and unnecessary spending, and am constantly working to responsibly
reduce the deficit. I believe Washington can budget the right way without compromising
vital programs like Medicare and Social Security that middle class families and seniors
count on.
2
Drawing on my business experience, I also helped write the most significant piece of small
business legislation in decades that focused on ensuring Michigan small businesses had
access to the capital they needed to grow and create thousands of jobs.
I continue to work tirelessly to deliver small business tax cuts and to promote growing
sectors like advanced manufacturing in Michigan. I am committed to building an America
where anyone willing to work hard and play by the rules can find a good-paying job, afford
health care, live in a safe neighborhood, send their children to a good school, and retire
with dignity. I am focused on making Michigan a trade, travel, and logistics hub; supporting
small businesses and ensuring they have access to the capital they need to grow and create
jobs; and promoting certainty in the federal tax code and incentivizing growth.
2. Do you believe schools are inclusive and meet the needs of immigrant and
economically disadvantaged families? If not, why not and what solutions would you
propose?
I believe public school districts, administrators and teachers are doing the best they can
with the resources they have in place to make sure every student that walks through their
doors are getting the best education possible. However, there is always room for
improvement, as policymakers our goal should be to make sure our students are being
provided with the best education regardless of where they reside and their economic status
so that we can ensure our students are well prepared for the jobs of the future. The federal
government needs to provide funding to local districts who are best able to tailor curricula
and programs to the families and students they serve.
3. Is it important for Michigan to be a welcoming state for immigrants? Please
comment. How familiar are you with current "welcoming" initiatives and what else
should be done?
Our country was built on immigration and we have numerous vibrant ethnic communities
within Greater Detroit. It is of great importance that Michigan not only welcomes those
who have gone through the legal process of immigration, but provides the necessary
resources to ensure that those individuals can have the skills they need to assimilate and
succeed in America. Legal immigration provides a fair, regulated passage through which
the best and brightest in the world can experience the American Dream. Here in Michigan
we know that, done right, enacting comprehensive immigration reform can help make
Michigan’s economy and middle class strong.
Welcoming initiatives support immigrants in efforts to integrate with communities, start
businesses, and thrive in Michigan. Immigrants make up 6% of our state’s population so
supporting these initiatives and engaging the immigrant community is important for
supporting economic development and job creation in Michigan.
3
I have supported expanding access to capital for small businesses and would want to
integrate and tailor these existing programs with welcoming initiatives to help immigrants
open small businesses and startups that best utilize their skills and allow them to quickly
achieve self sufficiency and create jobs in Michigan.
4. What are your views on ensuring equal access to the polls and voting materials for
voters of all communities regardless of English speaking and reading ability?
Ensuring equal access at the ballot box is a very important priority for me and I am proud
to be a cosponsor of Voter Empowerment Act of 2013. If passed, this legislation would
implement online voter registration, allow same day registration and make other changes
to expand voter access. In addition, my office regularly distributes non-partisan election
information and staff members who are able to communicate in English, Spanish, Hindi and
other languages are available to further assist constituents. I will continue to make this
issue a priority.
5. What are your views regarding access to in-language, culturally appropriate
healthcare?
Michigan is culturally diverse state and has many thriving ethnic communities. Recognizing
this, I have staff members in my office who are able to communicate in English, Spanish,
Hindi and other languages. I supported the Affordable Care Act and during implementation
of the legislation Spanish and English health care assistance hotlines and websites were
available. In addition, the Affordable Care Act includes new requirements for the collection
and reporting of health data by race, ethnicity, and primary language to more accurately
detect and monitor culturally related trends in health disparities.
6. What are your views on preventing discrimination in the workplace? How will you
address workplace issues generally?
No American should face discrimination in the workplace. Equal work deserves equal pay. I
support existing policies that ban racial and ethnic discrimination in the workplace and
believe there are opportunities to expand workplace protections as well.
For example, I believe that we must address wage discrimination and support women’s
rights in the workplace. One of the first bills I supported as a new Member of Congress was
the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps ensure that women who receive
discriminatory pay have access to a remedy. Wage gaps hurt Michigan’s middle class,
costing families thousands in lost income. As the father of two daughters, I strongly support
equal pay legislation and cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act.
I have also cosponsored the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. This
important legislation would provide new remedies to workers who have been victims of
4
age discrimination; this is particularly critical as many Michiganders reach their 60’s but
still plan be productive members of the workforce for years.
I also support protections for pregnant women in the workplace. I cosponsored the
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to ensure that pregnant women are not forced out of jobs
unnecessarily or denied reasonable job modifications that would allow them to continue
working. I also signed on to an amicus brief in support of a pregnant worker who was
forced into unpaid leave and eventually lost her medical coverage in the Young v. UPS case
that will be before the Supreme Court next term.
I also believe that the federal government can fight workplace discrimination by
supporting minority- and women-owned small businesses, which is why I have introduced
legislation to increase federal contracting opportunities for these small businesses.
In addition to combating discrimination in the workplace, I also believe that it is critical
that we support working families. This is why I support the child care tax credit because I
believe we need to act to help middle class parents afford to work and care for their
families. In 2009, I introduced the Helping Families Afford to Work Act (H.R. 1500) that
expands the Dependent Care Tax Credit up to a $4,200, a substantial help to families
struggling to afford high quality child care. I also supported the Child Care and
Development Block Grant; CCDBG funding provides over 1.5 million children with access to
quality, affordable child care. Without this funding, millions of working parents would be
unable to contribute to our nation’s economic prosperity, or climb into the middle class.
Workplace flexibility is also an important issue affecting Michigan families. I support the
Schedules that Work Act, legislation that would allow employees to make scheduling
requests and protect employees who make requests from retaliation.
By ensuring these basic standards of fairness in the workplace, we can take one step closer
toward living up to the ideals our nation was founded on—equality, freedom and justice. I
will continue to fight for equal rights so that we can say with confidence that America is a
place where anyone can have the chance to succeed.
5