Natalie James

Health Care: Every Arkansans should be covered and every child should be covered.

The cost and access to healthcare is a critical issue for Arkansans. Far too many Arkansans live in hospital deserts, and as a mother of two, Natalie James understands the importance of having immediate access to healthcare services. Healthcare must be a right for all and not a privilege for some. Every Arkansan should be covered, and every child should be covered.

Expanding access to healthcare is something Natalie believes we can do and must. While many Americans have secure and safe access to healthcare opportunities currently, that is not a reality for nearly 250,000 Arkansans and far too many Americans.

Sen. John Boozman voted time and time again to strip countless Americans from their right to healthcare without even a replacement in sight. Natalie believes we can make much-needed improvements to the Affordable Care Act while preserving it and protecting those with pre-existing conditions. Natalie also believes Congress must pass the Save Rural Hospitals ACT to provide much-needed assistance to rural and urban hospitals.

As your Senator, she will:

• Defend Protections for those with pre-existing conditions.

• Support safe access to reproductive services and a woman's right to choose what happens to HER BODY.

• Support legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs and measures to allow Medicaid to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies.

• Defend and improve the Affordable Care Act.

• Hold Big Pharma accountable for its role in the opioid epidemic.

Climate: Sustaining a Place to Call Home

Between the floodings and extreme weather in the south to the week(s), long wildfires along the west coast, these are an impactful reminder of how climate change is taking a toll on our daily lives. Arkansas desperately needs a Senator who acknowledges the scientific truth that climate change exists and that the time to act on that science is NOW!

As the mother of two young daughters, Natalie James is fully committed to and focused on ensuring that her daughters and every child have a planet to call home. As a realtor, she joined the profession to help Arkansans find their dream home. She will support measures that ensure environmental equity and justice, ensuring that every American has access to clean water, air, and housing while addressing the burden placed on black and brown communities.

Natalie believes that we must address climate change head-on. She shares the view that we ought to be moving toward a clean energy economy that will put Arkansans and Americans to work, reduce fossil fuel usage, and sustain a world to call home.

As your U.S. Senator, she will:

• Support President Biden in his efforts to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and continue our committed effort to combat climate change.

• Prioritize efforts to roll back Scott Pruitt & the Trump Administrations' war on the Clean Power Plan and Environmental Justice.

• Hold Corporate America accountable for its role in assuring our goal of net-zero emission by 2050

• Advocate for black and brown communities in the development of a clean energy economy.

Agriculture: Defending and Strengthening Arkansas Farmers

Agriculture brings nearly $20 Billion of revenue into the Arkansas economy annually. As the nation's leading producer of rice and cotton, our farms feed the world. We need a U.S. Senator who will be a vocal advocate for our hard-working farmers and stand up for them in Washington D.C.

Natalie James will work tirelessly to protect and strengthen Arkansas farmers. As Senator, she will work toward addressing social disparities and fight for much-needed relief. Also, she will advocate for comprehensive trade and tariffs policies that continue to allow Arkansas Farmers an opportunity to share in a global economy.

Arkansas is home to family farmers struggling to stay afloat, while Senator Boozman voted against measures to provide aid to African American farmers. Natalie believes it's time to level the playing fields and close the disproportionate equal opportunity gap for black and minority farmers.

As your Senator, Natalie James will:

• Fight trade policies that hurt Arkansas farmers.

• Ensure the U.S.D.A. (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) adopts policies that close the equal opportunity gap for small, minority, and black-owned farms; while expanding existing resources.

• Expand market access for Arkansas grown products. and

• Ensure Arkansas farmers have a voice in the conversation regarding the U.S. efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Public Infrastructure: Equal & Just Access for all Arkansans

Our nation's broken infrastructure system is continuing to present real challenges for many Arkansans and Americans who rely on roads to transport their family, get to work, rely on public infrastructure for clean drinking water, and in times of severe weather disasters.

In 2019, Severe weather contributed $1.2 Billion in damages to our nation's public infrastructure. As the effects of climate change continue to escalate, the threat to our public infrastructure grows.

The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges many of our communities face. Natalie shares the belief that we must address the disparities of rural and low-income Americans grappling with the lack of access to broadband and internet access.

Natalie believes that by investing in a clean energy economy, we can establish careers of the 21st Century and make green investments in our public infrastructure systems. Also, she will support equitable investments in internet and broadband access, giving a boost to small businesses and communities often left behind in a growing global economy.

As your senator, she will:

• Prioritize investments in internet and broadband to expand access;

• Support the funding of projects aimed at strengthening underserved communities and communities of color;

• Improve existing water infrastructures while investing in green efforts to roll back pollution and strengthen communities; and

• Repair roads, bridges, and infrastructures in rural and urban communities often deprived of sustaining infrastructure.

Jobs and Economy: An American Dream for the People

Natalie James acknowledges the economic impact the global pandemic has imposed on communities across our state, and for some, the pandemic only worsened a financially burdened situation.

Before the global pandemic, many Arkansans felt like our economy didn't work for them or their families. Small businesses were working overtime to keep their doors open, and the entrepreneurial spirits of black and brown folks were dying in the parking lots of banks.

Growing up as the daughter of a small business owner and public school teacher, Natalie and her three sisters learned early in life the value of hard work and helping others; now, as a mother, she sees the increased hardship for families like hers and many across Arkansas.

Natalie James believes that we need to rebuild our economy to give every American a fair shot at the American dream, beginning by easing the burden of student loan debt that hinders many Americans from achieving financial security. She knows that it's time for the U.S. to follow in the footsteps of Arkansas and raise the minimum wage to a living wage. Natalie will prioritize measures to protect workers in the workplace.

As a senator, she will:

• Revoke tax breaks for corporations that outsource American jobs.

• Oppose the automation of American jobs while supporting Made in America incentives for corporations.

• Prioritize assistance to small and minority businesses and entrepreneurs.

• Advocate for a living wage for all Americans.

• Invest in vocational and technical training and opportunities.

Criminal Justice Reform: Justice and Liberty for All

Arkansas needs leaders who know that our nation's incarceration rates are higher than that of any other country and understand the challenges those reentering our society face after paying their debt to society and that real change must occur.

Natalie believes that we must address the reality of the role the school-to-prison pipeline plays in feeding our prison population crisis as far too often, these practices leave relentless burdens on poor, low-income, and Black-Brown Communities.

Natalie believes we must fund our law enforcement agencies responsibly. She hears the cries of communities to rebuild relationships with local law enforcement agencies and communities, which is why she will support legislation to end qualified immunity and hold law enforcement officers accountable. She shares the view that we must make intentional investments in law enforcement agencies that provide training and additional resources to officers to establish community trust.

As your Senator, She will:

• Fund police departments responsibly so that accountability and restoring trust are possible;

• End Qualified Immunity

• Create and Strengthen pathways for re-entry citizens;

• Reduce Senseless Gun Violence; and

• Support measures to put an end to mass incarceration.

Education: A Pathway for every American to the American Dream

Natalie believes that every child should have access to quality K-12 education and that your zip code or family's annual income shouldn't be a factor.

As the daughter and granddaughter of educators, Natalie James knows the significance of investing in our education system and our educators; As a mother, she understands the importance of having an enriched Pre-K program to ensure the best educational success.

Natalie recognizes the challenges students face today and believes we must invest fully in our teachers and schools; they have resources to provide a 21st Century Education.

She shares the belief that those who want to attend college should do so without the fear of mountains of debt or burdens of hardship; she supports reducing the cost of higher education and relieving the financial burden of student loan debt placed on many Americans.

As a small business owner, she understands that college is not for everyone; those who decide not to attend college should have opportunities to obtain financially supportive careers and provide for their families.

As your Senator, she will:

• Strengthen our public school system;
• Prioritize Pre-K education;
• Defend Educators and advocate for school resources, and
• Rollback the cost of higher education and ease the burden of student loan debt.^[3]