Bruce Braley

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Candidate for: U.S. Senate

Age: 56

Hometown: Grinnell, Iowa

Political History:

• Congressman for Iowa’s 1st District: 2006-Present

Job History:

• Trial lawyer in Waterloo, Iowa 

His positions on: 

Education:

Braley said a large focus for him is to make college affordable. He helped introduce the Student Loan Affordability Act in 2013 to extend low interest rates for federally subsidized loans for two more years before interest rates double to 6.8 percent. Braley takes issue with the No Child Left Behind law, saying that it punishes the successful students. He wants to eliminate the unfunded mandates associated with the law.  

Jobs and the economy:

Braley is in favor of raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. He is also in favor of legislation that would expand tax deductions on start-up expenses for small businesses. Braley wants to create a thriving middle class, and he believes that can be done if America and Iowa invest in manufacturing to create jobs and have goods to sell. 

Health care:

Braley supports the Affordable Care Act and said that Medicare reimbursement brought by the act helps providers accept more Medicare patients. Braley believes in continuing to fund Medicare and Medicaid, and he said that affordable health care would be a focus of his term in Senate.

For more information, visit his campaign site at www.brucebraley.com. He also has a personal Twitter account, @BruceBraley, and a campaign Twitter account, @TeamBraley.