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Healthcare
4.00
Economics
4.00
Candidate Name
John E. Bartlett
District
State House District 33
Values
Grade
Values
Party
Democrat
Experience
Challenger
Grade
Democracy
4.00
Accessibility
4
Governance
4
Cost
Choice
4
4
Freedom
Voting
4
4
Community
4.00
A+
Overall Grade
Education
4.00
Affordability
Equity
Opportunity
4
4
4
Environment
Public Safety
Inclusion
4
4
4
Stability
Funding
Belonging
4
4
4
Notable Information
Candidate Name
Candidate for:
State House District 33
Democrat
Challenger
Notable Information
MADVoters Survey Responses
Healthcare: The Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cut $31 billion from Indiana’s Medicaid funding, including almost $13 billion in hospital funding, over the next decade. What will you do if elected to ensure healthcare affordability and access given these changes? (Source: Indiana Hospital Association)
My House district (HD-33) has both of its county hospitals on the endangered list of closing when the Medicaid cuts hit. These two hospitals are on the borderline of breaking even every year. Medicaid cuts will certainly close them as almost a quarter of their revenue comes from Medicaid. The district already lost another county hospital in 2023. And still, for most of rural Indiana, travelling to find a hospital with a birthing center is a far distance. The way to break this is to force Indiana hospital corporations from using monopolistic techniques which are making Indiana's health care costs 30% higher than the national average. The law which passed last year to force the corporations to function as the non-profits they are incorporated as do not take effect until 2029 which is 3 years too late. This will allow the Medicaid dollars in Indiana to be stretched further by reducing costs. And, as we are trying to better the economy of rural Indiana, lack of health care is a reason that businesses pass on locating here. Rural Indiana cannot become a medical desert.
Economics: AI and data centers are having a huge impact on jobs and communities across the nation, particularly in Indiana. What is Congress’s role in addressing this developing technology? What action will you take to hear and represent the concerns of Hoosiers on this topic?
Economics: Dozens of AI data centers are planning to come to Indiana, drawn by the state’s “business-friendly” reputation. How should Indiana manage these large industrial site proposals and their potential impact on communities? (Source: Citizens Action Coalition)
The AI data centers provide promise to the future and at the same time are one of the biggest threats to our environment. Indiana's legislature has made it very attractive for corporations to build AI data centers here with easy tax abatements, no regulations, and offering to upgrade the electrical infrastructure with little to no cost to them. They have passed a property tax law which starves local government for money to the point that they grab up any money dangled before them by the data centers. Data centers are going to increase our energy usage by an estimated TEN TIMES over the next decade. Indiana is allowing the grid expansion to happen at the cost of electrical consumers rather than the data center companies. They are being allowed to use groundwater and city water for coolant for the processors instead of using "closed loop" water systems which reuse water. This occurs at the rate of each using MILLIONS OF GALLONS of water every day. And this also brings up the proposal to build many small nuclear reactors across Indiana's cornfields. The development of these will be charged to Indiana's electrical consumers over the next 15-20 years. What needs to happen is that we need to pass regulations on the data centers, both for existing and future construction. We need force them to pay for the electrical grid expansion. We need to force them to use closed loop cooling systems. And we need to make sure they are paying their share of taxes to the places they build. And a statewide moratorium should be put in place until we get those laws passed. Labor needs the jobs to build these data centers, but the regulations to force electrical upgrades and chiller plant manufacturing will actually give them more jobs.
Education: Describe your stance on the Department of Education and its role in education administration, funding, and protections for students with disabilities.
Education: Since 2012, Indiana has spent over $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars on charter schools and the private school voucher program. If elected, would you support or oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to funding private schools and charter schools? Why or why not? (Source: ICPE)
Vouchers are one of the worst travesties to hit public education in Indiana, especially in rural areas. The flow of dollars from rural school districts to urban districts is huge. Right now, my district has ONE school which accepts vouchers. All students in public schools lose money evenly per student. The urban areas have many more private schools and take money from the poorer rural public school districts, negating the entire "money follows the student" argument. Private schools have a legally protected veil of secrecy as to their operations and performance. They can deny admission to any student they wish. There is no requirement to report their performance on standardized tests. Many stories from insiders suggest this is because their performance is terrible. Charter schools in many cases are nothing more than schemes for their owners to pocket money. Voucher money to charters is nothing more than siphoning off dollars that need to go to public schools. And, as we are tying to better the economy of rural Indiana, the lack of an educated workforce is a major reason businesses pass on locating here
Democracy: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge or threat facing our democracy right now? If elected, what will you do to help overcome this challenge or threat?
The restriction of voting rights today is very concerning. The political right has created a boogey man with little to no evidence that democracy is greatly threatened. Instead, many laws are being passed to restrict or eliminate many voters from the voting rolls including college students, women, naturalized citizens, and people of color. Bills such as these must be stopped at all levels where they occur (federal and state), and the duty to vote should be encouraged. I will vote against laws unfairly restricting voting and propose laws to encourage voter education and participation.
Community: Describe your stance on ICE and its role in immigration enforcement and detention.
Community: What role or responsibility do local and state governments have with regards to immigration enforcement?
Too many people do not realize the global labor shortage we are entering into. Population trends have been that the global population is about to begin a 20-30 year drop and birth rates are still not rising to their previous levels. This is starting to translate into a workforce shortage to do the jobs we will need. When the Baby Boomers are all of retirement age in 2029, the workforce in the US will be 8 million people fewer. The only way we will get out of this problem is to have immigration attracting people from around the world move into the US. The current immigration policy set by the federal government is not going to aid in solving this problem. The state and local governments need to be working with the federal government to work out a policy which is fair and fast while ensuring the safety of our nation. Enforcement of laws which apprehend the extremely small number of immigrants who are committing violent crimes is needed. Rounding up people who are in the US illegally but just trying to work and earn a living should not be treated the same as those committing hard crimes and rounded up like Jews in Nazi Germany.