at school; Segal said.
The Jewish legislators generally con-
sider education policy to be central to
Jewish values.
"The great equalizer is the quality
of public education:' said Lipton, who
is vice chair of the House Education
Committee. She is critical of shifts
in education funding between K-12
schools, community colleges and state
universities that she believes circum-
vent Proposal A, which reformed
school finance. Kahn strongly supports
increased funding for early childhood
education.
Lipton described the approval
of embryonic stem cell research in
Michigan as "a uniquely Jewish story"
because of its advocacy by Dr. Eva
Feldman, a leading researcher at
the University of Michigan Medical
Center, and Andy Meisner, formerly a
state representative and now Oakland
County treasurer. After stem cell
research was approved through a bal-
lot proposal, legislation was passed
that forced detailed reporting mecha-
nisms on the state's research universi-
ties. As a result, some Michigan scien-
tists left for Europe and Israel, Lipton
claimed. "We are exporting our talent:'
she said.
Callton stated that he is pro-life and
opposes stem cell research. Lipton
countered that stem cells used for
research in Michigan are derived from
donated embryos that were created but
not used for fertility treatment.
Medicaid is another controversial
issue, with Republicans opposed to the
acceptance of federal funds for expan-
sion of the state's Medicaid program.
According to Schor, they claim to be
against this out of concern for budget-
ary problems if federal dollars are cut
in the future. However, he claims fed-
eral support for state Medicaid expan-

Rep. Andy
Schor

(D-Ingham
County)

• Career: for-
mer Ingham
County com-
missioner, assistant director
of state affairs, Michigan Mu-
nicipal League; staff member,
Democratic State Sen. Gary
Peters (now U.S. Rep. Peters)
• Legislative interests: edu-
cation, building communities
that attract and retain talent,
gun control
• Family: married to Erin; two
children

sion will be reduced gradually and the
governor has set aside money in the
budget to replace the federal funds.
"The Republicans may accept the
federal support if it is part of Medicaid
reform in Michigan; they are afraid of
the Tea Party:' Schor said.
Tax policy, whether for roads, edu-
cation or economic development, is a
key area of political disagreement.
"We have a major philosophical dif-
ference on how to boost jobs," Lipton
said. "The Republicans continue to cut
despite overwhelming evidence that
reducing business taxes doesn't boost
jobs:'
Schor said, "There is still an atmo-
sphere of distrust due to the right-
to-work legislation and the women's
issues during the last session. There
is a feeling of partisanship, although
I am able to work with the other side
personally on some amendments on
bills, and there are a lot of votes that
are bipartisan:'
However, he was disappointed by
the opposition to gun control, which
he said is supported by a clergy group
in his district.
Regardless of their party, the legisla-
tors who have served multiple terms
agree that the political climate in the
state legislature has worsened.
Kahn described the practice of
legislative "linkage "If you want
something non-partisan, you need to
support something partisan:' he said.
"Both parties do it:"
He cited term limits as one factor in
the political divisiveness at the state
level.
"Because of term limits, there is a
lack of experience, and legislators don't
know how to work out differences
so that everybody has a little bit of a
victory and a little bit of a defeat:' he
said.

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