10 Questions for Hillary Clinton

After nearly a lifetime in public service—including stints in the White House as First lLdy, as a Senator from New York, and as President Obama’s Secretary of State—Hillary Clinton is one of the most formidably prepared candidates ever to seek the american presidency. But is she on top of the issues we care about? Latina staffers and readers hurled a volley of questions her way to find out.

1 THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE AMONG REGISTERED LATINO VOTERS IS THE ECONOMY. WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HELP WORKING LATINAS IN THIS COUNTRY IN TERMS OF BETTER PAY? 

It absolutely should be a top priority. Today, on average, Latinas still make 55 cents for every dollar a white man makes. That’s just totally unacceptable. As president, I’ll fight to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to provide women the tools they need to fight wage discrimination. I’ll work to raise the minimum wage, because two-thirds of hourly wage workers are women, many of whom have to try to support their families on far too little. And I’ll promote pay transparency across our economy so that women have the information they need to negotiate fairly. This is a justice issue, an economic issue, and a family issue that needs to be addressed.

2 STUDIES SHOW THAT LATINOS CARE DEEPLY ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. WHAT WILL YOU DO TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE? 

No child should ever get sick breathing in polluted air at the local playground or from drinking contaminated water while brushing their teeth. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and it poses an urgent threat. Air and water pollution and toxic hazards are borne disproportionately by low-income communities and communities of color. We are going to eliminate lead as a major public health threat within five years and create new economic opportunity by cleaning up and repurposing brown field sites. Expanding the clean-energy economy will tackle energy poverty in communities of color. And I’ll set national goals to have 500 million solar panels installed and generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years.