a lower sales tax benefits everyone, especially the poor. "What's driving me is trying to make sure there is representation for the poor," White said. He also cited similar reasoning when he pushed to lower the gas tax, saying that order to pay for food, people in this state have to drive a vehicle and it's difficult to rely on public transportation. A rise in the gas tax comes at a time when citizens are crying out that they are already overburdened, he said: "For us to pile on … seems to me to be inappropriate. Now is a particularly bad time, almost a cruel time, to raise taxes." School Funding An outspoken advocate for metro-area schools, White helped filibuster a state aid reduction bill that would have disproportionately impacted his constituents. White told senators during debate that they shouldn't stop at least trying to close the gap in funding between minority children and white children. "If you (stop trying), we're going to get into a lawsuit and it is going to cost us far more than sitting and making a compromise right now," he said. White, a native of Columbus, Nebraska, introduced an innovative bill to deal with the challenges of education funding in small-town Nebraska. His proposal, the Business Partnership in Rural Education Program, would have allow companies that have earned business tax credits to use some of those credits to help local school systems. The companies would be able to contribute up to $10 million in tax credits to local school districts over a four-year period, and would have to provide a 75 percent match under the bill. The bill did not advance from committee. Illegal Immigration White has advocated measures to reduce illegal immigration by targeting employers who profit from illegal labor. Other Legislative Accomplishments White has also been an advocate for the families of military personnel, introducing and passing the Military Family Leave Act in 2007. A bill introduced by White in 2008 and passed that same year created a grant program for electric companies that helps low-income homeowners make their homes more energy-efficient. White worked with Republican Attorney General Jon Bruning to pass legislation cracking down on internet sex predators in 2009. Also in 2009, White's Legislative Bill 551 provided increased access to affordable healthcare for young people in their 20s. In 2010, the Legislature passed White's Construction Prompt Pay Act (LB 552) which