We need a Congress that will stand up to President Trump instead of rubber stamping his dangerous agenda. Now more than ever, Congress must use its power to create jobs, help middle-class Americans get ahead and make the wealthiest pay their fair share, protect our healthcare, safeguard environmental protections, defend against discrimination, and ensure our freedom.
We must make our voices heard in Washington, and that starts with you. As your representative, I want to hear your concerns at in-person town halls, in letters and phone calls, on social media, and at the grocery store, and once in office, I pledge to be open and accessible to all of my constituents.
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
We need Medicare for All because every American must have access to the high quality and affordable healthcare they deserve. Trump and his cronies in Congress are trying to take healthcare away from millions of Americans and tens of thousands of our neighbors in the 25th District. As if that isn’t bad enough, they want to eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions and increase costs for people over 50-years-old.
Too many families are only one bad accident or one medical emergency away from bankruptcy. Medicare for All will save families thousands of dollars per year by eliminating healthcare deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. By expanding Medicare, we’re also keeping the program solvent and, in turn, keeping our sacred promise to seniors. Allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices will bring costs down and stop letting insurance companies put their profits ahead of our health. I will fight back against any attempt to decrease coverage or increase premiums, and I’ll never vote to give a trillion-dollar tax break to billionaires and bankers at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our community.
When women thrive, America succeeds.
We can’t move forward as a country unless women are given an equal opportunity to succeed, which is why I support pro-woman, pro-family policies. I will stand up and defend women’s health and reproductive rights against misguided and misleading attacks; I will fight to end wage discrimination and make sure that women receive equal pay for equal work; and I will push for and support paid family leave and affordable healthcare policies. I proudly stand with Planned Parenthood and will fight to protect its funding so women have access to critical health services like cancer screenings and birth control. Women must be able to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from their employers.
Our seniors worked hard their entire lives to earn Social Security and Medicare – we can’t break our promise to them now.
Keep our promises to seniors. After a lifetime of hard work, every senior deserves a secure and healthy retirement. Yet every year the career politicians in Washington try to dismantle Medicare and Social Security, attempting to balance the budget on the backs of our seniors. I will fight any attempt to privatize Social Security or turn Medicare into a voucher system.
Instead of finding ways to benefit the billionaires and bankers on Wall Street, we must take steps now to strengthen and secure Social Security for this and future generations. In Congress, I will fight to:
Scrap the Cap: by requiring millionaires and billionaires to pay the same percent of their incomes towards Social Security as middle-class families, we can guarantee that Social Security remains fully funded for decades to come.
Increase Benefits: by using the CPI-E (Consumer Price Index-Elderly), instead of the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index — Urban Wage and Clerical), to calculate COLA (Cost of Living Adjustments), we will more accurately account for our seniors’ regular expenses and allow them to live more securely on their own.
It’s time to build an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
Reduce the tax burden on the middle class and ensure the wealthiest pay their fair share. While middle-class Americans are working hard to provide for their families, millionaires and billionaires are benefitting from tax breaks and loopholes. We need to fix this system that unfairly prioritizes wealthy special interests at the expense of the middle class.
Increase the nation’s minimum wage. No one who works full time should live in poverty. California is leading the way by raising the minimum wage, but Congress continues to ignore the issue, widening our nation’s income gap and making it harder for families to get ahead.
Stop giving handouts and tax breaks to big banks and corporations. Instead of giving handouts to big banks and tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, we need to focus on projects that grow our economy and create jobs right here in the 25th District. The Antelope Valley is a leader in aerospace, and when we support the aerospace industry, we’re able to create well-paying jobs while investing in our national security. Building a water recycling facility here in the District would provide much needed water security should California experience another devastating drought. We also need to invest in our roads, bridges, and renewable energy sources to stay ahead and create the jobs of the future.
End wage discrimination. Everyone deserves equal pay for equal work regardless of race or gender. It’s time to end wage discrimination so that every American worker earns what he or she deserves.
Give our kids the education they deserve. As the son of two public school teachers and the product of California public schools, I know the opportunity a strong school system can provide. Unfortunately, our public schools are under attack from President Trump, Betsy DeVos, and Trump’s out of touch allies in Congress. College graduates are saddled with debt they can’t refinance because Congress won’t act. We must make our public schools a priority by investing in STEAM education, offering advanced vocational training, and reforming our student loan system to make college affordable for everyone. A greater emphasis on apprenticeship and internship programs will ensure that our students are well prepared for the high-tech aerospace jobs that we can support right here in the 25th District.
Small businesses make up more than 99% of all employer firms, and yet far too many Washington politicians spend their time looking out for only the biggest and wealthiest corporations.
Many small businesses and entrepreneurs struggle to access the capital necessary to start and expand their businesses. Inadequate access to capital holds these companies back and harms our economy. We should ease access to capital in a variety of ways, including:
– Expanding the availability of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.
– Encouraging crowdfunding for small businesses to provide access to equity capital.
– Supporting credit unions and community banks.
– Incentivize providing loans under $50,000.
While we had a historic victory at the Supreme Court guaranteeing marriage equality, the LGBTQ community now faces increased attacks from extremists in Congress and the Trump Administration. I am steadfast in my support for total equality, and will be a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights in the face of these attacks both at home and abroad. Our elected officials have a responsibility to ensure that there is no place for discrimination based on sexual orientation in our society or government, and I will co-sponsor the Equality Act as soon as I’m sworn into office.
We need to combat climate change and protect the environment for our families and children.
Whether you live in Simi Valley or Lancaster, Santa Clarita or Palmdale, Littlerock or Porter Ranch, we all call the 25th District home. We need a representative who accepts and trusts science, understands that climate change is a paramount threat to national security, and will stand up to dirty energy companies in order to keep our roads clear from increased trucking traffic congestion, our air breathable, our water drinkable, and our communities safe.
The devastating Aliso Canyon Gas Leak showed us what happens when our representatives are beholden to dirty energy companies. I have pledged not to take any contributions from oil and gas companies in this campaign, and am committed to investing in clean energy as we move to 100% renewable energy. Right here in the 25th District, Lancaster is on track to be a net-zero city by 2020 and serves as an example of what we can achieve when we commit to a sustainable future.
We must not let Trump and his anti-environment Administration negotiate away our community’s health or sell our beautiful protected spaces to the highest bidder. I believe in protecting our national monuments, keeping the Arctic free from drilling, and passing legislation to ensure this or future Administrations can’t open the Cemex mine.
With the Porter Ranch Gas Leak, the contamination at Santa Susana, the Chiquita Canyon dump expansion, Whittaker Bermite, Cemex, and so much more, we need a representative who will stand with our community and work to address both local and national environmental issues so that our families have the peace of mind to know the air they breathe and the water they drink is safe.
We must treasure the unique relationship between people and animals. Our actions, more often than not, affect animals just as much as they affect people, and I’ll keep that in mind when considering legislation. While not everyone can commit to a vegan diet, we can commit to ensuring that animals raised for food are treated humanely. We need to protect wild animals from cruelty, unnecessary killing, and extinction, keep natural environments habitable for animals, and ensure that every pet has a home free from abuse or neglect. Earlier this year police rescued 7,000 roosters from an illegal cockfighting ring–the largest in U.S. history–right here in Val Verde. I will work with our law enforcement agencies to crack down on such reprehensible conduct, and fight to put in place strong protections to end these abuses once and for all.
It’s time to pass immigration reform that keeps families together, secures our border, and strengthens our economy.
We must pass commonsense, comprehensive reform. In 2013, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill supported by a broad group of immigration, business, labor, and faith organizations. I support the principles of that bipartisan bill, which secured our borders and provided a pathway to citizenship for those who pay their taxes, learn English, and have no criminal background. Passing commonsense, comprehensive legislation would boost our economy and reduce our deficit by upwards of $900 billion over the coming years.
I will fight any attempt to roll back President Obama’s actions on immigration, which protected young people who were brought to this country as children, as well as their parents, from the constant fear of deportation. We must support hard-working students who were brought here as infants and toddlers and have contributed to American society, which is why I also strongly support the California DREAM Act, designed to increase access to college for undocumented immigrants who graduated from high school in the United States.
The U.S. military is the best fighting force the world has ever seen, and I’m committed to keeping it that way. While President Trump continues to destroy relationships with our closest allies, weaken our military readiness, and hinder our diplomatic efforts within the State Department, it’s more important than ever that Congress provides checks and balances to keep our nation safe. We must build an international coalition to defeat ISIS and stop the global spread of terrorism, prioritize diplomatic solutions, and implement tough and smart national security policies that will protect Americans at home and abroad.
As a nation, we have no greater duty than to fully provide for the men and women who have served and sacrificed for this country when they return from service.
For more than 70 years, the G.I. Bill has been available to help returning veterans achieve easier access to educational opportunities. Since its inception in 2008, the Post-9/11 G.I. BIll has provided educational benefits to more than 1.5 million brave men and women who sacrificed for our country. Unfortunately, extremists in Congress attacked the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill by voting to cut the benefits it provides our veterans. That is unacceptable. We need to make it easier, not harder, for veterans to access educational benefits, which is why I pledge to defend the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and will work to ensure that sufficient funds remain available to provide educational benefits for soldiers into the future.
We have a responsibility to ensure that veterans returning from combat zones have immediate access to the physical, mental, and emotional care they need. I’ve heard far too many stories from veterans in our community about waiting seven, eight, or nine months for an appointment. We should take steps toward building a world class VA facility in the Antelope Valley, and in the meantime, we must provide veterans with increased shuttle service to Westwood/Sepulveda to ensure they receive the care they need. I also support legislation providing a single point of contact for each veteran to help navigate through the VA system.
Our servicemen and women have tremendous skills, and we must provide any assistance necessary to help transfer those skills into a successful career when they return home. I will support bills that aim to accelerate vital skills training for U.S. veterans in manufacturing careers. I also fully support the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), which trains unemployed veterans for careers in high-demand occupations, and will work to expand the benefits available so that the program applies to more veterans.
I’m sick and tired of waking up to read about the next mass shooting to tear another community apart, and I’m disgusted at our elected officials who keep failing to take concrete actions to start saving lives. I’ll stand up to the corporate gun lobby, and I’ll work to implement policies to keep our community safe. I support immediately reauthorizing the CDC to restart conducting research to determine the most effective ways to protect us from the ongoing gun violence epidemic. In the meantime, there are commonsense solutions we should and must enact without any further delay. First, I support expanding background checks and closing loopholes. There is no reason a potential suspected terrorist, stalker, domestic abuser, or person with mental health illness should have access to firearms. I support uniform nationwide waiting periods, which at the very least will save 1,000 lives each year by reducing the number of suicides. Finally, weapons of war have no place in our communities, and I support banning assault weapons, bump stocks, and silencers. Let’s work together to start saving lives today.
Unless we dramatically reform our political system, insurance companies will continue to control our health care, oil companies will continue to dictate how we respond to climate change, and corporations will continue to get massive tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. The disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision gives special interests even more influence over our democracy, our economy, and our lawmakers. We now have a corrupt campaign finance system with no accountability. Overturning that awful decision and implementing real campaign finance reform with teeth is one of my top priorities. I strongly support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, and I will fight for publicly financed elections, eliminating money from politics, and complete transparency for all political contributions.
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