VOTE411 Voter Guide

It is critical to end the overreach of the EPA, DOE, NOAA, USFS, and other such agencies who have been trampling on state and individual rights. I am committed to a science based government that places humans and a sustainable ecosystem first.

Social media monopolies must be identified and split apart to ensure Americans are not taken advantage of.

America must establish laws to prohibit foreign ownership of our farmlands and take back total control of our food supplies. We can not tolerate poisoning of our agriculture system by corporations and foreign nations who do not put the lives and health of Americans first.

Vote by mail has destroyed Americans trust in the voting system and resulted in the installment of a puppet, Joe Biden, as president. I am committed to requiring voter identification and U.S. citizenship to vote in all elections in the United States of America.

Based on the governments ability to be able to regulate the production of automobiles, movies, and alcohol to protect Americans, it is only reasonable government should take reasonable steps to regulate the development and use of Artificial Intelligence to protect all of humanity.

A healthy environment is vital to Washingtonians’ way of life and the regional economy – and that is why mitigating climate change must be a top priority. I helped draft and pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which allocates $5.3 billion over five years to reduce carbon pollution across the state, provide Washingtonians with more transportation options, and ease congestion in local communities. I also introduced and helped pass a bipartisan bill that will help protect diverse migratory bird populations and their habitats in the Pacific Northwest and provide a significant boost to the outdoor economy. Most recently, I reintroduced legislation to reauthorize the Northwest Straits Commission in the Puget Sound, which has long been a catalyst for well-executed projects that restore marine habitat, protect Washington state’s environment, and create more jobs in Northwest Washington.

At its best, social media can be a useful tool for connecting communities, exposing individuals to diverse viewpoints and stitching the world together with commerce and collaboration. However, as with any new technology, social media can be vulnerable to nefarious actors. Social media companies must be vigilant in policing their platforms for any material which can be prohibitively problematic. I do not believe that government has a role in banning social media companies, because I believe that act runs afoul of the First Amendment. More broadly, I believe the United States needs a comprehensive data privacy law which protects Americans online, regulates social media companies, and ensures citizens retain control over their data.

Here in Washington, we have some of the nation’s most natural habitats and productive lands. All of us are stewards of the environment and we must do our part to protect the environment so that we can pass it on to future generations.

I support fortifying existing laws like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, as well as giving government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency the resources to respond to persistent and new threats to our environment. My work in this area also includes introducing and passing legislation to help protect diverse migratory bird populations and their habitats in the Pacific Northwest; reintroducing legislation to reauthorize the Northwest Straits Commission in the Puget Sound; comprehensive new legislation which funds conservation and restoration of plant species; and investing hundreds of millions of federal dollars to make our local infrastructure cleaner and greener.

I firmly support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (H.R. 4), which I cosponsored, and the Freedom to Vote Act. For decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) prevented states and localities from restricting the right to vote. However, in its disastrous Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Supreme Court gutted the law and struck down the formula used to determine which jurisdictions are subject to federal oversight. In July 2021, the Court further weakened the law in its decision in Brnovich v. DNC which made it more difficult to challenge discriminatory voting laws under Section 2.

Restoring the critical protections of the VRA is essential to keeping the promise of democracy for all Americans. H.R. 4 and the Freedom to Vote Act prevent states and localities with a recent history of voter discrimination from restricting the right to vote by requiring these jurisdictions to obtain federal preclearance before changing their voting laws - and I will continue to fight to make them law.

Any endeavor with AI must safeguard against algorithmic bias. The government has an essential role in regulating AI, educating and preparing the American workforce for increased use of AI, and safeguarding Americans from any harmful consequences of AI. This takes different forms depending on the context. For just one example, in the military, the government has a role to play in ensuring that there always is a human who retains the most decision making authority in theaters of war. I have been a leader in expanding AI education to ensure that all service members understand the potential and limitations of AI.

As the top Democrat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I know that AI has the potential to transform the industry by improving efficiency, reducing emissions and increasing safety. While AI has the potential to remove human bias for decision making, it could also exacerbate challenges related to bias if improperly used or trained on the wrong data sets.