VOTE411 Voter Guide

My priority for our social security program is to honor the promise made to those in the program as well as those nearing the program. We must honor the original intent which is, in its simplest terms, to provide federal assistance to the elderly, the unemployed, widows and fatherless children. The administration of social security is not so simple now and has fallen to abuse and waste. All federal programs, and the agencies that run them, must be transparent and held accountable to deliver on their core purpose and must be audited. Social security must remain funded and managed for success. A return to a healthy economy, including slashing inflation, is essential to the well-being of our elderly and poor who rely on social security.

Ensuring and maintaining our nation's border is an urgent, constant, national security interest and core function of our federal government that must not be compromised. Our immigration system, and its reform, is a separate and equally important challenge for America. A healthy immigration system that serves our national interests was best summarized by the late Representative Barbara Jordan in 1995 who said, “Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out. [...]” It is my goal to expeditiously deliver a credible, reliable, enforceable immigration system to those who legally seek to live and work here. There is much work to be done. See my website for more.

There is no doubt humans have a significant impact on the planet earth and surrounding environments. I feel strongly we should be responsible stewards of all our natural resources by managing them respectfully, intelligently, and dealing always in fact-based science and experience. I am a staunch advocate for energy choice and responsibly developing new clean affordable energy options. We are innovative resourceful people who should not abandon science, commonsense, economic realities and the well-being of entire communities in the pursuit of political agendas. I support an "all of the above" energy strategy that strives for scientifically based clean energy choices that are affordable and end reliance on other nations.

Social Security is not an entitlement. It has been earned and we need to preserve it into the future. My first bill in Congress vowed to expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year and ensure Social Security is fully funded for the next 75 years—all without raising taxes by one penny on over 93% of American households that make $250,000 or less. It also changes the formula used to calculate Cost of Living Adjustments to ensure it more adequately addresses Social Security recipients’ spending needs, while scrapping the payroll tax cap to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share, just like everyone else.

Congress should pursue bipartisan solutions for immigration and border security reforms. I’m a cosponsor of the DIGNIDAD Act, bipartisan legislation that would enact important reforms to modernize our immigration system and protect our southern border. I also strongly support the bipartisan border security investments that President Biden negotiated with Senate Republicans to enhance border security, including hiring additional law enforcement personnel to address increased migrant encounters at the southern border. We must focus on solutions beyond enforcement, including funding and reforms to modernize our immigration system, close backlogs, and ensure migrants and their families are treated with dignity, respect, and human rights.

My focus when I got to Congress was to discard the old “jobs vs the environment” framing that has been used for decades to divide people. I have pledged to oppose any new investments in fossil fuel infrastructure in Congress. I’m a cosponsor of the Climate Emergency Resolution, which directs the President to use all possible legal authority to address climate change like the emergency it is. I also support investments that Democrats made in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act to increase clean energy deployment and create high-quality jobs—thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we have created 550,000 new jobs in the clean energy sector and America is on track to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by about 40% from 2005 levels.

Social security is the largest program in our federal budget. Financed by payroll/income taxes. In analysis the Congressional budget office considers combined trust funds, aged, survivors, and disability insurance. I feel strongly that Congress should never interfere with social security funding I would support finding a way to end the fraud which is costing the program millions. As a representative of the people, I vow to protect our seniors and be a strong advocate for securing their financial future.

Yes, I would support changes in our immigration laws, beginning with securing our borders. America is made up of wonderful diversity combined from many nations. Over the centuries, however, our immigration policies have been broken for many years. Those who wish to become citizens have spent years and thousands of dollars, waiting to become American citizens. We need to completely overhaul our immigration system and policies. We must place the security of our nation and citizens as our number one priority.

I believe that everyone has a responsibility to our planet to preserve and protect. We need to be able to have grounded discussions in applied sciences, facts and proven theories from documented studies.