Inadequate highways, dangerous rural roads, poor cell or internet service, and aging water systems plague most of our district. Our crumbling infrastructure puts us at an economic disadvantage and threatens lives. I will fight to secure federal funding for highway and water infrastructure improvement and encourage public and private investment in communications infrastructure.

PRIORITIES:

• Improve revenue to the Highway Trust Fund, and secure grants from the Fund, for highway renovation and expansion in the North State
• Improve and encourage public and private investment (through direct investment and incentives) in internet and cell phone infrastructure, especially in rural areas, including wireless options
• Support rural broadband in the planned national infrastructure enhancement and incorporate broadband expansions through USDA Rural Development programs and the Rural Utilities Service
• Work directly with local municipal and transit districts and county bodies to gather information and ensure citizens’ most critical needs are being addressed quickly and efficiently

Everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare when needed. No one should be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or go bankrupt because of health issues. As your Representative in Congress, I will fight to protect and expand Medicare for All and decrease prescription drug costs. I will work to increase funding for the specific health issues in the North State, including rural health and lack of access to specialists. I will promote solutions to keep our health care dollars in our district to support preventive care and improve access to high-quality medical, mental health, and addiction recovery services.

PRIORITIES:

• Guarantee high-quality healthcare for all Americans through Medicare for All
• Build on the successes of the Affordable Care Act and support new protections to immediately assist those suffering the burden of excessive healthcare costs
• Decrease prescription drug costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies
• Protect a woman's right to full family planning and women's healthcare services, including safe and legal abortion
• Increase funding for public health investments aimed at improving health and decreasing long-term healthcare costs
• Improve access to mental health and addiction recovery services
• Support critical access hospitals that provide lifesaving care and treatment for rural north state communities and keep the doors of rural hospitals open by enacting legislation like the Rural Hospital Access Act of 2017
• Improve access to telehealth services in rural communities
• Encourage more health care providers to serve in remote rural and underserved communities by expanding student loan forgiveness programs for providers serving in these regions

From our nation’s founding, to today, immigrants have played a crucial role in the growth and success of our nation. Whether first generation immigrants or tenth generation, American families celebrate the stories of those who came to this country looking for a better life. It is time that our immigration system reflect the value immigrants have always had to our nation. An effective immigration system does not create cruelty, but prevents it.

PRIORITIES:

• Pass the DREAM Act and ensure that our dreamers, who came to this country as children, receive their US citizenship
• Provide a path for legalization of immigration status for the millions of immigrants already living and working in our nation, who came to this country, inspired by our ideals
• Support the institution building work of the State Department to improve conditions in Latin America
• Simplify and streamline agricultural visas, and other work visas for jobs American companies cannot find workers to fill. These programs should allow options for short-term flexibility among seasonal operations while providing long-term stability for both employees and employers
• Reform our immigration system to facilitate family reunification and protection of asylum seekers

It is simplistic to lump all of our infrastructure into a single question. Any budget for the above named infrastructure areas will need careful application and balancing of private and public use revenues, federal tax and tariff revenues and private investment. The only caveat, in my opinion, is that there be no deficit spending- if we cannot afford it, we shouldn't do it.

I will propose and support amendments to our current healthcare system. These would include adding an annual review process; establishing standardized metrics of performance in the areas of accessibility, affordability for all socioeconomic groups (including working people) and quality of care; requiring a balanced healthcare budget which includes no deficit spending; and mandating a robust and transparent amendment process which provides for continuing modification to improve access, affordability and quality.

I will support any immigration policy which will allow the continued immigration of people who will integrate into our society as we and our ancestors have, while simultaneously preventing the entry of those people who will not- people with criminal histories, those with malicious intent, and the willfully indigent. I will cross party lines, if necessary, to do so. I believe this is not a party issue, but one where dignity, respect and opportunity for all people should be our metrics.

NO NEW TAXES!

$3,800,000,000,000 or $3.8 TRILLION was the amout spent for healthcare in 2019. It is projected that in this year, 2020, the rise in healthcare expeditures will be 5.7%, which will take healthcare expenditures over $4 TRILLION. The issue is not securing affordable healthcare, the issue is making the population healthier! As I have stated for years, no nation can have an affordable healthcare system in which the majority of the population is unhealthy and has carte blanc discretion to destroy itself.

The U.S. is a nation of gluttons, people addicted to everything from caffiene to meth, drug users and abusers, alcoholics, and smokers. Moreover, the U.S. is a nation where the majority of the population eats unhealthy food (cancer laden meats, excess sugar) as a norm and indulges in an unhealthy lifestyle, one that is void of exercise.

Americans eat a corporate diet, one dictated by corporations, not by natural science. The food supply is controlled by 10 large corporations and only four companies control 80% of the meat that is produced. Americans consumed 24,651,900,000 or just under 25 BILLION pounds of sugar in 2017. This leads to the biggest healthcare crises on the horizon - diabesity. Diabesity is obesity combined with diabetes which is part of the metabolic syndrome, a health condition that leads to heart attacks and strokes.

Another issue facing our country is unhealthy children. With the advent of mandatory vaccines will come increases in autoimmunes diseases, asthma, mental disorders, cancers due to the the viruses in the DNA of the various species used to make the vaccine, and a host of other maladies we cannot predict.

We must focus on prevention of disease to save money which will allow for treatment and payment of congenital and pre-existing conditions, rather than attempt to maintain  the status quo and risk the ruination of our healthcare system.

We have enough laws on the books. There is no need to write more laws. We need merely enforce the laws that are already present.