Ro Khanna

Our Constitution provides expansive protections for civil and religious liberties – they make America a beacon of hope for people around the world. As a child, my grandfather recounted stories of spending years in jail for the tremendous sacrifices he made to fight for human rights as part of Gandhi’s Independence Movement. To him and to my parents, who emigrated here from India, America represented a land of promise where they would be guaranteed dignity and freedom.

The ideals laid out by our Founding Fathers are clear: we all have unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In practice, however, making sure citizens are granted all the freedoms outlined in our Constitution has become increasingly complex in a technologically rich and interconnected world.

Promoting Freedom in the Age of Technology

The Founding Fathers recognized that citizens’ right to privacy over their “persons, houses, papers, and effects” is an essential component of democracy. Although they did not envision the advent of the Internet, the same protections should extend to our online activities. The reality is that our laws have lagged far behind our technological capabilities, resulting in widespread encroachment on our civil liberties.

To make matters worse, Congress has been asleep at the switch while the federal government has expanded the security state and private companies have run amok in storing and selling our data. With the revelations that the federal government is collecting warrantless metadata on American citizens, there has been growing bipartisan support for legislation to strengthen civil liberties.

Amend the PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Act (FISA). According to FISA, the NSA must get surveillance warrants through the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). Some lawmakers allege that under FISA, the FISC has been issuing opinions that conflict with existing interpretations of the law, allowing the NSA to massively survey American citizens domestically – including reading emails and listening in on phone calls – without any connection to terrorism or national security.

Although some secrecy is necessary to ensure our intelligence and national security operations are effective, lawmakers and the American public need more oversight. The PATRIOT Act and FISA should be amended to require that interpretations used by the executive branch and FISC justify their operations by publicly disclosing them. While the actual opinions and operations should remain classified, it is essential that we have only one body of law instead of the current bifurcation.

Update Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The law, which protects the privacy of Americans’ electronic exchanges, including email, cell phone location records, Facebook posts, search history, and cloud computing documents, was passed in 1986. Such an outdated law – written before the World Wide Web even existed – cannot duly address the privacy issues we face in today’s technology heavy world.

Improve whistleblower protections. There have been more prosecutions under the Espionage Act in the past six years than in the previous 90. While a need exists for some intelligence activities to be kept classified, leaving whistleblowers unprotected and worse, aggressively prosecuting them, removes an effective and essential check on government abuse.

Although charging whistleblowers is under federal law enforcement authorities’ purview, there are also actions Congress can take. We should strengthen the First Amendment rights of whistleblowers and journalists reporting information in the public interest, and narrow the Espionage Act of 1917 to be more targeted toward actual acts of espionage and not leaks made to the press about abuses of power. Additionally, the whistleblower protections available to other federal employees should be extended to those within the intelligence community by improving the internal agency processes, clarifying the reporting mechanism to House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and providing individuals the right to challenge official retaliation in fair and impartial proceedings in federal court.

Defending Equality

Prevent racial profiling. When research shows that members of minorities are stopped more often by law enforcement officers than Caucasian individuals, it is essential that we increase our safeguarding of all individuals’ equal protection under the law. I strongly support the Racial Profiling Prevention Act currently in committee in the House of Representatives. The bill would direct the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to states that enact and enforce laws actively prohibiting state or local law enforcement officers from using race or ethnicity as a factor in law enforcement decisions.

Defend the right to practice religion. Freedom of religion is a basic founding principle of our nation. Unfortunately, almost every religious group has been the target of discrimination throughout our history. Today, with America more diverse than it has ever been, it is important to recognize that America is home to Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and other religious groups – and to treat all faiths with equal respect.

Most recently, Muslim and Hindu Americans have been subjugated for their religious beliefs and practices. In public schools Hinduism is presented in an overtly negative way and blamed for social evils. This kind of propagation of misinformation and myths is wrong and impacts the self-image of Hindu children. In order to instill a pride of all children in their heritage, I feel strongly that we must have a positive portrayal of Hindu culture and religion that is fact based.

I was appointed to Committee on the Budget in Congress which oversees the federal budget and reviews the annual budget resolution. I have called on my fellow Democrats in Congress to support a more progressive economic platform. I have travelled to rural West Virginia, Iowa, and Ohio, positioning myself as Silicon Valley's ambassador to parts of the country that have been left out of the digital revolution.

I know we need to build a strong 21st century economy from the bottom up. As a member of Congress, I will fight to:

Make our district a hub for advanced manufacturing to create good paying jobs.

Increase wages and benefits to address the high cost of living in the Bay Area and increase the minimum wage. 

Create an economy in which everybody can succeed, and nobody is left behind.

Create opportunities for skilled, older workers to leverage their experience and get jobs in the Silicon Valley economy. 

In my first term, I co-sponsored Senator Bernie Sanders' bill, the College for All Act, to make public four-year colleges and universities affordable for all. I believe we need to educate the next generation to complete in a global economy. The bill would eliminate tuition at four-year public colleges for families making less than $125,000 a year, roughly 80%. The bill would also make community colleges free for all Americans, as well as work to reduce student loan debt. The interest rate for new borrowers would be halved while current borrowers could refinance to the new rate. This would provide relief to those shackled by student debt and prevent current and future students from facing unreasonable financial burdens.

I also know we need to educate the next generation to compete in a global economy. The platform below is based on my conversation with parents, teachers, and education experts in our community.  As a member of Congress, I continue my fight to:

Prioritize local, California students for admission at the UCs over out of state students.

Support increased funding for K-12 education; including programs for special education, music, art, upgrading technology, unfunded mandates, and Head Start reimbursement rates.

Move away from high-stakes testing and support a curriculum that fosters critical thinking, collaborative learning, and creativity through art and music. Encourage students to become lifelong learners and develop 21st century skills by engaging in project based learning that is age-appropriate and relevant to the real world. 

Support quality early learning opportunities by passing legislation on universal preschool for our most vulnerable students to ensure reading at grade level and math fluency by 3rd grade.

Support a balance of local and state control accountability that encourages collaborations among key stakeholders including parents, teachers, and administrators. Elevate the teaching profession with more teacher training programs at low cost and increase salaries. 

Promote STEM and STEAM curriculum. Focus on technology, science and creativity for all students, share job opportunities in the STEAM fields. Encourage and support girls and under-served groups to enter the field.

I know we need to safeguard our environment for the new century. As a member of Congress, I promise to fight for the following: 

Encourage energy efficiency and water conservation. Water and energy are two of the biggest issues of our time, and I will bring together stakeholders and experts to find a solution that works for everybody.

Promote open space and sustainable communities. We need to strike a balance of growing our economy while at the same time preserving the open space and park land that makes the South Bay beautiful.

Support the EPA in holding local polluters accountable.

Develop alternative energy to reduce our carbon footprint and tackle climate change.

The South Bay is one of the most beautiful regions of the country, with incredible forests, hiking trails, and parks. These natural attributes attract people to live and work in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, preserving the environment is no longer an abstract debate. The science is indisputable – climate change is happening at an alarming rate, threatening crops and coastlines and causing severe weather patterns that could fundamentally alter our way of life. The human induced global rise in temperatures is an existential threat that requires a proactive approach from both parties – we have come together on big issues before and I believe that we will do it again.

With this threat comes great opportunity – a chance to grow our economy and create thousands of new jobs by harnessing the power of green and alternative energy. Here in Silicon Valley, innovators are at the forefront of new technologies that will help us reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and lead the world in clean energy production.

The federal government must play a vital role in supporting those industries and maintaining our competitive edge in the global economy, ensuring that windmill manufacturers, solar panel makers, and biofuel producers have the support they need to grow. 

While serving as deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce, I led the Green Embassy Program to make foreign offices more energy efficient, and designed clean energy trade missions. As a member of Congress, I will be a strong advocate for green energy policies that combat climate change while spurring new industries and creating thousands of new jobs. I’ll always fight to protect our clean air and water, and the natural environment that makes the South Bay such a wonderful place to live.

Protecting Our Local Environment

Reduce mercury and selenium emissions at Lehigh Cement Plant. The Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant in Cupertino has been the subject of criticism from families across the Bay Area for a number of years, emitting high levels of selenium and mercury. Critics say the plant has also expended other pollutants like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides, and that the sediment it leaks contaminates nearby creeks, threatening our local rainbow trout population and other endangered species.

Plants like Lehigh show that it's necessary for us to implement higher environmental standards, and use the latest technology to substantially decrease emissions. As the representative from the South and East Bay, I'll lead the charge on ensuring plants are up to date and conform to standards. 

Fighting to reduce odor in Milpitas. The Newby Landfill is creating odor in Milpitas and Fremont that is adversely affecting our quality of life. I have been fighting with citizen groups to hold Newby accountable. We need Newby to shut down the compost facility or enclose it and find solutions to mitigate odor. We also need to address other regional causes of odor, including from the San Jose Sewage facility.

Finally, I am categorically opposed to any expansion of Newby.  We need to work to reduce the odors coming from the plant and demand odor mitigation. I will be a strong voice in Congress to make sure that citizens concerns are met regarding the Newby Landfill. I will work towards regional solutions, involving all stakeholders, to solve the odor problem. 

Allow vegetation to grow on levees in the Bay Area. After Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made several changes to their levee standards in an effort to improve public safety. One revision was banning all vegetation from growing on levee systems throughout the country. That regulation is important for levees that hold back huge rivers like the Mississippi, which could be damaged from fallen trees. However, the environment and climate patterns in California are different. We do not have intense and sudden flooding like that caused by hurricanes in other regions of the country. Consequently, our levees only have to last for a few hours during elevated tides caused by storms.

Tidal marshes in California can actually provide significant flood protection benefits by reducing wave energy during storms. In fact, we could reduce our flood protection costs by 50% through marsh restoration efforts. In addition to providing extra protection from storms, the new marshlands would provide habitats for wildlife and endangered species. Congress should leverage its power to change the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s guidelines to be restricted to areas of the country where levees are threatened by vegetation, and let California and other regions with similar climates take advantage of marshlands’ benefits.

Create sustainable communities. In the 17th District cars are largely our transportation mode of choice. While that makes sense given the spread out nature of our communities, it is also important to maintain infrastructure in our cities for safe walking paths, especially for children going to and from school. If more children were able to walk to school – and more adults found it convenient to walk or bike to work – our traffic congestion and air pollution would decrease. It’s critical that that we take a comprehensive approach to making sure public streets and downtown areas can safely accommodate bikers and walkers – and that we have a robust and affordable public transportation system to reduce our dependence on cars.

Unfortunately, federal policies have led to neglecting walking and biking paths in residential areas across the U.S. Congress has the opportunity to reverse this trend by creating an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The office could facilitate and increase grants to local governments to establish or improve walking and biking trails. 

Promote open space and sustainable agriculture. Those of who live and work in Silicon Valley know that there is much more than sprawling campuses and freeways. We also have a rich agricultural history – in fact, before it became known as Silicon Valley, this area was called the Valley of Heart’s Delight. Prior to becoming the capital of technological innovation and manufacturing, it was famous for having some of the most fertile soil in the nation and for its orchards and farms. 

The companies that now call Silicon Valley home – which have fostered development in the area – drive our innovative spirit. But while we cultivate ingenuity, we don’t have to disconnect from our roots. I support projects like the Coyote Valley Agriculture Feasibility Study, which aims to enhance sustainable agriculture in this area while also protecting our open spaces and habitats. As the representative from the 17th District, I will promote partnerships between tech companies and environmental conservation projects.

Tackling Climate Change

Increase fines for oil spills. Under the Clean Water Act, the federal government can impose oil spill fines of as much as $1,100 a barrel or $4,300 a barrel for gross negligence. That’s not enough to compensate for the billions of dollars of cleanup costs and environmental harm that oil spills create. BP, for example, was charged only $4.5 billion in criminal fines and penalties for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico – the world’s largest accidental offshore leak. In contrast, the cleanup costs for the spill totaled tens of billions of dollars, and caused fishing and tourist businesses to lose billions more. BP’s total revenue the next year was $234.25 billion, making the fine a small blip on its bottom line.

We need to ensure that oil companies are more conscientious and safety minded by subjecting them to much steeper penalties. Due diligence also includes adopting the most state-of-the-art oil spill prevention technologies, and giving regulators the authority to hold energy companies accountable.

Expand the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). A provision of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a 30% tax credit for commercial and residential systems. In its first year, the tax credit led to tremendous growth in the U.S. solar industry, and doubled solar electric capacity while making solar the leader of clean energy technologies in venture capital and private equity investment. Based on that success, Congress made a bipartisan vote to extend the tax credit for eight years in 2008.

Extending the tax credit ensured market certainty to investors – annual solar installations have grown by over 3,000% since the ITC began and the industry has created over 114,000 jobs, primarily in small businesses. The price of solar has also drastically decreased, falling 60% just since the beginning of 2011.

It is clear that extending the project through 2016 incentivized companies to make long-term investments in manufacturing capacity, which increased competition and technological innovation while bringing down costs for consumers. However, there is still untapped potential to extend solar’s reach – it currently provides only two-tenths of one percent of total energy consumption in the U.S. Congress should expand the ITC for at least another eight years beyond 2016 to ensure further growth in the industry – leading to more jobs for domestic workers and greater energy independence.

Expand tax credits for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The federal government offers a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of most electric vehicles, and a tax credit up to $7,500 for plug-in hybrids. However, we no longer offer incentives to buy hybrids, even though they are still more expensive than other cars on the market and can be out of reach to the average consumer.

We should expand tax credits to consumers who buy energy efficient vehicles. I also support offering tax incentives and government support to auto manufacturers like Fremont-based Tesla that are committed to making electric cars here in America and bringing down the prices to allow them to be mass produced.

Increase investment in Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).ARPA-E works to advance high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. ARPA-E gives American energy researchers funds for developing new ways to generate, store, and use energy. Investing in these projects creates good paying jobs, grows the economy, and protects the environment. The rate of success and job creation from government investment in ARPA-E has been high and the payoff in energy independence will be invaluable. We must continue searching for alternatives to fossil fuels – expanding ARPA-E’s impact will accelerate our ability to bring breakthrough technologies to market.

Preserving our Air and Water

Prioritize open space. Oftentimes our discussions about creating greener and healthier communities overlook our ultimate infrastructure: open space. Preserving open areas protects our clean air and water, and provides critical wildlife corridors and ecologically sensitive trails that can be enjoyed by community members.

Protecting open spaces requires more action by the federal government. In addition to ensuring that programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides matching grants to state and local governments for the acquisition of public outdoor recreational areas, continue to thrive, Congress must also improve and enforce the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. In the past few years, legislators have made repeated attacks on both landmark pieces of legislation. As a member of Congress, I will lead on defending and bolstering these laws so that all Americans live in healthy communities with clean air and water.

Hold oil and gas corporations accountable. Currently, energy companies are not required to pay for monitoring water quality, nor to disclose the chemicals used while drilling. They should be. While we invest in alternative and green sources of energy for the future, it is essential that the public be made aware of pollutants and the potential environmental impact of oil and gas drilling happening in our communities now.

Apply higher standards and regulations for mercury emissions. The EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for coal- and oil-fired power plants limit emissions of mercury, lead, arsenic, acid gases, dioxins and other toxic pollutants. They prevent as many as 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks, and 130,000 asthma attacks every year. As a member of Congress, I will fight to make sure that these new regulations limiting power plant emissions are quickly implemented, and will never allow industry lobbyists and climate change deniers to threaten our public health.

Implement carbon pollution standards for power plants. Electricity production at power plants is the single-largest domestic source of climate pollution. While there are limits on mercury and toxic pollution at power plants, we do not regulate carbon emissions. I support President Obama’s directive to the EPA to complete carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants by 2016. 

Get Rid of the “Halliburton Loophole” for Fracking. In 2005, the Bush Administration enacted the Energy Policy Act – a law that contained numerous senseless exemptions for companies using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract fossil fuels from the ground. Following a widely criticized 2004 “study”, Vice President and former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney championed a loophole that shielded fracking chemicals from parts of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act. Under the current regulatory framework, there is very limited accountability for the companies using these chemicals and little ability for the federal government to effectively protect major supplies of drinking water. If elected to Congress, I will support legislation to remove the so-called “Halliburton Loophole”. Hydraulic fracturing needs to be subject to the same environment regulations as other fossil fuel extraction techniques.

Enact Moratorium on Fracking Surrounding the Channel Islands. We have a responsibility to protect California’s natural wonders from the potential harm of fossil fuel extraction. I believe we need to be particularly careful with the use of fracking along the coast of California. New oil drilling has been prohibited off of the California coast since the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, but existing platforms can still use fracking. This water is under the jurisdiction of Congress, and until we know the full effects of offshore fracking, I support enacting a moratorium in the waters surrounding the Channel Islands.

A strong middle class has always been the cornerstone of our nation’s success. Unfortunately, middle class families are struggling today due to stagnating or decreasing incomes coupled with growing costs of housing, education, and health care – problems exacerbated by misguided government policies. Hardworking parents shouldn’t have to choose between supporting their children and retiring with dignity. America’s GDP has expanded the most when the middle class was steadily growing; conversely, a shrinking middle class holds back economic growth and increases our budget deficits. To grow the economy in a way that's fair to the middle-class we need to raise the minimum wage, ask the wealthiest income earners to pay their fair share in taxes, and close special interest driven corporate tax loopholes. 

My commitment to working men and women is one of the driving forces behind my decision to enter public service. I stood side-by-side with working families when the National United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant was closing down, marched and advocated for better working conditions with Justice for Janitors, and supported local, statewide, and national efforts to raise the minimum wage. This fight is not just about fairness – it’s about economic opportunity and competitiveness. We are a stronger nation when we have the right workplace policies, and as a member of Congress, growing the middle class will always be my priority.

Increase the Minimum Wage. A higher minimum wage tied to inflation is essential for growing the middle class and for America’s economic prosperity. Congress has never provided an automatic adjustment for inflation, and the minimum wage’s real value has steeply declined. Boosting the minimum wage will help restore consumer spending and generate business growth.

We should raise the minimum wage to $15 – what it would be if it had kept up with inflation over the past 40 years – and index it to inflation thereafter. In the Bay Area where the cost of living is especially high, it is essential for workers to have a baseline of economic security so they can provide for themselves and their families. I am encouraged to see that raising the minimum wage is gaining bipartisan support and I am committed to working with Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to make sure people working full-time in minimum wage jobs can support their families.

Improve training programs for mid-career workers. While canvassing in Fremont, I spoke to a woman who had worked as an administrative assistant for her entire career but was laid off a few years ago. Since then, she has been unable to find work because her technology skills are outdated.

We’re no longer operating in an economy that allows people to work for 30 years at the same job and retire with a pension. Structural changes in the economy make retraining efforts more important than ever. Many workers have expertise in their fields, but do not have affordable opportunities to update their skills. The government has an imperative to make sure that job skills training programs are available to older workers. It’s vital that we increase investment in retraining efforts and support public-private partnerships at our community colleges to get workers the skills they need.

Implement a hiring credit for the long-term unemployed. Too many hardworking Americans who have valuable experience and skills are unemployed for long periods of time because although they are searching, they cannot find jobs. Businesses that operate in areas with high unemployment that hire long-term unemployed workers, middle career workers, out of work veterans, and people receiving the federal earned income tax credit should receive a hiring credit for helping put qualified Americans back on the job.

Implement mandatory paid sick days. Currently, federal law does not guarantee workers the right to paid sick days. As a result, 23% of adults report either being threatened with losing their job or being fired for taking time off when they or a family member get sick. Adults without access to paid sick days are 1.5 times more likely to go to work with a contagious infection or disease, costing the economy $160 billion each year in decreased productivity.

We should guarantee workers the ability to accrue up to seven job-protected, paid sick days per year. This change would provide greater job security to millions of Americans and reduce worker turnover – two changes that would strengthen the middle class.

Simplify the tax code. Over the past 30 years, Congress has designed tax policy that benefits the top one percent of Americans at the expense of working people and their families. The primary goal of any tax code should be to incentivize growth, promote fairness, and raise the revenue necessary to fund public services and critical investments.

As a member of Congress, I will push for comprehensive tax reform to curtail ballooning inequality and make tax credit compliance easier for working families and small businesses. The growth of special deductions, exclusions, and tax breaks for the wealthy increase the time and resources individuals must spend on calculations and documentation requirements to pay their taxes. Congress also needs to reform the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) to protect middle class taxpayers, rather than issue short-term fixes that put hard working families at risk of massive tax hikes every year. What we have right now is an antiquated tax regime that is unfair, hurts our competitiveness, and has been manipulated repeatedly by narrow special interests. I am committed to working across the aisle to make sure we take lobbyists out of writing the tax code and level the playing field for all Americans.

Advocate for American workers. I have worked with unions in several capacities – including helping United Automobile Workers (UAW) secure a $333,000 federal grant for worker retraining programs in Fremont, fighting for fair contracts for janitors with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and protesting unfair labor practices with SEIU airport employees in Oakland. While serving in the Department of Commerce, I pushed to give labor unions a seat at the table as the department discussed long-term economic strategies to improve America’s competitiveness. For our economy to flourish, businesses and unions need to work cooperatively. 

Unions help to strengthen the middle class – they negotiate fair wages and benefits for workers, and ensure they have safe working environments. As a member of Congress, I will look for ways to bring labor unions and businesses together to create profitable companies where workers and investors thrive – just as I did at the Commerce Department.

Make saving for retirement easier and more secure. In addition to Social Security, which provides a baseline of income, middle class Americans depend on private retirement accounts to maintain their standard of living. However, estimates indicate that 59% of middle class retirees will outlive their retirement savings.

We need to expand retirement coverage and improve the quality of available retirement plans. I will push to reform 401(k)s to increase the amount workers are able to save, and to make the plan more secure so that hardworking Americans can retire with peace of mind. 

Support Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Right now we have an opportunity to significantly improve conditions for an estimated 200,000 domestic workers who still don’t have the same basic protections as those in other sectors. California’s Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would extend overtime pay to in-home domestic employees, almost all of whom are women making less than those working outside the home. Although this legislation won’t fix the wage gap immediately, it will ensure fairer pay and provide a sense of security for employees who are repeatedly undercompensated for working more than the standard workweek.

Paying higher wages will stabilize the labor supply for domestic service by attracting more qualified people to assume and remain in these jobs. In addition to helping the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers and the people they care for, the Bill of Rights will boost wages across the economy, barring the domestic sector from undercutting wages for other jobs. With widespread benefits, it’s clear that this legislation is a step toward providing American workers with what they need most: a raise. 

I am committed to ensuring that women are treated fairly and have an equal opportunity to build a strong economic future for themselves and their families. Having successful women in every sector of the economy moves America forward – bolstering our position as a social and economic leader in the 21st century.

As a board member of Planned Parenthood of Mar Monte, I have long been an advocate for giving women more control over their health. But ensuring a woman’s right to make the healthcare decisions that are right for her and her family is not sufficient to fulfill our country’s promise as a land of opportunity.

As a member of Congress from Silicon Valley, I will continue to fight for forward-looking policies that give women economic independence, ensure work-family balance, and close discriminatory gender gaps wherever they exist. 

Now, more than ever, we must enact common-sense gun control legislation. Americans attending school, going to a theater, or going to church services should not have to fear for their lives. We must enact policies that will save lives.

I support banning AR 15s and a broader assault weapons ban. AR-15’s have been used in mass killings such as Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, and Stoneman Douglas. We cannot allow more deaths caused by these dangerous weapons of war.

I support regulating the size of magazines. A shooter that has to reload his weapon can be the difference between life and death for a victim trying to escape.

I support strengthening background checks, and was proud to cast my vote for H.R. 8. The shooter who killed 23 in Sutherland Springs Texas had a domestic violence conviction and had been dishonorably discharged. We need a stronger background check system to prevent weapons from getting into the hands of those who seek to harm others.

I support establishing a select House committee to tackle gun violence. Congress must do all that it can to prevent violence by studying the root of past shootings and how to prevent them in the future.

I support the funding of CDC studies of gun violence. The CDC must be allowed to investigate how gun violence can be prevented and reduced. That is why I am co-sponsoring HR 1478 to repeal the ban on CDC gun research.

More than almost anything else, our health has a tremendous impact on our day-to-day activities, state of mind, and overall wellbeing. Good health is foundational to everything else we do – our ability to take care of our families, be productive at work, and pursue our passions and hobbies. Here are five core beliefs that I have on health care:

I support Medicare for All and remain committed to making it a reality. I supported HR 1384, which would guarantee health care for under a single payer system. This would involve removing Big Pharma profits, hospital monopolies and facility fees from the equation, saving nearly $17 trillion in fees. 

I support legislation to allow for the importation of drugs from nations that we trust. I was an original co-sponsor of legislation to allow for the importation of Canadian drugs. In 2014, Americans spent $1,112 per person on prescription drugs, nearly $400 more than Canadians. 

I support legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate for more reasonable drug prices. I support legislation that will allow Americans below the age of 65 to buy into Medicare. I am a co-sponsor of HR 3748 which allows Americans to buy into the system, saving them money through reduced fees and premiums.

I will fight to reduce pharmaceutical, insurance and hospital fee costs. Many Big Pharma companies exploit Americans by hiking the prices of critical drugs that customers need to survive. That is why I co-sponsored HR 2974 the Stop Price Gouging Act. This bill will reduce price spikes by placing an excise tax on certain prescription drugs with quickly rising prices.

I support legislation that will allow Americans below the age of 65 to buy into Medicare. Last Congress, I co-sponsored HR 3748 which allows Americans to buy into the system, saving them money through reduced fees and premiums.

I support investement in wellness and preventive care. 

My family’s history is similar to the story I’ve heard from many people in this district. When my parents came to America, it was with the commitment to work hard in the country that guaranteed them economic opportunity. As a substitute teacher in public schools, my mother helped motivate the next generation to succeed; as a chemical engineer, my father pushed progress in technical innovation. But the biggest reason my parents wanted to come to the United States was their hope of creating a better future for my brother and for me. From the time we were very young, my parents emphasized the importance of hard work and public service. 

America is the only place I’ve ever known, and I believe in the unalienable rights defined by our founding fathers. I was lucky enough to be born here in the United States, so citizenship was never something I worried about. But I can empathize with how it must feel to be an American in spirit – but to not be a citizen based on birthplace. We have an economic and moral obligation to give DREAMers a pathway to citizenship.

Immigration reform and economic growth go hand in hand. Immigrants have been essential to Silicon Valley’s innovative and meritocratic ethos. They have founded 40% of the companies in the tech sector that were financed by venture capital and then went public in the United States – including Yahoo, eBay, Intel, and Google – creating jobs and making our business culture more dynamic. To continue as the world’s incubator for innovation, we need to encourage the most talented and motivated people to locate here in Silicon Valley.

 

Champion Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Reinstate DACA and give DREAMers legal status right away. In 2012 President Obama implemented DACA, a deferred action program, which offered a two-year reprieve from the threat of deportation to young adults. That’s a band-aid measure on an issue that is affecting millions of hardworking and law biding residents of this country. Congress needs work together and pass legislation to give young adults the ability to quickly receive provisional legal status, allowing them to live and work freely in this country, and streamline the process of applying for a green card, permanent legal residency, and finally citizenship.

Implement a pathway to citizenship for adults. There are 11 million undocumented immigrants living in our country who work in a variety of industries that boost our economy. They pay sales taxes – many also pay income taxes, and other federal, state, and local taxes. Estimates show that undocumented immigrants pay about $7 billion into Social Security.

Immigrants who have already contributed so much to our country and want to become citizens should be able to do so. They should be granted provisional legal status, putting them on the road to receiving a green card and U.S. citizenship. It’s not only our moral obligation, but also an economic imperative.

Protect family reunification visas. While the passage of the Senate’s bipartisan bill is commendable, I am disappointed that family reunification visas were not included. Family reunification is a long-standing policy of the U.S., and the removal of sibling visas and reduction of adult married children visas is an unnecessary hit to hardworking families of the 17th district who want to unite with their loved ones here in America. 

Implement a guest worker visa. Having a strong contingency of workers is essential for our country’s success, and I commend the provision in the Senate bill that grants visas to 200,000 low-skilled workers per year to fill construction, long-term care, and hospitality jobs. Additionally, the bill does right by agriculture workers who have already worked in the industry for at least two years by letting them apply for green cards in five years if they continue working in our country’s breadboxes.

Provide political asylum for emigrants. Since World War II, more refugees have come to the United States seeking protection than to any other country – two million have arrived here just since 1980. Our nation was founded on the ideal that everyone is created equal, and our willingness to take in and provide shelter to those facing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinion reinforces the United States as a beacon for freedom.

While it is important to retain our standard of granting refuge to those able to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country, we should also cut the bureaucratic inefficiency from the asylum process. We should eliminate the one-year deadline for filing an asylum application and expand who is qualified for “derivative” asylum status to include the children of the spouse in addition to the grandchildren of the individual given asylum. These changes would extend our capacity to improve human rights to individuals around the world who suffer at the hands of unjust governments and state actors.

Providing equal rights for LGBTQ individuals is something that I will never compromise on. Our founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence and Constitution recognizing the fundamental importance of equality. But we have failed to live up to this ideal – the denial of equal and full rights to all Americans continues to be a source of great injustice in our society. Even though we have a long road ahead, I was encouraged by the Supreme Court’s ruling that affirmed that all loving and committed couples who marry deserve equal respect and treatment under federal law, in addition to its ruling on California’s Proposition 8, allowing same sex marriage to resume in our state.

Progress toward marriage equality in our country is evident, but there is much more to do in order to ensure full equality for LGBTQ Americans. We must address workplace discrimination, youth homelessness, school bullying, and health disparities affecting LGBTQ communities.

Overturn the Transgender Military Ban. The ban on transgender individuals serving in the military is narrow-minded and wrong. The arguments that it is too expensive or that transgender troops will impact the readiness of our Armed Forces is simply not true. I was proud to cast my vote to block funding for the ban, and will continue my work on the Armed Services Committee and in Congress to reverse this ban and ensure that anyone who wants to serve their country is able to, regardless of their gender identity. 

Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Federal law does not protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and 4.3 million LGBTQ workers live in states without those laws. Studies indicate that 11-28% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people have been denied promotions due to sexual orientation, while more than 25% of transgender individuals report having lost a job due to gender identity.

ENDA would provide basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by extending existent federal employment discrimination protections on race, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability. ENDA has been proposed in almost every session of Congress since 1994 – it’s time to pass it. In the meantime, I encourage President Obama to issue an executive order to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against LGBTQ workers.

Amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) to prohibit LGBTQ discrimination. 40% of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. This rate can be attributed to high incidences of family conflict and abandonment, school bullying, and lacking support services for LGBTQ homeless youth. Statistically, LGBTQ homeless youth face more than twice the family discrimination rate experienced by their non-LGBTQ counterparts, and make more than double the suicide attempts. Due to mistreatment and discrimination, LGBTQ homeless youth are often prevented from accessing the full benefits of child welfare programs including foster care and homeless shelters.

RHYA awards federal grants to public and private organizations dedicated to assisting homeless youth, but does not have a provision addressing LGBTQ minors. Congress should amend RHYA to preclude all organizations receiving grants from discriminating against the youth they serve on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Implement federal protections to prevent bullying in schools. Six out of 10 lesbian, gay, and bisexual students and eight out of 10 transgender students report feeling unsafe at school, and 85% of LGBTQ students report experiencing harassment due to sexual or gender identity. Additionally, LGBTQ youth face disproportionate victimization from harsh school discipline policies, putting them at greater risk for ending up in the juvenile justice system. While composing only 5-7% of our nation’s youth population, LGBTQ youth represent 13-15% of the juvenile justice population.

We need to improve federal safeguards against bullying targeting LGBTQ students in public schools, as federal law currently does not prohibit sexual orientation- or gender identity- based discrimination. It is essential that they be added to the existing list of federally protected bases of discrimination. We should also implement measures to withdraw funding from public schools that condone discrimination.

Address health care disparities. Several health issues disproportionately plague LGBTQ populations. Gay and bisexual men are at increased risk for several types of cancer, and lesbian and bisexual women face higher rates of breast cancer. Forty-one percent of transgender people have attempted suicide at some point in their lives – a rate more than 25 times higher than our country’s general population. Additionally, the uninsured rate is significantly higher within transgender and bisexual populations compared to the rest of America.

Once implemented, the Affordable Care Act will address some health disparities LGBTQ individuals face, but there is further room for improvement. We need to implement routine data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity in order to improve health within the LGBTQ community. Additionally, cultural competency training should be required for health care providers.

I know we need to strengthen and defend Social Security and Medicare. As a member of Congress, I will continue my fight to: 

Protect the retirement age.

Support increasing benefits for seniors to keep up with the high cost of living.

Hold healthcare providers and insurers accountable for cutting costs.

Make sure that seniors get every penny of the benefits that they worked for, and oppose efforts to slash Medicare and Social Security.

Protecting Social Security and Medicare is more than just “politics” to me. Like millions of Americans who worked hard and paid into those programs, my parents are retired and rely on Social Security and Medicare today. I believe strongly that they and all of our senior citizens deserve the dignity of a secure retirement in their golden years.

It’s critical that benefits keep up with the rising cost of living – especially in expensive areas like the Bay Area. Unfortunately, many seniors I talk to in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties are struggling to make ends meet. Seniors have told me about having to forgo medications because they can’t afford them. Even those that are better are off are greatly concerned about whether the Social Security and Medicare benefits they paid into for years will remain available to them. 

When I am in Congress, I will work to support increasing Social Security benefits.  We can pay for this by scrapping the cap.  I support Senator Sanders plan to scrap the cap so that everyone who makes over $250,000 pays the same percentage of their income as middle class families.  This would allow us to expand benefits for seniors so that they can keep up with the soaring cost of living in the Bay Area.

Social Security

Protect the retirement age. Many politicians argue for raising the retirement age for Social Security because Americans are living longer and spending more years in retirement than they did when the program was established. However, increasing the retirement age is not the best way to protect the program – and it is a proposal that would unfairly place the burden of solvency on the backs of middle class working families. Raising the retirement age would harm those employed in physically demanding jobs, in addition to those with poor health, disabilities, or in low-income groups where life expectancy has not increased by much. As a member of Congress, I will not support any plan that increases the retirement age.

Eliminate the payroll tax cap for millionaires. While I commend President Obama's courage in addressing the need to ensure Social Security's solvency in the long-term, I respectfully disagree with his proposal to move the system toward the so-called “chained C.P.I.” That change would reduce benefits for current recipients, which I strongly oppose. 

I propose eliminating the current payroll tax cap for incomes above $250,000 a year, asking the wealthiest among us to pay a bit more to ensure the long-term solvency of the program. Those earning between $117,000 and $250,000 would be exempt from any payroll tax increase, so that middle class families in the Bay Area – working two jobs, struggling to pay their mortgage or to send kids to college – are not subject to a harmful tax increase. 

Medicare

Allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Medicare leaves it to private insurance companies to negotiate prices with drug makers. The Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicaid, on the other hand, are allowed to bargain for their prescription drug costs, resulting in lower prices.

Estimates show that if Medicare were allowed to negotiate directly with prescription drug manufacturers, savings could total up to $541.3 billion over the next decade. Congress should immediately change the law to allow them to do so.

Improve Medicare’s transparency. Our health care system wastes as much as one-third of its spending due to inefficient payment systems, mistakes, duplication, and unnecessary paperwork. Medicare alone squandered $44 billion in improper payments in 2012.  

The government is currently prevented from releasing data on payments to Medicare providers. But Americans should know how their public funds are being spent. Releasing payment data would increase the transparency of the system, allowing members of the public – including journalists – to be watchdogs over fraud and improper payments, potentially saving significant amounts of money in the Medicare program.

Cut costs of American health care. American health costs are the most expensive in the world, but our health care outcomes are not better than other countries’. The World Health Organization ranks the American health system 37th out of those in 191 nations.There are several commonsense initiatives we can take to decrease our health care costs. First, generic drugs should be brought to market faster. Some pharmaceutical companies pay generic drug manufactures to slow the speed with which they start selling their products so that they keep a monopoly on the market for longer, keeping health care costs high. A recent Supreme Court decision, Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, could make it more difficult for pharmaceutical companies to extend their exclusivity. Meanwhile, Congress members should pressure pharmaceutical companies to employ fair market practices.

Second, as the Affordable Care Act is implemented, we should hold health care providers and insurers accountable for reducing fraud and waste. The Institute of Medicine estimates that the U.S. health system wastes up to $750 billion on things like unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, and fraud.

Our nation has been at war for over a decade, and we are all indebted to the men and women who served and continue serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas around the world. From enlistment onwards, it’s critical that we guarantee our personnel the resources and training necessary to be effective in the military, as well as in civilian life. Too many veterans have difficulty reintegrating to a life outside of service – oftentimes going without necessary medical care and proper assistance when applying for jobs. As we continue to untangle ourselves from conflicts abroad, it’s important that we recommit ourselves to supporting our veterans.

Expand job training and retraining programs. I’ve talked to many veterans in the Bay Area who have had a difficult time finding employment after returning home. In many cases the certifications that service members receive in the military don’t translate to private sector jobs. By giving these certifications standing in the civilian sector, we can match veterans to job openings for which they are already well prepared. Additionally, the government has an imperative to increase our investment in job training and retraining programs for veterans through private-public partnerships with community colleges and companies.

I'm proud to have my bill, the VALOR Act, signed into law during the 115th Congress. By creating a more efficient process of hiring veterans, more companies will now be able to grant apprenticeships for those who served without having to deal with burdensome administrative hurdles. By training veterans for 21st century jobs, they are able to transition back into civilian life without having to worry about ending up jobless. 

I support expanding the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), an initiative through the Department of Veterans Affairs that grants unemployed veterans up to 12 months of paid benefits to retrain in a field where they can find employment. Unfortunately, the program is limited in scope. We need to expand the initiative so that all out-of-work veterans can utilize the retraining.

Create more jobs and streamline the employment process. I support offering a tax credit to businesses that hire veterans, which will incentivize more companies to look to veterans when making hiring decisions. Additionally, the federal government should expand its outreach efforts to companies to encourage them to post job openings on Veterans Job Bank, a central source where veterans can search for employment opportunities.

Increase training opportunities for veterans to become first responders. Many of the skills one learns in the military – including the ability to work in teams and in high stress environments – are critical to police officers and firefighters. Those careers are natural choices for veterans, but they need more help getting the necessary supplemental training. The Department of Justice already commits grants to two programs, Vets 2 Cops and Vets 2 Firefighters, which assist veterans interested in pursuing those careers. The funding for this program should be increased, and metrics should be set to account for and grow the number of veterans the program is able to help transition to these careers each year.

Improve health care services for veterans. We currently have a mental health crisis among our servicemen and women – one active duty members takes his or her own life almost every day, and one veteran does so almost every hour. We must fulfill our commitment to our service members by providing them with the care and counseling they need. This includes improving training for health care professionals about how to recognize and treat medical problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, and other combat-related issues.

I also believe that we can better leverage technology to help veterans receive the health care they need. The VA’s continued reliance on paper record keeping has caused the backlog of veterans’ claims to grow exponentially in recent years. By digitizing these records we can ensure that our veterans get the care they deserve in a timely and effective manner.

We should also incentivize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase its telehealth capabilities. Many veterans do not live in areas where they have easy access to health care facilities, or feel uncomfortable going to medical centers. Technology allows veterans to meet with primary care physicians and specialists without leaving their homes. Already, efforts to increase veterans’ remote access to medical professionals and services have decreased inpatient bed days by 58% and admissions by 38%.

Increase support for military families. It’s not only veterans who bear the cost of service – military families also make innumerable sacrifices to keep us safe. Many military spouses frequently move from one region of the country to another as their spouses are assigned to new duty stations. Additionally, military children who move when a parent is reassigned face difficulties transferring records, securing space in courses, maintaining extra-curricular activities, and completing required testing on time.

While we expand support for service members and veterans, we cannot forget about their family members. We must prioritize expanding employment and career development opportunities for military families, help employers create military family-friendly workplaces, and encourage schools to become more responsive to students with one or more parent in the military.