Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives - New Jersey 2nd Congressional District in 2020 New Jersey General Election.
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Get StartedOur jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide people with treatments and support they need, leaving too many incarcerated people in crisis or unable to reenter their communities. We should also expand mental health and drug courts, which allow people to enroll in long-term treatment and recovery programs instead of receiving jail sentences. And we should provide mental health and addiction screenings for everyone who comes in contact with the justice system so that we can identify treatment needs and opportunities for rehabilitation. Learn more
Make sure that all returning veterans and active-duty military are screened for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health and addiction challenges. Learn more
Increase outreach to veterans to connect them with services, including by using other veterans in outreach and support. Learn more
Hire more mental health professionals within the Veterans Administration. Learn more
End veterans’ homelessness by making sure that every veteran has access to safe, supportive housing. Learn more
I am also wholeheartedly in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. I am outraged by how the overzealous prosecution of those possessing even small amounts has disproportionately impacted people of color. We should expunge criminal records of nonviolent possession charges and invest in the communities most hurt by unjust, unequal, and unnecessary enforcement. Learn more
I will be a champion for our students, educators, and support professionals in Congress. That means working to increase teacher pay, reduce class sizes, improve school infrastructure, and make free preschool available to every child in America. Learn more
I believe that every student should be able to afford a college education or industry-credentialed training program that leads to a high-paying job. We already have great higher education models in South Jersey, from the Cumberland County Technical Education Center to Rowan University. But we need to do more to ensure that college and training programs remain a pathway to future success—not a pathway to crushing debt. Learn more
Protecting South Jersey’s environment is critical to both our economy and our identity. In Congress, I will fight to protect our air, land, water, and shores and make our communities more resilient. I will also work to accelerate the transition to clean and carbon-neutral energy, so we can meet the targets necessary to avoid the most serious impacts of climate change. And I will stand up to fossil-fuel lobbyists and other big polluters who put profits before people—and whose degradation of our environment disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. Learn more
In Congress, I will always fight to protect Americans’ health care. I will work to improve the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and protect coverage for preexisting conditions. I will stand up to pharmaceutical and health insurance companies to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs. And I will fight to protect and expand Medicare and Medicaid, so that everyone that wants to, can buy insurance coverage. Learn more
I believe that our country must respond to the mental health and addiction crisis with the same urgency that we finally used to respond to other crises like HIV/AIDs. To do so, Congress needs to make mental health and addiction a national priority. We must partner with state and local governments, providing the resources they need to protect and heal our communities. We must respond with conviction, determination, and hope. Learn more
We need a smarter tax system that is fair to businesses and working people. As a first step, we should restore taxpayers’ ability to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal tax bill. When Republicans capped this deduction, they raised taxes on thousands of families in this district—and penalized New Jerseyans for investing in our roads and schools. We also need to make sure that our tax code rewards businesses that make investments and create good-paying jobs. And we should reform our tax code so that, instead of providing giveaways to wealthy corporations, it puts working families first. Learn more
I will always support the right to organize and bargain collectively, and I will never back down from that commitment. But it is not enough to protect the rights we already have—especially after decades of attacks by Republicans, corporations, and the courts. We need to make it easier for workers to organize. We need to expand and grow unions and increase their bargaining power. And when corporations violate workers’ rights, we need to hold them accountable. Learn more
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