Don Samuels

Civil Rights

Support and co-sponsor HR 15: Equality Act which prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity with respect to business, employment, housing, federally funded programs, and other settings. Learn more

Support the Equality Act to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, education, and numerous other areas. Learn more

Support legislation to confront the recent rise in anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia. Hate and bigotry have no home here. Learn more

Support a bipartisan effort to push for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Learn more

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

I will also support legislation that changes the way federal courts deal with non-violent, drug-related crimes and work with state and local leaders who seek to reform their own courts as well. Learn more

Our communities demand safety and accountability—and I will support legislation that will ensure public confidence in our police departments. Learn more

Funding programs that divert non-violent offenders away from prison and into rehabilitation or work programs. Learn more

Providing federal funding and assistance to municipalities who build their police forces from within their own communities, ensuring that police officers have a stake in the neighborhoods they are sworn to protect and serve and ensuring a path to fill policing vacancies. Learn more

To this end, I will support legislation that guarantees dignity for the detained, as well as supports their reentry into society. Learn more

I believe we must reform policing to ensure those tasked with keeping us safe don’t abuse their power, but I also recognize the tremendous progress that has been made to improve policing and the sacrifices individuals made in striving for that progress. Learn more

Ending mandatory drug sentencing. Learn more

Full restoration of voting rights for felons after their sentence concludes because a shunned citizen has less to lose. Learn more

Programs designed to research and reduce the causes of recidivism. Learn more

Further reducing the disparity in mandatory sentencing between cocaine and crack cocaine, which currently stands at 18-1. Learn more

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act which holds law enforcement officers accountable for misconduct in courts of law, improves transparency amongst police departments and reforms police training and policies. Learn more

Funds intervention and rehabilitation programs for drug-related crimes. Learn more

Programs in federal prison that focus on rehabilitative measures. Learn more

Education for incarcerated individuals. Learn more

The Amir Locke End Deadly No-Knock Warrants Act which will place restrictions on the use of no-knock warrants in drug-related crimes. Learn more

Drug Policy

To address this issue, we also must first stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. According to the DEA; China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States. We must use all diplomatic and economic tools at our disposal to halt this trafficking. Learn more

Ends the prohibition on marijuana. Learn more

I will fight in Congress to confront this crisis head-on and will help to elevate this issue to the priority that it is. Learn more

Economy

Create a pilot program to encourage cities to loosen zoning restrictions to allow small businesses that support community needs to open in more neighborhoods. Cities would get federal grants to allow community-focused corner stores in residential neighborhoods, or to create more ‘neighborhood nodes’ where small businesses can cluster within walking distance of residential areas. Learn more

I believe we must work to create a fairer economy where every American has an equal opportunity to succeed and is paid fairly for their labor. It’s about time that the middle class got to share in the prosperity they helped create. Learn more

We must focus on the forgotten people in forgotten places. We need to move beyond subsistence programs and bottom-feeding jobs. And we need to retrain people whose skill base is less needed as we shift into the new economy. We can no longer afford to have any people on the sidelines to be competitive in the global economy. Learn more

We need to tie education to work in a meaningful way, starting early in life. Kids start playing hockey at four or five; they should start educational training as well, ensuring our most vulnerable kids have access to STEM and computing programs. The workers of tomorrow are middle schoolers now; the workers of the future are our toddlers. Education decides the redistribution of wealth; either a person is making money, or others will make money off of them. Learn more

A focus on easier paths to home ownership and access to capital. This is the basis of stability and intergenerational wealth and prosperity. Homeownership is a major step into the middle class, creating financial and community stability. Learn more

Building on the investments of Biden initiatives like the CHIPS Act, which help create a future where America isn’t competing for low-wage manufacturing, but instead for the essential products of the future. Learn more

Education

Making two-year colleges and technical schools tuition-free. Learn more

Increasing access to affordable workforce training for Americans whose path to full employment does not require a four-year degree. Learn more

Any successful education policy should focus on four critical areas to make sure we are addressing these issues effectively and setting our children up for success. They are: early learning, kindergarten through twelfth grade, higher education, and the needs of students’ families. Learn more

Properly funding federal requirements, like those for special education, that guarantee schools are serving children well. Learn more

Investing in high-quality early learning, especially for our learners from low-income families. Money invested this way yields a return on investment of at least seven to one. Learn more

Increasing teacher effectiveness and diversity by creating targeted educator loan forgiveness programs and investing in pathways to the classroom that help recruit and retain effective teachers of color. Learn more

Building an equitable foundation under our children’s learning needs, such as adequate nutrition and effectively addressing special needs by fully funding the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and quality, affordable childcare. Learn more

Increasing high school graduation rates by requiring schools to catch students early and give those who are not on track to graduate the support they need to graduate on time. Learn more

Expanding programs to forgive student loan debt through programs like the 10-year public service loan forgiveness programs. Learn more

Environment / Energy

Recognizing the potential economic benefit of addressing climate change. Clean energy jobs are already growing at twice the rate of other jobs. And we can decide to prioritize growth in this sector even further, creating more high-paying union jobs, especially in traditionally marginalized communities. This will address economic disparities and shift us into a new economy at a time when focusing on environmental crises is critically needed. Learn more

Supporting programs that provide education about sound stewardship of natural resources for future generations. Learn more

Ensuring that mining proposals are rigorously assessed for their environmental impact. With the transition to renewable energy and beneficial electrification, our need for metals like copper will increase. I will oppose proposals that fail to prove that mining will not cause harm to our environment or cherished natural resources. Learn more

Support President Biden’s federally funded American Climate Corps program that trains people in the abilities and skills needed to transition the economy toward an environmentally sustainable future. The American Climate Corps should focus on uplifting underemployed and economically disadvantaged people as a way to both provide good jobs and leap-frog us into this critically needed new direction. Learn more

Transitioning electricity production away from fossil fuels. Electricity accounts for approximately 28% of our carbon footprint. By creating an electrical power grid that relies on wind, solar and nuclear, we can end our dependence on oil, natural gas, and coal. Distributed renewable energy makes off-shore drilling, fracking, and massive pipelines unnecessary – further protecting the environment from harm. Learn more

Delivering on environmental justice for all people, living organisms, and the planet. Too often, marginalized people and communities bear the burden of pollution in their air and water, environmental degradation, and displacement. We must do better – together. All policies must consider historic inequities and learn from the past as we work to create inclusive policies and programs going forward. I will support legislation that does this, and I will oppose legislation that does not. Learn more

Guns

Additional federal funding for gun interdiction programs. Learn more

States being required to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System. Currently, state reporting to NICS is voluntary. The FBI estimates over 3,000 gun sales occur annually where the purchaser would have been prohibited from purchasing guns by state or federal laws. Learn more

Permanent bans on assault-style weapons and the after-market modifications that allow weapons of war to be used on our streets. Learn more

Universal background checks for all gun sales. Learn more

Permanent bans on 3D-printed guns, or “ghost guns.”. Learn more

Better funding for mental health programs and the utilization of red-flag laws to temporarily restrict access to firearms for those who might do harm to those around them. Learn more

Healthcare

Backing our own Senator Klobuchar’s proposals to expand access to generic drugs, and to allow Americans to import lower-priced drugs from Canada. Learn more

Working to expand access to mental health services, with an emphasis on youth, addiction and underserved populations. Learn more

Enhancing programs already underway by passing the Resident Physician Shortage Act to ensure access to primary care for marginalized and underserved populations. Learn more

Allowing CMS (the federal office that runs Medicare and Medicaid) to leverage its formidable purchasing power to negotiate prices with drug companies and device manufacturers. Private insurers in the US typically follow the CMS lead, so if Congress allows CMS to negotiate, the lower costs will flow to everyone. Learn more

While I support policies that move our nation toward the type of universal care afforded to citizens of many other nations, including neighboring Canada and Mexico, I believe we have an immediate duty to protect and strengthen President Barack Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA). Learn more

Making permanent the expanded federal subsidies for private insurance purchased on the ACA marketplace, and which ensured that nobody would pay more than 8.5% of their income on out-of-pocket medical costs. President Biden enacted these changes by signing the COVID-related American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021; these were important changes that we should make permanent, even as COVID recedes. Learn more

Supporting passage of the Affordable Insulin Now Act, authored by Minnesota’s Representative Angie Craig, which would cap insulin costs at whichever is less, 35 monthly or 25% of an insurance plan’s negotiated rate. Learn more

Support the rebasing of Medicare reimbursement rates, which improves financial reimbursements for hospitals serving Medicare patients. Learn more

Funds research on addiction and treatment. Learn more

Including a “public option” in the ACA marketplace: a high-quality government-run health insurance plan that would compete with the plans offered by private insurance companies. The plan would automatically enroll the uninsured, who could opt out if they choose. Similarly, people could choose to opt out of their employer-sponsored private insurance and opt into the government-run plan. It essentially is “Medicare for All Who Want It”, giving people access to government-run health insurance but not forcing them into it. Learn more

Housing

Incentivize cities to enact pro-housing zoning reforms and eliminate restrictive zoning policies like single-family zoning, which enforce one-size-fits-all housing across entire neighborhoods. Learn more

I will take Minneapolis’ pro-housing vision to Washington and will work to enact policies to bring down housing costs, increase support for low-income renters, and encourage developers to build more quality, affordable housing rather than chasing them away with rent control and red tape. Learn more

Create a federal Renter’s Tax Credit to provide tax relief for low- and middle-income renters who spend over 30% of their income on rent. Learn more

Reform federal housing programs to make it easier for small and first-time developers and landlords to take advantage of federal grants, loans and tax incentives. This is crucial for expanding “missing-middle housing”–like townhomes, row houses and duplexes–that will provide an alternative to big apartment buildings managed by corporate landlords. Learn more

Increase funding for federal programs, like the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, that provide tax breaks to developers who commit to making a percentage of their units affordable for low-income renters. Learn more

Immigration

However, immigration is a crucial strength of the nation, and rather than turning on immigration in general, we must turn against our current broken immigration system. Stronger border enforcement must be tied to an expansion of legal immigration and funding for the systems that facilitate that expansion. Learn more

Closes immigration facilities that do not meet humanitarian standards set by the American Bar Association and ends partnerships with for-profit detention centers. Learn more

A substantial increase in funding for immigration courts. There are more than three million cases currently pending in the immigration courts, and nowhere near enough resources to handle this caseload. Learn more

Creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the United States, prioritizing those who’ve been living in the country the longest and have been law-abiding during their time here. Learn more

Social Services

We must also protect Medicare from privatization, close the loopholes that cost seniors millions of dollars each year, and ensure that Medicare is able to cover a wider range of generic drugs and negotiate fairer drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Learn more

Support a bipartisan effort to push for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Learn more