Morgan McGarvey

Drug Policy

I support full legalization and decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level. Full legalization will not only create economic growth and tax revenue from a new, booming industry for Kentucky – it will also decrease our prison population, save millions in taxpayer dollars spent on incarceration, and undo decades of racist, unnecessary criminal convictions. Even though white and Black populations use marijuana at the same rates, Black people are exponentially more likely to be incarcerated for the same crime. Any bill that legalizes marijuana must also ensure that the legalization process commutes sentences and expunged convictions of low level offenders, and that profits from marijuana go to the communities most harmed by unfair drug laws and policing practices. Learn more

Economy

The United States needs policies that grow our economy from the bottom up, by expanding the middle class with good-paying jobs that can support a family. In Congress, I will work to build an economy in which workers can thrive and get ahead, including by increasing wages, protecting workers’ rights to collectively bargain, and making it possible to raise a family while participating in the workforce. Learn more

Education

Especially now, our teachers and public education employees deserve our gratitude and a raise, as they have taken care of our loved ones and risked their own health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more

At the federal level, it is time for the United States to expand public education to include universal pre-Kindergarten and free community college so that every Kentuckian can gain access to the skills they need to get a good, family-supporting job. I further believe we must sufficiently fund our public universities to make them affordable for all Americans. Learn more

Environment / Energy

I support federal spending and tax incentives to dramatically expand renewable energy buildout in the United States, infrastructure spending to speed the deployment of electric vehicles, and tax incentives for consumer purchase of union-made and American-made electric vehicles. I support a federal clean energy standard that incentivizes investor-owned electric utilities to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions while creating millions of good-paying jobs to build the clean energy infrastructure necessary to make this transition. And I will fight for federal spending to incentivize rural electric cooperatives to transition to clean, renewable energy by relieving debt associated with coal-fired power plants, and conditioning such relief upon the coop’s investment in a clean energy transition. Learn more

Government Reform

The United States’ long history of racist economic policies has created a racial wealth gap between white Americans and Black and brown communities. I believe that it is the federal government’s duty to implement policies that acknowledge and address the systemic racism that is endemic in so much of our daily lives – from the education system to the justice system to banking, housing, and health care. Learn more

In Congress, I will be a voice to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of LGBTQ Americans. I will be a vote for and a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, as well as the LGBTQ Youth Act, which expands programs that prevent and treat child abuse and neglect to address issues facing LGBTQ Youth. Learn more

Healthcare

When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and Kentucky expanded Medicaid, we brought health insurance coverage to over 400,000 Kentuckians, many for the first time. It was a game changer for thousands of families in our commonwealth and was one of the greatest economic development policies ever passed in our state. But there is still more work to be done. We need to shore up our rural health care systems. We must allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. We must expand health insurance coverage to include vision, dental, and hearing. In Congress, I will continue this work to ensure that all Kentuckians have health care coverage that allows them to regularly see a doctor, access affordable prescription medication, and survive an emergency or catastrophic health diagnosis without incurring financial hardship. Learn more

I believe health care is a basic human right. No one should receive a diagnosis and have to worry about going bankrupt, or be forced to choose between their prescription medications and paying for groceries. That’s why I support Medicare for All to ensure that everyone is covered with quality, affordable, accessible care. Learn more

Immigration

Immigration reform must reflect America’s democratic ideals and not create a second class of workers. A broad path to citizenship must be the centerpiece to any serious immigration reform that moves 11 million people out of the shadows. Instead of supporting commonsense, bipartisan reforms, too many in the other party want to make it hard for undocumented women to report crimes under the Violence Against Women Act, want to turn Census workers into immigration agents to reduce resources to communities in need, and want to force local law enforcement to take over immigration enforcement from the federal government instead of making our national immigration authorities better. All of these approaches are wrong and I will oppose them in Congress while fighting for comprehensive reform that provides a pathway to citizenship. Learn more

Legislation

Our democracy works best when we hear from all Americans, and we need voting reform that allows more Americans to vote. Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to guarantee access to the ballot for all Americans. We must expand absentee voting, allow for automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, allow for early voting and ballot dropboxes to make it more convenient for more people to vote, and make election day a federal holiday. Learn more

We must also address the disparities with which Black Kentuckians are treated by police and by our criminal justice system. I support passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to ban some of the worst practices we’ve seen in policing and to take a step toward ending police brutality. After Breonna Taylor was killed by police in Louisville in the spring of 2020, I was proud to vote for a ban on no-knock warrants in Kentucky in Frankfort. I support a federal ban on no-knock warrants in Congress. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

And because I am serious about ending generational poverty, I support making the Child Tax Credit permanent. While it was in effect, the Child Tax Credit lifted nearly 4 million children out of poverty. Cutting child poverty has positive effects in both the immediate and long term. Aside from the immediate effect of giving families the resources they need to survive and thrive, It is associated with better lifelong outcomes for children in education, earnings in adulthood, and health. Learn more

Wages / Job Benefits

I support increasing the federal minimum wage to 15/hour, and then indexing the minimum wage to inflation so that workers don’t start falling behind the moment they get a raise. And I believe we should require equal pay for equal work. I’ve proposed such an increase as the law in Kentucky and think it should be the law everywhere in our country. Learn more

But we need more than just the PRO Act. In Congress, I will fight to ensure that the investments we make in infrastructure, expanded public education, renewable energy, and electric vehicles and batteries – like those that will be made in the proposed Ford plant in Hardin County – go to companies with union workforces. When we’ve seen real economic growth in this country; it has come because we have had a government willing to invest in our country’s infrastructure, and we have had union density near 35%. In Congress, I will be a vote and an advocate for ensuring that we get back to both. Learn more

In Congress, I will step up to level the playing field between workers and employers, not only to protect unions, but to grow them. If it doesn’t pass this year, I will be a cosponsor and a staunch supporter of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, to protect the right to form a union and collectively bargain, to ensure access to worksites, to protect workers during the critical period by banning captive audience meetings, and by mandating stiff financial penalties for employers who use union-busting tactics to keep their workers away from the negotiating table. Learn more

We have to have economic policies that allow people to work, raise a family, and care for their loved ones. That’s why I support at least four weeks of paid family leave, subsidizing affordable child care and passing universal pre-Kindergarten so that young parents can afford to take care of their children and keep their careers. Learn more