I was in the metro last week and saw some advertisements for Power to the Patients, a group fighting for greater price transparency in hospitals. That is very much in keeping with one of my central campaign themes, consumer-based health care. I've been calling for allowing people to pick and choose which health care plan they want. When they can, medical providers won't be able to get away with charging $50 for a Band-Aid because customers will go to another company instead. It will drive costs down and improve quality, as insurers and health providers compete for peoples' dollars.
But in order to do that, the first step is to break the link between your job and your health care. Believe it or not, but I'm the only politician in the entire country who's calling for this. Once it happens, then patients will really have the power. It's a big step, but it's the right one and I am convinced the more people hear about it, the more they will be convinced too. That's why I'm making it a centerpiece of my campaign. What's the point of running for office if you're not going to try to accomplish big things?
For anyone who's paid attention to the issue, it's clear that the ever-increasing cost of college tuition is a huge problem in this country. I have been making it a main part of my platform, by calling to require colleges to keep their tuition reasonable, or they lose access to federal student loans. That will directly address the problem, because we have basically been subsidizing tuition by letting colleges charge whatever they want to students, and just telling them to get a loan to pay for it.
The for-profit colleges gamed this system by selling students a lousy education, and having them take out loans that they wouldn't be able to pay back.
Now President Biden is forgiving loans for people who went to these colleges that misrepresented the future job prospects and marketability of their education.
My only criticism is that it doesn't do enough to claw back the ill-gotten gains the for-profit schools made off the federal taxpayer loans. They got their money and left the students and taxpayers on the hook. It's time to tax them to get back some of that money we've lost.
Looking ahead, when colleges know their students won't be able to get loans to attend overpriced institutions, they will suddenly become a lot more cost-conscious. That will prevent future debt problems and be a win for all of us.
I am very pleased to learn that out of the 12 candidates in the race for the Virginia-10 Democratic primary, Progressive Wave has chosen me to receive their endorsement. I am the only candidate in the race who has called for conditions on military aid to Israel. It is unacceptable that over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in their fight against Hamas. I have also spoken out in favor of trans rights. I support creating a federal civil cause of action to enforce civil rights violations. I have also pledged to vote for a rule to bring a Medicare-for-All bill to the floor of the House, because I believe it should be debated openly. Thank you to Progressive Wave for your support.
I am very pleased to learn that I am one of the Virginia-10 candidates who has received the Moms Demand Candidate Distinction award. I have called for a requirement for a gun safety class in order to get a gun license. It would be similar to driver's ed and it would provide an opportunity to ensure future gun purchasers receive he proper training as well as enabling a background and mental health check. I believe that is very much in keeping with the "well-regulated militia" clause of the 2nd Amendment. Thank you to Moms Demand for their award.
I was very pleased to take part in Chasing Freedom's National Security forum. I was also the only Democrat from the Virginia-10 race to be there.
Today I am calling for restraint on the parts of both Israel and Iran in the wake of their recent skirmishes, and I support President Biden’s call for restraint as well. We must end the Trump-Kushner policy of giving Benjamin Netanyahu a blank check when it comes to conduct of foreign affairs. We must also recognize that Iran is a rational actor and has already announced that their military response is over.
Iran openly announced their intent to attack; launched a drone swarm that took several hours to reach Israel, giving them plenty of time to prepare; and 99% of the drones were shot down (my thoughts go out to the Bedouin girl who was seriously injured). The attack seems more like a pro forma, checking the box type of response, in order to reinforce the principle that deliberate attacks on sovereign territory cannot go unanswered, while doing the least possible to actually escalate the situation.
A wise foreign policy expert should recognize these signs and urge Israel to accept that the matter is over. I am glad President Biden, former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has enough experience to urge Netanyahu to show restraint. I hope Netanyahu takes his advice. The United States should not be a co-signer for whatever foreign policy decision Israel makes.
Lest anyone make a mistake, I am a strong supporter of Israel. I support military aid to them in their fight to eradicate Hamas. But I am the only VA-10 candidate who has called for conditions on the aid, to ensure protection of innocent civilians. In this case, Israel should have avoided the attack on Iran’s consulate and waited until the bad actors were on non-diplomatic territory.
I am also the only candidate (in VA-10 or elsewhere) to call for more awareness that over the long term, we need to have a rapprochement with the Shiite world. Iran is an undemocratic country, but it has been a rational actor in terms of its conduct of foreign affairs. It’s past time to recognize that and use it to begin to achieve a lasting decrease in hostilities in the region.
Long-term thinking is extremely important, especially when guiding the affairs of our nation. If I were the VA-10 Representative, I would always be thinking long-term, and be unafraid to speak up for the right policy, no matter how few others are as well. I am proud to be doing that today.
I am calling on House Democrats to start a working group to negotiate a bill on immigration. The group would work in parallel to any Senate efforts. If I were the Representative for Virginia's 10th district, I would start such a group myself.
The recent Senate immigration bill failed for a variety of reasons. One reason is that House members had no role in negotiating it. As everyone knows, a bill cannot become a law without passing both houses of Congress. Sen. Ron Wyden (D) and Rep. Jason Smith (R) understood that. They wrote their recent tax bill concurrently and involved each chamber, which is why it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Clearly the time has come for a similar process to take place on immigration. A negotiating group already exists in the Senate. Now it's time to start a parallel group in the House, in order to try to work out a deal.
My campaign slogan is "Let's Get Things Done." If I were in Congress, I would be trying to do exactly that, by starting a group to sit down and write a bill that can actually pass.
I filed my end of year campaign finance report today, showing I have $1,240.12 on hand, with an average donation of $83.33 (from a total of 3 non-candidate donations). Total contributions and expenditures didn't exceed $5,000, so filing wasn’t even required, but I did it anyway to be fully transparent.
There’s a line from my favorite holiday movie that says, ‘I believe that story we’ve been told.’ Elected office is supposed to be open to the everyday, average citizen. Money is not supposed to decide things. I’m running to see if it’s still possible for a serious, well-intentioned person to stage a viable campaign and offer something substantive to voters, without anything more than that required. I will be as frugal with voters’ tax money as I have to be with my own campaign. I hope my stance on the issues will be what decides how I end up finishing in this race.
My platform includes:
· Prohibiting colleges from raising tuition more than the rate of inflation, or they lose access to federal student loans
· Letting people shop around for their own health plans, by breaking the link between your job and your employer and having health insurers compete like car insurers do
· Aid to Israel must have conditions for humanitarian treatment of non-combatants
· Support for allied countries to help them produce oil more cleanly and efficiently, thereby lowering emissions as well as gas prices
Let’s Get Things Done.
P.S. The holiday movie is Scrooge (1970).
Today I am calling on congressional Democrats to include humanitarian aid as a condition on any aid package to Israel as it fights the current war against Hamas. If I were the Representative for Virginia’s 10th district, I would insist on such conditions before voting in favor of an aid package.
It is important to remember that the United States has its own interests in the Middle East. We must break away from the Trump-Kushner policy of giving a blank check to Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government. It is costing us support among Arab populations and harming our long-held role as an honest broker in the region.
Setting conditions on aid is not new. The U.S. refused to give Israel loan guarantees in 1992 unless they promised not to use the funds for settler activity. Aid packages to other countries such as Egypt include requirements to respect human rights.
The U.S. cannot continue to associate itself with Netanyahu’s approach to the region. Netanyahu’s policy rested on walling off the Palestinians and keeping them out of sight, while pursuing a very cynical anti-Iran alliance with the authoritarian regime in Saudi Arabia. That policy has clearly failed.
Israel faces the same situation countless other powers have faced: an insurgency. As we know from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and as other powers like the U.K. learned from Malaysia and Kenya, the way to deal with an insurgency is to get closer to the local people and take away the reasons behind the insurgency. It worked with David Petraeus in Iraq and when we tried it in Afghanistan. It is difficult, since the insurgents hide among the civilian population, but it’s the only way for a modern, democratic state to fight such a war.
So any aid package must be contingent on the provision of humanitarian aid and the means to deliver it, such as safe corridors for civilians. It must also include requirements to prevent settler-instigated violence. Israel’s government has for too long looked the other way at such activity.
I utterly condemn the barbaric attack by Hamas, as well as any anti-Semitic rhetoric stemming from the conflict. Any aid to Palestine should likewise contain conditions, such as requirements to hold the long-postponed general elections, which last took place in 2006, as well as respect for freedom of speech and of the press, which has been non-existent there.
In short, America has an independent role to play and we should insist on certain requirements before giving aid to anyone. My campaign slogan is "Let's Get Things Done." I believe this approach will satisfy those who want the U.S. to support Israel, as well as those who are concerned about innocent civilians caught up in the fighting.
Today I am calling on Congress to pass a law prohibiting the high concentration of data centers within one area, based on the issues it raises for national security. If I were the Representative for Virginia’s 10th district, I would introduce a bill to enact such a law.
Data centers help make up the backbone of the internet, which we all rely on every day for many things. Northern Virginia already has the largest concentration of them, followed by Silicon Valley. The Digital Gateway will only add to that.
It is dangerous to have such a high concentration of critical infrastructure so closely packed together. A basic maxim of military strategy is not to put all your forces in one spot, because it makes an appealing target for your enemies. An enemy of the U.S. could easily disrupt operations in this country by attacking this area and disabling or destroying a large bulk of that infrastructure in one fell swoop.
My bill would require the diversification of data center locations, t create a decentralized system of internet infrastructure. That would provide safety against losing so much of our technological needs in one strike or case of sabotage. It is not out of the question that a rogue element could use a weapon of mass destruction to cripple our ability to communicate.
It is unfortunate that so many issues involving the data centers have not been made public or have not been clarified. The national security aspect is yet another issue that has not been fully considered. We live in dangerous times where a rogue element could do great harm to our country unless we are vigilant, and this needs to be considered as well.
That is why I am raising this issue, and I believe I am the first to do so. My campaign slogan is "Let's Get Things Done” and I believe this bill allows us to protect our internet while building capacity in a smarter way.
Today I am officially announcing my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the 10th congressional district of Virginia.
My campaign slogan is “Let’s Get Things Done.” I hear so many Virginians complain about Washington and how politicians just argue and never sit down and deal with the real problems facing voters.
So that’s why I am making my campaign about solutions: I pledge to make it my #1 priority to work with my Democratic colleagues and across the aisle in order to lower the temperature in Washington and get something done for Virginia and the U.S.
I will be running a policy-heavy campaign. I won’t indulge in the typical politician habit of speaking in vague generalities. I have specific, realistic policies listed on my website for many of the top issues facing us: inflation, health care, education, reproductive rights, the environment, and more.
A centerpiece of my campaign will be my health care reform proposal, which calls for breaking the link between your employer and your health plan. This will have huge benefits, by ensuring better quality care at lower prices, boosting the economy, improving our health care entitlement programs, and lowering the national debt. I am looking forward to engaging with voters about my plan because I think it’s a real solution.
I have other ideas too, such as requiring colleges that take federal student loans to keep their tuition within the rate of inflation; passing a federal law protecting reproductive rights; and enacting a gun licensing requirement.
I’d like to thank Jennifer Wexton for all she has done to help our district. I am a center-left politician, and you might even say I’m a “Jennifer Wexton Democrat.” She is a terrific representative and we are all at a loss without her. I wish her the best of luck for her health, and I will certainly be reaching out to her in the future to make a formal case for receiving her endorsement.
It might sound funny, but I firmly believe politics is a noble profession. Politics is all about helping people. Some of the noblest acts in history have been done by politicians. If elected, I hope to follow in those footsteps by being completely true to the wishes of the 10th district voters. I can’t wait to get started campaigning and asking for your vote.
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