For too often, this important discussion has defaulted into an ideological fight over new taxes or arbitrary spending cuts. We need to start by working to make our government smarter and more efficient--with regular financial and performance audits of every federal agency to eliminate waste, integrate new technologies and increase efficiency so our tax dollars go further. Similarly, we need an annual cost/benefit analysis of the $1.5 trillion we spend every year through our tax code so we can eliminate loopholes and subsidies that do not benefit middle class families, or create real solutions for today’s problems.  We can apply the savings from these efforts as a down payment on comprehensive infrastructure modernization that is only growing more expensive each year.  I would also support creating a National Infrastructure Bank that to help state and local governments secure low-cost financing for the most important projects, like roads, rail, water storage and other projects. From there, I believe we should consider additional public and private financing methods and incentives, recognizing that they will be at least partially offset by the economic gains that these investments will bring to our economy, and our communities.

The Affordable Care Act isn’t perfect, and I want to work to make it better.  I would support adding a public option to the existing insurance exchanges to expand choice, grow access to coverage and improve affordability. This will protect people who may like their existing private plan, expand choices in communities with limited private options, and add the market competition we need to expand coverage and reduce premiums.  On rural healthcare specifically, I support legislation to enable more full-service hospitals to transition into outpatient clinics, will work to expand rural broadband so that more communities can access telemedicine, and support value-based metrics to increase reimbursement rates in communities with lower patient loads, as well as tax and loan forgiveness options to incentivize more medical professionals to work in underserved areas.  I support HR 3 which would reduce drug prices by allowing Medicare to use its market power to negotiate lower costs, cap out-of-pocket costs for families, and to allow for the importation of safe, lower cost alternatives from other countries.

First, I won’t use this issue to divide Americans and score partisan points.  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle know the most cost-effective way to secure our border is by fixing a broken immigration system  that only invites more chaos.  This should include investing in more border agents, technology, immigration judges and physical barriers where they make sense, as well as accessible legal pathways for skilled workers, children, military families and legitimate asylum seekers.  And we must reform our visa system and labor laws to meet the needs of our economy without inviting more unlawful immigration or shortchanging American workers.  The bi-partisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act was an important step forward in this regard. 

I don’t think this is a question of issues so much as it as a question of leadership.  Too many career politicians put their party bosses and special interest donors ahead of the communities they were elected to serve.  As a businesswoman who pioneered new tools to help make businesses competitive and help workers access middle class jobs, I didn’t ask if something was a Republican or Democratic solution.  I focused on bringing people together and finding the right solution for our community.  From healthcare and taxes, to infrastructure and protecting our communities from wildfires, we need to set partisanship aside and put our community first.  And that’s exactly how I’ll serve in Congress.    

California’s growing homelessness problem is a function of many factors, including a lack of affordable housing (particularly in high demand communities), economic and environmental disruptions that have displaced large numbers of families, and insufficient leadership in coordinating the work across all levels of government, non-profits, churches and the private sector.  The federal government plays a key role in directly funding grant programs and other initiatives that must support evidence based models that have proven to break the cycle and lead people to self-sufficiency-- including mental healthcare treatment, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment, rapid rehousing initiatives and  especially addressing the national shame of homeless veterans..  In the past, there was also a significant federal investment in the creation of new housing, and part of the growing population of homelessness can be traced back to ending that investment. On the housing supply side, the federal government can play a role by working with the state government to streamline red tape and regulation, and promoting construction of more affordable units by modernizing and expanding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)..  This Reagan Administration initiative has helped privately finance millions of new units but was undermined by the 2017 tax reform bill.

Yes.  Too many middle class families in our district were shortchanged  by the 2017 tax reform bill’s cap on State and Local Tax Deductions (SALT deduction cap) and certain wildfire and property losses.  These provisions alone are costing many families in our district and across California thousands of dollars every year.  I will actively work to roll back these middle class tax hikes by restoring these critical deductions.  I will also work to expand tax credits and incentives that bring good paying jobs and innovation to our district.   

As I mentioned, I’m the only candidate on the ballot who supports and will fight for The Green New Deal, (which will pay for itself over 15 years). Further, in addition to staving off the catastrophic effects of climate change, (which we’re already experiencing), the GND will completely revitalize and transform our entire national infrastructure (including water systems, broadband, electrical grid, and so on), while transitioning workers from the fossil fuel industry, and adding 20 million new jobs.

The fact that we’re one of the few major industrialized nations on earth which doesn’t have universal healthcare is a disgrace. Again, I'm the only candidate running who supports Medicare for All, which would LOWER overall healthcare costs for every single person in this country making less than $250,000 a year. Separately, imagine what our lives would be like if we no longer had to worry about seeing a doctor, or paying for a medical emergency or illness, or medications, and so on. Medicare For All is the appropriate solution.

We’re a nation founded on immigration, so unless someone has Native American ancestry, they ought to remember this before bashing illegal immigrants. That said; I believe a wall is unnecessary, and I also believe we need to pass a clean DREAM ACT, pass DAPA, and abolish ICE. Most people don’t know ICE has only existed since 2003 in the wake of 9/11, and in addition to running afoul of their mandate, ICE has become a de facto paramilitary organization which has done enormous damage to our standing in the world, and here at home. Children being separated from their parents (who are often fleeing their homeland for a better life) is a disgraceful, indefensible stain on our nation’s legacy.

Despite what the media (and many politicians) would have us believe; the majority of Americans agree on several substantive issues: For example, a majority of Americans support universal healthcare. I’m the only candidate on the ballot who supports Medicare for All, (which will SAVE $450 billion, and 68,000 lives per year). Also, most Americans believe climate change is real, and not enough is being done to combat it. I’m the only candidate in this race who will fight for the Green New Deal. Finally, most Americans favor some form of reasonable gun control, and I’m the only gun owner on the ballot who also supports sensible gun control measures such as expanded background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and reauthorizing the assault weapons ban.

Of course. Homelessness isn’t a problem unique to California, in fact over 500,000 Americans (including children) will sleep in the streets or some form of temporary shelter tonight. This is unacceptable anywhere, but particularly in one of the wealthiest nations on earth. I proudly support Bernie’s Housing for All plan, which will (among other things) do away with the ridiculous “Faircloth Amendment”. For those who are unfamiliar; the Faircloth Amendment has been in place since 1999, and mandates that HUD cannot construct any new public housing units until or unless it demolishes or disposes of others, resulting in no net gain of overall housing units. This is absurd, and needs to be abolished immediately.

Thanks to the 2017 “GOP Tax Scam” which was an undeserved handout to corporations and the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us, the richest Americans now have a lower tax rate than the middle class, and the deficit has doubled. I’ll fight to rescind this disgraceful gift to the ultra-wealthy, and insure major corporations like Amazon, (which paid zero federal taxes last year on $11.2 billion in profits), start paying their fair share of corporate income taxes. 

President Trump also noted the need for infrastructure investment in his 2020 budget, which again calls for allocating $200 billion.  However, I believe it is the resposibility of each state to invest in their own infrastructure. The condition of roads, bridges, schools, water treatment plants, among others greatly influences the economy’s ability to function and grow. The politicians in California have consistanly neglected their civil duties in maintaining and developing our infrastructure. As you know, our traffic is horriffic here in California. Good people are fleeing California fast due to our insane taxes, poor infrastructure, and disgraceful sanctuary state/city laws. The left leaders seem to have no issue in providing funding for illegal alien's helathcare, education, and social services. They also recruit people to come our state illegally and even offer them drivers licenses. The state scammed their citizens with their 2018 illegal gas tax which provided zero relief to our roads and infrastructure. We need to replace the irresponsible leaders in California with leaders that will put the interets of American Citizens, and the citizens of California before anybody else.

I support President Trump and his vision for healthcare. Obamacare is hurting American families, farmers, and small businesses with skyrocketing health insurance costs. Moreover, soaring deductibles and copays have made already unaffordable plans unusable.  Replacing Obamacare will force insurance companies to compete for their customers with lower costs and higher-quality service.

Last year, approximately 977,000 foreigners attempting to enter the U.S illegally were apprehended at our southern border by our brave agents. This does not account for all the people who made it into our country illegally. Hundreds of thousands of Illegals (formally temporary legal) overstay their visa’s every year, and they never get deported. Last year, 372,000 children were born by Illegals; those children are now United States Citizens. These families now get free education and healthcare at your expense. Furthermore, 1/3 of the living El Salvadorian population now live in the United States. Baltimore and Chicago have a higher murder rate, per capita, then the entire country of El Salvador. The United States currently has approximately 26 Million Illegal immigrants. In 2019, the total cost that illegals burdened the Unites States was approximately $290,000,000,000 (BILLION).

1. Build a NEW barrier on our southern border. If I build a 30 foot wall around my property, my feeling is that I would not prevent 100% intruders breaking into my home, but it will significantly reduce my chance of being burglarized. This is the start of fixing this crisis. Who knows this best? Ask the brave men and women that serve our county and put their lives on the line every day. Border Patrol supports a new barrier and says it will work. Listen to the experts and the people on the front line.

2. We need to stop encouraging/recruiting ILLEGAL ALIENS to come to our country, and eliminate incentives to come here illegally. I believe in welcoming LEGAL immigrants who respect our country and respect our laws. There is a 100% difference between LEGAL and ILLEGAL immigrants. We will not be the foster parents for the rest of the world, and we will not be the dumping ground for others.

Many illegal aliens have this sense of entitlement; they come here illegally with a “you owe me” attitude. Democrat politicians advocate for this sense of entitlement on their behalf. They actually campaign for illegal aliens. Think about it, if somebody comes into your home, the home of which you worked hard to obtain and love, ignores your rules, disrespects your home, demands everything from you, and tells you what rules you can, or cannot enforce inside your own home; how would you feel? Are you going to allow them to continue to live in your home? We teach our children as they grow up to be ethical, do not lie, do not cheat, do not steal, do not deceive, respect authority, obey laws etc. We teach them that if you violate this rules and values, there are consequences in life. Yet, the left mob encourage and allow ILLEGAL ALIENS to break our laws, disrespect our county, demand various resources, scam our system, corrupt our communities, drive down wages for American Citizens, and they are perfectly fine with this. In fact, they encourage this! ILLEGAL ALIENS are exempt from this standard that we teach our own children. It appears the ILLEGAL ALIENS have more rights than U.S citizens.

NO. The homeless problem starts from the top down locally. The top elected, so called “leaders,” in this failed state of California, have ignored the problem, and have “allowed” and “tolerated” people to live reckless on our streets. The horrific Governors, Judges, District attorneys, Mayors, Assemblymen, city council members, police chiefs ETC in these cities have allowed this problem to escalate. The elected officials ALLOWED a “free for all” and “lawless” environment to happen in our own backyard. Local law enforcement has received ZERO support to enforce no camping laws, no loitering laws, drug offenses, public urination (ETC) by our weak elected officials. Law enforcement have been told NOT enforce laws, which would hold people accountable in our communities. I have worked the streets of epidemic homeless areas such as “Skid Rowe.” I was in “Skid Rowe” everyday working hand in hand with LAPD. ALL of the vagrants in Skid Rowe there have a shelter or a community program to stay in. That is a fact! Many of these homeless individuals have chosen to not live in these shelters and programs. Why? These communities and shelters have RULES and CURFEWS. These vagrants do not want to live by any rules, codes, and laws. It is their choosing to live on the streets. Furthermore, there are thousands of homeless that travel to California annually to live because they know that the leaders in this state will not enforce the any laws regarding vagrancy. That is a FACT, an embarrassment, and a disgrace.CA elected leaders have failed the American people. Though, they have no problem funding Illegal aliens healthcare, education, and social services. They have neglected the homeless crisis in our great state and failed their own citizens. People (your neighbors, children, co-workers, classmates, community members, teammates, pets ETC) will only do what you allow, and what you are willing to tolerate.

The Solution- STOP VOTING FOR LIBERAL DEMOCRATS. There is NO COINCIDENCE that the most messed up cities in our country or governed by liberal elected officials (Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis, Los Angeles ETC). Second- We need to start funding churches and non profits to get these people off the streets. The local government has shown that they are incompetent and derelict of their civil duties. Third- BACK OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT to enforce the laws. Fourth- address mental health and substance abuse through funding of non-profits and churches.