For generations, the strength of American democracy has rested on a strong middle-class, but growing income inequality threatens that bedrock of our democracy.  We must act to strengthen our middle-class and give more Americans the opportunity to achieve and retain that status.  In this campaign, I have proposed a “Working Families Agenda” that includes policies such as raising the federal minimum wage, guaranteeing access to paid maternity and sick leave, providing overtime protections to those earning less than $50,000, and mandating equal pay for equal work for the millions of women in our national workforce.

The epidemic of gun violence is a threat to the public health of our nation.  We need Members of Congress who are willing to stand up to special interests and put the safety of our families and communities first.  My agenda for common-sense gun laws includes: (i) expanding background checks to all gun sales (thus closing the gun-show and terrorist watch list loopholes); (ii) building a better information system on those who should be blocked from weapons purchases including convicted criminals, suspected terrorists, those subject to orders of protection, and those with mental health issues; (iii) reinstating the ban on semi-automatic weapons with no civilian or hunting purposes; and (iv) ending the ban on research into gun safety and gun violence.

Social Security and Medicare are not just successful federal programs that have lifted millions of U.S. citizens out of poverty. They are also a sacred promise to our senior citizens who paid into these programs for decades and deserve the dignity of financial security in their golden years.  As a Member of Congress, I will work to protect and strengthen these programs and fight plans to cut or privatize those benefits, which would put millions at risk.  A first step in extending the solvency of Social Security would be to raise the current income cap of $118,500 for payroll taxes paid into the Trust Fund. Similarly, allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies would save billions of dollars in Medicare costs.  The Veterans Administration has used that leverage to negotiate lower drug prices for our nation’s veterans, and there’s no justifiable reason for Congress to prevent the Medicare program from doing the same.