Positions

Arizona Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget

1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes

2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- The Trump/GOP tax scam gave enormous, permanent tax breaks to large corporations and the uber-wealthy while leaving working Americans with temporary crumbs. It is long overdue for the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share and ensure that every American has the same opportunity to prosper. The DoD has not undergone a proper audit in its department's history and they attempted to bury an internal audit that found $125 BILLION in administrative waste. This money could have helped our veterans and their families. The DoD should be subject to the same financial accountability and transparency as any other department.

Campaign Finance

1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- The current campaign finance system has failed the American people, plain and simple. As a result of the Supreme Court's disastrous decision in Citizens United v. FEC, an already powerful class of wealthy contributors and corporations were granted even greater influence on elections and our government. As a member of Congress, I have fought for a constitutional amendment that would reverse the Citizens United decision, allow Congress to regulate big money in politics and ultimately restore the sanctity of our democracy by giving the power back to the people.

Economy

1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- Rather than relying on failed theories of trickle-down economics to spur economic growth, we should be making investments to repair our nation's crumbling infrastructure that will also create millions of good-paying jobs. We should also end tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs and profits offshore, which the Republican tax bill expanded. And while corporations have benefited from the republican tax law, data shows that the benefits have not trickled down to employees. Corporations are spending 100x as much on stock buybacks that benefit the wealthy, as opposed to helping their employees.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- Title 9 support for disabled children, Title 1 support for children from low-income families, funding for English as a Second Language programs, and other standards that ensure equal access to education must be followed and not left solely to the discretion of states. However, I do not support one-size-fits-all testing schemes.

Energy & Environment

1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Guns

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support commonsense gun safety legislation that will protect our communities while at the same time upholding every American's second amendment right. This includes closing the gunshow loophole and guaranteeing universal background checks, reinstating the ban on assault weapons and prohibiting bump stocks, banning high capacity magazines, and properly funding gun violence research.

Health Care

1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Immigration

1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No

2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- Trump's border wall would waste billions in taxpayer money, cause irreparable environmental damage, and further divide families and sovereign tribal nations. It is absurd to think that we can simply deport every undocumented person. It would wreak havoc on our economy, in addition to the enormous human toll of asking 12 million people to abandon their livelihoods. Instead, a more practical solution is to allow them to apply for permanent residency with a pathway to citizenship and pay a fee. This is not "amnesty": it's a practical solution to a problem that requires more than unrealistic calls for mass deportation.

Marijuana

1. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

National Security

1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- No

2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- Before we even contemplate military action, all diplomatic solutions - not orchestrated meet-and-greets that only serve as propaganda for our adversaries - should be explored prior to any type of military action. The reason for the Iran Deal was specifically to curb Iran's ability to access nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, Trump dismantled one of the only diplomatic avenues we have towards denuclearization and has shown more interest in participating in photo-ops with dictators than accomplishing anything productive to promote world peace.

Administrative Priorities

Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- As Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee, I have and will continue to lead the fight to address climate change, hold polluters accountable and preserve our public lands. As a member of the Committee on Education and The Workforce, I will fight to provide needed resources to our faltering education system and make access to debt-free higher education a reality for all. Apart from my committee responsibilities, some of my top priorities include protecting Medicaid and Social Security, pushing for universal health care, protecting workers' rights, supporting humane immigration reform, and creating a fair economy that benefits everyone.