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
- We need to ensure every woman can make their own health decisions with ease and not be hindered by financial limitations. We need to subsidize the sale of condoms and birth control products. While I'm pro-choice, we can still do a lot more for promoting and supporting adoption programs. If adoption was better promoted, many women would see it as a viable alternative to abortion. We need to also better educate young teens and adults on safe sex practices, including the use of condoms and other products to reduce unintended pregnancy.

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
- Our spending to GDP ration is extremely concerning to me. We are comparable to Italy's budget problems and on track to beat the levels Greece is at. We cannot continue to go further into debt. We are paying outrageous sums of money in interest on federal bonds every year to countries like China. Defense accounting needs to be reformed. The Army has never completed a full audit on itself, and trillions of dollars are unaccounted for. Among other solutions, we also need to eliminate expiring budget accounting principles that cause wasteful spending at the end of each fiscal year.

Campaign Finance

1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- I have a very strong and detailed campaign finance reform plan described on my website at www.yahya4congress.com/solutions. We need to limit and fully disclose all sources of funding, including dark money and PAC donations. Candidates need to focus more on merit than on fundraising. We need to fill the two vacancies on the FEC commission. There are things we can do right now without relying on SCOTUS to overturn FEC vs. Citizens United. I have been extremely vocal on campaign finance reform. It is the systemic problem with our democracy, perpetuated by both parties.

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
- My novel economic policy addresses the root problem--wage stagnation since the early 70's for a majority of American workers. Democrats focus on social programs (the symptom of wage stagnation) and Republicans think trickle-down economics and maximizing shareholder value is the way to go. WRONG. I propose a voluntary corporate compensation ratio that ties the profits of a corporation and it's compensation for the top 10% of its workers to the compensation given to the other 90% of workers. When the company does well, all the employees should do well. It saves the government a trillion dollars over ten years. www.yahya4congress.com/solutions

Education

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I am very hesitant about our focus on standardized tests. I don't like them. I think kids learn at different paces, and each child has the ability to succeed tremendously. We need smaller class sizes, focus on critical thinking courses, team building, civics, the arts, and experiential learning! The federal government also needs to chip in more on education for K-12 and subsidize universal preschool education. The fed needs to stop making interest on college loans, it needs to put checks on university tuition hikes. It needs to address the massive student loan debt in this country, sooner than later.

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
- I strongly support using carbon fee and dividends policy. It is the best approach to putting a check on carbon-emitting industries while putting more money in the pockets of the people. Southern Arizona needs to double down on solar power, we need to also encourage better conservation of our federal lands, and agriculture. I lived in Beijing for a couple years, the air pollution was disastrous and kills so many people. Now China is leading the world in environmental policy and renewables. Why can't we?! We need to adopt regionalized sustainable agricultural practices at a much faster rate.

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- 1.Universal Background Checks2.Child Access Prevention Laws3.Punitive laws on people 3D printing weapons!3.Adequately fund the ATF4.Eliminate the 3-day default sale law5.Require micro-labeling tracking codes on all guns and ammo6.Improve data integration across federal and local agencies7.Three day waiting period on sales of firearms8.Repeal the broad immunity the firearms industry enjoys in tort litigation9.Address the pervasiveness of violence in our film and media10.Campaign finance reform (reduce NRA's political power) AND MUCH MUCH MORE

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I want to improve the ACA. Expand coverage to the remaining uninsured people. Reduce healthcare costs through (1)auditing hospital network's arbitrary master pricing lists (2)reduce administrative costs by fast-tracking payment disputes between insurance companies and healthcare providers, (3)increase proactive healthcare, (4)decrease pharmaceutical drug pricing through international averaging, (4) allow reimportation of medicine and medical devices, (5)invest in technological advancements that will drastically reduce healthcare bureaucracy, (6)encourage more people to become doctors, (7)promote healthier lifestyle choices, (8)allow the WHO to combat epidemics....

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?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- Quick solution to the problem of separated families. Bring them all to one location and have them reunite themselves, followed by a quick verification process. Done. Expedited the process for DACA recipients to become citizens. Stop separating families in the US. 1 in 3 undocumented parents in this country have a native-born child. 60% of undocumented immigrants have lived in America for over 10 years! They are American. Do not punish these people for Congress' complete failure to address immigration decades ago.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Federal tax to be used for social health services and funding education.

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
- As the son of two immigrants, one Kurdish and one Iranian. I am uniquely positioned to facilitate the peacebuilding process. Nation building is a failed proposition for America. We need to stop. We need to stop selling weapons to countries committing genocide (Saudi Arabia/Yemen). We need to increase the use of diplomatic channels, not burn bridges.

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.
- 1. My 5 step solution to Campaign Finance Reform2. My economic policy called Raise American Pay Act to address wage stagnation. 3. Increase the use of renewable energy, high-speed rail, and push for a carbon fee and dividends policy.