Georgia 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
- Roe vs. Wade is the is the law of the land. I will not support any law that would weaken Roe vs. Wade. While I dislike abortion unless it is absolutely necessary, I believe no one has the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. I support Planned Parenthood because it provides needed medical services to women and pregnancy counseling, and because it does not use any federal funds to provide abortions.

Budget

1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No

2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- For individuals, I do not support a tax increase on any tax bracket. For corporations, however, I will support reversing the big tax breaks in the recent tax bill. I would be willing to retain and incentive-driven corporate tax break that requires corporations to provide living wages and health care benefits. We have been at war for so long that the military's resources have been depleted. We need to replace equipment and other resources that are needed to rebuild and sustain our ability to sustain the military's ability to fight effectively and safely, as well as to implement new technologies.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support regulation of indirect campaign contributions for corporations, including payment to candidates for services, but not those from unions because they represent individuals.

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?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- I support federal spending to promote economic growth only if it also clearly addresses other needs to benefit citizens, not just to benefit corporations. I will support lowering corporate taxes only if it the measure includes incentives to provide benefits for their employees, such as higher wages and employer- paid health care.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- At this time, it is impossible to establish federal education standards that are workable across the country. I support the use of Title 1 funds to increase the ability of sparsely-populated or financially-challenged school districts to provide high-quality education to all students.

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
- The need to reduce emissions of CO2 and methods for doing so are complex and controversial. Most of the rest of the world is attempting to collaborate in reducing CO2, but under this Administration, the U.S. is backing away from these attempts. We must find ways to achieve reductions without harming our economy. We are a federalist nation and the states and federal government are equals. Many of the positive changes and innovations must come from and through the states. I support the use of federal funds as part of this joint effort.

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support the Second Amendment and right to own guns, so long as such ownership and use does not threaten the safety of our citizens. I support requirement of background checks at gun shows, online, and from other sources. Everyone owning a gun should have had a background check. I support "red flag laws and "safe-to-tell" laws that enable authorities to know when someone has mental health problems that cause a threat to themselves or others. When that is the case, their weapons should be removed and a court should determine whether and when they should be returned.

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- We must enact changes that strengthen the ACA, to make it work as designed and to make it affordable to everyone. And we must fully fund it. This Administration has done everything to weaken the impact of the ACA instead of addressing its weaknesses. We need to fix the issues that caused costs to rise, not eliminate the entire plan. We must determine what is causing health costs to rise so much faster than the cost of living and address those issues. Long-term, single-payer health care may be the best solution but is not feasible now.

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
- I will propose a path to citizenship for immigrants that provides a process for obtaining documentation within a set period of time. I believe that most immigrants want to be here legally and will follow a process if it is clearly provided. Immigrants who commit violent crimes or major felonies, or who do not complete the process within the allocated time would be deported. INS would be required to provide sufficient resources to process applications in a timely matter.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Legalization and regulation of marijuana would allow monitoring of the quality and content of recreational marijuana, preventing the current contamination of products with fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs that threaten the lives of users. It would free up law enforcement, saving taxpayer money, as well as providing a huge source of tax revenue to governments. For many, it provides an effective pain-relief alternative to to opioids. Medicinal marijuana should absolutely be legal for those with medical conditions helped by it. Finally, I would vacate all convictions for simple possession of marijuana.

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
- (Concerning question 1) My answer to this is "No" unless the other government poses an over imminent threat or undertakes a clear hostile action. I do not believe that it is our place to become involved in a conflict that is basically another country's civil war.

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. VETERANS SERVICES. We must provide better funding for the Veterans Administration. All veterans who served America earned the right to top-rate medical and mental health care. 2. HEALTH CARE. We should fix the Affordable Care Act to make it work as designed and affordable for everyone. Recent reductions in coverage are not acceptable. Long-term, single-payer health care may be the best answer. 3. EDUCATION. Public education ensures an equitable educational system. We must ensure that all children and teachers have adequate resources for quality outcomes. We must support higher education and vocational/technical training to build a competitive workforce.