Michigan 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
- The right to control one's own body is a fundamental right to privacy.

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
- I would restore the Obama era income tax brackets for wealthy individuals and close corporate tax loopholes. We currently spend more in military than the next 11 countries. We need a strong military but we can best defend our country by investing in and revitalizing our local communities.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Unregulated contributions from corporations inherently limit the voice of the voters. Corporations are not people; people are people. We need to reverse the impact of the egregious Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, if necessary, by constitutional amendment.

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
- The great progress we made in the 20th Century was due to a partnership between government and business, enabling, for example, construction of our national energy grid and interstate highways. While government should not pick winners and losers, government needs to provide critical funding and support for initiatives such as clean energy and a national broadband internet system to drive our economy forward. The corporate tax rate has already been lowered more than was needed.

Education

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- While education is primarily a state and local issue, the federal government needs to ensure that all of our children receive a quality education by providing support and standards. However, the federal standards should allow as much flexibility as possible while meeting the goal of ensuring quality education for all. Specifically, the standards known as "Common Core" are far too directive and detailed.

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
- Global climate destabilization is real and due to human activity. It is well past time that we create a concerted national effort to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and curtail warming of our planet. Renewable energy is already cost-effective in many situations; there is no conflict between our economy and our environment. We should reverse federal subsidies for fossil fuels, impose a gradually increasing carbon tax, and use the funds to expand generation and use of clean energy. We should also announce our intention to cooperate with other governments around the world by rejoining the Paris climate agreement.

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- There is a constitutional right for individuals to own guns for hunting and defense of the home. That right needs to be balanced with the right to live without fear of gun violence. Congress should immediately task and fund the CDC to conduct research into the causes and recommendations to prevent gun violence. In the meantime, there are a series of common sense laws and regulations supported by organizations such as the AMA and Moms Demand Action: Universal background checks on every gun sale, an effective ban on assault weapons, red flag laws, and annual state registration of guns.

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The rest of the developed world has better healthcare outcomes than we do, at half the cost. The reason: Universal healthcare. The ACA was the best step toward establishing universal healthcare since the creation of Medicare. I would build on (not repeal) the ACA by: Expanding Medicaid to more states, broadening coverage, and increasing reimbursement levels; greatly increasing grant funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers; and fixing the inequities in the ACA by putting a subsidized public option on the healthcare exchanges. I am also willing to negotiate any other sure and quick pathway to universal healthcare.

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
- Each wave of immigrants has contributed to our culture and our economy. We should return to our family-friendly, welcoming attitude toward immigration. I will work with members across both sides of the aisle to develop and pass comprehensive immigration reform which both provides legalized status for undocumented immigrants and a pathway to citizenship for the Dreamers. Of course we need secure borders, but a wall would be ineffective and wasteful. I support Congressional hearings into more effective means of physically securing our borders.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Specifically, I support decriminalization of marijuana and harmonization of federal laws with state and local laws to enable the state and local governments to determine the legal status of recreational marijuana in their jurisdictions.

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
- I support diplomatic, economic, and cultural initiatives to reduce nuclear weapons in every country. The threat or use of military force would be counter-productive. Our track record in Middle East conflicts is poor, at best. I do not support increased American intervention in the Middle East.

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.
- Top legislative priorities: 1) Create an infrastructure jobs program to train and employ workers to modernize our electric grid so that it can work with clean, renewable energy where ever it is generated and implement the FCC?s 2010 National Broadband Plan; 2) Establish Universal Healthcare; and 3) Ensure all students get a quality education in part by a) providing federal matching funds for states expanding pre-k education to all public school students and b) providing debt relief for graduates and students of 2- and 4-year public colleges. All funded by reduced military spending and reversing tax cuts for wealthy individuals.