California 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
- I have always supported a woman?s right to make her own health care decisions and am proud of the 100% rating I have always received from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In Congress, I am a vocal member of the Pro-Choice caucus which is working to actively oppose some devastating abortion bans that have been introduced in Congress, as well as working to repeal the Hyde Amendment. I will continue to be an advocate for reproductive rights.

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
- As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have openly advocated for strategically reducing wasteful spending in our military programs while ensuring that we maintain our position as the preeminent military power in the world.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The system as it stands is unacceptable, and in Congress I am doing everything I can to pass meaningful campaign finance reform. We have to curb the massive amount of outside money being spent on campaigns without any transparency or accountability. I strongly believe that the Supreme Court?s Citizens United ruling should be overturned, and short of that, I've introduced legislation to require publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending and advertising in our elections.

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
- Reforming our tax code is one area in which Democrats and Republicans can agree, as we have in the past. But after the GOP passed their tax plan last year giving billions of dollars in handouts to multi-national corporations at the expense of middle class families, I cannot support lowering corporate taxes any further. We need to update and simplify our tax system to make our tax code more competitive for businesses and fairer for middle-class taxpayers. Lasting reform requires difficult trade-offs to achieve fiscal responsibility.

Education

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- A basic foundational education for every child in America is critical to giving them a fair shot to succeed. As an immigrant to this country who relied on public housing and education programs growing up, I can attest personally to the transformative power of a good education. Not only does a federal education standard ensure an even playing field for our students, but it also saves our local schools money by having a guidelines to rely on when implementing a curriculum for the year.

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
- California is proof that innovation and sustainability go hand-in-hand with economic success. Just last month, California announced that greenhouse gas emissions dropped 13% since they peaked in 2004 and in that same period our economy grew by 26%. The Central Coast is already experiencing major climate change impacts, like wildfires and drought. We can save lives, property, and money when we work to proactively mitigate these increasingly destructive events. We simply cannot afford inaction on the most significant challenge of our time.

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The threat of gun violence has spiked over the past decade and Congress has a responsibility to act to prevent these tragedies in the future. There have been numerous incidents across the United States, including in our own community at my alma mater, the University of California at Santa Barbara. In addition to opposing misguided gun bills, I have introduced the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act, a bill with bipartisan support that encourages states to empower families and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to prevent future gun violence.

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- It is time for the Republicans to abandon their attempts repeal the ACA, and work with Democrats in a bipartisan way to address the problems with the ACA and improve access and affordability in our healthcare system. I am proud to join with some of my colleagues to propose common-sense reforms that would stabilize Cost Sharing Reduction subsidies and help lower insurance premium costs for hardworking Central Coast families.

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
- As an immigrant myself to the United States, I believe that it is important that we have a fair immigration system that works, and unfortunately our current system is seriously flawed. I am concerned that the current directives from this Administration only serve to create panic in our immigrant communities and simultaneously make them less safe by promoting mistrust of local law enforcement. I support comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act. We need to support the human rights of people that seek the American dream and are working hard to achieve their goals.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- While in Congress, I have advocated for the removal of Marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance and to regulate it like we do alcohol.

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 believe that the current AUMF that we are operating under in the Middle East is woefully inadequate for the scale and breadth of our operations. Congress has abdicated its war powers reponsibility by not voting on our current military actions and allowing the Executive to operate on a decades-old AUMF.

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.
- My priorities if reelected include passing the California Clean Coast Act to prohibit future oil drilling off California's Coast and continuing to support our renewable energy industry to combat the impacts of climate change. I'm also focused on reducing the cost of healthcare premiums and prescription drug costs by introducing a public option to our health insurance exchanges. Lastly, I would advocate for passing the Gun Violence Restraining Order to reduce the daily instances of gun violence and deaths in our communities.