Key Issues

America has long been a shining example of how a functioning democracy can thrive.  In recent years, some of the guardrails we all thought were in place have been tested or eroded.  I will fight to strengthen our democracy and protect it by restoring checks and balances, transparency and accountability to protect our country from interference, whether foreign or domestic. 

I strongly support a woman's right to make decisions about her own reproductive health.  Abortion is healthcare.  I trust women and their families to work with their doctors to make the best decisions about their health.  The rollback of Roe v Wade simply put is contrary to what the vast majority of Floridians and Americans want.  I will fight to restore women's rights to make these very personal choices for themselves.  

America was founded by immigrants.  It is the very core of who we are.  At the same time, our immigration system is badly broken and ill-equipped to handle the massive number of immigrants and refugees.  We can do better.  We need a pathway to citizenship for families and DREAMers who live here and create a modernized foreign workers program.  I will fight for legislation to fund the agencies tasked with protecting our borders, to secure our borders and to treat immigrants humanely.  

Americans love the options they have with the Affordable Care Act and the benefits are hard to argue with.  The ACA - often called Obamacare - is a great start, but we can do better.  America can do better for Americans.  Republicans voted over 70 times to repeal or modify Obamacare with no better option ever offered.  I will fight to keep Obamacare as the law of our land and to expand it.

Social Security and Medicare is fundamental in providing economic security and healthcare access to older Americans.  Seniors paid into these programs and should be able to rely on getting the benefits when they need them.  We must strengthen these programs to ensure that all seniors can retire with dignity and access affordable healthcare. This includes keeping pace with the rising cost of living, ensuring the program's long-term solvency, and expanding Medicare to cover essential services like dental, vision, and hearing.  I will fight to ensure Americans can retire with dignity and get out of the program what they paid into it.

Thoughts and prayers are not enough.  We can safely exercise our right to own guns while increasing safety through universal background checks, research and reasonable legislation to protect us all, especially our children.  I will fight to make our communities safer through community violence interventions and mental health services.

As Floridians we live in a paradise of wild areas that deserve our protection.  I will fight for clean air and water and renewable resource generation that will provide quality jobs for all Americans including Floridians in our District.

Florida Amendment 3, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, is on the ballot this November.  Voting for this amendment legalizes marijuana for adults 21 and older and allows individuals to possess up to three ounces of marijuana.  I will fight to legalize recreational marijuana at the federal level, allowing us to tax it for the benefit of taxpayers - no differently than alcohol or tobacco - and let the economic benefit of this well accepted recreational activity accrue to Americans.