the Issues
We Face

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES

The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade. Where do we go from here?

The Dobbs decision has put the health of women and families in jeopardy. In the wake of Roe being overturned, our current representative voted against codifying Roe v. Wade. As I wrote in an op-ed with the Courier Times, access to abortion is not only an issue for single women, but also families looking to determine their own futures. In fact, many Americans who have an abortion are already parents when they choose to do so. This can have broad economic impacts for women and their families, and access to abortion is essential to protecting the rights of women to freely participate in society.

While our supposedly moderate Congressman, Brian Fitzpatrick, has continuously opposed access to a woman’s right to choose, I will not. I support H.R. 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would federally codify Roe v. Wade, and I look forward to casting my vote in its favor in Congress.

CLIMATE CHANGE

As a combat veteran, I view the climate crisis as a national security issue. The Department of Defense has identified climate change as a direct threat to the national security of the United States and stability around the world. Future conflicts could be caused by climate change’s effect on political and resource instability. We must address this threat to our homeland and abroad in a responsible manner.

GREEN JOBS & THE ECONOMY

I am running for Congress to enact policies to fight climate change and turn this threat into jobs and investment all across Pennsylvania. The move toward climate resilience is a great opportunity to expand blue-collar, union jobs right here in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Green tech and energy jobs, necessary to support families looking to send their children to college, can be incentivized through partnerships between federal, state, and local governments, and as your Congressional Representative, I would do just that.

REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

As your Representative, I will advocate for more resources to be allocated to researching new technologies that can solve the myriad challenges posed by climate change, and push for those dollars to return to communities like ours that not only have significant expertise in energy systems, but which house world-class research institutions that can tackle the crisis.

As a veteran, I also know that one immediate way Congress and the White House could combat climate change is to work to reduce the carbon emissions of the U.S. military, who currently emit more carbon than 140 countries. Working with defense manufacturers, research institutions, and Commanders, we could produce new technologies to not only reduce the carbon emissions of the U.S. military, but do so without sacrificing our ability to rapidly respond to conflict in the field. These technologies could and should be developed right here in PA-01.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Right here in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, families are living with multiple generations under one roof. People my age, with school-aged children, live with their parents because they want their children to go to a good school district, but they cannot afford to buy a home here.

As a young veteran, I was only able to afford a down payment with a loan from the Veterans Administration. I know that families across our district struggle with affordable housing everyday. If we do not provide pathways for young people to buy a home, settle down, and start a family in our community, our community simply will not have a future.

LABOR RIGHTS

The ability of unions to collectively bargain is an essential need to protect the rights of workers and the communities they live in. I support this federally-protected right and will fight side by side with our union brothers and sisters — both in Washington and at the picket line.

RAISING THE WAGE

It’s been over a decade since the federal minimum wage was raised. We need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.

EQUAL PAY AND REPRESENTATION

As a woman who has served her country, and had the honor of holding command, I know just how important it is to ensure access to equal opportunity. Women should not only have a seat at the table in the workforce, they should be able to hold positions of power and be decision-makers. This means supporting initiatives for pay equity, universal preschool, and affordable childcare for all.

HOLDING CORPORATIONS AND BIG BANKS ACCOUNTABLE

The pandemic has again shined a clear light on the inequities in our economy. While families were forced to make difficult decisions regarding how best to safely work and provide for their children, and while many families in Bucks and Montgomery Counties went hungry due to a loss of income, Wall Street saw record profits as their stock portfolios grew. This again demonstrates the need for increased restraints on the banking industry, including the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, to not only ensure that there are more protections against future financial shocks, but also to increase oversight of these industries.

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR OUR FAMILIES

I wholeheartedly support President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, unlike our current Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who voted against it. I support any agenda that makes Bucks and Montgomery Counties affordable for middle class families, and provides high quality jobs to the workers of our district.

THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS

I joined the Army to unlock an education I would have otherwise not been able to afford, and despite the GI Bill, I have nearly $70,000 of student loan debt from getting my Master’s degree at Oxford University. As the daughter of parents who weren’t able to afford college or access the resources they needed to get there, I recognize that far too many families struggle to obtain higher education. Since 2006, student debt in America has nearly tripled; almost 45 million borrowers owe $1.6 trillion. The average borrower owes close to $33,000 and pays nearly $400 per month in debt service. Confronting the student debt crisis raises fundamental questions about how much an education should cost, who can attend college, and how students will pay their debts over time.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked at the county government level as a policy writer to implement the CARES Act, part of which provided a moratorium on payments for federal student loan borrowers.

REAL SOLUTIONS FOR AFFORDABLE HIGHER EDUCATION

The cost of college needs to be significantly reduced to make it more accessible to students who want to attend a two or four year institution. The federal government can play an important role to push institutions to reduce costs, as well as reduce the burdens for borrowers through fairer interest rates and caps on monthly payments. We also need to expand public interest loan forgiveness programs, ensuring that anyone can afford to work in the public or nonprofit sector, regardless of their student loan burden.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

As a graduate of Pennsylvania’s public schools, I absolutely believe we need greater oversight of the charter school system. Lack of regulation in charter schools negatively impacts the quality of our public schools as well as that of benefits and positions for public school teachers.

As a combat veteran, I fully support the second amendment and the rights of citizens to securely keep arms for self-defense, recreation, and hunting. As a former U.S. Army Commander, I have first-hand knowledge of the power and deadliness of military-grade assault weapons which is why I support Universal Background Checks to ensure that those purchasing firearms do not pose a risk to themselves or others in our community, and that they are stored securely and out of the reach of children and others who are not properly trained on how to safely use them.

Gun violence is a public health crisis, and for too long Republicans have stood in the way of overwhelmingly popular safety legislation to protect our communities and schools. As your representative, I will stand up for responsible measures to curb this public health crisis.

AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE

Our healthcare system is broken. To fix it, I support expanding the Affordable Care Act and giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices and cap prescription drug costs for seniors in order to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for everyone in PA-01. When elected, one of my first priorities will be to fight for legislation that would expand the government’s role in drug research and development, which would drastically reduce the cost of generic prescription drugs and help reduce the cost of healthcare at large.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES

Roe. v. Wade is under attack, which is a threat to women, and to all families who are trying to plan for the future. As I wrote in an op-ed with the Courier Times, access to abortion is not only an issue for single women, but also families looking to determine their own futures. In fact, many Americans who have an abortion are already parents when they choose to do so. This can have broad economic impacts for women and their families, and access to abortion is essential to protecting the rights of women to freely participate in society.

While our supposedly moderate Congressman, Brian Fitzpatrick, has continuously opposed access to a woman’s right to choose, I will not. I support H.R. 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would federally codify Roe v. Wade, and I look forward to casting my vote in its favor in Congress.

THE OPIOID CRISIS

In my lifetime, I have lost some of my family members and my soldiers to drug addiction and mental health disorders. The drug overdose epidemic claims over 70,000 lives every year. This crisis has hit so many people close to home. We must confront addiction with compassion, better access to resources at the federal level, and comprehensive treatment. In Congress I will pursue every avenue and work with my Republican colleagues across the aisle to address the deadly opioid epidemic that has ravaged our communities.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

Our country has a real problem with the money that goes into our elections, especially outside money from Super PACs that attempt to buy elections. We need to overturn Citizens United and quell the unlimited, untraceable spending on elections from special interest groups and millionaires.

Having elections that can be bought and controlled by the extremely wealthy is a direct threat to our democracy. I oppose the presence of dark money in our local, state, and federal elections.

PROTECTING DEMOCRACY

The January 6th insurrection was a turning point for me as I thought about whether or not to run for public office. I joined the Army at 17 to defend the Constitution, and protect our nation from all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and it remains painful to know that veterans like me took part in this after being disillusioned and misled by our nation’s leaders.

Protecting the right to vote and access to free and fair elections is essential to the health of our democracy, which is why I support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Diversity is at the core of America’s identity, and as a member of Congress, I will support programs in Bucks and Montgomery Counties that help all communities thrive, and work to reform institutional systems that oppress minorities. In Congress I will work to broaden anti-discrimination laws, expanding and enforcing ADA requirements, and grant and tax programs that support minority, disabled, and veteran owned businesses.

My military career spans nearly 13 years, and in that time I saw the shameful impact of the Trump administration’s Transgender Ban on my fellow soldiers. I also witnessed how soldiers who lived at or below the poverty line were disproportionately people of color. And I experienced first hand, just how differently women are treated in the military, and the obstacles that we are expected to overcome that our male counterparts are not.

It is the responsibility of leadership to protect and uplift marginalized people, be they LGBTQIA+, communities of color, minority faith communities, or living with a disability.

Having spent over a decade in the military, commanding overseas and at home, I shape much of my beliefs with the question, “how do we increase our nation's security?” A pathway to citizenship to those who have made America their home, and have not posed a threat to society, only serves to strengthen our borders, and bolster our economy, both through GDP growth and domestic job creation. However, much more needs to be done to improve the ability of those wishing to come to the United States legally — the current process is very onerous and reduces our competitiveness worldwide.

I also believe that protections for Dreamers and DACA recipients should be codified in federal law, to ensure that, regardless of who is in the White House, those who have lived here since they were small can freely participate in American society, the only true home these people have ever known.