For Congress
For Upstate NY
My Priorities...
​While telling you my priorities and where I stand on issues is important, I will also spend some time laying out where our current District 24 Representative (Claudia Tenney) stands on issues and what her priorities seem to be as evidenced by her voting record.
Reform Congress
​Ban stock trading. Stock trading is an everyday occurrence for many members of Congress. While politicians may state their stocks or funds are in blind trusts, they are largely aware of what they own since they disclose it at least yearly (see below). How will you know your Representative is voting for your best interests, or their own financial best interest? As your Congressman, I will neither own securities, trade securities or have trading done in my name.
Tenney: Active trader of securities while in Congress.
​Ban Corporate PAC and Lobbyist Money: Corporate money, dark money and special interest influence has corrupted our political system. Bought and paid for politicians repay their gifts with their votes – working for special interests, not Upstate New Yorkers. I will take no Corporate PAC or lobbyist money. I will serve the people of Upstate NY.
Tenney: Active Corporate PAC and lobbyist big $$ recipient;
Enact Term Limits. They are a positive structural reform to change incentives so politicians think more about their constituents and less about their next campaign, their campaign warchests, and the special interests that fuel them; They bring in generational diversity, fresh blood and new ideas. I will fight for term limits and lead by example.
Tenney says she is for term limits but keeps running.
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We also need to end the practice of partisan gerrymandering and prevent lobbying by ex-politicians (who hopefully go home after they are term-limited).
Protect Social Security and Medicare
Social Security/Medicare are threatened (and they’re not kidding this time). We must allow seniors to retire with the dignity they deserve and benefits they paid for. Instead of cuts, require the wealthy to pay their fair share into these programs will help to keep our promise to seniors.
Tenney is a member of a group (RSC) with a plan released this year to slash SS/Medicare while making permanent 2017 tax cuts that disproportionally benefit the wealthy and big Corporations and add trillions to the debt.
Tenney stated she would protect Medicare, but in 2017 she voted for a bill that would have cut Medicare.
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Big Pharma's free ride must end. The buying of Congress and anti-competitive actions must stop. Recent actions to permit negotiations for Medicare recipients are a good first step, giving them more authority would be better. Capping costs on critical drugs is vital.
Tenney voted with big pharma and opposed Medicare negotiations that will save seniors real money (billions) and make Medicare stronger. Tenney takes money from Pfizer, Amgen, et.al.
Tenney voted NO on a bill to cap insulin costs at $35 per month and introduced a bill that would give more tax incentives to Big Pharma to produce products in the US.
Get Prescription Drug Costs Down
Rebuild Upstate
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Rebuild upstate with policies and legislation that spur investment and make Upstate once again a manufacturing hub – semiconductors, batteries, solar technologies. Legislation like 2022’s “CHIPS and Science Act” will bring billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs and careers to Upstate (Micron, for example) that will help Upstaters have careers that provide strong financial security for our young people and their families.
Tenney voted NO on “CHIPS and Science Act.”
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Support our working families. While Corporations make record profits, Upstate families struggle to make ends meet - 60% of whom live paycheck-to-paycheck to make ends meet. While Districts around ours are thriving, we are spinning our wheels. We need careers, not jobs. We need workforce development, training and education in the trades and we need Livable wages.
Tenney does not support minimum wage or a livable wage.
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Organized labor must be supported. Unions built the middle class in this country. It shouldn''t be hard to organize a union or easy to break one. The PRO ("Protecting the Right to Organize") Act is a bill that is long overdue to be passed.
Tenney voted NO on the PRO Act.
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Cut taxes for middle class households, not for the wealthy and big corporations. The rich got richer from PPP, the 2017 tax cuts and during the Pandemic. The rich and big Corporations need to pay their fair share to reduce the deficit/debt and invest in needed infrastructure improvements.
Tenney voted YES for 2017 tax cut that benefitted the rich and big Corporations while leaving little for the Middle class. Tenney wants these cuts - which run out in 2025 - to be made permanent.
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Support our Family Farms. Bigger is not better and ultimately, consolidation kills competition. We need to listen to farmers not just pose with them in a field. Among other things, we must ensure John Deere adheres to the right to repair MOU and that farmers aren’t turned into serfs by Big Ag – a Big Ag that has gotten too big and needs to be broken up.
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Mental and physical illness need to be treated with similar respect and resources. Nearly half of all Americans will suffer through some mental health issue in their lifetime, whether a debiilitating illness such as depression to a substance abuse problem. Yet, we have a significant scarcity of health care providers, which is even worse in rural districts such as ours. I will work to create incentives, insurance parity, and make training and education more accessible. I have seen first hand the impact mental illness and suicide can have on our families. I will work hard to ensure our neighbors and family members get the help they need.
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We must honor our debt to those Veterans who served. My Father served in the Navy and I still use the duffel bag he gave me as a child. While increasing support and cutting red tape at the VA are important, we must continue our work to ensure that access to VA facilities is expanded and that healthcare needs – especially mental health care – are thoroughly addressed. Providing recruitment incentives to combat VA staff shortages is a good policy.
Tenney voted NO on the PACT Act. Her NO vote on the bill providing critical care for Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to toxic burn pits is unacceptable.
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Invest in infrastructure and needed tech improvements including high-speed internet to rural areas.
Tenney voted NO on the infrastructure bill.
Cut Taxes for the Middle Class Not Billionaires and Big Corps.
Support our Farmers
Advocate for Veterans
The government should tread very carefully in many matters, including those involving responsible gun ownership and women's health care decisions. Growing up, there was hunting in my family. I hunted. I get it.
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I also get the notion that it is unreasonable and unacceptable that a politician can mandate that a woman be pregnant or prevent access to contraception. Abortions should be safe, legal and (hopefully) rare. And, politicians have no place in anyone's bedroom or doctor's office.
Tenney voted NO on a right to contraception and NO on a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, including abortion.
​Guns
​Abortion
Ensure Proper Resources for Mental Health Care and Addiction
​Fix Our Roads and Bridges
​Support Our Working Men and Women
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While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not perfect, it has helped tens of millions of people to obtain health insurance, enabled children to be covered under their parent's plan until they reach 26 years old, and ensured coverage of pre-existing conditions. Adding a "public option" would increase competition and likely bring costs down further.
Tenney voted to repeal the ACA and it's pre-existing condition coverage requirement that would have left millions of Americans without coverage.
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