Issue Position: Give Every Family the Opportunity to Succeed

Issue Position

While we have emerged from the depth of the recession, many hard-working families are still not benefiting from our growing economy. Wages have remained stagnant. Regular people are working harder for the same or less money they made 10 years ago. Families are finding it difficult to regain the credit availability they had before the recession. Parents are worried their kids will not have the same opportunities that they had.

As your Congresswoman, I pledge to have a guiding principle that puts the economic mobility of ordinary families and citizens first. For too long, many government policies that make it harder for the middle class to get ahead. The economy within the home is most critical and Congress can do more to help working families in their struggle to regain the ground they lost in the recession and to manage their work-life balance. This is essential to building healthy homes and communities, and providing opportunities for the next generation.

To that end, my top priorities will be:

1. Reforming lending regulations that are making it difficult for families to recover from the recession because they limit access to credit needed to make investments under fair circumstances.
2. Ending tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas and eliminating behind-closed-doors trade agreements.
3. Fighting to increase the minimum wage. People shouldn't have to work two or three jobs just to keep their families out of poverty.
4. Strengthening equal pay protections so women are no longer paid less for doing the same job as a man. The inequality is crushing not only for women but for the families they work to support.
5. Guaranteeing paid family leave for maternity periods and illnesses. The Family and Medical Leave Act was groundbreaking 22 years ago to protect one's job but there are still too many employees not covered by the basics of FMLA and only unpaid leave is guaranteed for those who are covered. This is one area we are far behind the rest of the world.
6. Expanding access to quality and affordable child care options for working families so parents can earn more in their jobs than they pay for child care.
7. Reducing the tax burden on middle-class families.
8. Stopping the upcoming "Cadillac Tax" that is scheduled to be imposed on strong health insurance plans even when those plans were offered by employers as part of a union-negotiated contract.
9. Strengthening workplace discrimination laws to protect all Americans from harassment, particularly LGBTQ Americans.

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