Issue Position: Healthcare, Education, and Housing

Issue Position

Education:
Keith is deeply concerned about the skyrocketing cost of higher education, which is a proven pathway to grow the middle class. He believes the Federal Government must do more to make higher education affordable by expanding Pell grants and keeping the interest rates on student loans low. He also believes that we urgently need to close the achievement gap between white students and students of color by investing in our schools and teachers, supporting robust and universal early education, and promoting high expectations for academic success

Housing:
Keith has been a leading voice for safe and affordable housing for low-income Americans. Keith has introduced the Common Sense Housing Investment Act to strengthen tax benefits for homeowners and give working families better access to rental homes.

To protect renters, Keith authored the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 which means families around the country no longer confront the immediate loss of their home when their landlord faces foreclosure. When the Minneapolis HUD Multifamily Housing Office was in danger of closing in 2013, Keith succeeded in keeping this valuable resource open and available to provide affordable housing options to the elderly, people with disabilities, and low-income families.

Healthcare and Social Security:
Keith believes in universal healthcare coverage for all Americans. He proudly voted for the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which has reduced the uninsured rate in Minnesota by 40% in the first year of coverage alone. The law eliminates the so-called "donut hole" for prescription drugs, prohibits insurers from denying coverage due to preexisting conditions, reduces healthcare costs by rewarding quality care and cutting down on waste, and allows young Americans to stay on their parents' health insurance until they are 26.

Keith stands with Americans who oppose cuts to Medicare or Social Security benefits. Medicare is more efficient than private insurers, and should be protected. To bring down Medicare costs Keith believes we should root out waste, fraud, and abuse--as the Affordable Care Act is already doing--and allow Medicare Part D to negotiate drug prices just like the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Keith believes we should strengthen, not weaken, Social Security benefits, and that the top 6% of earners should pay the same rate of Social Security taxes as the bottom 94%. Keith opposes the use of chained CPI because it is a social security benefit cut for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.

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