Issue Position: Economic Justice

Issue Position

Almost half of Texans are struggling to pay bills each month for basics like housing, food, and childcare. That second job or extra credit card just doesn't cover the costs anymore.

I know what that feels like. I grew up poor in Texas, many times feeling like I was on the brink of financial disaster. I know what's like not to be able to pay the light bill and to sit at home at night in the dark. I know how it feels to stand at the grocery cashier, looking over my items and deciding what to leave out because I don't have enough money in my checking account to cover it all. I know what it feels like to make what should be one meal stretch into two or three. I know what it feels like to have a flat tire and worry that it will be what finally pushes you over the edge into financial ruin.

Sometimes it feels like there's nobody that wants to help, least of all the people elected to serve us in Washington. It's like we don't have a voice.

That's why I'm running for Congress. We need someone fighting every single day to create an economy that works for all of us, one that's thinks about a family's budget, equity and justice.

That's why my priorities in Congress will be to:

1. Pass a $15 dollar an hour federal minimum wage;

2. Support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will help close the wage gap between men and women;

3. Pass strong paid family leave, universal pre-K and child care to ensure fathers and mothers aren't punished for growing their families;

4. Pass strong paid sick leave so that serious illness doesn't mean families lose their home or their jobs;

5. Crack down on payday lenders taking advantage of families living paycheck to paycheck;

6. Pass tax relief and increase access to credit for Texas small businesses to help them grow;

7. Invest in good paying clean energy jobs in Texas that can't be shipped overseas.
​
8. Invest in infrastructure like roads, bridges, high speed rail and broadband.

Source