platform

I will hold open, in-person town halls across every corner of this district—regularly, publicly announced, and open to every resident, no matter their politics. Too many politicians disappear once they get elected. I won’t. You deserve a representative who shows up, answers tough questions, and listens face-to-face. I’m making a simple commitment: real conversations, real transparency, and direct accountability to the people I work for—you.

I have committed to a set of tenets in a pledge put together by an organization called Take BAC Congress.

I will vote to…


Limit Congressional Term Limits

House:

6, two-year terms for a total of 12 years of service.

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Senate:

2, six-year terms for a total of 12 years of service.

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Overturn Citizens United

It is past time to get unlimited corporate money out of politics.

Put a Moratorium on Lobbying

We need a minimum of 5 years between end of term and employment as lobbyist.

Ban Stock Trading By Congress Members

There is no good reason we should allow stock trading for members of Congress while in office.

Pass a Code of Judicial Ethics for US Supreme Court

The US Supreme court must still answer to the people, rather than be beholden to no one.

As a veteran, I know what war takes from people — not just in lives, but in the years that come after. I will never vote to send Americans into another pointless conflict.

We’ve already seen what happens when Washington rushes into war. Iraq was a disaster created by politicians who ignored the warnings and voted “yes” anyway. That can’t ever happen again.

I oppose any push toward war with Venezuela. I oppose unauthorized boat strikes and covert military actions carried out without Congress. The Constitution is clear: no president gets to start a war alone. War powers belong to Congress, and I’ll defend that every time.

War must be the last resort, used only when every other option has been exhausted and there is no alternative left. Our service members deserve leaders who understand the weight of that decision — leaders who won’t treat military action as a first step or a political prop.

No more blank checks. No more unauthorized conflicts. No more pointless wars.

Social Security is a promise this country made to its workers, and that promise has been under attack for decades. We’re getting close to a breaking point, not because the program is flawed, but because too many politicians have treated it like an ATM instead of something people rely on to survive.

The fix is simple and fair: lift the payroll tax cap so the wealthiest Americans pay into the system at the same rate as everyone else. Doing that would keep Social Security solvent for generations and allow for stronger cost-of-living increases so seniors aren’t crushed by rising prices.

In Congress, I’ll fight to protect Social Security and make sure it’s there for every generation —
not just the ones who got lucky with timing.

I will co-sponsor and vote to pass The Social Security Expansion Act
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/770

It’s long past time to raise the federal minimum wage — and tie it to inflation so workers never again lose buying power the way they have over the last twenty years. Prices go up every year; wages should too.

Here in Western Pennsylvania, families are getting hammered by the cost of housing, groceries, fuel, and medical bills. Workers shouldn’t have to work two or three jobs just to stay afloat. Raising the federal minimum wage is basic economic survival for millions of people, and it would put more spending power directly into our local communities — from Erie to Butler to Mercer County.

Any politician who represents this region should be fighting for a higher federal minimum wage. In Congress, I’ll push for a real, across-the-board increase that finally gives working people the paycheck they’ve earned.

Workers keep this country running. It’s time their wages reflected that.

Medicare and Medicaid keep millions of Americans alive, stable, and treated with basic dignity. My own mom is fighting cancer right now, and her Medicare coverage is the only reason she’s able to get the care she needs. Families in situations like that shouldn’t have to worry about politicians in Washington pulling the rug out from under them.

But there are still people in Congress who want to slash these programs or hand them over to private companies. I won’t let that happen. I will oppose any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid and fight to strengthen them. And I’ll push for a Medicare-for-All system so every American can get quality treatment without fear of losing their home, their savings, or their chance at recovery.

These programs are essential. They protect families like mine and families like yours —
and I’ll fight to protect them every single day.

Send me to congress, and I will co-sponsor and vote to pass The Medicare For All Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3069

Unions built the middle class. They mean higher wages, safer workplaces, and real dignity on the job… and I know that firsthand from my own union background. Working people won’t get a fair deal unless they can stand together, which is exactly why some of the wealthiest people in this country have spent decades trying to tear unions down.

In Congress, I’ll support the PRO Act to protect the right to organize and put real penalties on union-busters. If a business can only survive by breaking the law, it shouldn’t be calling itself an American success story.

I’ll fight to bring good union jobs back to Western Pennsylvania. In manufacturing, energy, construction, the trades, tech, and every sector that keeps our region running. And I’ll push to expand apprenticeship and training programs so young people can build solid, long-term careers instead of chasing unstable, low-wage work.

Any project paid for with federal dollars should support union labor. Leaving that out of recent legislation was a serious mistake, and I intend to fix it.

Strong unions mean strong communities, and I'm committed to both.

I will be an ally in congress you can rely on to oversee regular full-quorum NLRB sessions, and ensure labor courts have the resources they need to protect workers.

The housing crisis is hitting working families across the country, and Western Pennsylvania is no exception. Private equity firms and hedge funds are snapping up homes, driving prices beyond what normal people can afford, and destabilizing entire communities.

For decades, the federal government played a real role in helping Americans build and buy homes. We stopped doing that, and the market has tilted hard toward investors instead of families. We need to bring back serious federal support for building housing — actual homes regular people can afford, not luxury units that sit empty.

The VA home loan program has helped a lot of veterans, myself included, and it shows how powerful a fair lending system can be when it’s done right. We should expand access to similar programs so more Americans have a fair shot at homeownership without being buried under impossible prices or predatory lending. And we need to ban hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes.

Families shouldn’t be competing with billion-dollar investment groups for a place to live. There’s legislation ready right now to put homes back into the hands of the people who live in them, and I’ll support it in Congress. Every family deserves the chance to put down roots. Housing should be achievable — not something reserved for investors and out-of-town money.

I support the passage of The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48849

I will also sponsor and sign any bill that puts limitations on corporate housing ownership, re-zones urban centers to fill empty buildings and lots, and puts significant limits on real-estate empires.

Every American must be safely, and predictably housed.

Defend the RIGHT TO CHOOSE. The government has worked its way into too many corners of our private lives. For too long, the Democratic establishment relied solely on the Supreme Court to protect our fundamental civil rights instead of doing the hard work in Congress. When Republicans captured the courts, our line of defense vanished. The Democratic establishment’s failure to secure our fundamental rights left every woman of our district vulnerable to attack. I am an engineer and a veteran. When I see a broken system, I don't make excuses. I fix it. When I swear an oath to the Constitution, I mean it. I will not stand by while politicians like Mike Kelly treat our daughters’ futures as a second-thought. In Congress, I will be a fierce defender of reproductive rights.

That absolutely includes decisions about pregnancy. No politician, no judge, and no state legislature should be deciding whether someone is forced to carry a pregnancy to term. I support a strong federal guarantee of the right to choose so that your medical decisions stay between you and your doctor, and not the government.

I intend to do exactly that in Congress. When I am elected and sworn in as your congressman, I will…

• Focus on Codifying Roe v. Wade: I will vote to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, ensuring that reproductive freedom is the law of the land, regardless of who sits on the Supreme Court.

• Fight to Guarantee the Right to Safe Contraception: I will co-sponsor and pass the Right to Contraception Act, so that contraceptive health is recognized as a fundamental right, not a political talking point.

• Fight to end the Hyde Amendment: Healthcare should not be a privilege for the wealthy. I support allowing publicly funded insurance, like Medicaid or Medicare, to cover reproductive services to ensure every person has real choices for their health.

• Fight to Expand Title X Funding: I will fight to increase funding for family planning and reproductive healthcare services, particularly for low-income and rural families in PA-16 who often have nowhere else to turn for care.

• Fight to Repeal the Comstock Act: I will join the charge to repeal this 19th-century "zombie law" right wing hardliners are using to bypass state protections and institute a de-facto national ban on medication abortion.

Western Pennsylvania’s future depends on clean air, clean water, and healthy land. Our farms, our jobs, and our kids’ health all ride on whether we protect the environment instead of selling it off to the highest bidder.

Climate change is not theoretical. We’re living with the floods, the bad air days, and the rising costs associated right here, right now. In Congress, I’ll push for real action to cut emissions, invest in clean energy jobs, and make sure our communities aren’t left behind as the world changes around us. And I’ll do it by following the science, not lobbyists or wishful thinking.

I’ll also fight to protect and strengthen the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. These laws shouldn’t rise or fall based on who sits in the Oval Office… enforcement needs teeth, and polluters need consequences. No more repeat offenders getting a slap on the wrist while families and individual health bear the fallout.

We can build a stronger economy and a cleaner future at the same time —
and I intend to fight for both.

Fix immigration with common sense and basic humanity.

Right now, our immigration system is a disaster. We’re tearing families apart, locking people in brutal conditions, and calling it “policy.” That’s cruelty, and it solves nothing.

We need real reform, not political theater. Big corporations have fought this for years because they benefit from a shadow workforce they can underpay and exploit. I won’t play that game. In Congress, I’ll push for a legal, workable path to citizenship, and I’ll fight to end the mass-deportation machine that treats human beings like cargo.

We can protect the border and protect people. Any real solution has to do both — strong security, legal pathways, and a system that respects workers, families, and basic human decency.

Masked agents kidnapping innocent people is not a humane policy. US Immigration enforcement agencies require total reform.

I stand against Israel’s expansionist actions across the Middle Eastern states. I stand against the genocide of the Palestinian people, of which the death toll is estimated to be over 70,000.

I stand against sending billions of dollars and millions of man-hours to any foreign country while American’s deal with an affordability and inequity crisis hither-to the next gilded age. That goes especially for countries whose rulers act as regional pariah.

I will no take money or entertain interests from AIPAC, or any other organization acting on behalf of the state of Israel.

From warrantless surveillance to data mining to metadata tracking, the guardrails that used to protect ordinary Americans have been stripped away. We need to restore real limits, real oversight, and real due process.

We need to rein in corporate surveillance. Companies are using AI to track people’s movements, behavior, buying habits, and personal data, and then using that information to manipulate prices and squeeze every last dollar out of families. I’ll support legislation that puts strict limits on corporate data harvesting and bans predatory AI-driven pricing.

Personal freedom means something only if the government and corporations are both kept in check.

For starters, I would sign on to….

• Pass the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA):
  This legislation establishes a national data privacy standard that gives people the right to opt-out of data collection and prevents companies from harvesting more personal data than is strictly necessary.

• Pass the Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act: This legislation closes loopholes that allow companies to use shared AI software to artificially inflate prices, ensuring that "digital price-fixing" is prosecuted just like traditional monopolies.