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.

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.

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.

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.

Defend the RIGHT TO CHOOSE. The government has worked its way into too many corners of our private lives. 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.

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 — not the government.

We also 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.

I intend to do exactly that in Congress.

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 companies that illegally union-bust. If a business can only survive by breaking labor 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.

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.

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 an improved Medicare-for-All system so every American can get 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.

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 isn’t theoretical — we’re living with the floods, the bad air days, and the rising costs 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 deal with 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.