Issues
As a product of Austin public schools and as a father and grandfather of successful AISD students, I know the value dedicated educators bring to our community. Our public schools are vital for both individual opportunity and our continued economic promise. During the consideration of the Republican Budget in February, which will slash funding for millions of Americans in order to provide tax cuts for billionaires, I offered an amendment to preserve the Department by protecting critical funding.
I will continue to stand up for equal rights and equal respect for all Americans, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
To grow our economy, we need to invest in our workforce, education, and job training. We need to fix our crumbling infrastructure, bringing it into the 21st century. We need to invest in health care, research and development, and bolster small businesses and local manufacturers.
I am committed to preserving hard-fought for reforms to our health system.
Affordable Medications
As the Chair and Founder of the House Affordable Prescription Drug Task Force, I am committed to bringing more oversight and transparency to drug pricing and supporting legislative and administrative solutions so that more families can afford the medicine they need.
Our immigration system should reflect American values of fairness, dignity, and opportunity—not fear, cruelty, or political gamesmanship. Instead of building walls, we should be building bridges—connecting families, strengthening communities, and growing our economy.
You do not have to be a scientist to recognize the role of climate change in the extreme weather we currently experience. From deep freezes to flash floods to killer hurricanes, we are living with the consequences of climate action–not in some distant future, but here and now. Home insurance policies are already skyrocketing across Texas, especially in Austin, due to more frequent and more extreme weather related disasters. Despite the clear and pressing threat of the climate crisis, Trump, supported by Republicans, has once again reversed our response to the climate crisis.
So many veterans have planned their lives around the benefits promised to them as service members and they should not be forced to bear the weight of balancing our Nation's budget on their backs. We cannot afford to break our promises of retirement and health security they earned. With my strong support, Congressional Democrats prioritized protecting veterans exposed to toxic chemicals and burn pits during their service. In 2022, we passed the Honoring our PACT Act. To date, benefits have been delivered for more than one million PACT Act claims.
The recent elections and efforts to limit ballot access in Texas, Georgia and elsewhere, underscores the urgent need for comprehensive, structural democracy reform. We must defeat voter suppression, gerrymandering and a torrent of special-interest dark money just to exercise their right to vote in our democracy and make their voices heard. I strongly opposed a Republican bill that would limit voting access by prohibiting the use of a driver's license for voter registration and essentially eliminating online/mail registration.
Gun owners know the importance of keeping the safety on. With mass shootings increasing in frequency and lethality, we need policies that prevent gun violence, not enable it. I have long supported banning military-style assault weapons, eliminating gun sale loopholes, and requiring a universal background check. While Americans overwhelmingly support these smart reforms, Republicans continue to block any progress, even to limit those on the terror watch list from gaining access to such weapons.
The peaceful protests across our country, which began after an officer sworn to uphold the law suffocated African American George Floyd, are a call for new and bolder action, a plea for something meaningful to be done to protect Black lives. I am sponsoring reform legislation, including the important Justice in Policing Act.