Community Priorities

Working families across East Texas are struggling with rising costs while wages fail to keep pace. Congress must focus on making life more affordable and creating economic opportunity for working people.

The cost of groceries, electricity, housing, prescription drugs, and other essentials continues to rise. Congress must pursue policies that lower everyday costs and provide relief to working families. I will also work to make homeownership more attainable for first-time buyers and middle-class families.

The federal minimum wage has remained stagnant for far too long. I support raising the minimum wage to at least $15 per hour so that full-time workers can earn a living wage and support their families without relying on government assistance.

Teachers are the foundation of our education system and deserve professional wages that allow them to focus on teaching rather than working second jobs. I support raising teacher pay, protecting public education, expanding special education services, providing universal school meals, and investing in universal pre-kindergarten.

Access to quality healthcare should not depend on where you live or how much money you have. East Texans deserve access to hospitals, doctors, specialists, and affordable medical care close to home.

Rural East Texas has experienced some of the highest hospital closure rates in the state. Families are often forced to drive hours for specialist appointments, emergency care, or routine medical services. Congress must increase Medicare reimbursement rates for providers and hospitals to help keep rural healthcare facilities open and financially stable.

I support a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare systems, that guarantees health insurance coverage for every American. No family should face bankruptcy, overwhelming medical debt, or have to start a fundraiser simply because a loved one became sick.

Americans pay some of the highest prescription drug prices in the world. Congress must hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and negotiate lower drug prices. No one should have to skip medication or ration prescriptions because they cannot afford them. East Texans are facing hundred and even thousand dollar prescription prices, and its time we put an end to deciding between dinner or medication. 

The government should be accountable to the people it serves, and every American deserves equal treatment under the law. I will fight for transparency, justice, and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

I am pro-choice. Decisions regarding reproductive healthcare belong to women, their families, and their healthcare providers—not politicians. I support restoring Roe and protecting access to reproductive healthcare.

America needs a fair, efficient, and humane immigration system. I support creating a realistic pathway to citizenship that is less expensive and less time-consuming than the current process. Congress should ensure immigration courts are adequately staffed so applications can be processed efficiently. I will also advocate for ending the use of detention centers.

Our criminal justice system requires immediate reform. I support ending the use of privately owned, for-profit prisons and ensuring the justice system focuses on fairness, accountability.