THE PLAN
Make San Francisco livable.
Rebuild the American Dream.
Save our democracy.
Make Life Affordable
We are in the middle of a national housing crisis. Rent and housing costs have skyrocketed in nearly every American city. Nowhere has this crisis been more acute than in San Francisco. The median home in our city now costs $1.4 million — far more than any middle-class family can afford — and rents are 70% higher than the national average. Although San Francisco has become the poster child for this crisis, it is happening all across the country. We can solve this problem. I believe San Francisco should be a city where everyone who works here can afford to live here.
In Congress, I will create legislation for a national housing plan to build tens of thousands of new homes in San Francisco and millions of new homes across the country. Building on that scale is commonplace in many other countries and there’s no reason we can’t do it. I’ll lead the way advocating for federal programs that help cities and states cut red tape and quickly approve new housing. Cities that have pursued similar plans, such as Austin and Minneapolis, have shown that these reforms result in lower rents and housing prices.
However, we’ve seen that cutting red tape alone has not been enough. Even after rents dropped significantly in Austin and Minneapolis, half of the residents are still rent-burdened. And in San Francisco, we’ve seen that even after sites get slated for development, private developers often don’t build because it’s too expensive or interest rates rise. That’s why my plan for a Reconstruction Finance Corporation will provide public loans and investment that can finance the construction of affordable housing that the private market won’t build on their own — including starter homes, low-income housing, and “gentle-density” homes such as townhomes or ADUs. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation will proactively ensure housing gets built and, if it isn’t getting built, figure out why and solve those bottlenecks.
I will also repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which currently blocks the government from building new publicly owned housing. Many countries around the world, including Austria, Singapore, and Finland, build incredibly high quality social housing. Even in America, Montgomery County in Maryland has shown that high quality, mixed-income social housing works. We must build social housing at scale to make sure we have permanently affordable housing units.
We must end housing being used as a speculative asset. Housing should be for people to live in, not for big corporations to gamble with. I will use Congress's investigative power to go after corporate landlords that engage in price-fixing and predatory speculation that drives up costs for everyone. I will support legislation to crack down on big investment firms buying up houses to flip them.
Finally, as we build more housing, it is imperative that we protect our neighbors who are already here. We need to expand rental assistance programs for low-income renters at risk of eviction, introduce federal support for community land trusts that protect existing affordable housing, fund tenant unions, increase access to low-income housing vouchers, and introduce legislation to make rent payments tax-deductible – like mortgage payments are – to level the playing field between renters and homeowners. With the right protections in place, we can build more housing while keeping our communities stable and intact.
San Francisco is the second-densest city in America, with the second-highest transit ridership per capita in America — but our local public transit systems are in crisis. Muni is facing a $322 million budget deficit that is forcing it to make devastating cuts to services. BART is also struggling with a looming budget deficit of $376 million. Unless we fix these budget gaps, thousands of San Franciscans will lose the public transportation services they rely on to get around.
The issues facing Muni and BART are not unique, and public transit projects across the country are struggling to make ends meet. The funding struggles our transit systems face are the direct result of Congress underfunding public transit. For decades, Congress has invested billions in dividing our communities with new highways, rather than connecting them with public transit. Now, San Franciscans will pay the price in reduced services and longer commutes. We need to start treating and investing in public transit like the essential service it is.
I have a plan to save Muni and BART by changing how Congress funds public transit projects. I'll fight to redirect federal funds away from highway expansions and put it towards supporting and expanding public transportation. I'll make sure new federal funding is set aside to help cover the day-to-day operations of transit agencies — something Congress hasn't done since the 1990s. Taking even a small fraction of highway money and investing it in public transit would provide enough money to end Muni's and BART’s entire budget shortfall.
We can do more than just fix our transit agencies' budget deficits, with just a few policy levers we can set them up to thrive for decades. I'll work with Muni to help them utilize federal incentives for housing to build hundreds of units of affordable housing on Muni owned land. Not only would this generate more revenue but it would unlock more affordable housing near transit lines.
Muni and BART have been essential parts of Bay Area life for decades. If we want them to thrive over the next century, we need someone in Congress who is ready to fight for them.
San Francisco residents are suffering under the burden of high-energy costs. In 2024 alone, PG&E increased its electricity rates six different times. Over just the last three years, the average PG&E bill has gone up 56%. Now, PG&E is planning even more rate hikes. Residents, especially low-income families and seniors, can barely keep up with these outrageous costs.
The worst part? PG&E doesn’t use your money to improve our infrastructure — it goes to profits for wealthy shareholders. We’ve had enough of PG&E taking advantage of San Franciscans. If we want to keep energy costs low, we need to turn PG&E into a public utility that serves the people.
San Francisco actually has the legal right to do exactly that for its own grid. The 1913 Raker Act granted San Francisco the authority to generate and distribute its own power with the requirement that the city provide power at the lowest possible cost and with no private profit. For over a century, PG&E has lobbied politicians and regulators to not enforce this power. It's time for Congress to stop letting a private corporation override federal law.
In Congress, I’ll use my position to enforce the Raker Act to help San Francisco establish a public utility. I'll oversee any deal to ensure our local leaders are treated fairly by PG&E and stop PG&E from price-gouging residents during the transition. I’ll also fight to bring in major federal investments so our new public utility can access cutting-edge infrastructure and clean energy technologies. We don’t have to keep living with ever increasing prices and worse service, but we need leaders who are willing to stand up to corporate greed. If you send me to Washington, I promise to be that leader.
Here in San Francisco, the average cost of daycare and pre-K is now over $2,000 a month per child — the second largest monthly expense for most families, only eclipsed by housing. For the lucky few who can afford this, there aren't enough spots, and the waitlist for care can be as long as two years. The outrageous cost and stress this places on families does not need to be a fact of life.
Childcare is so expensive because the government has underinvested in it for decades. In Congress, I promise to fight for legislation that provides universal childcare to every American. At the same time, we must significantly increase the number of childcare providers, which is why I will fight for federal investments to recruit new childcare workers and pay them as the high-skill professionals they are. I know that with the right leadership, we can have high-quality, affordable childcare centers in every neighborhood in San Francisco.
Raising a family has never been more expensive, especially here in San Francisco. Families are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of recurring expenses, such as clothing, school supplies, and groceries. This challenge is especially acute in San Francisco, where the cost of living is nearly 20% higher than the national average. We need to implement bold new plans to put money back into the pockets of parents. That is why I support legislation creating a national child stipend that deposits $300 per child into a parent's bank account each month. Not only will this program help all families make ends meet, studies have shown that it will cut childhood poverty by up to 40%.
The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country. What do we have to show for it? 27 million uninsured adults, four million uninsured children, ever-increasing premiums, prescription drug prices nearly three times higher than in other countries, and some of the worst health outcomes in the world.
For decades, politicians have promised to fix our healthcare system, but nothing fundamentally changes. Both parties take millions from pharmaceutical companies and insurance lobbyists while Americans drown in medical debt. If you send me to Washington, I will take on companies that exploit patients and build a healthcare system that works for the people.
I believe that the best way to guarantee high-quality healthcare for all Americans is with a Medicare for All system. Medicare for All would provide Americans with high-quality healthcare without monthly premiums or deductibles. I will also make sure that any Medicare for All plan covers hearing, dental, vision, in-home care, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. Multiple studies have shown that America would actually spend far less on healthcare each year with Medicare for All than under our existing system.
I will also stand up to prescription drug companies that price gouge consumers. Drug companies relentlessly hike up prices for prescriptions and use that money to reward their wealthy shareholders. I will fight back against corporate price gouging by supporting legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for all drugs. Furthermore, I will propose legislation creating a new public corporation that manufactures common generic prescription drugs and sells them to the American people at cost — no more insane markups for lifesaving drugs.
Healthcare is a human right, and it's time to deliver healthcare that works for all Americans.
The United States is the only developed country in the world that does not guarantee paid parental leave. It is absurd that, in the richest country in the world, we force parents to choose between spending time with their child or uprooting their careers.
I am forever grateful for the time I was able to spend with my family after my daughter was born, and I want every family in America to have the same opportunity without worrying about how they will pay their bills. That is why I support legislation guaranteeing 24 weeks of paid parental leave for every family in America. Studies have consistently shown that paid family leave improves the health of new parents and babies, reduces the gender wage gap by allowing new mothers to stay in their careers, and actually makes workers more productive. It is time for the United States to catch up to the rest of the world and guarantee paid parental leave.
No one should go into tens of thousands of dollars of debt to get an education. Yet every year, we force millions of Americans to choose between crushing debt or not going to college. A child born today who attends a four-year public college in 18 years can expect to pay $150-200K for their education. This system makes no sense and is unsustainable. Exorbitant student loans prevent so many San Franciscans from pursuing their dreams or simply making ends meet. An education in this country should not come at such a high cost. We should be encouraging people to pursue higher education, not making it harder.
The solution is simple: we need tuition-free public universities and trade schools. California offered free tuition at public universities until the late 1970s, and many countries around the world still do today. This is an investment in our economy and our future — when people can pursue education without crushing debt, everyone benefits. In Congress, I'll support the College for All Act to make public colleges, community colleges, and trade schools tuition-free. I'll also fight to expand Pell grants and work-study programs so students can afford housing, books, and living expenses while in school.
Americans are nickel and dimed every day, from bank and airline junk fees to fine print that blocks you from suing lawbreaking companies. These are more than just inconveniences; they cost families real money. For decades, the federal agencies that Congress set up to protect consumers have been starved of resources, with corporate donors lobbying to let banks and Big Tech off the hook for wrongdoing. And now, with Trump back in charge, those corporate interests have more power than ever, and when the next crisis hits, the same politicians who cut our government watchdogs will complain that the government failed to act.
As your congressman, I will work tirelessly to make the government work for consumers again. I’ll fight against predatory financial practices like bank overdraft fees, late fees, and exorbitant credit card interest rates. I pledge to support the Public Banking Act and Postal Banking Act to expand affordable credit to low-income households. And when you shop, the price you see should be the price you pay at checkout— that is why I will fight for legislation banning hidden fees.
I will also fight to restore and protect your fundamental consumer rights. I will fight to guarantee a right to repair so consumers can repair their own products. I will also work to pass the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act (FAIR Act) to restore your right to sue companies that break the law and the Workforce Mobility Act to ban non-compete clauses that trap workers in their jobs. Finally, I will make sure Congress properly funds and empowers our government watchdogs, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission, so they can effectively police corporate abuse and break up monopolies across all sectors of our economy.
Expand Freedom
Make no mistake: Trump is attempting an authoritarian coup. He is doing it by taking a wrecking ball to our government and other public institutions. He’s going after law firms and universities to take more and more control over our civil society. He’s creating a vigilante police force of masked agents in unmarked vans who pick up our neighbors off the streets and disappear them into far off detention centers. And we already know he and the Republicans in Congress will dispute the results of any election where they don’t win.
In my first term in Congress, I would be lying to you if I said I could get all the big ideas in this platform done with Trump still President. My main job in that first term is going to be to protect San Franciscans from Trump’s attacks and make sure Trump does not destroy our democracy.
To protect San Franciscans, I will build the best constituent services office in the country. Most people don’t know this, but your Congressperson is supposed to be your chief advocate when you have a complaint with the federal government. That means if you don’t get a social security check, or your spouse is picked up by ICE, you should be able to go to your Congressperson’s constituent services office and ask for help. And here’s the thing: it really works. As Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, I helped build her constituent services office in New York. At the time, Trump was in power and waging a war on immigrants – and AOC’s district was the most immigrant-heavy district in the country. I was amazed at how a simple phone call from her office could unblock a blocked citizenship application or stop a deportation in progress. It showed me just how powerful a congressional office can be when it fights for its constituents, and I am very proud of the work we did there.
To stop Trump's attacks on our civil institutions, I will treat my job as more than a legislator – I plan to be an organizer. I will actively organize law firms and universities under attack from Trump to get them to oppose Trump as collective blocs. It’s easy for Trump to go after one law firm at a time – but if they collectively oppose him, they have the power. It’s difficult for any single law firm to organize this, but a legislator could.
I will also fight to ensure we have fair and free elections in 2028. Republicans have actively been taking over county election boards – the bodies that count and certify elections – and filling them with election deniers. I will act to reverse this and to call it out where it’s happening. I will do everything in my power to make sure it is impossible for Republicans to steal an election by denying the results in 2028.
San Franciscans deserve clean streets, safe neighborhoods, and a justice system that treats everyone with dignity. And while San Francisco has made real progress on safety, we can still do more. No one should feel unsafe while walking to work, taking Muni, or going to the park. In cities across the world like Tokyo or Copenhagen, it’s amazing to see young children playing in the parks or taking public transit by themselves. It’s incredibly freeing both for children and their parents. I believe we should aim for that kind of freedom in San Francisco.
Too often, the conversation around crime gets reduced to a false choice: go back to the failed “tough on crime” playbook of the 1990s or ignore the real problems San Franciscans are facing everyday. I reject that choice entirely — the issues we face are complex, and they demand complex solutions.
We need well-rounded solutions that make our city safer without criminalizing poverty or turning a blind eye to harm. That means investing in alternative responders — mental health specialists, addiction counselors, and social workers — who can de-escalate crises and connect people to real help. I’ll work to ensure every federal public safety grant includes funding for this kind of response.
At the same time, San Francisco is short more than 500 police officers — a gap that forces police to triage calls, leaves critical situations unaddressed, and costs the city millions of dollars in overtime. I support rebuilding our police force with well-trained, community-minded officers who are equipped to respond without intimidation or excessive force. Public safety must be holistic: the right professionals responding to the right situations. Over time, this approach will help rebuild trust and create neighborhoods where everyone feels protected, respected, and safe.
That work can’t stop at the city level. We need national leadership to help repair the broken relationship between communities and law enforcement. In Congress, I’ll fight to demilitarize local police, reform qualified immunity, and require body cameras for any department receiving federal funds. Police can play a vital role in public safety — but they must be accountable to the people they serve.
Everyday, I hear from parents in our city who are worried about their children's education — and for good reason. Reading and math scores are at their lowest level in over 20 years; less than half of 3rd graders in California read at grade level; and while our teachers are doing everything they can to help, they are grossly underpaid. Here in San Francisco, our public school system is facing a $110 million budget shortfall and may be forced to close schools. Parents and educators know this is an emergency, so why aren't our leaders in Congress acting like it?
In Congress, I'll fight for every child's right to a high-quality public education. That starts with doubling federal funding for Title I schools (including 17 here in San Francisco). I attended a Title 1 middle school and high school, and I know how crucial these funds are for low-income students. I will also fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for the first time, push for a Green New Deal for Public Schools to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, and for new federal grants for tutoring, after-school programs, summer learning, and universal free school meals.
Every teacher who teaches in San Francisco deserves to live in San Francisco, but the cost of living in this city is currently driving teachers out. That's why I will support legislation to cancel student debt for school staff after five years of service, establish a national minimum teacher salary of $60,000 with annual cost-of-living raises, and provide much-needed rental and mortgage assistance to school employees.
And finally, I will defend academic freedom. I'll oppose politically motivated book bans and work to repeal laws like AB 715 that censor how schools teach about Israel, Palestine, and the broader conflict. Our students and teachers deserve honesty, not censorship.
Reproductive freedom is under attack across our country. In over 20 states, Republicans have passed extreme abortion bans, threatened access to birth control, and even jailed doctors. They won't stop there. Although we are lucky to live in a state that protects reproductive freedom, Trump’s Project 2025 made clear that the goal is a national abortion ban. We need leaders who are capable of fighting back against MAGA’s extreme anti-choice agenda.
Democrats in Congress had nearly 50 years to codify Roe v. Wade into law to protect reproductive freedom, but they never did. For too long, Democratic leadership relied solely on the Supreme Court to protect our fundamental civil rights. When Republicans captured the courts, they had no line of defense. The Democratic establishment’s failure to secure our fundamental rights left us all vulnerable to attack.
I will not make that mistake. I won't stand by while Republicans undermine basic human rights. It is every person's right to make decisions about their body and to choose if and when to have children. Those decisions certainly shouldn't be made by Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, or any other politician. In Congress, I promise to be a fierce defender of reproductive rights by:
- Codifying the rights given to women in Roe vs. Wade into law by passing the Women's Health Protection Act.
- Codifying the right to contraception introduced in Griswold Vs. Connecticut by passing the Right to Contraception Act.
- Allowing publicly funded insurance, such as Medicaid or Medicare, to pay for abortions by repealing the Hyde Amendment.
- Expanding Title X funding to ensure that low-income Americans have access to contraceptives and reproductive healthcare services.
- Repealing the Comstock Act, an obscure law from the 1870s that many Republicans want to use to institute a national abortion ban.
We need to stop bombing and sanctioning countries every chance we get. We’ve destroyed our standing with the world and our unhinged foreign policy is leading us to ruin. We need to have a complete change in our foreign policy to become one where we follow international law and do business with other countries instead of coercing them. We should be doing the modern day version of the Marshall Plan, except this time to help developing nations create their own clean, sustainable, and prosperous economies — that would be a win-win for the United States and the world.
I’ve also been a vocal critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as the race to war with Iran. If elected, I’d be a vote to end all military aid to Israel.
I believe Congress—not the president—should decide when America goes to war. I support repealing outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) and backing legislation like the National Security Powers Act to end forever wars, close legal loopholes, and make sure no president can unilaterally drag the U.S. into conflict.
From the Compton Cafeteria Riots, to Harvey Milk, to being one of the first cities to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, San Francisco has been at the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement for generations. Anyone who wants to represent San Francisco in Congress has the sacred duty to be a national leader and fierce defender of LGBTQ rights, and I promise to fulfill that duty every day.
San Francisco has always stood up for those who others try to tear down. I'm running for Congress to make sure that legacy continues. I want every LGBTQ+ American to know they have a fighter in Washington who will never stop advocating for their rights, their safety, and the freedom to live their lives.
In Congress, I promise to be a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and dignity. That is why I will fight to ensure that we consider the needs of the LGBTQ+ community in every piece of legislation we pass. Some of my priorities include:
- Passing the Equality Act, which would finally ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations.
- Fighting back against any federal attempts to target transgender students or restrict their participation in school activities.
- Codifying the right to change your gender identity on government documents, including non-binary gender markers.
- Creating a Medicare-for-All healthcare system that includes full coverage for gender affirming care, contraception, and PrEP.
- A national housing plan that includes doubling the number of public housing units in the country, including new transitional housing to support people experiencing homelessness — which will especially benefit LGBTQ+ youth and adults who face disproportionately high rates of housing insecurity.
For the past two years, Netanyahu and his government have waged a barbaric campaign of bombardment, starvation, and psychological terror against the Palestinian people - violating the well-established laws of war and basic human decency. The Israeli regime has blocked the UN and other aid groups from delivering lifesaving supplies to Palestinians, engineered a famine afflicting over two million people, killed more than 60,000 civilians and 250 journalists, and reduced over 80 percent of Gaza's buildings to rubble.
I have never minced words on this issue: Israel's actions in Gaza constitute genocide. The United Nations, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israeli human rights groups have all reached the same conclusion.
I want to emphasize that, while I grieve deeply for the people of Palestine, I also mourn for the Israeli people who have suffered in the cycle of violence. Hamas committed war crimes by killing Israeli civilians on October 7. For the 250 Israelis who were kidnapped, I can only imagine the anguish that the families of hostages must have felt as they spent months in uncertainty, not knowing whether their loved ones were still alive. While Israel has the responsibility to ensure the safety of its civilians, it must adhere to international law. Both Israelis' and Palestinians' right to safety, sovereignty, and peace must be respected.
Sadly, the violence and genocide overseas has impacted our communities at home. Many San Franciscans have lost loved ones or have felt the sting of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, and islamophobia. I firmly condemn such hate, and it should not be controversial to condemn genocide, demand accountability, and stand against hatred and censorship of our Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim neighbors alike.
Today, while I am hopeful for a lasting ceasefire and an end to the genocide, we cannot be deceived by attempts from Trump and Netanyahu to distract us from reality. There is no ceasefire, and Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people continues. Israel is still bombing Gaza and restricting desperately needed aid, such as food and medical supplies — causing thousands of Palestinians in Gaza to go hungry and die from preventable diseases. Once in Congress, I will work to hold the Israeli government accountable for these crimes, and ensure that our tax dollars are not longer used to finance genocide by supporting an arms embargo. I support the Block the Bombs Act and House Resolution 876 recognizing the genocide against the Palestinian people.
Lasting peace will require much more than empty promises. The first step is to end Israel's genocide in Gaza, and stop the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. After that, we must engage in a process that includes not only Israelis but also Palestinians, who have historically been left out of any peace process in the region and denied agency and actual sovereignty. Any peace agreement in the region must have the full, democratic backing of all those affected. And finally, there must be justice and accountability for those guilty of war crimes.
I want to be clear - this is not just about Israel and Palestine. The United States must always call out genocide and other atrocities wherever they occur and never fund it; failing to do so erodes our credibility and signals tolerance for such crimes, further undermining international laws and norms. While Israel's genocide in Gaza has, rightfully, received a lot of attention, many don't know that the United States is indirectly funding a genocide in Sudan. Since 2023, Sudan has been immersed in conflict which has turned into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with over 12 million people displaced and upwards of 400,000 killed. The United States determined earlier this year that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied militias are committing genocide against non-Arab ethnic groups in Sudan. The RSF's campaign has been sustained in large part by weapons and funding from the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally in the region to whom we provide military funding. We must stop funding and selling arms to the UAE's military as long as they are using those funds and arms to enable a genocide in Sudan, and we must apply meaningful pressure on the UAE to end the violence in Sudan.
Build a New Economy for All
America used to build things. A few years before Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt began building the Arsenal of Democracy that would go on to win World War II. He put all of America to work building the world's most powerful industrial economy. That not only defeated fascism, but built the wealth that created the modern day middle class and ended the Great Depression.
Today, the climate crisis is both the toughest challenge and the greatest economic opportunity humanity has ever seen. Instead of upgrading our economy to build war materiel and machines, we need to replace the old, dirty economy that's causing massive wildfires, droughts, and pollution with a new, clean economy that delivers prosperity to all.
As Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, I helped author the Green New Deal, which directly led to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which created the largest investment in climate change in history. I also co-founded the think tank New Consensus, where I've spent the last six years creating the Mission for America (MFA) — a successor to the Green New Deal. The Mission for America is a detailed, comprehensive, and practical plan to rapidly slash emissions and create prosperity for all by building the most valuable goods and services that the whole world needs to build a clean economy. It includes more than 20 national plans to upgrade and expand every sector of our economy, laying out exactly what we need to do to build the high-tech, clean industries and infrastructure for each.
Let me be clear: The Trump administration's immigration agenda is cruel, authoritarian, and profoundly un-American. ICE is a personal police force for Trump now full of masked agents in unmarked vehicles picking people up off the streets and disappearing them with no due process. Claiming this is about immigration is a farce.
Back in the 1970s, we were doing so much work, we actually had immigration offices around the world recruiting millions of people to come help build this country. That’s how my parents got here. My dad’s friend took him to one of these offices in Calcutta where a nice staffer pitched him on the American dream and got him to apply for a Visa right there on the spot.
I believe America is at its best when we are welcoming immigrants. We must create a nation that is hopeful, growing, and optimistic that believes immigrants should come here to help build our country together.
Some Democrats in Congress have given up on this dream. They say that the political costs of fighting for it are too high. Not me. I am ready to fight tooth and nail against the president's authoritarian policies and stand up for our nation’s values.
In Congress, I will stand up to President Trump’s authoritarian immigration policies. I'll vote to repeal dangerous laws like the Alien Enemies Act that the administration uses to detain and deport people without trial. I’ll rein in ICE by making it illegal to detain people at courthouses and use Congressional oversight powers to investigate ICE for civil rights abuses. We need a fighter in Congress who will protect sanctuary cities like San Francisco from federal intimidation and ensure families aren't torn apart by deportation.
However, we can’t just settle for playing defense against the Trump administration’s racist agenda. We need new leaders who will follow through on their promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We need immigration reform that expands legal immigration pathways, reunites separated families, and treats asylum seekers with the dignity they deserve.
I will never give up on defending immigrant communities. I will always stand up for the right to come to this country legally, build a life, and contribute to our national future — just like my family did.
From 1975 to 2023, the balance of incomes have been shifted from the bottom 90% to the top 10% of income earners to the tune of $79 trillion dollars — with the vast bulk of that going to the top 1% of the top 1%. This was accomplished by breaking unions, subsidizing big business and financial speculation, creating massive tax loopholes for the rich and reducing their overall taxes, shipping high-wage industries overseas, and many other strategies. This is nothing short of class war — waged by a few of the very richest people in our society against everyone else.
There is perhaps no better example of this massive “reverse Robinhood” wealth transfer than our government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis — under both Republicans and Democrats. After Wall Street got carried away with reckless speculation on an unprecedented scale, the leaders of both parties literally bailed out Wall Street’s biggest losers while millions of ordinary Americans lose their homes and life savings — a national trauma that created the Tea Party and set the stage for Trump’s rise.
Incredibly, nearly all of the CEOs and other leaders who led our economy to ruin not only kept their jobs but were rewarded with trillions of dollars of support from the government. But on a much larger scale, our government’s deliberate policy of reinflating asset prices across the board to get the casino economy rolling again had the effect of doubling the portfolios of America’s richest — and doubling them again. All of that was underwritten by ordinary Americans who are on the hook for the trillions of additional dollars of national debt and Fed liabilities that we’ve taken on to repeatedly bail out Wall Street and keep asset prices inflated. And now, with Trump’s budget, we are witnessing yet another historic transfer of wealth from the working and middle class to the very richest in our society as he cuts Medicaid and food stamps to fund tax cuts for the rich.
The resulting extreme debt and inequality created by all of those policies is strangling our public services and corroding the fabric of our society and local communities on every level.
It’s time to start righting these wrongs. In Congress, I will fight to reestablish fair taxes on the richest. And I will work to start a national conversation about instituting fair and reasonable taxes on the wealth of billionaires and centimillionaires.
This is an intensely personal issue for me. I grew up in a middle class first-generation immigrant family in Fort Worth, Texas, attending public schools. We had everything we needed, but money was tight. I never imagined that I would become wealthy myself. After I helped build the payment processing company Stripe, I became a centimillionaire — at least on paper — myself. For me, it was a shocking and weird experience, and of course I feel incredibly lucky. But it’s also given me a window into how wealth inequality works in America and just how unfair it is. I’ve seen how, thanks to our rigged casino economy, the rich get richer without lifting a finger while everyone else struggles to hang on to what they have.
Did I work hard at Stripe? Sure. But did I work harder than a teacher at SFUSD or a nurse at UCSF? No way. Do I think people should be rewarded for starting great companies? Absolutely. But should our economy be organized as a winner-take-all battle for survival? Absolutely not. A society that works like that, where you either hit the lottery and get rich or you’ll never be able to afford a house or a secure retirement, is crazy. And unless we change it, America is doomed to fail.
In Congress, I’ll fight to reverse inequality and make our tax system more fair in any way I can, including by supporting the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act proposed by Elizabeth Warren and Pramila Jayapal. This bill creates a wealth tax on the top 0.05 percent of American households by having them pay 2 cents for every dollar of wealth over $50 million, and 3 cents for every dollar of wealth over $1 billion.
I will also fight to reverse the Trump tax cuts and end tax loopholes that allow the wealthy to avoid paying estate taxes. Creating a fair tax system will not only reverse the decades of wealth transfer from the working and middle class to the ultra-rich, it will allow us to fund programs like universal healthcare, universal childcare, and public transit.
Our mobilization for World War II created unprecedented levels of new wealth in America by building a whole new industrial economy. When Roosevelt did this, he unequivocally stood by unions so that the wealth from this new economy would be shared, creating the middle class. Today, we see an unprecedented level of the wealth our economy creates going to the owners and shareholders instead of the workers, and this upward transfer of wealth is decimating our middle and working class. We must reverse this, especially as we embark on a mission to create vast amounts of new wealth by building a new, clean economy. As your Congressman, here is how I plan to make sure workers get their fair share of the prosperity they are building:
- Raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour over the next five years by passing the Raise the Wage Act
- Support every American’s right to join a union by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
- Promote sectoral bargaining — where workers across an entire industry negotiate wages and conditions together, not just at individual companies — to raise the wages of millions of Americans.
- Crackdown on wage theft — the most common form of theft in the United States — by making intentional and repeated wage theft a felony punishable with jail time.
- Guarantee every worker the legal right to bathroom, water, and rest breaks.
End Political Corruption
I agree with the 90% of Americans that believe members of Congress shouldn't be allowed to trade stocks. Every year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle make millions from trades that often seem based on insider knowledge gained in office.
Even if members of Congress are trading stocks not based on insider information, the appearance of corruption has destroyed trust in Congress. As your Congressman, I will not only support legislation to ban members of Congress from owning or trading stocks – I will introduce a discharge petition on day one to force a floor vote on it. This is the exact procedure that Rep. Khanna and Rep. Massie used to force a vote on releasing the Epstein Files, so we know it can work on issues like this where the vast majority of people are on our side.
Money is the root of much evil in our politics. In my time working as Chief of Staff to AOC, I saw over and over again how money not only corrupted legislation, but the threat of upsetting donors kept members from ever wanting to take action – even action that was overwhelmingly popular in their districts. Members of Congress spend 6-8 hours a day “dialing for dollars” to bring in campaign donations – it is quite literally their main job.
We must overturn Citizens United to get rid of unlimited money in our politics, but we should move beyond that. We must create a publicly financed election system to end the role of big money in politics. Places like New York City, Seattle, Arizona and Maine have versions of this already. We can win this nationally because an overwhelming majority of Americans support limiting the influence of money in politics.
I have pledged to take no corporate or lobbyist PAC money in this campaign. I am spending my time talking to voters, not big donors and when in Congress, I will spend my days doing my job rather than dialing for dollars.
I'd love to get your feedback on my platform — both on the positions themselves and how we're explaining them.
A New World Needs New Leaders.
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