Floridian’s are hurting and it is not because they are not working hard enough. Prices for electricity, gas, and groceries are only continuing to rise and our paychecks are not stretching far enough. We have a system that has been set up to benefit the most powerful and works against America’s working and middle classes. It is time that the economy works for ALL Americans. Here are some of the ways I want to work to address the affordability crisis:

• Work to reduce junk fees and hidden charges that unfairly burden American consumers by corporations already making billions of dollars in profits

• Instead of massive tax credits for corporations, we should be providing better tax incentives and credits to small business owners. Starting a small business with my husband has allowed me to see how financially difficult this can be on families. 

• Corporations have been price gouging struggling American families in our grocery stores and at the gas pumps. We have stopped it in Florida during declared emergencies, it is time to put a stop to it on essential items. 

• Create opportunities of lowering federal student loan interest by working for qualified municipal, county, state, and community organizations. This will help lower the monthly financial burden on Americans with student loan debt while also assisting the community. 

• Increase funding to Medicaid, SNAP, early childhood education programs, and Head Start–because these programs have shown to have a net positive return on our investment. 

• Help to lower housing prices through grants that help revitalize neighborhoods with housing repairs and other environmentally sustainable solutions that prevent further development of district green spaces.

• Regulation of corporate abuse in the purchase of homes and low-income housing developments to drive up home and affordable housing options for low-income residents. 

• Our workers are the lifeblood of America and I will always stand up for them and their rights–including the right to unionize. 

We have all heard it for too long–politics is a dirty business but it is never going to change. Well, that is only the case if we continue to elect the same people to office who are continuing to benefit off of the system as we know it. Here are a few ways that I want to work to change the system that is rigged against us:

• Limiting Executive Overreach by enacting Congressional guardrails on the President and the Cabinet–no matter which Political Party is in power. 

• Ban Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children from owning and trading stocks and commodities while in office, while also increasing penalties for violations.

• Working to end Citizens United which allows billionaires and corporations to have a disproportionate influence on federal elections. 

• We need a federal budget that makes sense and actually addresses the federal debt of $37 TRILLION. The only way to do this without further burdening an already overburdened working and middle class is by making the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes. 

Throughout FL-11 we have so many incredible Main Streets that have become the blueprint of how to revitalize a community. It is time that we use those blueprints to make sure that all of our cities and municipalities in the district have a bustling Main Street while ensuring that those areas that already do, continue to meet their community goals: 

• Make sure that corporations within the district are not enjoying federal tax loopholes while ignoring antitrust laws and federal regulations, in turn creating harm to local small businesses.

• Committing to regular meetings with community and business stakeholders within the district to discuss needed action and service at the federal level to assist with Main Street business and community goals. 

• Assisting community and business stakeholders with access to federal resources and pathways to meet community needs and goals.

Growing up as the daughter of a police officer, guns were always something that we had in our home, but it also seemed to be a different world then–one where I never had to participate in a mass shooter drill at school and my own children do multiple times a year. While some may choose to paint me as one of those “I’m going to take all your guns away” Democrats, that is not what I am proposing. Instead, I believe we can all agree that America is in need of common sense firearm safety to address the out of control mass shootings in our country. Research shows that these laws can reduce mass shooting incidents and firearm suicides. These would include: 

• Closing the federal loophole that only requires background checks on gun sales from licensed dealers. I believe we must require background checks on all gun sales, including sales online and at gun shows to keep them out of the hands of people with felony convictions and other prohibiting factors. 

• Close the Charleston Loophole and require that a background check be completed for a gun purchase to be finalized. 

• Create a federal “Red Flag” law standard nationwide that allows law enforcement, family members, and medical personnel to petition a court for a temporary order to remove that individual’s access to firearms while they are in crisis and at risk of harming themselves or others. 

• Work with licensed gun dealers to help strengthen and update comprehensive gun dealer best practices. (There has not been comprehensive gun dealer reform since the 1960’s and updates would help to prevent gun trafficking.)¹

• Prohibit bump stocks, high capacity magazines, and the use and manufacturing of 3D printed guns and software

The Trump Administration and Congressman Dan Webster believe that only Americans who look, live, and worship like they do deserve to be counted as American or receive their attention. But that is not what the United States Constitution says and that is not how our Representatives were called to serve. It is a priority for me to:

• Treat every person equally and with respect no matter their race, the color of their skin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political affiliation. Whether we are talking about how they are treated under the law or coming into my office, all are treated equally and with respect as a human being.

• Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, have faced unconstitutional and, at times, inhumane treatment. We must stop the unnecessary and financially wasteful mass deportation raids that are occurring against immigrants. Confusing, overbroad policies have led to documented, legal residents and citizens being detained and deported into a privatized for-profit pipeline that is costing taxpayers likely billions of dollars. 

• Simply put, I will be relentless in my advocacy for every Floridian and in my efforts to create safe havens for the most marginalized members of our community because I understand that we are all children of God, made in His image, and that none of us should be treated as less than–even those of us that do not believe in the same God.

I believe that we have some of the best workers right here in Central Florida and that businesses choose our district because of those workers. I also believe that we must continue to champion our existing manufacturing and agricultural workforce against competition overseas while also providing opportunities for further progress. We can do this by: 

• Developing better training opportunities within our high schools and access to specialized/technical training programs and apprenticeships after graduation.  

• Working with local businesses to determine what regulations and bureaucratic red tape are deterring manufacturing and agricultural businesses from thriving and work to cut or streamline those processes.

• Reshore American jobs and work to bring them to FL-11.

American primacy has drastically weakened under Trump’s second term and we are no longer respected by other nations. As we see our relationships with longstanding allies face shaky ground, we must take action to strengthen our foreign standing and restore many alliances that have been tested by the inconsistent foreign policy of the Trump Administration. We can achieve this by: 

• Passing legislation that prevents the use of retaliatory tariffs and trade wars by the President, no matter their party affiliation. This measure only reinforces the authority of Congress to impose tariffs and regulate trade granted by the U.S. Constitution in Article I, Section 8.

• Restore foreign assistance and aid programs that align with our foreign policy goals while also ensuring proper oversight measures to prevent abuse. 

• Believing that divisive partisan politics in Washington is significantly contributing to America’s weakening reputation, I believe we can help to resolve this with bipartisan Congressional delegations that meet with foreign counterparts to discuss foreign policy objectives. 

The most obvious topic regarding science is that of climate change. All the research and data shows climate change is real and Florida will be one of the first states that face significant impacts. For that reason alone, I believe it is near criminal for Florida elected officials to be lying to their constituents in service to their political donors–and they’re purposefully lying or ignoring the proof. This has now become an overarching subject beyond the topic of climate issues and sustainability. We must now also consider the fight for scientific research and funding and keeping them independent from partisan actions. Unfortunately, it seems this list of actions we can take may grow by the week during the campaign, but here are some priorities to start: 

• Restore research funding to important federal scientific federal entities like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Federal Drug Administration (NIH), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• Safeguard federally funded research grants to universities from partisan political chaos.

• Work with local counties and municipalities to protect rural boundaries and protected areas from development that creates issues with flooding and infrastructure.

• Establish incentives for smart development measures that work with land that is already developed to prevent further sprawl and loss of green areas.

• Address Florida’s flooding crisis by collaborating with our county and municipality leaders and regional Water Management District leaders on improvement of water control and drainage infrastructure, land-use solutions, and further flood mitigation pathways.