Issues & Priorities

Access to affordable health care is critical to quality of life in the Capital Region and to the  success of American small businesses trying to compete in a global  market. The Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, is far from a perfect  law. That is why we have to respond to challenges in our healthcare  system and fix the parts of the ACA that don’t work while moving forward  with the provisions that do.

 In  the past couple of years alone, we have seen the effects of climate  change such as more frequent flooding, more violent weather systems, and  a historic blizzard in Texas. Not only is fighting climate change our  top global security threat as identified by the Pentagon, it will also  bring stable and good paying jobs to the United States and the Capital Region. 

After 4 years of Trump incompetence and ignorance of the COVID pandemic and favoring the already wealthy and well-connected, Joe Biden and Democrats have a big job ahead of us to not only build the nation back, but build it back STRONGER. As the nation begins to feel the effects of the American Rescue Act, we will continue to support those who need it. 

Our economy is only as strong as the American worker. That's why Paul is committed to labor rights including the right to collectively bargain and form a union. To live up to the American promise, we must invest in our workforce, pay living wages at all levels, and ensure access to skill development programs. 

 Paul works under the hard truth that racial inequality has  affected every arena of our nation throughout its history. As we build  back better, we must understand that long-ignored and under-served  communities must have access to the same opportunities at long-term  success as every other neighborhood, regardless of race, gender, or anything.  

  We  too often forget that those struggling with mental illness are   constantly forced to fight a battle on two fronts. Not only do they  have  to grapple with themselves -- with their own thoughts and mind --  but  they also have to contend with the negative assumptions made about  those  with mental illness, which are pervasive in our society. 

 Securing funding for science  and clear climate policies is one of the reasons I first ran for  Congress. Today, I am proud to sit on the Committee for Science, Space  and Technology, and the Energy and Commerce Committee. As an engineer, I  understand the importance of clean energy and the continued advancement  of innovation in technology sectors.

 More than 10,000 New Yorkers  have lost their lives since 2008 due to gun violence, which has  permeated our schools, neighborhoods and places of worship. It has  cultivated a uniquely American fear and a uniquely American problem. In  the United States, we are 25 times more likely to be killed in a  gun-related death than those in other high-income nations.

We should all work to make it easier to legally vote, not harder. Yet, Republicans continue their all-out assault on voting rights, making it more difficult to vote with fewer early voting days, fewer polling places, reduced hours, hurdles to mail-in voting, and more. Paul is committed to make sure everyone who wants to cast a legal vote should have more opportunity to do so -- not less. 

After 4 years of seemingly countless scandals, corruption, and a focus on Trump's relatives and inner circle, the federal government now has the chance to return to a dedicated mission For The People. Corruption is not unique to one political party and we must remain forever vigilant against that which causes distrust in government. 

 The complete failure of the Trump White House’s response to anticipate, prepare, and react to the coronavirus put a historic number of Americans out of a job, wrecked our economy and, at the time of this writing,  has wrecked our economy and, at the time of this writing, claimed more than 535,000 American lives. We deserved better, and Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats are dedicated to Building Back Better from the pandemic.