Priorities
Fighting to Make Life More Affordable
Housing, utilities, groceries, child care, healthcare—everything’s gotten way too expensive. It’s getting harder for our kids to imagine building a life here and for our seniors to retire with dignity. People getting third or fourth jobs is not a reasonable solution to the affordability crisis - we need action.
Lisa will fight with the urgency we need to lower the cost of living for working families because she knows firsthand what it’s like to work multiple jobs and still struggle to make ends meet. As a teenager, she had to file bankruptcy for her mom, and they were evicted from their apartment before Lisa was in grade school.
Lisa will push for real solutions because she knows what it feels like to live under the stress of poverty. We can trust her to make sure working families finally get a fair shot. In Congress, Lisa will work to bring down everyday costs for Virginians by:
Bringing down the cost of essentials like groceries and gas by holding big corporations accountable for unfair price gouging
Building more homes and cutting red tape that limits housing growth
Cracking down on exploitative landlords and hedge funds buying up properties and raising rent
Lowering prescription and health insurance costs by capping the cost of Insulin at $35 a month for all Virginians, expanding prescription drug competition to reduce costs, and protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act to lower premiums and protect guaranteed benefits like annual check ups, maternal care, and substance abuse and mental health treatment
Investing in child care and paid family leave so that families can care for one another without risking their jobs
Fixing our unfair and broken tax code, which rewards wealth instead of hard work
Reversing the disastrous tariffs that are raising grocery prices and hurting small businesses across Virginia
Investing in job training programs so Virginians are prepared for good paying jobs that don't require a college degree
Protecting our Fundamental Freedoms
Lisa’s mom risked everything in search of more freedom and opportunity, so Lisa is not about to back down when it comes to fighting for the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies. She knows how personal and how fragile the right to reproductive freedom is, both nationally, and right here in Virginia. In Congress, Lisa will:
Fight to protect abortion rights, including restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the land
Protect medical professionals from politically-motivated violence or prosecution by extreme politicians in states like Texas
Ensure access to birth control and fertility treatments like IVF
Block any efforts to impose a national abortion ban or restrict abortion rights
Making Affordable Healthcare More Accessible
It is too expensive and too difficult for too many Virginians to get the healthcare and prescriptions they need. Lisa grew up relying on Medicaid for her healthcare, while her mom had no health insurance at all. She knows firsthand how vital access to healthcare is, as well as the fear of not being able to see a doctor when you’re sick. Right now, too many politicians in Washington are using Virginians’ healthcare as a bargaining chip. And our own Representative Rob Wittman just voted for the largest Medicaid cuts in U.S. history, putting at least 260,000 Virginians at risk of losing coverage. It is wrong, and it’s immoral.
In Congress, Lisa will lower healthcare costs and protect access to care by:
Lowering prescription costs by capping Insulin at $35 a month for all Virginians, fast-tracking the availability of affordable generics for high-cost prescription drugs, and cracking down on drug companies that are price gouging
Protecting and expanding the Affordable Care Act to lower premiums and preserve guaranteed benefits like annual check ups, maternal care, and substance abuse and mental health treatment
Standing up to the politicians who are attempting to raise the retirement age or gut Medicare
Blocking attempts to cut Medicaid and Medicare, and reversing the damage that has been done by Elon Musk
Improving the VA system to reduce wait times and ensure veterans get the quality care they deserve quickly
Expanding Medicare’s power to negotiate for lower drug prices and include hearing, vision, and dental care coverage
Increasing billing transparency so patients and their loved ones are not the victims of surprise charges and confusing medical bills they can’t afford
Keeping our Communities Safe and Strong
Lisa’s success is thanks in large part to her public school education. That’s where she learned English when she was six and received meals through the free lunch program. She’s a product of teachers who saw her potential. But right now, public education is under attack across the country and right here in Virginia. Politicians are underfunding our public schools and draining taxpayer dollars into voucher programs for private schools.
Our schools have been neglected for too long. On top of that, the pandemic set our children’s learning back, and our kids have suffered because of it. Devastatingly, some kids don’t even feel safe on their way to or in school, as gun violence continues to rise. Every year, more and more Virginians and their families experience gun violence - on our streets, in our schools, on our college campuses, in our places of worship. Real safety means more than just knowing you’re free of violence, it also means having access to help and support when you need it most.
Climate change has impacted communities all across Virginia - from water rising in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, to soil erosion on our farms, and the rising cost of energy thanks to extreme heat and cold.
In Congress, Lisa will strengthen our communities by:
Investing in our public schools to address the teacher staffing shortage, and allow our schools to hire and retain the best teachers possible
Ensuring first responders and law enforcement officers have the funding, tools, and training they need to respond effectively when people need help most
Passing common-sense gun safety measures like background checks to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals
Putting resources into clean energy to create jobs and cut down on the fossil fuels that harm our communities and environment
Investing in restoration of our shorelines, oyster reefs, and wetlands to buffer against storm surges and help with water filtration
Fixing our Broken Immigration System
This country is a nation of immigrants, filled with families like Lisa’s, who came here for a better life. As a first-generation American and proud daughter of an immigrant mom, Lisa has seen the consequences of our broken immigration system up close. It’s the result of decades of Washington politicians playing political games with our national and border security. We need to keep our border secure and reform our immigration system. In Congress, Lisa will be focused on solutions like:
Securing and modernizing the border so that we can stop the flow of fentanyl, human trafficking, and illegal firearms into our country
Passing bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform with humane, long-term solutions
Providing a path to citizenship for DREAMers
Streamlining the application process for H-2B Visas
Stopping Political Corruption and Protecting Our Democracy
We’re watching our democratic institutions be chipped away by politicians more focused on clinging to power than delivering for the people they represent. Lisa sees the warning signs because she grew up hearing the stories of what happens when governments become unaccountable and power goes unchecked. She’s running for Congress because we can’t afford to elect leaders who don’t understand what’s at stake - or worse, don’t care. Lisa will fight to ensure that America stays true to its promises of freedom and opportunity for everyone. In Congress, Lisa will lead on this by:
Defending the Constitution and ensuring no one, including politicians and corporations, is above the law
Banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks
Passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to protect the right to vote here at home
Standing strong against authoritarian regimes like Russia and China
Getting dark money out of politics and overturning the disastrous Citizens United decision, because corporations should not have a bigger say than people in our elections