LEVIN: PANDEMIC SHOWS NEED TO BEEF UP OBAMACARE
Q: What will be your top domestic and international priority in Congress?
A: Our top domestic priority must be to beat the COVID-19 pandemic and protect our health — until then, we won’t be able to get our economy back on track and effectively address all of the other issues our nation faces. We need to listen to the science, follow all relevant precautions to beat this virus and provide more relief for working families, front-line workers, small businesses and others.
I believe that the greatest international threat facing the United States is from terrorists and other extremists getting their hands on nuclear weapons and nuclear materials. These groups can’t be deterred. If they acquire nuclear weapons, we must assume they will use them. What we need is a comprehensive approach to nonproliferation and arms control, combining U.S. action, stronger international rules and cooperation with our friends and partners around the world.
Q: Has the pandemic changed your approach to health care? If so, how?
A: Now more than ever, it’s clear that we need to expand access to affordable health care, particularly for underserved communities that are most susceptible to COVID-19. I believe we should do that by strengthening the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and maintaining protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
In our district alone, 47,000 people rely on the ACA for health care. The ACA is particularly important in the middle of a pandemic, when millions have lost their employer-sponsored health insurance and over half a million have signed up for ACA exchanges. That the Trump administration would continue its legal efforts to undermine the ACA during a pandemic is absolutely unconscionable.
Meanwhile, my opponent supports Trump’s war on the Affordable Care Act. His party would cancel health insurance for millions of people in the middle of the pandemic and would let your insurance company deny you coverage if you get COVID-19, cancer, diabetes or another pre-existing condition.
Q: What more could Congress do to combat climate change?
A: As a Southern California native and a father of two young children, climate change is very personal to me. One of the things I worry most about is the planet that we are leaving behind for future generations. We’re already feeling the destructive impacts of climate change in our district, with more extreme heat waves, more intense wildfires, rising sea levels and unprecedented coastal erosion.
Prior to running for office, I spent much of my career in the clean energy industry, working to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future. In Congress, I have used my experience to push for climate action that meets the scale of the challenge we face. As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, I was proud to cosponsor the Climate Action Now Act, which seeks to prohibit the Trump administration from withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. I’ve also introduced legislation to transition the nation to zero-emission vehicles, expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by promoting development of renewable energy on public lands.
This isn’t just about saving our planet — it’s about creating good-paying jobs right here in America. One of the biggest myths I hear is that we cannot combat climate change while also growing our economy. To the contrary, if we embrace science when it comes to the climate crisis and our environment, we will create the clean energy jobs of the future right here in our district.
Q: What changes would you make to U.S. immigration policy?
A: I’m the grandson of Mexican immigrants on my mother’s side. Having not graduated high school themselves, my grandparents sent all five of their daughters to college. At age 50, my grandfather, Rosendo Bringas, became an American citizen, and it was among the proudest days of his life.
I want to preserve the values and aspirations of so many immigrants like my grandparents, who dream of the uniquely American opportunity for self-improvement. I believe that immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect.
One thing is clear; our current immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, rather than working with Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform, this administration has made the problem worse. There is absolutely no reason that innocent children should be ripped from their families and locked up in cages. As a father of two young children, I find this completely reprehensible.
We need members of both parties to come together on comprehensive and humane immigration reform that includes protections for Dreamers, a path to citizenship, and increased funding for smart border security technology. I have been to the border and seen firsthand what we can achieve with smart investments.
Most of all, we need to start treating immigrants with respect and decency again.
Q: How would you address the massive national debt hanging over America’s future?
A: There is no question that we need to get our deficits and debt under control. I have two young kids, and I worry about the debt that we’re leaving behind for future generations to pay off.
First, I think we need to reverse some of Trump’s tax cuts for corporations and the ultra-wealthy. The 2017 Trump tax plan gave 83% of the benefit to the top 1% while blowing a $2 trillion hole in our deficit over 10 years. If we just went back to the tax rates that were there before 2017, it would begin the process of getting our fiscal house back in order.
We also need to create a new SimpsonBowles-style commission to do a thorough analysis of our revenues and spending and come up with additional solutions to get our fiscal house in order. There are important differences between costs and investments, and we need to take all of that into consideration as we move forward.
Q: Why should voters choose you over your opponent in this election?
A: Serving North County San Diego and South Orange County in Congress is an extraordinary honor. Since being sworn into office less than two years ago, my top priority has been listening to the people I serve and working across the aisle to deliver results on their local priorities. I’m proud to have introduced more than 20 bipartisan bills for our veterans, including four that already have been signed into law by President Trump. Working across the aisle will continue to be my focus for as long as I serve.
I’m also running because there are a number of local challenges ignored for too long, and much work that still needs to be done. Working with local stakeholders, I introduced legislation that would expedite the removal of nuclear waste from decommissioned plants, such as San Onofre. I played a leadership role in securing $300 million to clean up the hazardous pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. Finally, I was proud to secure federal funding to help prevent coastal bluffs from eroding and collapsing throughout our district. I’m proud of our record of results on these local priorities.
My opponent proudly stands with President Trump and his failure to control the coronavirus, his work to eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions and his efforts to divide our country rather than unite us. That’s not what our district needs.