Amy Kennedy

Amy Kennedy (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Elections

2020

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Republican primary)

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated Amy Kennedy, Jenna Harvey, and Jesse Ehrnstrom in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Van Drew (R)	51.9	195,526
	Amy Kennedy (D)	46.2	173,849
	Jenna Harvey (Justice Mercy Humility Party)	1.1	4,136
	Jesse Ehrnstrom (L)	0.8	3,036

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,547
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Amy Kennedy defeated Brigid Callahan Harrison, Will Cunningham, John Francis III, and Robert Turkavage in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amy Kennedy	62.1	43,414
		Brigid Callahan Harrison	22.3	15,560
		Will Cunningham	12.8	8,946
	Submit photo	John Francis III	1.5	1,061
	Submit photo	Robert Turkavage	1.3	938

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,919
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated Bob Patterson in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on July 7, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Van Drew	82.4	45,226
	Bob Patterson	17.6	9,691

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,917
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

David Richter (R)
Brian Fitzherbert (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

Amy Kennedy did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Kennedy's campaign website stated the following:

“

Workers’ Bill of Rights

Our towns and neighborhoods in South Jersey were built up by middle class families. Now, thanks to the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans, the biggest corporations are paying almost nothing in taxes while those families are forced to move away to find good-paying work.

It doesn’t have to be this way. By empowering our workers, expanding access to and protecting hard-earned benefits, and investing to create good-paying jobs, we can build an economy that works for everyone.

In Congress, I will fight to protect workers’ fundamental rights, including:

The Right to Collectively Bargain.

I will always support the right to organize and bargain collectively, and I will never back down from that commitment. But it is not enough to protect the rights we already have—especially after decades of attacks by Republicans, corporations, and the courts. We need to make it easier for workers to organize. We need to expand and grow unions and increase their bargaining power. And when corporations violate workers’ rights, we need to hold them accountable.

In Congress, I will support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. This historic legislation will strengthen workers’ right to organize for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions—and impose stricter penalties on employers when they break labor laws.

The Right to High-Paying Jobs.

Everyone who wants to work should have the right to full-time employment. To get there, Congress needs to do much more to support job creation. And they should start by rebuilding our infrastructure—from our roads, bridges, and waterways; to our drinking water system and electric grid. Infrastructure investment boosts our economy, creates good-paying jobs, and attracts and supports local businesses. I will work every day to secure the major infrastructure investments we need for our district.

I will also fight efforts to privatize, outsource, or contract out public-sector jobs. Privatization replaces good jobs with benefits with low-quality jobs with few benefits, resulting in reduced wages and worker power. It also allows corporations to reap profits off the provision of public services, even as they provide lower-quality services less efficiently. Protecting public employees—from our teachers and support professionals, to our emergency responders and public safety officers—is good for our economy and our community.

The Right to a Secure Retirement.

Every worker should have the right to retire with dignity. That’s why I will fight to protect Americans’ hard-earned pensions and strengthen and expand Social Security. As a first step, we should pass the Butch Lewis Act, which would create a loan program to help get pensions back on solid ground.

While the federal government must be more fiscally responsible, I am outraged by politicians who suggest that we should use workers’ savings to balance our budgets. People who work and pay money into retirement programs their whole lives deserve a safe and secure retirement.

The Right to a Safe Workplace.

While the law requires employers to provide a safe workplace, far too many workers remain at serious risk of injury, illness, or violence. Unsafe workplaces impose enormous costs on workers, their families, and our health care system. I will fight for the resources regulators and employers need to keep workplaces safe. I will also push the administration to strengthen occupational health and safety protections, including for health care workers responding to the coronavirus. By partnering with unions to train workers and employers, we can avoid unnecessary risks and give workers a voice in their safety and health.

The Right to Health Care.

Every worker should have access to high-quality health care. Many workers bargain for high-quality health insurance plans, and I will fight to protect these health care benefits. I also believe that Congress should expand access to programs like Medicare, so that everyone who wants or needs to buy health insurance can do so affordably. And I will work to lower workers’ out-of-pocket costs by cutting prescription drug prices and holding pharmaceutical companies accountable.

The Right to Overtime Pay.

People who work more should be paid more. But the federal overtime law isn’t indexed to the cost of living, leaving far too many low- and middle-income workers without a right to overtime time for overtime work. By updating our labor laws, Congress can restore this right and give millions of workers a well-deserved raise.

The Right to Equal Pay for Equal Work.

The Equal Pay Act became law more than 50 years ago, yet an enormous wage gap remains. For every dollar a man makes in New Jersey, a woman earns just 79 cents, and the gap is far higher for women of color. We need to strengthen the Equal Pay Act, hold employers accountable for pay discrimination, and bar them from retaliating against women who discuss their pay. We also need to increase the minimum-wage, because more than two-thirds of low-wage workers are women. By raising wages and making it easier for women to enter high-paying careers, we can finally realize the right to equal pay for equal work.

The Right to Balance Work and Family.

Every parent should be able to care for a newborn child or sick family member. Yet more than 100 million Americans do not have access to paid family leave through their jobs. It is far past time for the United States to guarantee paid, family medical leave to every worker. No one should have to choose between their paycheck, their loved ones, and their wellbeing.

The Right to Benefits and Legal Protections.

Too many workers—including many “gig economy” workers—are improperly misclassified as independent contractors. Employers misclassify their workers in order to pay lower wages, without benefits, depriving workers of legal protections like unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and the right to collectively bargain. Congress should make it harder for employers to misclassify workers—and impose strict penalties on employers who do so.

Healthcare

My Plan to Strengthen Our Health Care System Health care is a human right. Everyone should have access to high-quality, affordable care. Achieving that goal will be my top priority in Congress.

It is shameful that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are trying to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Their efforts threaten to take health care away from millions of New Jerseyans—including young children—and they have already caused premiums to rise. We should be building on the ACA instead of undermining it.

In Congress, I will always fight to protect Americans’ health care. I will work to improve the Affordable Care Act to lower health care costs and protect coverage for preexisting conditions. I will stand up to pharmaceutical and health insurance companies to reduce drug prices and out-of-pocket costs. And I will fight to protect and expand Medicare and Medicaid, so that everyone that wants to, can buy insurance coverage.

I will also provide the leadership New Jersey needs to respond to the coronavirus. COVID-19 is a crisis of national and global scale, and it demands a bold and serious response. That response must leave the U.S. better-prepared to fight future crises and make sure every American has access to emergency and preventative medicine. We will all be safer and healthier if everyone is able to afford their copays and receive the care they need without fear of cost.

Give everyone access to high-quality, affordable health care.

No one should get sick because they can’t afford to go to the doctor or go into debt to pay their hospital bills. No one should have to make the choice between essentials like groceries and rent and paying for life-saving treatment. And no one should avoid seeking coronavirus care because they are uninsured or afraid of the cost.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Protect and expand the Affordable Care Act. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have spent years trying to take health care away from families by gutting and repealing the ACA. Now, the ACA is one of the most important tools we have to fight and treat the coronavirus. I will work to build upon the ACA by bringing more competition into the health care exchanges, helping more people buy insurance on the exchanges, and increasing the tax credits families use to subsidize the cost of ACA plans.I support efforts to continue to expand Medicaid, including to help states provide care in response to the coronavirus. And I will protect people with preexisting conditions like diabetes, mental health, and substance use disorders so that no one is denied necessary treatment.
Provide Medicare to all who want it. Congress should create a public option, so that anyone who doesn’t have health insurance can buy into Medicare if they want to. This will expand people’s health insurance choices, while protecting access to employer-sponsored plans, including high-quality plans workers have bargained for as part of their compensation package.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions of people to lose their jobs and their employer-sponsored health insurance. We cannot continue to tie health insurance to employment without providing greater protections—especially now, when it is vital that people receive coronavirus care.

Protect and expand the Affordable Care Act. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have spent years trying to take health care away from families by gutting and repealing the ACA. Now, the ACA is one of the most important tools we have to fight and treat the coronavirus. I will work to build upon the ACA by bringing more competition into the health care exchanges, helping more people buy insurance on the exchanges, and increasing the tax credits families use to subsidize the cost of ACA plans.I support efforts to continue to expand Medicaid, including to help states provide care in response to the coronavirus. And I will protect people with preexisting conditions like diabetes, mental health, and substance use disorders so that no one is denied necessary treatment.
Ban surprise billing. Often when Americans go to an in-network hospital, they unknowingly receive care from an out-of-network doctor—one who later charges them a massive, surprise medical bill. Outrageously, this includes patients seeking coronavirus treatment or tests, despite Congress’ efforts to require insurers to cover all COVID-19 testing. I will lead efforts in Congress to end surprise medical billing once and for all. We can ensure that providers are fairly compensated while also imposing strong consumer protections that increase transparency and reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Provide free COVID-19 treatment to all who need it. All coronavirus-related care should be covered at no cost to patients. Congress should require insurers to fully cover all care, including testing, diagnosis, preventative care, treatment, and associated fees and charges. And it should reimburse health care providers for delivering coronavirus treatment to the uninsured. We will all be safer and healthier if everyone is able to afford their copays and receive the health care they need without fear of cost.

Invest in minority and underserved communities.

South Jersey was already facing severe public health challenges before the coronavirus pandemic. Everyone should have equal access to quality, community health care—no matter who they are, where they live, their income, or the color of their skin.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Target funding to underserved populations. Crises often hit communities of color the hardest, and the coronavirus is no exception. Black and Hispanic New Jerseyans account for a disproportionate number of our state’s COVID-19 cases. This is due both to inequitable access to treatment and to the fact that many people of color have essential jobs across our economy and health system. We need to provide much better access to health care in low-income and minority communities—not only to respond to pandemics and other emergencies, but also to treat and prevent heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and other disparities that leave underserved populations at higher risk.
Prevent infant mortality and improve maternal health. Atlantic City has by far the highest infant mortality rate in the state: a child born to an Atlantic City family is nearly twice as likely as a child born in Newark to die before her first birthday. Congress needs to invest to ensure all women have early access to local, high-quality prenatal care, providing the federal support necessary to open more material medicine centers in communities like South Jersey. We also need to address racial bias throughout our health care system and provide states with greater resources to review and prevent maternal mortality.
Protect and support those in long-term care. The coronavirus has exposed and exacerbated America’s long-term care crisis. Roughly one-third of Americans who have died from COVID-19 resided in long-term care facilities. And even before the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus, most families struggled to pay for the nursing and home-health care they or their loved ones need. Congress must increase and expand access to long-term care benefits, while taking aggressive measures to ensure that all long-term care facilities are protecting residents and workers from the coronavirus.

Reduce prescription drug prices by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable.

Skyrocketing drug prices are crushing American families while large pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars in profits. I will stand up to drug and health insurance companies to reduce families’ out-of-pocket costs and expand access to life-saving care.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Allow the government to negotiate for lower drug prices. Drug companies should not be able to set prices for medications without limit or negotiation. Congress must allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices—and expand those lower costs to families with private insurance. I support the Lower Drug Prices Now Act, which will save taxpayers $500 billion in drug costs over the next 10 years.
Stop pharmaceutical companies from limiting access to low-cost medications. Our generic drug system is broken. Too few low-cost generics are entering the market, often because pharmaceutical companies are able to block them. This has led to skyrocketing prices or shortages of generic drugs like insulin, EpiPens, and cancer treatments, even before the coronavirus crisis. We need to reform the generic drug market to get more generics into the marketplace more quickly. To prevent pharmaceutical monopolies from price-gouging, we should also set price caps on critical drugs like insulin. And we should strengthen the federal government’s role in the procurement process to ensure production of life-saving medications.
Provide universal access to a free coronavirus vaccine. Congress must ensure that the federal government invests to quickly develop a vaccine and therapeutic treatments. And, once a vaccine and effective treatments are developed, every American must have free and equal access. I also support efforts to provide an open license that allows an eventual vaccine to be widely developed. We cannot allow pharmaceutical companies to limit care or reap enormous profits off the coronavirus crisis.

Expand our hospital and treatment capacity.

The U.S. has fewer hospital beds and physicians per capita than most other countries impacted by the coronavirus. This is due in part to failed and misguided cost-cutting measures that led cities and states close hospital beds, especially in rural areas. We need to immediately increase our hospital capacity, both to respond to COVID-19 and to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality care when they need it.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Provide emergency funding. The coronavirus has overwhelmed our hospitals and health centers, underscoring how unprepared our health system is to respond to crisis. I am glad that Congress provided an initial surge of funding for our health care system, but far more resources will be needed to help our hospitals, community health centers, rural health centers, and other providers increase short- and long-term capacity.
Save our hospitals from Wall Street. American hospital ownership is highly concentrated, leading to higher costs, widespread closures, and substantially worse patient outcomes. And Wall Street has continued to close and consolidate hospitals—or hold them hostage—even during the current crisis. Congress must step in to save existing hospitals and allow them to rebuild capacity without interference from investors who put profits before patient care.
Strengthen our medical supply chains. By consolidating and offshoring manufacturing, large corporations have greatly weakened our medical supply chains. As a result, we are now almost entirely dependent on China for most of our medicines and medical devices. And corporations have monopolized production of critical supplies like ventilators, perpetuating shortages and blocking new competitors from entering the marketplace.

Allowing big corporations to undermine our health care system is dangerous and immoral. Congress must act to break up medical-equipment monopolies, ensure domestic production of vital medicines, and incentivize and reward companies that rebuild our manufacturing capacity here at home.

Protect America’s health care workers.

Our physicians, nurses, health care aides, and first responders have responded heroically to the coronavirus crisis, risking their own lives to save the lives of others. But thanks to our broken health care system and government inaction—and President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ refusal to take the coronavirus seriously—too many people are on the frontlines without the personal protective equipment and workplace policies they need to do their jobs. Protecting and supporting our health care workers must be our top priority.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Surge production of personal protective equipment (PPE). The federal government must play a strong role producing and distributing protective equipment such as masks, gloves, and gowns, as well as cleaning products and COVID-19 test kits. Far better coordination is also needed to ensure that states and local governments receive the equipment they need. And the federal government must use its authorities to ensure that existing PPE production goes to health care workers, especially those in the hardest-hit areas. We will be completely unable to respond to COVID-19 if our health care workers become sick and are unable to provide care.
Replenish the strategic national stockpile. The coronavirus response has already depleted the strategic national stockpile of emergency medical equipment. This dire situation was entirely avoidable, but the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans refused to prepare for crisis. Congress must provide the resources and oversight needed to build up a reserve of medical supplies and ensure that future administrations distribute these supplies in a fair, coordinated, and strategic way.
Impose strict pay and safety protections. Under President Trump, federal agencies have refused to strengthen occupational health and safety protections for health care workers responding to the coronavirus. And, because our health care system prioritizes profits over patients, essential medical workers are being furloughed or taking pay cuts in the middle of a pandemic. These cuts effectively punish workers for having to provide emergency and primary care instead of more expensive elective procedures, which make more money for their employers.

Congress should provide additional funding to ensure that hospitals maintain staffing and pay. And it should direct the Department of Labor to put strong, mandatory workplace safety protections in place to reduce health care workers’ risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Fund a strong mental health response.

Nearly half of Americans say that stress or worry about the coronavirus pandemic has harmed their health. I have already put forward a comprehensive plan for revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment in the United States. In addition to fulfilling that plan, I will fight in Congress to:

Provide emergency funding for mental health providers. The coronavirus has strained our mental health and substance abuse treatment system so severely that it is now at risk of collapse. Congress must make sure that providers have the resources they need to deliver essential care as the United States responds to and recovers from the epidemic.
Expand telemedicine and suicide-prevention services. All health insurance plans must cover telemedicine services at parity with in-person care, including mental health services. Unnecessary restrictions must be lifted so that thousands more qualified mental health and substance abuse treatment providers can provide telehealth services, including medication-assisted treatment. And, as I called for in my Mental Health and Addiction Care Plan, Congress must fully fund and implement the new 988 suicide prevention hotline to make it easier for more people to get emergency help.
Expand diversion programs. Our jails and prisons are already ill-equipped to provide care for people with mental health and substance use disorders. Now, they have also become hot spots for the coronavirus, putting both inmates and correctional staff at extreme risk. It is urgent that we screen everyone coming into contact with the justice system for mental health and substance use disorders in order to divert qualified individuals into mental health and addiction treatment.

Protect long-term public health.

President Trump and Congressional Republicans ignored the coronavirus threat for months, leaving America grossly and unnecessarily unprepared to respond to the pandemic. The same leadership vacuum that allowed coronavirus to spread in the U.S. will limit our ability to prevent, contain, and treat infectious diseases in the future. We must act immediately to strengthen our health care system and prepare it to handle future crises.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Fully fund our public health agencies. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have tried to cut billions of dollars from health care agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Health and Human Services (HHS). We need to fully fund these agencies, including programs to ensure they have the infrastructure necessary to respond to pandemics or natural disasters.
Invest in basic science. Congress must boost funding for medical science and innovation, providing more resources for vaccine development, therapeutic treatment research, and the search for cures to leading causes of death like Alzheimer’s and cancer.

We can afford better health care.

President Trump and Congressional Republicans have provided trillions of dollars in giveaways to giant corporations and the wealthiest Americans in recent years. That includes a new $170 billion dollar tax break for wealthy real estate investors that was tucked into the latest coronavirus response act. By restoring the corporate tax rate and making other long-overdue reforms, we can make the investments we need provide everyone access to high-quality, affordable health care.

More importantly, we cannot afford to maintain the health care system we have. The coronavirus has uncovered enormous hidden costs, chief among them an unpreparedness that has brought America into what we hope will be a short but deep economic crisis. Fixing our broken health care system will save lives and protect our economy from future disruptions. It is more important than ever that Congress act to reform and strengthen it.

Education

Both of my parents were public school teachers, and I taught public middle school for more than a decade in South Jersey. I am proud that New Jersey has the best public schools in the nation, and I will be a champion for our students, educators, and support professionals in Congress. That means working to increase teacher pay, reduce class sizes, improve school infrastructure, and make free preschool available to every child in America.

Finally, I believe that every student should be able to afford a college education or industry-credentialed training program that leads to a high-paying job. We already have great higher education models in South Jersey, from the Cumberland County Technical Education Center to Rowan University. But we need to do more to ensure that college and training programs remain a pathway to future success—not a pathway to crushing debt.

Our Economy

Rebuilding South Jersey’s Economy The COVID-19 pandemic is solidifying the fact that we have two South Jerseys: one that is wealthy and will continue to have jobs and health care throughout this crisis, and another that is struggling to provide for their families, make a living wage and might never recover.

As we begin to re-open society and move toward whatever our new “normal” will become, we cannot afford another recovery that leaves some people behind and only benefits others.

More than ever for South Jersey and for our country, leadership matters. We need leaders, at the national, state and local levels who will fight to help our country and our community build back better and stronger—so that everyone has access to good-paying jobs in safe workplaces; so that children born in Atlantic City have the same chance of success as kids in other parts of the district; and everyone who works hard still has the right to retire with dignity.

In Congress, I will fight to make families whole from the economic catastrophe caused by the coronavirus, leading efforts to create jobs, help small businesses, support working families, and build a stronger, more equal economy in South Jersey.

Support Working Families

Working families have been falling behind for decades because of stagnating wages, growing inequality, and the skyrocketing cost of health and childcare. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these trends, devastating millions. We need bold solutions to help working families get ahead and recover.

In Congress, I will fight to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These important programs put more money in the pockets of middle-class and low-income families, making sure that parents can keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities. They are also proven to increase employment and reduce poverty and inequality.

I am proud to endorse the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which will expand both programs and allow more than 1 million families in New Jersey to keep more of what they earn. I am also proud to endorse the American Family Act, which will dramatically expand the Child Tax Credit to make sure that parents can keep up with the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and childcare. This ambitious but commonsense proposal would cut child poverty in half nationwide.

Additionally, I will co-sponsor the Raise the Wage Act, which by raising the federal minimum wage will increase the incomes of more than 33 million Americans.

And I will work to update our labor laws to restore the right to overtime work for overtime pay. Because the federal overtime law isn’t indexed to the cost of living, far too many low- and middle-income workers have been left without a right to be paid more for working more. By expanding overtime protections, Congress can give millions of hard-working Americans a well-deserved raise.

Help Small Businesses Lead the Recovery

Small and independent businesses are the backbone of our South Jersey community and they have been devastated by COVID-19. While vital, the emergency loan programs funded by Congress have not done enough, especially for businesses in New Jersey. Unprecedented leadership, investment, and support is necessary for our independent business community to survive and thrive.

In Congress, I will fight to foster a small business-led recovery, one that creates and protects jobs, wealth, and opportunity across South Jersey—including through:

Direct grants to small and independent businesses to help them recover.
Assistance targeted to historically-underrepresented businesses and to microbusinesses with fewer than 20 employees.
Support for small- and mid-sized farmers, fishers, and producers.
Increased funding for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which provide loans to local small businesses.
Reforms and investments to expand small businesses’ access to credit and capital.
Debt-forbearance programs for independent businesses and agricultural producers.

Invest in Infrastructure

Everyone who wants to work should have the right to full-time employment. To get there, Congress needs to do much more to support job creation, especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. And they should start by rebuilding our infrastructure, from our roads, bridges, and bulkheads, to our drinking water system and electric grid.

Infrastructure investment is one of the best ways to boost our economy, create good-paying jobs, and attract and support local businesses. Yet President Trump and Congressional Republicans have done nothing to advance it. I will work every day to secure the major infrastructure investments we need for our district, including in:

The infrastructure South Jersey needs to protect our shoreline, including by repairing and replacing bulkheads, seawalls, dams, and levees to prevent and minimize the damage from floods and storms.
Schools, to meet both physical and digital infrastructure needs. I support the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which will invest more than $100 billion to rebuilding crumbling schools while creating nearly 2 million good-paying jobs.
Energy, both to address costs—which are among the highest in the nation—and to transition to low- and no-carbon fuels.
Resiliency, which our coastal district must prioritize every time we repair or upgrade our infrastructure or public buildings.

Update and Strengthen Our Unemployment System

More than 1 million New Jerseyans have filed unemployment claims since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Yet thanks to an under resources and antiquated unemployment insurance system, thousands of desperate workers were forced to wait weeks to receive the benefits they were owed.

New Jersey is sadly not unique. Over the past 11 weeks, nearly 43 million Americans have filed for unemployment. Our current unemployment insurance system isn’t built to withstand this crisis, nor is it built to protect employment or speed economic recovery.

In Congress, I will support efforts to establish an employment insurance system—one that allows businesses to keep workers employed part-time instead of laying them off, with the government making up the difference in lost wages. Twenty-seven states have already established employment insurance, or work-share, programs, but Congress needs to do more to help the remaining states establish them and to reward and compensate businesses and states for participating. That way, workers can keep their jobs and their benefits during economic downturns, and businesses can ramp up more quickly as the economy recovers.

Vice President Biden has put forward a plan for transitioning to employment insurance, and I fully support it.

Make Childcare Affordable

We have a childcare crisis in New Jersey. Childcare costs more than $10,000 a year on average, and across the country, COVID-19 has brought our fragile childcare system to the brink of collapse. Making childcare affordable and accessible is critical to helping New Jerseyans return to work as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

While parents can already get a tax credit if they spend money on childcare, the credit is capped too low and doesn’t benefit lower-income families. In Congress, I will work to give all working families a refundable childcare tax credit that actually offsets the cost of childcare. I will also support efforts to increase the federal investment in state childcare programs. And I will fight to make free preschool available to every child in America.

Strengthen and Reform Our Healthcare System

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of people to lose their jobs and their employer-sponsored health insurance. We cannot continue to tie health insurance to employment without providing greater protections, especially now, when it is vital that people receive coronavirus care. And we cannot continue to have a health care system where people get sick because they can’t afford to go to the doctor or go into debt to pay their hospital bills.

That is why I have put forward a comprehensive plan to make sure that everyone has access to local, quality, affordable health care—and why fighting to realize that plan will be my top priority in Congress.

Congress also needs to act immediately to establish a national COVID-19 testing and tracing strategy. It is outrageous that President Trump continues to oppose a national testing program, and that Republicans repeatedly tried to block Congress from funding coronavirus tests. Testing gives people the confidence they need to return to work, and to reopen restaurants and small businesses—and we cannot restart our economy without it.

Target Relief to Workers, Not Wall Street

Congress has provided COVID-19 relief loans and other assistance to businesses of all sizes, recognizing that companies large and small are dealing with a public health crisis not of their making. But when we provide federal aid to corporations, strings must be attached to that money. Stronger safeguards were needed to make sure that federal dollars flowed directly to workers—not to Wall Street or corporate executives.

In Congress, I will hold accountable corporations or financial institutions who have engaged in pandemic profiteering. I will oppose any efforts to give liability protections to big corporations who allowed their workers or customers to contract the coronavirus. I will work to repeal the outrageous $170 billion tax cut Congress gave real estate investors in the CARES Act. I support efforts to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to bailout fossil fuel companies who took on bad debts before COVID-19 hit. I also support strong oversight measures to ensure accountability and transparency in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. And I will fight to ensure that any future relief funding is kept out of the hands of wealthy investors who are only trying to enrich themselves.

End Hunger and Food Insecurity

Far too many families in our district faced food insecurity even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In Atlantic County, nearly one in five residents had run out of food and been unable to buy more, and nearly one in three could not afford to purchase healthy meals for their family. COVID-19 made these problems much worse, leaving our community food banks struggling to keep up with the rising demand for assistance.

I believe that no one should go hungry. I also believe that every family should have access to healthy, affordable food in their community. That’s why I will always fight to protect and expand funding for food stamps and other nutrition assistance programs, and to quickly ramp up these programs during emergencies like COVID-19. In addition to being one of the most effective ways to help families during recessions, food stamps benefit local retailers, who accepted nearly $1 billion in benefits last year; and local farmers, by driving demand for their products. I will also work to achieve universal access to free school meals, including during the summer months and during emergencies like COVID-19. And by fighting to raise wages and create jobs, I will work to ensure that all families in South Jersey can keep up with the rising cost of living.

Prepare for Future Crises

Programs like expanded unemployment insurance, expanded nutrition assistance, direct payments, and aid to states have been critical to responding to COVID-19. While Congress worked quickly to put these measures in place, emergency aid would have been even more effective had it kicked in automatically once the economy began to deteriorate. That’s why I will support efforts to incorporate “automatic stabilization” measures into key safety-net programs. These triggers ensure that additional benefits are made available to Americans quickly and automatically at the onset of an economic crisis. Similar automatic stabilizers should also be used to decide when to end expanded benefits, so that Americans can continue to access needed support until the economy is in recovery.

Children and Families

No child in America should live in poverty. That’s why I am proud to endorse the American Family Act, a bold but commonsense plan to increase family incomes by expanding the child tax credit. This important legislation would put more money back in the pockets of middle class families, making sure that parents can keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities like housing, healthcare, and childcare. It would help more than one million children in New Jersey and cut child poverty in half nationwide.

Our Environment

Climate change poses an existential threat to our district—from the Jersey Shore to the South Jersey farms that make up the majority of agricultural land in our state. At the same time, the Trump Administration has worked with polluters to roll back critical protections for our air and water, putting the health and safety of our families at risk.

Protecting South Jersey’s environment is critical to both our economy and our identity. In Congress, I will fight to protect our air, land, water, and shores and make our communities more resilient. I will also work to accelerate the transition to clean and carbon-neutral energy, so we can meet the targets necessary to avoid the most serious impacts of climate change. And I will stand up to fossil-fuel lobbyists and other big polluters who put profits before people—and whose degradation of our environment disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color.

Now is a critical time to act. The coronavirus crisis has devastated our district, and much more relief is needed for our economy to recover. Congress must take action to create good-paying jobs, increase resiliency, and help our communities “build back better.” Investments in clean energy and resilient infrastructure satisfy all of those goals—and fighting for them will be one of my top priorities in Congress.

Protecting Our Coastal Communities

South Jersey is uniquely vulnerable to climate change. Our homes, businesses, beaches, and parks are already at risk and our economy relies on fragile coastal ecosystems to support our tourism and fishing industries. While we have made difficult and important progress since Superstorm Sandy, there is far more we need to do to make our coastal communities resilient from rising sea levels and coastal storms.

In Congress, I will fight for the infrastructure South Jersey needs to protect our shoreline. We need continued federal investment to repair and replace bulkheads, seawalls, dams, and levees to prevent and minimize the damage from floods and storms. We need to preserve and restore beaches and other coastal habitats that serve as natural buffers to storm surges and waves. And we need to make resiliency a priority every time we repair or upgrade our infrastructure, including our roads, bridges, and public buildings. These infrastructure investments are some of the best ways we can create good-paying, union jobs in South Jersey.

I will also provide leadership to reform and strengthen the national flood insurance system. We saw the current system’s shortcomings after Superstorm Sandy: insurance companies’ denied far too many families’ claims, in part due to mismanagement and abuse. I will fight for a stronger, affordable, and more sustainable flood insurance program that protects family homes and businesses in case disaster strikes.

Finally, I will fight to block oil drilling off of New Jersey’s shoreline, now and for generations to come. Offshore drilling threatens the health and safety of our families and our ecosystem and could cause irreparable economic damage. Fossil fuel companies should never be allowed to profit at our community’s expense.

Transitioning to 100% Clean Energy

I believe that we can and must power our economy entirely with clean and carbon-neutral energy. That’s why I am proud to support the 100% Clean Energy Economy Act. This bold legislation directs the federal government to use all of its authorities to reach a net-zero economy by 2050. It also puts important protections in place to ensure that we transition to clean energy in ways that don’t leave workers or communities behind. And it helps communities that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change—like South Jersey—become more resilient.

I also recognize that our transition to clean energy will only be successful if states and the private sector help lead the way. In Congress, I will fight for legislation like the CLEAN Future Act, which will give states, local communities, and the private sector the support and flexibility they need to address climate change. By settings bold standards to reduce emissions from buildings, industrial sources, electric utilities, and cars and trucks, we can leverage every sector of our economy to meet our climate goals.

Fortunately, New Jersey is already leading the way toward 100% clean energy. Atlantic City is poised to be home to New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, which will provide more than half a million New Jersey homes with renewable power. And Governor Murphy has put forward a bold plan for reducing emissions and deploying renewable energy. But there is more we can do to invest in clean energy and transportation infrastructure, like building charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and making buildings and housing more energy efficient. These investments will create high-paying jobs in our district and make our economy cleaner, stronger, and more competitive.

Preserving Clean Air, Land, and Water

Access to clean air, water, and land is a human right, one that I will always fight to protect in Congress. I want to make sure South Jersey is a safe and healthy community where all children have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.

Sadly, pollution threatens the health of too many families in our district, including many families of color. And decades of discrimination have allowed industrial pollution to concentrate in low-income neighborhoods. I will fight for environmental justice, recognizing that we cannot address climate change if we continue to leave impacted communities behind.

President Trump has made it much harder for our communities to ensure access to clean air and water. He has rolled back 100 environmental rules—allowing polluters to pump toxic mercury, lead, and chemicals into the environment; weakening emission standards for power plants, cars, and trucks; eliminating safety measures that protect against oil spills; and more. I will fight to block, repeal, or reverse Trump administration regulations that help polluters or threaten our environment. And I will always stand up to fossil fuel lobbyists who put their own bottom lines before our community’s health.

I will also protect our open spaces. New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the country, and our public lands and parks are vital to our sense of community and wellbeing. Moreover, public lands create and support good-paying jobs. In Congress, I will support investments to grow our outdoor economy; support recreation and tourism, especially as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic; and rebuild crumbling infrastructure within our parks, lands, and forests. I will oppose all efforts to privatize or undermine our public lands.

Supporting Our Farmers and Rural Economy

One of the reasons I am so concerned about climate change is because of the threat it poses to farmers and producers in our district. South Jersey needs leaders in Washington who will fight for the resources and support needed for our agricultural industry to effectively respond to climate change.

That’s why I will support the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in Congress, and work to greatly expand them so that more farmers are rewarded for using sustainable practices like cover crops and soil conservation. I will fight for investments in local and regional food markets, in organic and urban agriculture, and in programs that help veterans and new farmers start agricultural careers. And I will work to expand funding for rural energy programs to support clean and distributed electricity generation. We need to do more to encourage and reward farmers and rural businesses for using clean energy or energy efficiency to reduce their energy costs.

In Congress, I will also support a bold research and development program geared towards helping agriculture become more resilient, more profitable, and more environmentally sustainable. At the same time, I recognize that family farmers and producers need a strong safety net to weather the uncertainties caused by climate change. I will fight to protect and strengthen risk management programs, while making sure that family farmers in South Jersey have access to the workforce and markets they need to compete and prosper.

Real Criminal Justice Reform

Our criminal justice system should treat everyone fairly—no matter their net worth or the color of their skin. It should keep us safe, without wasting billions of taxpayer dollars incarcerating people for low-level offenses. And it should help people exiting the system rejoin their communities, by providing job-training and mental health treatment and by restoring their right to vote.

As a former public school teacher who saw many of my students’ lives destroyed by our criminal justice system, I will fight to break the school-to-prison pipeline. Schools should not need to rely on police officers to discipline students. They should have the resources they need to provide counseling, medical, and mental health services to every child.

I am also wholeheartedly in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. I am outraged by how the overzealous prosecution of those possessing even small amounts has disproportionately impacted people of color. We should expunge criminal records of nonviolent possession charges and invest in the communities most hurt by unjust, unequal, and unnecessary enforcement.

Our jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide people with treatments and support they need, leaving too many incarcerated people in crisis or unable to reenter their communities. We should also expand mental health and drug courts, which allow people to enroll in long-term treatment and recovery programs instead of receiving jail sentences. And we should provide mental health and addiction screenings for everyone who comes in contact with the justice system so that we can identify treatment needs and opportunities for rehabilitation.

Mental Health and Addiction

My Plan to Revolutionize Mental Health and Addiction Care The United States and New Jersey are in the middle of a mental health and addiction crisis. Drug-related deaths in our state have increased by 150 percent since 2012—and the highest fatal overdose rates are in South Jersey. The crisis among our youth is especially alarming. And fewer than half of returning veterans in need of mental health services receive any treatment.

This crisis is heartbreaking—but it is not inevitable.

I believe that our country must respond to the mental health and addiction crisis with the same urgency that we finally used to respond to other crises like HIV/AIDs. To do so, Congress needs to make mental health and addiction a national priority. We must partner with state and local governments, providing the resources they need to protect and heal our communities. We must respond with conviction, determination, and hope.

Sadly, our political leadership in Washington is failing us. While President Trump talked a big game, his actions belie his words. He largely ignored the recommendations of his Opioid Commission. He has callously called for throwing people with mental health conditions into institutions. And he has joined with House Republicans to try to take life-saving treatment options away from our neighbors.

I have dedicated my career to advocating for people with mental health and substance use disorders—and I will continue to fight for them in Congress.

My Ten Goals for Mental Health and Addiction Care

GOAL 1. Hold opioid manufacturers and insurers accountable

Pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma lied about the addictive nature of opioids. And too many insurers continue to illegally discriminate against people with mental health and substance use disorders.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Hold opioid manufacturers accountable—and make them pay for the harm they’ve cause to our families.
Remove barriers to medication-assisted treatment, which combines medication and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders. Though medication-assisted treatment is one of the most effective addiction therapies, few patients have access to it.
End the huge disparities in reimbursement for mental health and addiction care.
Fully implement the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires insurance companies cover mental health and addiction treatment to the same extent that they cover other medical care.

GOAL 2. Expand treatment options

There are many effective treatment options for mental health and addiction. But too few patients have access to some of the most effective, evidence-based therapies.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Eliminate barriers to medication-assisted treatment and require community health centers that receive federal funding to provide this care.
Expand prescription drug monitoring programs, which states use to track opioid prescriptions and respond to the opioid epidemic in real time.
Expand access to telehealth services, which are especially critical for people in rural areas. Insurers should be required to cover these services equally with services delivered in person.
Invest in the federal mental health and addiction so that we continue to improve mental health and addiction treatments.

GOAL 3. Promote universal screenings

Our health care system should prioritize prevention and early intervention so that we can prevent, identify, diagnose, and treat mental health and substance use disorders as early as possible.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Require that all health care facilities receiving federal funding conduct evidence-based mental health and substance use disorder screenings.
Expand mental health screenings and care in schools, colleges and universities, at veterans health clinics, and throughout our justice system.
Expand mental health and addiction education for physicians and other clinicians so that they can identify common mental health and substance use problems.

GOAL 4. Protect and improve American’s health care.

The Affordable Care Act dramatically expanded access to mental health and addiction treatment. But President Trump and Republicans in Congress are trying to take health insurance coverage away from millions of people.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Protect people with preexisting conditions like mental health and substance use disorders.
Reverse Republicans’ efforts to weaken the ACA, which have caused healthcare premiums and out-of-pocket costs to rise.
Provide greater financial assistance to middle-class families purchasing insurance.
Allow Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.

GOAL 5. Equip our first responders

Our first responders are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. They must have the tools and resources they need to provide life-saving care.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Ensure that all first responders carry the life-saving overdose antidote naloxone, which should be as available as defibrillators are for heart attacks.
Fund mobile outreach teams to help connect people with treatment.
Provide crisis intervention training to law enforcement to give them the tools to help people having a mental health crisis access treatment and avoid entering the justice system.

GOAL 6. Reform our criminal justice system

Our criminal justice system is broken. We spend billions of taxpayer dollars incarcerating people who actually just need in mental health or addiction treatment. And our jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide such care, leaving too many incarcerated people in crisis or unable to reenter their communities.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Divert people charged with nonviolent offenses into treatment.
Expand mental health and drug courts, which allow people to enroll in long-term treatment and recovery programs instead of receiving jail sentences.
Ensure that incarcerated people have access to mental health and addiction care.
Provide mental health and addiction screenings to people who come in contact with the justice system to identify treatment needs and opportunities for diversion.
Expunge nonviolent drug convictions from criminal records.

GOAL 7. Invest in our schools

It is critical that we provide mental health and wellness services both in schools and in early childhood learning centers. By prioritizing social and emotional learning from the earliest grades, we can help give our children the tools they need to succeed in school and throughout their lives.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Increase funding for school counselors, nurses, and psychologists, so that every child access to a range of community services to help them thrive.
Make free preschool available to every child.
Provide mental health literacy trainings for teachers and school personnel.
Require Medicaid to reimburse school-based mental health services.
Increase funding for mental health and addiction services at colleges and universities—and require colleges that receive federal financial assistance to invest in these critical programs.

GOAL 8. Honor our veterans

The men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our country deserve world-class care when they come home. Yet every year we lose thousands of our veterans to the invisible wounds of war.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Make sure that all returning veterans and active-duty military are screened for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health and addiction challenges.
Increase outreach to veterans to connect them with services, including by using other veterans in outreach and support.
Hire more mental health professionals within the VA.
End veterans’ homelessness by making sure that every veteran has access to safe, supportive housing.

GOAL 9. Meet our communities’ needs

The mental health and addiction crisis affects virtually every family in our district, including my own.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Connect pregnant women with opioid use disorder treatment and expand neonatal units for infants exposed to opioids.
Provide greater support for state foster care programs, which are increasingly overburdened by the opioid epidemic.
Ban harmful “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth.
End youth homelessness by providing safe and supportive housing, funding crisis response services, and providing education and employment opportunities.
Ensure mental health and addiction providers reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.

GOAL 10. Improve suicide prevention

Suicide rates are increasing dramatically across the United States. Suicide is sadly now the second-leading cause of death among young people. This has had a tragic impact on New Jersey. More than 100 preteen girls tried to overdose in New Jersey between January 2018 and May 2019; and at least three students died by suicide at Rowan University last semester alone.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Fully fund and implement the new 988 suicide prevention hotline.
Help schools develop and implement suicide prevention policies.
Require hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid to implement Zero Suicide, a framework that helps health care systems identify individuals with suicide risk, treat suicidal thoughts and behaviors, train providers, and relentlessly improve care for those who seek help.
Enact commonsense gun safety policies, like distributing low-cost gun locks and partnering with gun retailers around suicide prevention efforts.

Election Reform

My Plan to Fight Political Corruption

In order to get anything done in Washington, we need to get money out of politics.

Special interests and big-money lobbyists are standing in the way of everything we want to accomplish – from lowering drug prices and the cost of health insurance, to addressing gun violence and climate change.

I believe corporate lobbyists shouldn’t decide what laws we pass. I believe politicians shouldn’t get to choose their voters through partisan gerrymandering that decides the outcomes of our elections. And I believe that whether or not people run for office shouldn’t depend on how much special interests spend to help them.

I also believe that Washington can change. For the first time in decades, there are elected officials fighting to get corruption out of Congress. They are refusing to take corporate money, passing anti-corruption legislation, and putting small-dollar donors first. Progress is finally possible.

In Congress, I promise to work for the families of South Jersey — not corporate lobbyists or political machines. Together, we can restore our moral compass and return political power where it belongs — with the people.

I pledge not to accept contributions from corporate PACs. Campaigns reflect how candidates will govern. That’s why I’m proud to take the No Corporate PAC Money pledge.

I will always have voters’ backs. Your voices matter far more to me than special interest donations ever could.

I pledge to support the For the People Act, which will end the culture of corruption in Washington.

Elections matter. In 2018, a record number of anti-corruption Democrats were elected to Congress. Together, they passed the historic For the People Act, or H.R. 1, through the House. This democracy reform legislation returns political power back to the voters, in three key ways:

By making our elections clean and fair. The For the People Act improves access to the ballot box through automatic voter registration and early voting. It secures our elections, investing in secure voting systems and protecting against foreign interference. And it ends partisan gerrymandering through national redistricting reform.
By getting big money out of politics. The For the People Act requires organizations to disclose their spending on online ads and prevents corporations from hiding political contributions. It also empowers small-dollar donors by matching their contributions, which boosts their impact and makes running for office more accessible to candidates who aren’t independently wealthy.
By making politicians more accountable. The For the People Act prohibits members of Congress from serving on corporate boards, requires them to disclose conflicts of interest, and closes the loopholes that allow lobbyists and foreign agents to influence our elections.

The only way that Washington will get things done is if it listens to voters and cleans up its own act. We are so close to making the For the People Act law, and I promise to fight for this critical legislation in Congress.

I will fight to overturn Citizens United.

The Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United v. FEC and McCutcheon v. FEC opened our elections to record-breaking spending by Super PACs and corporate special interests. As a result, legislators are forced to spend more and more of their time catering to big-dollar donors instead of serving their constituents.

In Congress, I will cosponsor the Democracy for All Amendment, which would effectively overturn Citizens United and the other Supreme Court decisions that undermine our democracy.

I promise to fight to make our elections clean, free, and fair.

Our election system is broken: Instead of allowing voters to choose their representatives, it allows politicians to choose their voters. That’s outrageous, un-democratic, and un-American.

I pledge to fight to make our elections fair and transparent by:

Ending partisan gerrymandering: State should be required to use independent redistricting commissions to draw voting maps. Politicians should never be able to manipulate district lines to rig elections. Our democracy works best when voting maps are drawn in a transparent, nonpartisan way.
Making it easier for Americans to vote: Registered voters should always be able to vote, and eligible voters should always be able to register. That’s why we need an automatic voter registration system (AVR). AVR streamlines the registration process so that eligible citizens who interact with government agencies are automatically added to the voter rolls, unless they opt out. AVR also automatically updates voters’ registration whenever they move or update their personal information. AVR is more efficient—and more accurate — as a result.

We also need to greatly expand early, vote-by-mail, and same-day voting. Millions of eligible Americans never make it to the polls because politicians have made it so hard for them to do so. I will always support commonsense reforms that make it easier for Americans to exercise their right to vote.

Protecting the right to vote: The Voting Rights Act ensures that our elections are free, fair, and accessible to all Americans. But Republicans have done everything they can to gut this fundamental law. I support the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will restore important voter protections, block efforts to prevent eligible citizens from voting, and require greater transparency around changes to voting laws.
Securing our elections: Washington has completely failed to secure our elections from foreign or other outside interference. I will fight for the investments we need to upgrade and protect our voting machines and our voter rolls. And I will work to close loopholes in our campaign finance laws that allow foreign powers to spend money to influence our democracy.

Veterans

Honoring Our Veterans and Military Families

Veterans are a core part of South Jersey’s identity and community. More than 350,000 veterans live in New Jersey, and the counties with the highest concentration of veterans—Cape May, Salem, Ocean, and Burlington—are all in our district. Veterans make up almost nine percent of the population of Cape May County, which is also the proud home of the fifth-largest Coast Guard base and sole accession point for the service’s entire enlisted corps.

Supporting South Jersey’s veterans is therefore both a moral and an economic imperative. Yet South Jersey is too rural to have its own veterans hospital, forcing former servicemembers to drive hours or wait months to receive critical benefits and care. Too many veterans in our district still lack access to quality housing, training, and job opportunities. And despite the enormous sacrifices they make for our country, too many women veterans and military spouses struggle to get by and provide for their families.

America promises our men and women in uniform that, in exchange for their selfless dedication to our country, our government will dedicate the resources necessary to support them when they return home. Honoring and fulfilling that promise will be one of my top priorities in Congress.

I will always be a champion for South Jersey’s veterans and military families, including by fighting to:

Expand access to mental health and addiction care

The men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our country deserve world-class care when they come home. Yet every year we lose thousands of our veterans to the invisible wounds of war.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Make sure that all returning veterans and active-duty military are screened for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health and addiction challenges.
Increase outreach to veterans to connect them with services, including by using other veterans in outreach and support.
Hire more mental health professionals within the Veterans Administration.
End veterans’ homelessness by making sure that every veteran has access to safe, supportive housing.
Invest in veteran suicide prevention programs, including for national guardsmen, reservists, and military families.
Expand veterans courts, which divert veterans with mental health and substance disorders from the criminal justice system and into long-term treatment and recovery programs.

Reform and strengthen the Veterans Administration

Veterans in South Jersey are too often required to travel significant distances to receive Veterans Administration care. Our veterans should not be forced to go to other states for treatment or wait months to receive critical services.The men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our country deserve world-class care when they come home. Yet every year we lose thousands of our veterans to the invisible wounds of war.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Expand VA clinics in South Jersey and ensure that every veteran has access to the closest VA providers.
Allow veterans access to trained, qualified community providers, so that veterans who want or need to can use their VA, Medicare, or Medicaid coverage to receive quality care at local hospitals.
Fully staff and fund the VA—and oppose efforts to gut or privatize it.
Provide the resources necessary to end the claims and appeals backlog.
Make sure women veterans receive full and equal treatment, including reproductive health services.
Address systemic problems within the VA through aggressive oversight, transparency, investment, and coordination.

Help veterans transition back into their communities from active duty

Congress should do everything in its power to help servicemembers reenter civilian life, working closely with veteran service and community organizations to connect veterans with education opportunities and good-paying jobs.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Protect, expand, and increase flexibility in the Post-9/11 GI Bill so that all veterans can exercise their right to earn a degree or enroll in a technical or vocational training program.
Close loopholes that allow for-profit colleges to target veterans for their benefits, while providing debt relief for student veterans scammed by for-profit schools.
Invest in veteran entrepreneurs by increasing small-business loan programs and allowing veterans to use their GI Bill benefits as seed money for start-ups.
Support the Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act, which will help train unemployed veterans for careers in high-demand occupations.
Make sure America’s two million women veterans have equal access to education, health care, jobs, and economic opportunities.

Support military families

Military families make enormous sacrifices that too often go unnoticed and unaddressed. We have a moral obligation to ensure military spouses and children have access to good-paying jobs, education and training, childcare, and other family-friendly services.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Make sure that every military family has access to affordable childcare.
Invest to upgrade military housing, so that no military family is forced to live in unsafe or unhealthy homes.
Address the high military spouse unemployment rate by expanding licensing and training programs, create hiring preferences for military spouses, and enrolling spouses in federal student loan forgiveness programs.
Protect military families from predatory lenders, for-profit colleges, and other scammers.
Build up and strengthen the ACA to ensure all veterans and military family members without VA benefits have access to quality, affordable health care—including through a public option.

Ensure all veterans receive fair and just treatment

Too many veterans have lost access to critical services due to discrimination or small infractions—including discharges related to undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Support efforts to pardon veterans who unjustly received other-than-honorable discharges without due process, including veterans with PTSD.
Allow transgender service members to continue to serve in or join the military.
Grant honorable discharges and benefits access to veterans removed from service due solely to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Protect noncitizen veterans from deportation and provide pathways to citizenship for veterans and their family members.

Protect veterans from COVID-19

Our veterans health system is playing a critical role responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Protecting veterans, their families, health care providers, and VA staff from COVID-19 remains an urgent priority.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Continue to provide emergency funding to the VA for essential medical supplies, including testing kits and ventilators, so that all veterans have access to COVID-19 care when they need it.
Provide the resources necessary for state veterans homes and VA-run nursing homes to effectively treat COVID-19 and prevent future outbreaks.
Protect VA medical personnel, making sure they have the personal protective equipment, pay, and workplace protections they need to do their jobs safely.
Continue to ensure that student veterans do not lose their GI Bill benefits or housing allowance because their college or university has closed or transitioned to online learning.

Empower local veteran leadership

I pledge to partner with local leaders to implement my veterans and military families plan. I will stand up a South Jersey Veterans Advisory Board to identify pro-veteran policies and help fight for those policies in Congress. Together, we can ensure that South Jersey veterans have the support and congressional leadership they deserve.

LGBTQ

Our country has made enormous advances in protecting LGBTQ rights in recent years. But President Trump and Republicans in Congress continue to threaten the progress we’ve made, and federal, state, and local laws continue to allow and even promote discrimination toward LGBTQ Americans.

I will be an ally to the LGBTQ community in Congress, working hand-in-hand with LGBTQ leaders to achieve equality once and for all.

Pass the Equality Act

No one should be fired from their jobs, refused housing or health care, or denied services because of who they are or whom they love. Yet in the majority of states, LGBTQ individuals lack such basic legal protections.

I am proud that House Democrats passed the Equality Act in 2019. This historical legislation would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination across all walks of public life—including in employment, credit, education, housing, jury selection, federally-funded programs, and public accommodations. I will co-sponsor the Equality Act in Congress and fight to make these vital protections law.

Ensure Access to Healthcare

Health care is a human right. Every American—including LGBTQ Americans—must have access to high-quality, affordable care. This is especially true now as we combat COVID-19. The pandemic poses an especially great risk to LGBTQ people, who are more likely to be exposed to the virus at work and almost one-fifth of whom are uninsured.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Protect and strengthen the Affordable Care Act so everyone has access to quality, affordable care, including by providing Medicare to all who want it.
Provide free COVID-19 treatment to all who need it.
Address the discrimination, disparities, and inequities that prevent transgender individuals from accessing health care.
Protect Title X and restore Planned Parenthood’s historic role as a core provider of Title X services, including to low-income LGBTQ individuals who rely on Planned Parenthood to receive basic reproductive and preventative care.
Lift the ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, which is discriminatory and not based on science.

Treat and Prevent HIV and AIDS

Ending HIV and AIDS is possible—but reaching this goal will require bold leadership and investment in America and around the world. I will lead efforts in Congress to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy to expand treatment and prevention and ensure that Americans living with HIV and AIDS are free from stigma and discrimination.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Immediately bring down the cost of PrEP and PEP and ensure universal access to and coverage for these life saving medications.
Stand up to pharmaceutical companies who price-gouge and limit access to PrEP.
Protect the budget of programs that serve people with HIV and AIDS, including the Ryan White program and programs in veterans, housing, substance use, corrections, and other federal agencies.
Boost funding for medical science and innovation, providing more resources for therapeutic treatment and cures research and for medical research agencies like the National Institutes of Health.
Review and repeal federal, state, and local laws that criminalize HIV status and provide best practices for replacing them with policies that are evidence-based and medically-accurate.

Prevent Bullying and Harassment

Bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students sadly remains widespread, and existing federal programs do not address the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ youth. As a mental health advocate and former public school teacher, I know how important it is that we address and prevent bullying and harassment and provide all students access to mental health and wellness services from the earliest grades.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Enact the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require that schools receiving federal funding adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or religion.
Increase funding for school counselors, nurses, and psychologists, so that every child has access to a range of community services to help them thrive.
Provide mental health literacy and biased-based bullying trainings for teachers and school personnel.

Address Prevent Anti-LGBTQ Violence

Violence against LGBTQ people has grown in recent years, impacting especially communities of color. At least 26 transgender women of color were killed in 2019, which was the deadliest year on record for transgender people. Congress must provide the leadership needed to end this epidemic of violence—and to address the stigma and lack of opportunity that prevent LGBTQ Americans from living safe and secure lives.

In Congress, I will fight to:

Require that law enforcement agencies report hate crime data, so we can better target violence-prevention measures.
Encourage states to pass laws protecting LGBTQ individuals from hate crimes.
Fund and improve anti-bias education and training programs for law enforcement agencies.
Improve the safety of transgender individuals within the justice system.
Advance commonsense gun-violence prevention measures, including to require universal background checks, enact an extreme risk protection law, and close loopholes that allow abusive partners to buy or own firearms.

Support LGBTQ Families

While LGBTQ families have won important protections in recent years, far more work remains to ensure their safety and equality in states across the country.

In Congress, I will:

Continue to unequivocally support marriage equality.
Support religious freedom while opposing efforts to use religion as a license to discriminate.
Work to ensure that publicly-funded adoption agencies make adoption and foster care decisions based on children’s best interests, without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Cosponsor the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, which will help prevent LGBTQ minors from being subjected to so-called “conversion therapy”—a devastating practice that can have lasting consequences for youth mental, physical, and emotional health.

Stand Up for LGBTQ Veterans and Servicemembers

No qualified American should be excluded from military service due to their gender identity, and no honorably-serving member should live under the threat of discharge simply because of who they are. In Congress, I will work to ensure that transgender service members are allowed continue to serve in or join the military. I will also fight for justice and fair treatment for veterans discharged from service due solely to their sexual orientation or gender identity. We must grant honorable discharges and benefits access to these veterans—and prevent bias from being used to undermine our military our hurt our veterans community.

Women’s Policy

Supporting South Jersey Women America has made enormous progress in expanding opportunity for women in recent decades. Yet our economy remains unequal. Our support for working women and women-owned businesses remains inadequate. And women’s access to health care remains under attack. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these inequities, causing more women than men to lose their jobs and devastating industries like education, health care, retail, and hospitality where women workers predominate.

In Congress, I will be a champion for women and their families, fighting to support and empower them and to build an economy that values the many contributions women workers and entrepreneurs make every day.

Realize Equal Pay for Equal Work

The Equal Pay Act became law more than 50 years ago. Yet for every dollar a man makes in New Jersey, a woman still earns just 79 cents, and the gap is far higher for women of color. We need to strengthen the Equal Pay Act, hold employers accountable for pay discrimination, and bar them from retaliating against women who discuss their pay. We also need to increase the minimum-wage, because more than two-thirds of low-wage workers are women.

In Congress, I will fight to enact the Paycheck Fairness Act and to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. I will also co-sponsor Raise the Wage Act, which will increase the incomes of more than 33 million Americans. By raising wages and making it easier for women to enter high-paying careers, we can finally realize the right to equal pay for equal work.

Protect Access to Reproductive Care

I fully support a woman’s right to choose. Decisions about whether to adopt, end a pregnancy, or raise a child are best left to patients. I will always work to protect Roe v. Wade and oppose any effort to undermine safe, legal abortion access.

In Congress, I will also work to ensure all people have access to preventative reproductive care. I will protect and strengthen the ACA, which provided more than 60 million women access to preventative care without co-pays. I will fight efforts to allow employers to flout the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirements. And I will work to protect Title X so that low-income women have equitable access preventative reproductive services.

Reduce Infant and Maternal Mortality

Atlantic City has by far the highest infant mortality rate in the state: a child born to an Atlantic City family is nearly twice as likely as a child born in Newark to die before her first birthday. And while we have made progress under Governor Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy’s leadership, South Jersey remains one of the highest-risk places in the country for pregnant women.

In Congress, I will fight for the investments we need to ensure all women have early access to local, high-quality pre- and postnatal care. In particular I will work to expand Medicaid coverage for new and expectant moms, including to one-year postpartum. Because Medicaid covers nearly half of all births, expanding coverage is the most important thing we can do to improve infant and maternal health. I will also fight to increase funding for clinical training and maternal care provider networks, especially in rural and other underserved areas where access remains limited.

Support Working Families

Working families have been falling behind for decades because of stagnating wages, growing inequality, and the skyrocketing cost of health and childcare. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these trends, devastating millions of women. We need bold solutions to help working families get ahead and recover.

In Congress, I will fight to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These important programs put more money in the pockets of middle-class and low-income families, making sure that parents can keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities. They are also proven to increase employment and reduce poverty and inequality.

I also believe that every parent should be able to care for a newborn child or sick family member. Yet more than 100 million Americans do not have access to paid family leave through their jobs. It is far past time for the United States to guarantee paid, family medical leave to every worker. No one should have to choose between their paycheck, their loved ones, and their wellbeing.

Make Childcare Affordable

We have a childcare crisis in New Jersey. Childcare costs more than $10,000 a year on average, and across the country, COVID-19 has brought our fragile childcare system to the brink of collapse. Making childcare affordable and accessible is also critical to helping New Jerseyans return to work as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

While parents can already get a tax credit if they spend money on childcare, the credit is capped too low and doesn’t benefit lower-income families. In Congress, I will push to give all working families a refundable childcare tax credit that actually offsets the cost of childcare. I will also support efforts to increase the federal investment in state childcare programs. And I will fight to make free preschool available to every child in America.

Invest in Women-Owned Businesses

Women entrepreneurs play a critical role in our economy, opening new businesses whose innovation and dynamism strengthens our business sector as a whole. Yet while the number and size of women-owned businesses has grown dramatically in recent years, New Jersey lags behind. The economic clout of our 280,000 women-owned businesses ranked 41st in the country in 2018 and 44th in terms of the number of new jobs created. And the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated businesses of all types, including many smaller and women-owned businesses in our district.

In Congress, I will fight to foster a small business-led recovery, one that creates and protects jobs and opportunity across South Jersey—and invests in women entrepreneurs to help their businesses survive and thrive for years to come. That includes making direct grants and loans to women- and minority-owned smalls businesses as part of any future COVID-19 recovery efforts. That also includes reforming and investing to expand women-owned businesses’ access to credit and capital, which remains highly unequal. And it includes efforts to ensure that women-owned businesses receive their fair share of government procurement dollars.

End Violence Against Women

For more than 25 years, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has created and funded programs to help communities prevent and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The legislation and the programs it supports have always been bipartisan, but last year, Congressional Republicans decided to block VAWA’s reauthorization. The resulting lapse has caused enormous uncertainty for providers who work with and protect survivors and has prevented important new housing and economic protections from taking effect. It is long past time for Congress to come together to reauthorize and strengthen VAWA—and to continue supporting programs that end violence against women and make our communities safer for all.

Infrastructure

Rebuilding South Jersey’s Infrastructure

Infrastructure investment is one of the best ways to boost our economy, create good-paying union jobs, and attract and support local businesses. Yet for four years, Congressional Republicans have done nothing to advance it. I will work every day to secure the major infrastructure investments South Jersey needs—in our roads, rail, and bridges; our bulkheads, seawalls, and levees; and our drinking water systems, schools, and electric grid.

Now is a critical time to act. The COVID-19 crisis has devastated our district, and much more relief is needed for our economy to recover. Congress must make take action to create good-paying jobs, increase resiliency, and help our communities “build back better.” Infrastructure investments satisfy all of those goals—and fighting for them will be one of my top priorities in Congress.

Roads, Bridges, and Rail

New Jersey has more than 39,000 miles of roadways, enough to circle the equator 1.5 times. Our high volume of use means we spend more on our roads than any other state. And nearly one in ten of our more than 6,600 bridges are structurally deficient; almost one in four are functionally obsolete.

In order for South Jersey to clear our maintenance backlog, make upgrades, reduce congestion, and increase resiliency, federal leadership is essential. But Congress has long relied on short-term, patchwork transportation bills that don’t provide the level of investment we need. In Congress, I will fight for bold and consistent federal investments in our roads, bridges, and rail systems. These investments should be made directly to states; to the cities and counties that oversee our roads; and through competitive grant programs that support strong regional transportation systems. They should also seek to reduce traffic and pollution, connect working families with economic opportunities, support local businesses, and revitalize communities through innovation and smart regional planning.

Public Transit

South Jersey’s public transportation infrastructure was under enormous strain even before COVID-19. Though transit ridership has grown dramatically in recent years, capacity has not, and Superstorm Sandy caused significant damage to transit infrastructure that communities are still working to repair. Our region remains underserved by NJ Transit, especially in more rural counties, limiting mobility and making it difficult for many residents to access jobs and public services.

There is no question that greater coordination and connectivity is needed between public transit agencies at the state level. But Congress must also boost funding for our transit systems, both to help them survive the pandemic and to help our economy build back better. I will fight for flexible federal investments that support new and existing rail and bus lines, connect commuters to work and school, and provide more frequent and reliable transit service.

Aviation

We are incredibly fortunate to have the William Hughes Technical Center in our district. This world-class aviation research and development facility is home to the Federal Aviation Administration’s research and development efforts and anchors New Jersey’s Aviation Research Triangle. It is also the primary support facility for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen—the cutting-edge federal program to modernize air travel and make it safer, more efficient, and more predictable.

For years, Congress relied on short-term extensions to fund the FAA. That is not sustainable, especially in light of COVID-19’s devastating impact on the aviation industry. The industry supported $1.5 trillion in economic activity and over 10 million U.S. jobs before the pandemic hit. We need to make sure the FAA can modernize and support the aviation industry’s recovery and continued growth. I will be a champion of FAA and the Hughes Technical Center in Congress.

Environmental Infrastructure

Climate change poses an existential threat to our district. Our homes, businesses, beaches, and parks are already at risk and our economy relies on fragile coastal ecosystems to support fishing and tourism industries. While we have made difficult and important progress since Superstorm Sandy, there is far more we need to do to increase the resiliency of our coastal communities.

In Congress, I will fight for the infrastructure South Jersey needs to protect our shoreline. We need continued federal investment to repair and replace bulkheads, seawalls, dams, and levees to prevent and minimize the damage from floods and storms. We need federal support for more localized mitigation measures such as pumping stations and tide valves. We need to preserve and restore beaches and other coastal habitats that serve as natural buffers to storm surges and waves. And we need to make resiliency a priority every time we repair or upgrade our infrastructure, including our roads, bridges, and public buildings.

I will also provide leadership to reform and strengthen the national flood insurance system. We saw the current system’s shortcomings after Superstorm Sandy: insurance companies’ denied far too many families’ claims, in part due to mismanagement and abuse. I will fight for a stronger, affordable, and more sustainable flood insurance program that protects family homes and businesses in case disaster strikes.

Clean Drinking Water

Access to clean water is a human right, one that I will always fight to protect in Congress. I want to make sure South Jersey is a safe and healthy community where all children have the opportunity to succeed and thrive. In Congress, I will work to secure the flexible funding states and communities need to repair water pipelines and sewer systems and replace lead service lines. I will also work to protect our drinking water from dangerous chemicals and pollutants. New Jersey is, for example, among the states most impacted by poly or perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemical contamination. These chemicals are long-lived and have been linked to certain cancers, problems with fetus development, and immune system and thyroid disruption.

Approximately 1.6 million New Jerseyans have been exposed to elevated PFOA and PFOS levels, including many people in South Jersey. Elevated levels have been found in the drinking water systems of Gloucester, West Depford, Paulsboro, and Atlantic City. I am proud of our recent state’s efforts to address contamination by setting strict drinking water standards. And I will support federal legislation, like the PFAS Action Act, to set long overdue national standards for these dangerous substances, make polluters pay for the damage they have caused, and provide funding to New Jersey and our water supply companies for testing and treatment.

Clean Energy

South Jersey’s energy infrastructure, farming, and shore tourism interests are uniquely vulnerable to climate change. Transitioning to renewable and low-carbon fuels will set an example for other states to follow while protecting our shores and farmland for generations to come. As we accelerate that transition, we also need to upgrade our energy infrastructure to make it more resilient to rising sea levels, floods, and coastal storms.

I will fight for investments that give states, local communities, and the private sector the support and flexibility they need to address climate change and make our electricity system stronger and more reliable. By settings bold standards to reduce emissions from buildings, industrial sources, electric utilities, and cars and trucks, we can leverage every sector of our economy to meet our climate and energy goals.

Fortunately, New Jersey is already leading the way toward 100% clean energy. Atlantic City is poised to be home to New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, the Orsted wind development, which will provide more than half a million New Jersey homes with renewable power. And Artificial Island in Salem County has been selected as the staging area where the turbines and other components of the wind farms will be assembled. This creates a tremendous job opportunity for South Jersey. I will be working hard to provide for the transportation and warehousing infrastructure and the job training needed to make South Jersey the hub for this new industry.

And Governor Murphy has put forward a bold plan for reducing emissions and deploying renewable energy. This will involve investment in clean energy and transportation infrastructure, like building charging stations and infrastructure for electric vehicles, expanding offshore wind production, and making buildings and housing more energy efficient. These investments will create high-paying jobs in our district and make our economy cleaner, stronger, and more competitive.

Broadband

Broadband is fundamental to a modern, competitive economy. Yet too many families in South Jersey cannot afford to access it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that means that thousands of our neighbors can’t work remotely, can’t access health care, and can’t easily participate in online learning.

In Congress, I will fight to close New Jersey’s digital divide. That will require greater federal investments in broadband infrastructure, especially in rural areas. I support the recent House-passed Invest in America Act that provides subsidies to promote broadband expansion into underserved communities. I also support efforts to foster greater competition among broadband companies, so that everyone has access to a low-cost provider in their community. By increasing subsidies to help families purchase high-speed internet and doing more to help states increase adoption, we can achieve universal broadband access in South Jersey.

Education Infrastructure

One of the most important and effective infrastructure investments we can make is in our public education system. Our schools are aging, and many are unsafe and unhealthy, especially in rural communities and in communities of color. Others are not equipped with modern technology and should be retrofitted to improve energy efficiency and climate resilience. And every school district needs help updating ventilation systems and making the other changes necessary for safe, socially-distanced learning.

That is why I have called for immediate, additional federal aid to state and local governments, both to ensure that schools can reopen safely and to provide the digital infrastructure needed for remote education. I also support the Rebuild America’s Schools Act as part of a future recovery package. This important legislation will invest more than $100 billion to rebuild crumbling schools while creating nearly two million good-paying jobs. And I will fight to protect existing jobs in our public schools throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting recession has put an enormous strain on state and local government budgets and federal leadership is needed to protect teachers, staff, and services as our economy recovers.

Senior Housing and Care Facilities

Senior care facilities like nursing homes, continuous care facilities, assisted living facilities, and age-restricted housing need to expand to meet the needs of our growing senior population. This presents an opportunity for South Jersey, where costs are lower than other parts of the state. Rowan University also has a new medical school that could play a role in staff training. I will push for greater investments in long-term care—and take a hard look at existing federal assistance programs that can better assist in the construction and safe operation of these facilities.

Together, these infrastructure investments represent an historic investment in American communities. To maximize its impact, each investment must be made in a way that supports local businesses and creates good-paying middle class jobs. Federally-funded infrastructure investments should always support union workers, American manufacturers, and apprenticeship programs. They should also protect our frontline transportation workers, who work in increasingly dangerous environments and whose jobs are threatened by the COVID-19 recession. I will work every day to build up our vital transportation networks, support and protect the essential workers who keep these systems running, and secure the major investments we need for our district.^[1]

”

—Amy Kennedy's campaign website (2020)^[2]

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Footnotes

↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Amy Kennedy's 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2020

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New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)

[quotedisclaimer-1] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[2] Amy Kennedy's 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2020

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[2]

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Amy Kennedy

Contents

Elections

2020

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General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

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