Helping Small Businesses

My husband and I are the proud owners of an auto repair shop and we love our jobs, but it’s not easy to run a small business in America right now. We have to navigate the SBA, OSHA, the IRS, the EPA, local permitting and licensing; deliver quality, affordable service to our customers and most importantly– recruit and retain the best employees.

We need more political leadership that respects the trades and understands the challenges facing small businesses, and in Congress, I’ll continue to use my experience creating my business to support American manufacturing, cut through red tape, and streamline services Main Street businesses need to succeed.

Fix the Supply Chain

We need to do more to shore up our supply chains and invest in American manufacturing to prevent our small businesses from bearing the brunt of the devastation when something goes wrong. During the recent catalytic converter shortage, dealership-owned repair shops had first dibs on any available parts, hanging small businesses like mine out to dry and redirecting our customers to the largest auto companies. In Congress, I’ll continue to do more to encourage consumers to shop at small businesses, not penalize Main Street for not having the resources they need to skirt supply chain problems.

Stop Inflation

Our Representatives are completely out of touch with those of us struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, gas, housing and prescription drugs. As co-owner of an auto repair and machine shop, I know how tough it’s been to navigate this economy. Like so many working Washingtonians, we do our best to stay ahead of bills; but because we cannot afford quality child care for our son, we take him to work with us.

While gas prices soar, gas companies are making record profits. As a Congresswoman for Washington state, I am working hard to ensure large corporations pay their fair share and stop price gouging.

• Increasing labor supply: We need to get more Americans back to work, and I mean increasing workforce participation, not just low unemployment, by making it easier for working families to live near their job and giving caregivers a safe and affordable place to bring their children. Similarly, we need to support training and education programs that open the doors to critical jobs in health care, trades and child care.
• Raising wages: Wages have simply not kept up with inflation. In 1968 my grandpa made $45/day working in the woods as a logger, today that would equate to an income of about $120k/year. I am proud to pay my employees a living wage and support efforts to increase the minimum wage for all workers, but this is just a start. The hard work of my family and families across Washington should be respected and compensated fairly.

Affordable Child Care

My husband and I take our baby to work with us everyday because there simply aren’t any affordable options that fit our needs. Since 2019, we have lost one out of every ten child care facilities in America. Many women I know are on waitlists for child care centers before they are even pregnant, and families spend upwards of $15,000 per child per year on care. 

It’s no longer possible to save for a college fund, a down payment on a house, and pay off student loans while shelling out that kind of money for a critical service. In Congress, I am working to support the child tax credits that help parents make whatever choices are right for their family, whether that’s paying grandpa or going to a traditional care center.

Support Pathways to Skills and Degrees

We need more skilled workers and cheaper degrees. In Congress, I am working to expand access to career and technical training at high schools, community colleges and vocational schools. My husband and I were fortunate to have legacy trades programs in our high schools, but they are often the first thing to get cut when budgets get tight. As a member of the advisory committee of two automotive educational programs I understand the challenges both in funding quality programs and recruiting good candidates.

Climate change is real and I believe in practicable, comprehensive environmental stewardship:  We know that limiting our focus to just temperature is not sufficient to protect our economy and way of life. In Congress, I will…

Focus on Energy Independence: Americans deserve the autonomy that only comes from a secure, affordable, independent source of energy. Ten years ago, I was skeptical about the practicability of electric cars for rural America and concerned about the sustainability of the batteries that powered them. Today, we have incredible range, affordability and sustainability.
Bring back paper
Microplastics: As a new mom, I was horrified to learn that microplastics were being found in most of the placentas surveyed, and just this year one study found 80% of blood samples contained microplastics. These tiny particles leach chemicals known as Hormone Disruptors into the bloodstream and cause changes in the age at which puberty begins, fertility rates, cancer and are potentially linked to autism. Consumers deserve to know which products expose them to microplastics and what their actual effect is. I’ll fight to fund federal research into the effects of microplastics and Hormone Disrupting Chemicals on children and the environment.
Renewables: We need to make it easier for companies to use renewable packaging like cardboard and glass, and demand that companies who choose to use high levels of plastic packaging share the financial burden of ensuring it is properly recycled. Paper producing states like Washington can be leaders in the sustainable forestry that provides clean, renewable cardboard.

Taking on Big Pharma

Life saving medicine is too expensive, and in Congress, I’ll continue to fight for lower prescription drug costs. Big Pharma produces insulin for about $10 per vial but charges patients who desperately need this medicine up to 30 times more. As a result, 1 in 4 Americans who rely on insulin have rationed or skipped doses because they could not afford it.This gamble can land patients in the emergency room and result in astronomical medical bills for taxpayers and those Americans who can least afford it.

Everyday more Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and everyday Big Pharma looks for ways to price gouge and raise the prices of life saving medicine for the sake of corporate profit. The Affordable Insulin Now Act, which caps families’ insulin costs at $35 per month, is a start, but we must give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and make commercial insurance plans to cover insulin.

Big Money Out of Politics

Special interests and party bosses have too much power in Washington and are failing to solve our biggest challenges. I’m serving to take on politicians who are bought and paid for by large corporations who refuse to pay their fair share while working families who follow the rules fall further behind. I haven’t taken a dime of Corporate PAC money and will continue to put people over profits. I like to get my hands dirty fixing things, not working the system.

Self Sufficiency

What if a judge told you you weren’t allowed to change a lightbulb in your house without paying the electric company a subscription fee? Right now, Intellectual Property Lawyers at large corporations are scheming ways to take away the rights of Americans to fix their own stuff. From cell phones to tractors, we are being bullied into a position of permanent renters.

Right-to-Repair legislation not only protects consumers’ rights to self-sufficiency, it also saves consumers money because they can repair things rather than buy new ones. This is exactly the kind of pocket book environmentalism I am fighting for as a Congresswoman.

Reproductive Freedom

Women have the right to control their own bodies, period. I am fighting to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions no matter what the Supreme Court rules. I’ll continue to stand up to the politicians who want to tell women what to do and protect funding for Planned Parenthood.

In February of 2020 I miscarried at 16 weeks, and was told my life was at risk without an immediate abortion, or dilation and evacuation. Planned Parenthood was the only clinic that could see me, and I had to pass through a wall of protestors to get the care that I needed.

Safe Communities

According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for police patrol officers and detectives was $67,290 as of May 2020. How many people do you know that would risk their lives for less than $70,000 per year? Right now, federal legislation often funds police departments buying equipment like night vision goggles and new trucks. In Congress, I am working to increase the starting pay for police officers so we can recruit and retain the best public servants.

I’ll continue to work to increase funding for police, fire, and first responders and strengthen training for police officers. I’ll continue to support small, rural police departments and help build more community-based policing programs. I’ll continue to work to ensure our fire and rescue departments are staffed up and have the support they need to prevent firefighter and paramedic burnout. I’ll continue to ensure state and local officials have the resources and tools required to get Fentanyl and illegal guns off our streets.

When our local machine shop shut down due to the retirement of their machinists and lack of available apprentices we took proactive steps to keep that equipment in-service and bought out the shop.  We need to retool our economy to make things here again, and provide the family wage jobs you can buy a house with. We need to stand up to China and make things in America again. As owners of an auto repair shop, we know better than most that the quality of parts out of China is unreliable, and when cars are repaired with substandard parts it is the middle class who suffers most.

In Congress, I’ll continue the work to boost American manufacturing that will strengthen our economy and create good jobs. I’ll keep building on legislation like the America Competes Act to invest in production of goods like semiconductors and parts here in America that will make us more secure and bring down inflation.

We are seeing more and more industrial spaces converted to (vacant) office buildings. I have a degree in economics and it took me a year of work to successfully apply for a loan from the small business administration. How many small business owners have that kind of time and manpower available to getting a loan, muchless one they are qualified to receive? We have to level the playing field and ensure that the tradespeople providing services that make communities vibrant and self-sufficient are able to buy in the communities they serve, and not be stuck renting from corporate landlords.