My Plan

Ending Gun Violence

No more turning a blind eye to American lives stolen by gun violence. We must enact truly universal background checks for all gun and ammunition purchases, do more to take guns away from domestic abusers, push states to adopt gun violence restraining order laws, and remove weapons of war from our communities once and for all. I was first in Congress to call for a mandatory national ban and buyback of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons.

To see my comprehensive framework to end gun violence, visit https://ericswalwell.com/endgunviolence/.

Health Care

Too many Americans still find themselves having to choose between paying rent or paying medical bills, between buying food or buying prescriptions – and nobody should have to rely on a GoFundMe or a collection jar because they’ve fallen ill. Americans need a healthcare guarantee: If you’re sick, you’ll be seen by a doctor, and if you’re seen, you’ll never go broke because of it. We also must make a huge public investment in finding cures in our lifetime for the diseases that ail us, from Alzheimer’s to ALS to cancer. Our technology is surging forward, our innovation is vast – we should focus that on saving lives.

Education

Every American child deserves a world-class education in a modern schoolhouse, regardless of wealth or ZIP Code. And we must re-associate college with opportunity instead of crushing debt that leaves many unable to launch businesses, buy homes, or start families. We need no-interest federal student loans, tax-free employer contributions, and debt-free college for public university students who do work-study and commit to bettering their communities after graduation.

Clean Government

Americans have reached consensus on many important issues, but our voices are silenced by the dirty maps and dirty money polluting our government. On gun violence, health care, education, and more, people like you and I – people who weren’t born with political connections or deep pockets – are not being heard in Washington. I’ll fight for a constitutional amendment to undo the Citizens United ruling, but meanwhile, we must require secret-money groups to disclose their donors; upgrade transparency rules for online political ads; and start moving toward public financing of campaigns by creating a small donor-focused matching system. And to end the dirty maps created by partisan gerrymandering, all states must adopt independent redistricting commissions so politicians can’t draw lines to protect themselves or each other.

Equality for All

Who you are or who you love should never keep you from pursuing the American dream. It’s that simple. We must ensure that all LGBTQ+ Americans can receive a high quality education, work toward their dream job, access affordable healthcare, start a family, and serve in the military without discrimination. To make this happen, we must write equality into law AND put equality into practice by empowering trans-women of color, protecting our LGBTQ+ youth from bullying and harassment, and condemning assaults on LGBTQ+ rights abroad as an assault on LGBTQ+ rights at home. LGBTQ+ Americans are Americans, and have the same rights as any other.

Immigration

America was built by immigrants and has always been a beacon for immigrants. But right now, Trump’s “zero tolerance” has created a humanitarian crisis on the border that is a betrayal of our nation’s values. Keeping children in detention camps after being forcibly separated from their parents is unconscionable and must end immediately. What we need is leadership, not showmanship. We must pass the Dream Act. We must devote resources to the border so we can adjudicate refugee cases immediately. We must work with leaders beyond our borders to alleviate the suffering that is driving people to seek asylum in America. There must be a pathway to citizenship for the millions of people living in the shadows and working hard to contribute to our great American tapestry. I do not accept the premise that the undocumented immigrants in our country are a crisis; our broken immigration system is the crisis. America must be a place for people fleeing oppression and people who might be have-nots now but harbor the hope and determination to build better lives for themselves and their children. This is the American dream, and everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue it.

Climate Chaos

Climate change is a real and looming threat to our national security, our economy, our environment, and our future. That is why I unapologetically support the Green New Deal. Solving climate chaos should not start an argument in America, it should start a workday. Let’s build a skills bridge so that workers can have the tools and paycheck guarantee to enter this new, green collar economy and thrive. We must convene a new global climate summit here in the United States and rejoin the Paris Agreement to recommit our efforts to this international crisis. We must shift away from fossil fuels and toward zero-net emissions. Let’s ban fracking and oil drilling, increase funding towards clean-energy research, and invest in energy storage technology, such as solar and wind. Let’s believe in science and take big, bold action to address climate chaos before it is too late.

Empower ALL Women

Empowering ALL women is empowering ALL of America. Let’s not go another day without equal pay. Let’s lift the deadline for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment. Let’s close the boyfriend loophole and protect women from domestic abusers. Let’s codify Roe v. Wade and repeal the Hyde Amendment so that women everywhere have access to safe abortions. Let’s have a healthcare guarantee, debt-free college, and affordable childcare. And men, let’s pass the mic and ensure that women have a voice at every table. Let’s address these issues and know that we must strive to lift up women of color, women who identify as LGBTQ+, and every woman who suffers from systemic oppression — ALL women. It’s time to get this nation’s head out of the 1950s. All women deserve equal pay, equal respect, equal rights in education, in employment, in healthcare, in everything.