The Bill of Rights was written to create guardrails that would prevent the federal government from encroaching on individual liberties. But, the world has changed in the last two hundred years and those original rights are no longer enough to secure the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That’s why in his message to Congress on January 11, 1944, FDR outlined what he called a second Bill of Rights.
David believes that the vision President Roosevelt outlined nearly 80 years ago is just as urgently needed today as it was then. It’s time we expanded on the definition of freedom and enacted legislation to guarantee that in the richest country on earth, everyday people have the right to live the life they want.
David supports:
The right to a good paying job
The right to a decent standard of living, including food, clothing and water
The right to retire with dignity
The right to self-identify and receive equitable treatment under the law
The right to live in a decent home
The right to affordable, high quality healthcare
The right to a good, free education
The right to live in a habitable world
The United States is the only developed country on earth that doesn’t provide a single-payer system. The impact of that is we pay more for worse care.
Costs are so extreme that tens of thousands of people are turning to crowdfunding to pay their medical bills.
Research from the Journal of American Medical Association found that between May 2010 and December 2018, 26.7% of the fundraisers on GoFundMe were for health-related costs. Those campaigns sought a collective total of nearly $10.3 billion and raised about $3.7 billion.
In one survey, as many as 38.8% of patients were forced to ration their prescription due to cost.
Price should not be a part of the discussion between you and your doctor.
David supports:
Passing Medicare For All
Controlling drugs prices on treatment developed from federally funded research
Reforming patent laws to prevent abuse by pharmaceutical companies
Banning pharmaceutical advertising similar to the ban on tobacco promotion
Making all levels of post-secondary education free for all medical professions
Codifying Roe to protect the right of every woman and child-bearing person to control their own body
Repealing the Hyde Amendment
The skyrocketing cost of housing has put home ownership out of reach for millions of people. In our cities, thousands have to worry about finding a place to sleep while new luxury high-rise buildings go up every year with half the units unoccupied. All the while, rent continues to increase every year, and families are forced out of their homes by developers and landlords who care more about profits than people.
These challenges in housing have wide-reaching effects. In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, individuals without housing are at significantly higher-risk.
Most Americans are one unexpected expense away from homelessness. This is an emergency that requires significant action.
David supports:
Increasing investment to build new public housing
Increasing investment to repair existing public housing
Incentivizing Inclusionary Zoning so that at least 20% of units in new developments are designated as on-site affordable housing
Codifying the right for every U.S. resident to live in a decent home
H.R.6308 - Housing is a Human Right Act of 2020
As the son of immigrants, David doesn’t believe in closing the door behind him. We need to recognize that whether documented or undocumented, this country would not run without the work of millions of immigrants.. Regardless of documentation status, they deserve the same protections and rights afforded to all who choose to live in our country.
David supports:
Creating a real pathway to citizenship
Providing taxpayers the same access to unemployment and social security, regardless of documentation status
Reforming immigration courts to eliminate the conflict of interest where both judges and prosecutors report to DHS
Abolishing ICE
The science is clear, climate change is an existential threat. For six straight years, our planet set a record for the hottest year in history.
We need urgent action that is proportional to the threat. Although this is an emergency, it is also an opportunity to revitalize our economy and infrastructure in a way that is sustainable. This will require a whole-of-nation approach, but in the process, we can create thousands of good-paying union jobs, lower the cost of energy, and ensure a habitable planet for future generations.
David supports:
Passing the Green New Deal
Funding retraining for workers from disrupted industries
Green New Deal for Cities (Cori Bush)
Green New Deal for Public Schools (Jamaal Bowman)
Green New Deal for Public Housing (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez / Bernie Sanders)
Farm System Reform Act
Environmental Justice for All Act
End Polluter Welfare Act
Keep it in the Ground Act
Hudson County has the largest LGBTQ+ community in New Jersey and David is committed to supporting them at every step.
Given the recent news about Roe, it's more important than ever that we codify fundamental rights. These include marriage-equality as well as the right to self-identify and prohibiting all discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation
Being an ally also means tackling the everyday injustices that disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community. These include higher rates of youth homelessness, job discrimination, incarceration, sexual violence, and substance abuse.
David supports:
Passing Medicare for All and ending discrimination in healthcare.
Increasing investment into LGBTQ+ housing and shelter programs.
Making schools safe for LGBTQ+ students, including expanding education around LGBTQ+ issues and history, and ensuring all students have proper accommodations.
Expanding social work programs and services to support LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
Clarifying asylum laws to unequivocally include refugees fleeing persecution due to their gender identity or sexuality.
Decriminalizing sex work, where enforcement is often most strict against queer and transgender people of color.
Legislation that David supports:
H.R.5 - Equality Act
H.R.223 - Hate Crime Victim Assistance Act of 2019
H.R.1777 - Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2019
H.R.3570 - Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act of 2019
H.R.6637 - Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020
H.R.3509 - LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act
H.R.2775 - Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act
H.R.2312 - Elder Pride Act
Unions empower the workers who make our economy function. David is a strong support of unions and in Congress he'll fight tirelessly to secure the right of every worker to collectively bargain. From his experience working in the environmental compliance and safety industry, David understands that unionized workers are more likely to assert their rights and report violations. He's also seen the inverse, where non-unionized workplaces are happy to pay a fine if it costs less than taking safety measures.
Other than passing federal legislation, David believes that unions are our best hope for ensuring that all workers receive a living wage, good benefits, and safe conditions. Our campaign is leading by example: our banking is union, our printing is union, and our mailing is union.
David supports:
Passing H.R.842 - PRO Act to secure the right of worker to collectively bargain
Conditioning government funds, contracts, and subsidies on the use of union labor
Expanding the NLRA to cover domestic and agricultural workers
Closing loopholes in Antitrust laws that prevent contractors and gig workers from joining a union
Legislation to protect workers in labor disputes from immigration enforcement or the threat of immigration enforcement
David supports:
Increasing investment into underfunded K-12 public schools to create equity: new supplies including technology, increasing teacher salaries, repairing inadequate buildings, supporting after-school programs, and promoting improved transportation.
Making public colleges and universities tuition free
Canceling all student loans
Passing H.R.3472 - College for All Act
David supports:
Demilitarizing the police
Legalizing marijuana at a federal level and releasing those still in prison for low level offenses
Funding programs that enable social workers and healthcare professionals to be the first responders for mental health crises instead of police officers
Reinstating the right to vote for all convicted persons whether or not they are still incarcerated
Ending qualified immunity
Banning civil asset forfeiture
David supports:
Making significant investment in expanding public transportation between the tri-state area
Pressuring the Senate to authorize the Gateway project
Expanding the light rail system to connect northern New Jersey in a way that gives greater access, connects our communities, and decreases car traffic
Funding an anti-corruption task force that will focus on eliminating the kinds of backroom deals and kickbacks that so often delay projects and drive up construction costs
The coronavirus pandemic briefly overshadowed the gun violence pandemic that has been plaguing our communities and tearing apart families for years. In 2020, gun violence became the leading cause of death in the United States for children and adolescents. In 2022, we've averaged approximately one new mass shooting per day with that number expected to rise as we enter the summer. However, it's not just mass shootings. Gun violence has been disproportionately damaging low-income and communities of color.
David is committed to taking a strong stance against gun violence and is proud to have earned
the Gun Sense Candidate Distinction from Moms Demand Action.David supports:
Banning Assault weapons
Extreme risk / Red Flag Laws that allow a court to limit a person's access to guns if they are proven to be a danger to themselves or others
Passing Ethan's Law to require secure storage for all guns to prevent them from falling into the hands of someone under the age of 18 or someone who is a danger to themselves or others
Protecting and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act to take guns out of the hands of domestic abusers
Strengthening federal background checks and banning ghost guns
Establishing a federal database to track gun ownership
David supports:
Repealing the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 which limits the size of the House of Representatives to 435
Expanding the Supreme Court
Making Washington D.C. a state
Passing legislation to protect voting rights which are under attack across the country
Pressuring the senate to eliminate the filibuster