When I was negotiating with our foreign allies, I knew I had to do so in good faith, or trust would be broken - and those allies wouldn’t be there when we really needed them.
I use the lessons my father taught me every day. And I believe the simple value of integrity matters, even in a complicated place like Congress.
I come from a service family - I met my husband Dave during my third tour in Iraq serving as a CIA analyst alongside the military.
It is my responsibility to always have my ear to the ground on issues affecting the people of our district, and whether it’s supporting the veterans of Michigan’s 8th district or anyone else, I will always do my best to listen and follow through on the needs of folks here.
Even if you’re not a union member, you’ve likely benefited from the hard-fought advancements our unions spearheaded: Have you taken a sick day, received paid leave for medical reasons or vacation, or received overtime pay? Unions paved the way for all of these.
I believe that in order for our democratic system to work as intended, the average person must have faith in their government. Citizens must believe that our system is working to represent them, and that it is capable of advancing issues like healthcare access, lowering prescription drug costs and improving infrastructure.
Each week, I will release a public schedule of how I am spending my time, and who I am meeting with in my Congressional office.
While normal people have to disclose donations directly to a candidate, there is no such transparency on people donating to certain types of nonprofit organizations that can play a major role in our elections.
If people are going to donate huge sums of money to influence elections, we have the right to know who is donating, and this will also play a key role in helping to fight off foreign influence in our elections.
People feel overwhelmed by the news cycle, and by this nagging feeling that the kind of vitriol out of Washington is just not how we are supposed to act as a government, and as a nation.
