Education
- As the COVID crisis has highlighted, educational choice is crucial to providing quality education to all students
- I will support expanding quality cyber, charter and home school opportunities, while strengthening public and private brick-and-mortar schools.
- Ensuring a quality education and access to that education to all social economic classes, even in these difficult circumstances.
Environment
- Future generations are counting on us to preserve and protect our environment
- While balancing the need for protection, I will encourage the responsible use of our natural resources for economic development
- I will support common sense legislation to find solutions for chronic wasting disease in our white-tailed deer population and the spotted lantern fly invasion.
Healthcare
- I will work to find creative solutions to the healthcare crisis in Pennsylvania, instead of waiting for the Federal government to do it.
- Telemedicine, mobile clinics and urban store-front clinics may be the solutions that will work for Pennsylvania.
- I will support using HSAs (health savings accounts) or some other system as a way to bring down healthcare costs in Pennsylvania
Redistricting
MORE INFORMATON ON SPECIFIC POLICIES
Agriculture
Agriculture is vital to Pennsylvania’s’ economy. From local farms to growing farmers’ markets, it is impossible to ignore the importance of agriculture to our Commonwealth. Being the granddaughter of a tenant farmer and daughter of an avid gardener, I have learned to love the land. The smell of fresh-broken ground and its feel in my hands are some of my earliest memories. I will be a strong advocate for the continued support of our farming communities. To prevent increased costs for food production that would make it more difficult for those who are struggling to keep their farms in operation, I will not support becoming a part of the Transportation and Climate Initiative. The farming community has seen skyrocketing suicide rates nationwide, in part because of the struggle to keep farms profitable. Providing better access to mental health services to support struggling farmers should be part of my plans to improve mental health care in the Commonwealth.
Economy
During the current virus outbreak, our economy, at the local, state, and federal levels seriously affected. The recovery process is going to be a challenge and our economy may be very different than it was before the pandemic. Innovative techniques and ideas will be required to move forward and capitalize on the resurgence of our global economy. We should encourage the expansion of telemedicine and telecommuting. Creative methods to broaden worker access to new jobs should be used to encourage people to enter the workforce. The need to restructure our national economy to provide the goods and services desired by the American people should become a major focus while rebuilding Pennsylvania’s economy. We must begin to produce here what has recently been outsourced to other countries.
Education
All students deserve to have access to the educational style that best meets their needs. Choosing a public, private, cyber, charter, or homeschool education should be the choice of parents and their students. Parents and students, regardless of economic status, should have access to a variety of schooling options. Competition breeds success and improvements—and our education system would benefit from increased competition as well. As parents can choose the best learning environment for their students, innovation and growth will push our education system to improve and excel.
Environment
Future generations are counting on us to preserve and protect our environment. The balance between economic advancement and environmental protection is sometimes challenging. We must do all we can to protect it, while not limiting ourselves so much that we make decisions that harm our economic future. Stewardship of our precious natural resources is important to me, as is providing quality jobs for our residents. I will support legislation designed to protect our environment while balancing it with the need to grow our economy.
Healthcare
Skyrocketing premiums, high deductibles, and ever-increasing medicine costs have been the hallmark of healthcare issues in Pennsylvania. Solving these challenges requires new approaches and bold solutions. Using an HSA (Health Savings Account) based system is one option that will help to bring the costs of healthcare down. Encouraging the operation of urgent care and routine medical care clinics in urban areas to provide essential services will help ease the burden of emergency room overcrowding.
Jobs
Pennsylvania is experiencing moderate job growth, but more must be done to improve it. Reducing business taxes and providing more skilled trade training would employee participation in the job market in the Commonwealth. Elimination of job-killing regulations and “red tape” would encourage entrepreneurship. The key is to get the government out of the way to allow more freedom in job creation. Recovering from COVID-19 is going to take new, innovative ideas to move our economy forward, not the same repetitive attempts to improve our job market. Opportunities abound for those who are willing to take a bold approach to advance our economy by providing more jobs for Pennsylvanians looking for quality, life-improving employment.
Life, Liberty, Freedom
Science proves that human beings can’t produce any life other than another human being. Therefore, in the act of conception, this life created is a human being and deserves to be protected. Legislation allowing for “post-birth abortion” highlights the violence of taking of innocent human life in any form of development. Infanticide was the name assigned for this action, and it was against the law in all states. Now, the push to include these barbaric practices is appearing in the Commonwealth. I will stand in opposition to any legislation that would allow for the killing of children after they are born. My vote to pass the Down Syndrome Protection Act would reflect my belief that all life is sacred.
The ability to live free from government intrusion is the basis of the rights we all enjoy. I will protect the right to religious freedom and freedom of speech. I am willing to defend unpopular ideas and the right to speak them. The way to counter the concepts we disagree with is to encourage more dialogue, not less. Free-speech zones and similar methods used to limit speech do not strengthen the free exchange of ideas.
The right to bear arms, guaranteed in our State and Federal Constitutions, must also be protected. The right to self-protection is a fundamental right, and I will support legislation that protects our Second Amendment. “Red flag laws,” are laws that would require someone to prove they are innocent of charges made against them. That turns our ideas of justice completely on its head. They are a violation of due process rights or the idea that a person accused is “presumed innocent until proven guilty” and I would not support them for that reason.
Property Tax Elimination
Property tax elimination is the number one issue for most Berks Countians. For over 30 years, legislators in Harrisburg have said they were “working on it.” Thousands of Pennsylvanians have lost their homes, waiting for help that has never come. We see young families leave the Commonwealth because they can find less expensive housing elsewhere. Many families who have the dream of homeownership find themselves unable to purchase a home, not because they can’t afford the mortgage or insurance but because they can’t afford the ever-rising property taxes. It’s time to find a new solution to the property tax burden placed on hardworking families and the elderly. It is morally wrong for the government to seize property already paid for by a lifetime of hard work many homeowners cannot afford to pay their property taxes because their social security income is inadequate. Homeowners are not the only ones suffering under the antiquated property tax system. Businesses are less competitive compared to other states because of the high tax burden. Many are leaving Pennsylvania for states with lower taxes and take their employees with them. Recent graduates from high school and college are leaving the Commonwealth at an alarming rate, resulting in a “brain drain” that negatively affects our competitiveness.
Protecting Your Vote
In 2016, if Pennsylvania had passed the National Popular Vote Compact or NPV, proposed Senate Bill 270, Hillary Clinton would be awarded the Electoral College votes, instead of Donald Trump. The people of Pennsylvania voted for Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote, thanks to states like New York and California. These two states have recently passed legislation to allow people here illegally to obtain a driver’s license. They also have motor-voter laws allowing for voter registrations at the time of licensing. The combination of those two laws increases the likelihood of non-citizens voting in national elections. Even in Pennsylvania, during the 2016 election, some precincts recorded over 100% turnout, which is not possible without fraud. The Electoral College has ensured all states, large and small alike, have a voice in our Republic. It has worked for almost 250 years and should continue to give every state a say in our Federal Government. Without it, large states like California, Florida, New York, or Texas would decide every Presidential Election. NPV legislation, repeatedly introduced, into the Senate. I would vote to defeat the bill and stand with the Constitution and protect the votes of the people of Pennsylvania
Redistricting
The 2020 Census will require redistricting of the Commonwealth. At this time, there is a push to ignore the State Constitution and allow an unelected commission to determine legislative districts. It is yet another attempted power grab by the other branches of government, much like the 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The process of redistricting, according to the Constitution, begins in the Legislature. That is where it should remain. While gerrymandering has occurred in the past, I will vote to follow the guidelines of the Constitution, advocating for compact, contiguous districts. There are ways to draw maps that both meet Constitutional mandates and do not fall into gerrymandering of districts. The implementation of an unelected commission is not one of them.
