Federal Government Spending  

The national debt is now approximately $22 TRILLION. We risk saddling future generations with debt payments that will affect future tax rates as well as our nation’s ability in years to come to pay for basic necessities like infrastructure and defense. While we promote pro-growth policies on the tax side, we must also consider the affect this high spending has on our nations growth and prosperity as well.  

First, we should set a goal to adopt balanced budgets and we should hold our elected officials accountable when federal government spending exceeds its revenue.  

Second, we should conduct a top to bottom audit of all government programs to assess them for effectiveness on a cost basis and for repetitiveness with both other federal programs as well as state and local programs. We should insure that social welfare programs are actually helping the people they are there to help, and where the money is not being spent in a way that actually benefits the programs intended targets we should reinvent those programs, redistribute those funds to programs that work, or where repetitive use those funds to balance our budget.  

Federal Taxes / Regulations  

I applaud our leadership for their recent efforts to cut taxes and regulations. The power of our nation’s economy has been unleashed by putting money back into the private sector for individuals and businesses to use for their own advancement instead of allowing the federal government to decide for them how that money will be spent.  

Even more important, we have seen a massive reduction in the needless regulations on business that have stifled commerce and innovation by adding unproductive compliance costs to conducting business in America. Freeing up these billions of dollars contributed to a booming economy, jobs returning to our shores from abroad, and an increase in employee pay for the first time in a generation.

We need to follow up the previous tax cut bill with another directed primarily at the middle class to make sure our hardest working and most over-taxed people are given some real relief. Additionally, the $10,000 cap on SALT deductions for both single and married filers has negatively impacted middle and upper middle-class workers in high cost of living, high property tax areas like in NY-3.  

We need to increase the SALT deduction so that people living in these high cost of living, high property tax areas are included in the tax reform that has set the American economy on fire. Doubling the deduction to $20,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filers will go a long way to improve this one error in an otherwise positive tax reform.

Veteran's Affairs  

The men and women who risk their lives to defend our country should receive the best healthcare available. Instead, for decades they have been shortchanged and neglected. They have been trapped in a substandard and inadequate system that doesn’t give them the care they have earned.  

The recent efforts to create options for veterans are laudable but don’t go far enough. All our veterans deserve the best healthcare and they should be allowed to get that care at the facility and with the doctors of their choice. Homelessness and suicide among veterans is inexcusably high and must be addressed.  

We need to completely re-imagine the VA from a hospital system to a support system that helps our veterans get the care they need at all levels without any red tape standing between them and treatment. A system that provides mental health treatment, job training and placement, and shelter when needed, to help our veterans achieve a life after service that we and they can be proud of.

Immigration and Border Security  

We must reconcile, in a bi-partisan way, that we are a nation of immigrants and that immigration strengthens us while also acknowledging that we have a responsibility to protect and control our border and who crosses it. We need to streamline and simplify both the process to enter our country, as well as the process to remove people that shouldn’t be here.  

Balancing both of these vital interests would entail compromise and both sides working together. As a child of immigrants, I understand how important this issue is and will work with others like me in Congress, across party lines, to arrive at real solutions that serve the interest of America and it's citizens. 

Protecting Gun Rights  

The Second Amendment is one of the founding principles of our nation, with the right to bear arms recognized as an inalienable right bestowed upon us by our creator. Studies show that defensive gun uses occur between 500,000 and 2.5 million times every year. Even were it half that number, DGU’s would vastly outnumber instances where guns are used to commit crimes. The right to self defense is one of the most basic and critical rights people are endowed with and I will protect the people’s right to keep and bear arms from being infringed.  

However, we still need to prevent to the extent possible criminal activity and criminal use of firearms. Most homicides are committed with illegally owned handguns purchased through the black market or other illegal means. A large amount of criminal gun activity is committed in specific neighborhoods by gangs in the commission of other illegal activities. Strict prosecution of gang related crimes with strong sentences will keep the people prone to committing these crimes off the street. Strong anti-gang laws bolstered at the federal level will go a long way in decreasing the criminal activity on the streets of America’s cities.  

Taking immigration enforcement seriously for people who commit crimes will also help reduce crime. When an illegal immigrant commits a crime and finishes serving their sentence, they must be swiftly deported so they can no longer terrorize people living here lawfully. 

Defend the Constitution  

Our founding fathers were not perfect, but they were brilliant in how they created our nation. Our constitution was written to allow for endless change and adaptation while still adhering to our basic principles and protected individual rights. Our rights and our system of law are the most perfect ever devised and we must fight every day to protect our freedoms, for if we lose them we will never get them back.  

Mental Health

Modern life has created stresses that we have not yet come to realize or understand. Youth depression rates are at an all time high. Suicide is also dangerously high, as is drug addiction. Drug overdose numbers are also out of control. The last year we have data for there were approximately 70,000 drug overdose deaths, with 50,000 of those from Opioids.  

We need much better mental health screenings while people are in school, under the supervision of trained adults. Only by addressing problems early can we reduce suicides, drug overdoses and depression, as well as the most serious mental health disorders that cause young men to pick up firearms and go on a killing rampage.

Education  

There is nothing more important to our future generations than insuring that children get a quality education that prepares them for life as a productive and self-sufficient adult able to join the workforce with competitive professional skills.  

One size fits all education is no more able to accommodate all our children’s needs than one size fits all clothing. Federal policy should support the ability of parents to choose the kind of education that best suits their child’s needs, by empowering them with a school choice option that allows them to use the money they pay into the system to support their child’s education at public, charter, vocational or even private schools. 

Studies prove the effectiveness of charter schools in bettering the outcomes for poor and minority students. Students that get vocational training are some of the best prepared graduates upon entering the workforce and fill high skill jobs like electricians and mechanics that we desperately need and will allow these graduates to build a career with a real economic future and stability.

Energy  

While traditional fuels are still required to serve our energy needs, moving toward a fossil fuel free economy is a realizable goal in time. But only if we embrace the one and only renewable energy capable to filling our high demand for electricity. That one source is nuclear power.  

Nuclear is actually the safest and most efficient energy source man has ever harnessed. There has never been a single death in the United States as a result of nuclear energy. Even the often-cited Fukushima accident in Japan in which an earthquake caused a nuclear meltdown, didn’t result in any deaths from radiation exposure. The ability for Japan to contain the fallout in this most dramatic case proves just how stable nuclear power truly is.  

In contrast, solar energy requires the mining and harvesting of toxic metals that must be disposed of when the panels wear out. Wind power kills millions of migratory birds and are dangerous near places inhabited by any animals that are sensitive to the high decibel noise created. Both of these energy sources are only approximately 35% efficient, since the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. That requires batteries to store power, which are also made from toxic materials that also must be disposed of when the batteries are replaced. Meanwhile nuclear power is 95% efficient, only breaking their constant flow of energy for service.  

Right now 20% of our energy is supplied by pre-1980’s nuclear plants that will expire in the near future. They must be replaced with new, modern nuclear plants, and we need to increase our reliance on nuclear power to at least 50% by 2050.

Israel  

Israel is one of America’s closet allies and the only democratic nation in the Middle East. After decades of promises by multiple presidents it’s a great credit to President Trump that he finally honored our promise to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.  

Israel’s very existence depends on our support and aid, and we must ensure their continued survival. Additionally, we should respect Israel’s choices for leadership and not get involved in supporting one political party over another, but instead be prepared to work with all administrations to further Israel’s position as the only nation in the Middle East that respects human rights.

Mass Transit  

People need efficient ways to get to and from their place of work and places where they can socialize. There is no place in this country more reliant on mass transit than the NYC metropolitan area. On Long Island, the LIRR is the lifeline for people to get to their jobs in Manhattan easily and efficiently. Without good reliable mass transit people would have to drive on increasingly congested highways, creating pollution, stress and loss of quality of life.  

We must invest in increasing the availability and reliability of mass transit and reform how public authorities are run, making them more accountable and transparent.