Aaron on the Issues

A real leader listens with respect, responds with honesty and works with integrity. Across the district, the American Dream is slipping away from working families. I have a plan to reclaim it.

My Top Issues:

Universal Healthcare.

Medical debt has become the most common cause of bankruptcy in America. Republicans are making the problem worse, cutting VA Health Benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Their irresponsible actions could cause our hospitals and nursing homes to close. America can and must build a healthcare system that delivers stable, accessible, cost-effective basic healthcare to all Americans. In America, no one should die of a preventable disease because they are poor or live in a rural area.

Become a Housing-Ready Region.

In Western New York and the Southern Tier, housing is scarce and expensive. Housing is not just an investment; it’s a fundamental human need. We need lots of new safe, basic housing. I will work with county and local governments to make it easier to build and rebuild in our cities and towns, driving down prices while creating jobs and new property tax revenue.

Power up Public Schools.

Across the district, working families are paying more in property taxes and getting less from their schools. Republicans are trying to eliminate a federal role in education, cutting funding for Head Start, IEPs, special education, aid for rural schools, Job Corps and Pell grants. Instead of gutting our education system, we need to retool and reinvest. The most common cause of learning loss is hunger. We need to feed our kids good food every day at school without asking them for money. AI is changing the nature of work. I will fight to make AI serve the common good, not create the first trillionaire. With smart regulation that puts people first, we can make AI work for our teachers and students to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.

Create Dignified Work for Everyone.

It’s getting harder to make a living these days. Republicans are making the problem worse with business-killing tariffs, vendettas against future technologies and busting unions. Instead of tax breaks and deregulation for corporations, we need to raise wages and empower workers. We should raise the federal minimum wage to $15 immediately. Small businesses create most of the good jobs in America. It’s time for a new ban on price discrimination, to give Mom and Pop a chance to compete with Walmart and Amazon. We can also open up opportunities for everyday people to invest more of their savings in their own communities, not Wall Street.

Save the Family Farm.

In Western New York and the Southern Tier, family farms are the link between our everyday lives and the environment we all depend on. For resilience, sustainability, local economies and nutrition, we must find ways to make local agriculture pay again. Federal policy should have as its goal to help American small farmers to make a dignified living doing what they do best: grow food and fiber in a sustainable relationship with the land.

Taking a Stand:

My platform is based on the principle that all human beings have innate dignity and deserve to be treated with respect.

Rule of Law

In America, the people are sovereign under the Constitution. America has no kings—not now, not ever. None of us is above the law, and all of us deserve equal treatment under that law.

Choice

I support a woman’s right to choose. I trust women to make decisions about their own reproductive healthcare, and their decisions should not be criminalized. I support codifying the protections of Roe into law and would vote no on any attempted national abortion ban. We can best support a culture of life not by criminalizing choice, but by actively supporting women, children and families.

Speech

I support the constitutional freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. The Trump Administration’s attempts to censor and/or punish the speech of protestors, whistleblowers, journalists, researchers, doctors and lawyers are unconstitutional.

Guns

Supporting the rule of law means supporting the Second Amendment. When handled responsibly, guns are useful tools, tools rural people often rely on to help feed their families. Like any other powerful, dangerous tool, care should be taken to make sure they are used responsibly. I support universal background checks and red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who are likely to use them to commit crimes.

Immigration

America’s immigration policy has been broken for forty years. I support strong, secure borders and fair treatment for law-abiding immigrants, many of whom are innocent victims of our incoherent immigration laws. Real reform should include a fair process for new entries, due process for undocumented people, a guest worker program that serves our country’s economic needs, and consistent enforcement.

Privacy

The right to privacy has become meaningless in the digital age. I support updating our privacy laws to include the “right to be forgotten,” the right to control one’s digital likeness, and stronger protections against identity theft. The Trump administration’s initiative to create a single governmental identity database in partnership with Palantir, a private AI company, is an unacceptable breach of the right to privacy and should be prohibited by law.

Israel

I support the Jewish people and Israel’s right to exist. The terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7th, 2023 were a despicable, cowardly act, and a great tragedy for Israeli families. The Netanyahu government was right to pursue Hamas to bring the terrorists to justice and bring about the return of the hostages, but they have gone too far, crossing legal and ethical lines. The US should not be complicit in war crimes and the violation of human rights. A just and lasting peace requires accountability for the Netanyahu government, an end to illegal settlements both in Gaza and the West Bank, and a plan for peaceful self-determination for the Palestinian people.

Ukraine

In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a blatant attempt to expand its territory. Russia’s leader, Vladmimir Putin, is a dangerous dictator. Containing his ambitions by helping Ukraine defend itself and sheltering its refugees is in the national security interest of the United States.

Public Health

Public safety is the primary responsibility of any government. Promoting impartial academic research, careful monitoring and testing, and timely guidance from scientific experts are proven methods for safeguarding public health. To dismantle regimes for research, communication, testing and treatment without effective, vetted alternatives in place is courting disaster, and is among the most serious failures of government that can be conceived.