I believe healthcare is a human right, and everyone deserves access to affordable and quality care.

When I ran for office in 2020, one of my top priorities was ensuring residents in our nursing homes received the care they deserve and that staff were properly supported. I am especially proud that as a result of that election we were able to finally pass the Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act to require nursing homes properly staff their facilities so every patient is attended to with care and dignity. In 2018, my Uncle David passed away in a nursing home after being neglected – so this bill was personal to me. Despite this legislative victory, the for-profit private nursing home industry has continued to fight back against it to protect their profits at the expense of their patients and staff. I remain 100% committed to defending against their efforts to unwind our progres, and will continue to stand up for our most vulnerable because sick people should never be thought of as a business opportunity.

Some of you may remember that my partner at the time, Katie, had been removed from the kidney transplant list for lacking comprehensive health insurance. I’m pleased to let you know that since then, she finally received a transplant and is doing great. As another one of my priorities, I co-sponsored successful legislation to provide Medicare supplemental insurance to people with kidney disease so no one in our state ever again deals with what she did.

I’m also excited about the other progress we made on healthcare this term, including:

• Capping insurance co-payments for insulin to $40/month

• Making significant increases in funding for services for children, seniors, and those with developmental disabilities

• Passing landmark legislation to combat the opioid and overdose epidemic

• Beginning the work to create long-term reform in our Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Healthcare remains one of top priorities and, as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee, I look forward to continuing to work on real reform measures that allow everyone to get the care they deserve.

Rising inflation, corporate greed, and our reliance on foreign fossil fuel is putting a squeeze on everyday people and working families. It’s never been more important that our state government responds to the economic needs of Rhode Islanders.

This years’ state budget delivers for working people, seniors, students, and our most vulnerable. By eliminating the car tax ahead of schedule, cutting taxes on pensions for retirees, and providing a one-time tax credit for families of $250 per child, we were able to provide targeted tax relief to everyday people at a time when families need it most.

Last year, we took on big corporate power and passed Pay Equity legislation to guarantee women are paid the same rate as men in their positions. We put our state on a pathway to have a $15/hr minimum wage, eliminated income tax on veterans pensions, gave a 50% tax credit increase for qualifying elderly and disabled residents, and exempted an additional $5,000 of income from income tax on retiree pensions.

I am especially proud to have sponsored and passed legislation signed into law that requires developers to pay their workers the prevailing wage if they receive a tax credit from the state. We should never be subsidizing development at the expense of working families, and if developers seek state assistance for their projects, it’s only right they pay the people doing the work what they deserve.

Throughout our community, we’ve seen long overdue action finally come to task with new construction at Garden City Elementary and Eden Park Elementary. The City of Cranston has done great work to fund this work – but they can’t do it alone. By working with Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Governor Dan McKee, and House leadership, I was able to obtain an additional $50 million for a total of $300 million to fund school construction. In November, voters will have the option to approve $250 million as a bond on the ballot. I urge you to vote yes, so every Rhode Island student can learn in a facility built for the 21st century.

Additionally, I was proud to co-sponsor legislation that made the RI Promise permanent, so every student is provided two years of free tuition at CCRI. Our budget fully funded public education, increasing support by $17 million. And while right-wing extremists have targeted students and teachers all across our nation with “Don’t Say Gay” bills and laws to ban students from learning American history, we’ve fought back to protect students and teachers by blocking the passage of harmful and hateful bills. Let me be clear: I will always support the LGBTQ+ community and stand up against bigotry, because hate has no place in our state – especially not in our schools.

Education is critical to the future of our state, and I will continue to support our students and teachers.

In my first term, we’ve made historic achievements to protect our environment and play our role in combating climate change while building a local economy that reflects the future of our energy needs. By passing the Act on Climate, we put our state on a path to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. With passing a 100% Renewable Energy Standard by 2033, we have led the nation in our commitment to renewable energy. These measures will not only protect our environment, they will position our state to be at the forefront of the green energy economy so we source our energy locally and reduce utility costs while creating good-paying jobs.

Last year, we stopped a medical waste facility from being built in nearby West Warwick, protecting fellow Rhode Islanders from local pollution. This year, we blocked a dangerous “Advanced Recycling” bill which would have allowed plastic to be burned in our state.

We all deserve clean air, clean water, and have a responsibility to leave the next generation with a livable planet. I’m proud that Rhode Island is playing our part and leading the way to. combat climate change.

The recent mass-shootings in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX have once again struck the heart of our country. No one should be afraid to go to the supermarket, church, school, movie theater. I am grateful to the survivors and activists from Moms Demand Action, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, and many of my legislative colleagues for the partnership we organized to finally pass common-sense gun reform. By raising the age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21, prohibiting the open carry in public of rifles and shotguns, and banning high- capacity magazines we finally took serious action to reduce gun violence.

The right-wing’s war on women has undermined the legitimacy of our Supreme Court with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Reproductive health decisions are a personal choice that the government has no place to be involved in. I firmly support the right to choose, and will continue to be a voice of support.

Thankfully, in 2019 the protections of Roe v. Wade were codified into state law. Still, many people needing access to abortion are denied because of their health insurance coverage. I support passing the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, so everyone needing to make that personal and intimate decision can do so without the restrictions of their particular health insurance plan.

Building safer and stronger communities takes comprehensive planning and partnership. Like most Americans, seeing the video of George Floyd being murdered by police shook me to the core—and was one of the reasons why I decided to run for office. The trust and power that we put into police requires that we always hold them to the highest ethical standards, and we must always have a zero tolerance policy for any abuse of power. At the same time, we need to recognize the difficult job police have—and recognize exactly what causes their job to be so difficult.

Unlike many fellow progressive Democrats, I’ve rejected the notion of “Defunding the Police” for a few reasons. First, bringing police accountability takes more than a bumper sticker slogan. But more importantly, in order to reduce crime and keep communities safe we need to address the root. causes of crime. That takes long-term, systemic reform and investment in housing, education, healthcare, and an economy where everyone has an opportunity to truly thrive. Sadly, those reforms are long overdue and will require serious dedication to resolve.

I’ve been pleased to see many of our local police departments partner with non-profit organizations to tackle these complicated issues. By recognizing that substance use disorders are a mental health issue, using outreach strategies to repair and build trust among the community, and helping people access resources available we build systems for real public safety. We’ve made lots of progress on these issues over the last few years, but as always, there’s more work to be done.

There’s no other way to say it: we have a government that is bought and paid for by big corporations and the top .1%

For our government to truly work for people, we need to get the influence of big money OUT of politics.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC supercharged a system of unlimited spending by dark-money interest groups. While this spending is mostly targeted to power at the federal level, many powerful, large corporations influence our state government as well. I’m proud to not accept any corporate PAC campaign contributions.