Policy Positions & Issues

New Jersey, like the nation, is grappling with a profound housing crisis. The current market-driven system is failing too many of our residents, leading to soaring rents, unaffordable homeownership, and a severe shortage of suitable housing. With only 31 rental homes available for every 100 extremely low-income households in our state, the current situation is unacceptable. The challenges extend beyond mere lack of housing.  They are rooted in a system that often prioritizes profit over people, leading to inequitable distribution and subpar conditions for our most vulnerable.

While we acknowledge the efforts of existing federal housing programs, I believe a bolder, more comprehensive approach is urgently needed. Current public housing initiatives have often fallen short, leading to concentrations of poverty, inadequate maintenance, and deeply flawed policies that punish residents for achieving even modest economic gains. Rules that penalize a slight raise or marriage, pushing individuals out of their homes, undermine the very stability we seek to create. This must change.

I advocate for a federal initiative to create a national, high-quality public and mixed-income housing program, inspired by successful models around the world. This program would fundamentally reshape how we provide housing, ensuring dignity, stability, and opportunity for all New Jersey residents. 

The federal government already spends significant funds on housing. In 2024 congress appropriated more than $70 billion for that purpose. However the current programs are inadequate and ineffective. Most of the money is spent to subsidize the private market to provide affordable housing. This has led to public money being used to bolster private profits. While the people who rely on these programs are often left with inadequate low quality housing accommodations. The initiatives I propose would represent a shift of these funds towards new programs that would lead to government-owned high-quality housing. Ensuring the government can provide effective quality services to the people is core to a functioning representative government that everyone in New Jersey deserves 

Key principles of this new public housing vision:

• Direct Federal Resources and Ownership: The federal government would directly fund, own, and operate new, high-quality, mixed-use housing developments across the country, including New Jersey. This direct involvement would circumvent the limitations of a purely private market approach.
• Integrated, Mixed-Income Communities: To foster vibrant and equitable communities and avoid the pitfalls of concentrated poverty, these developments would intentionally integrate residents across income levels. A proposed model would allocate:
  • 10% of units for extremely low-income households
  • 10% for affordable housing
  • 80% at near-market rates, subject to government controls on rent increases to ensure long-term affordability and stability for all residents.
• High Quality and Sustainable Design: Emphasizing modern, well-maintained buildings that are environmentally sustainable and seamlessly integrated into existing communities, providing access to transit, jobs, and services.
• Fair and Dignified Tenancy: Replacing restrictive and punitive rules with policies that support residents' economic advancement and family stability. We must eliminate "cliff effects" where modest income increases lead to loss of housing, and instead foster long-term tenancy and community building.

Ending Housing Insecurity: This program would move us towards a future where housing is recognized as a fundamental human right, providing a safe and stable home for every American, reducing homelessness, and alleviating the severe cost burden currently crushing New Jersey families.

Our healthcare system is dysfunctional and deeply flawed. The lack of adequate access to healthcare is a leading cause of preventable deaths in America, and too many New Jersey families either don't have health insurance or face prohibitively expensive medications and medical costs. This is an unacceptable reality, and it is a fundamental right that all in New Jersey should have access to high-quality healthcare.

The situation is being exacerbated by current policies. For instance, recent federal legislation threatens to cause as many as 350,000 New Jersey residents to lose healthcare coverage they are eligible for, and our state is facing billions of dollars in cuts to funding for hospitals and public health programs. People routinely face exorbitant prices for prescription drugs and baseless denials from insurance companies for necessary medical treatments, leading to medical and financial crises for the people of New Jersey.

Our healthcare system needs a complete overhaul. I advocate for a universal single-payer healthcare system. This is not an impossible dream; similar programs are successfully implemented in virtually every other industrialized country besides the United States, often at significantly lower costs. Many claim universal healthcare is impossible due to its expense, yet countries like the United Kingdom and Canada operate their universal systems at approximately one-third of what Americans pay per person.

The real barrier, which many shy away from, is that achieving these profound cost savings for ordinary Americans requires confronting the pharmaceutical companies, health insurance providers, and other major healthcare industry players. They currently obtain outsized and exploitative profits from our broken system. This industry also heavily influences our political process through massive campaign donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates and billions spent annually lobbying Congress.

We need our representatives in Washington D.C. to take a clear and unwavering stance to support the people's interests over corporate profits. If we work together, we can enact universal healthcare in this country and ensure everyone has access to the high-quality healthcare they deserve.

The entire world has been watching the terrible atrocities carried out by the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against the Palestinian people. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their alleged part in the massacres that have been committed by their government.

Instead of supporting the vulnerable Palestinian people, the United States Congress has sided with the apartheid Israeli government in the conflict. They have sent at least $21.7 billion in military support and other aid to the Israeli government since October 2023 as the Israelis intensified their attacks, killing over 67,000 Palestinians as of October 2025, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

This situation is still ongoing. While a recently announced ceasefire in conjunction with the United States, Israel, Gazan authorities, and Qatar is intended to de-escalate the conflict, it is fundamentally inappropriate for the United States Congress to financially support the apartheid Israeli government. The root causes of the conflict, including the siege and denial of Palestinian self-determination, must be addressed.

The United States and its officials should also be advocating for and ensuring the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Gallant, members of their administration, and leaders of the IDF who have committed these massacres against the Palestinian people. If international law is to carry any force, then it needs to be applied to allies as well as adversaries. Ensuring that no government is allowed to wholesale commit acts like we've seen the Israeli government commit in Gaza is fundamental to the principles of justice and human rights.