Douglas Crockett

Healthcare I don't understand why some politicians would treat health care as in Congress in 2025. Medicaid is not an optional luxury that is deserving of experimental deep funding cuts. I also don't understand how some politicians would not believe that the ACA marketplace health insurance subsidies were worthy of continuation. We need to reverse the Congressional actions from 2025 and bring back the 36,000 citizens who are forecasted to lose Medicaid health care and bring back the 10,000 to be priced out ACA marketplace health insurance in the Ninth District. Insuring that Medicaid coverage and ACA coverage goes back to pre-2025 levels will help insure that already-stressed health care ssytem in the Ninth District will continue to function and can improve. Healthcare My Backbone of America Recovery Act would need to include a focus on health care for two reasons. One, we need good accessible health care. Two, health care is the fastest growing segment of the economy. Better health care could make for healthier citiziens and for more jobs. In the Ninth District hospitals are dependent on Medicaid payments. Medical facilities are sometimes an hour or more away by car. Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act, or the ACA) had brought the uninsured rate down to 8% in the nation. Those who were uninsured were primarily the undocumented, and the people who were prevented from being on Medicaid by nonparticipation in Medicaid expansion under that part of the ACA in their state. The ACA has been effective and popular. Healthcare Is health care a right? Basic health care should be affordable and accessible as part of a bucket of basic good guaranteed to all people using tax incentives for price controls. I have included this in the Backbone of America Recovery Act (See Prosperity Platform: For American Unity, Maturity, and Prosperity. Start Here! and Affordability.) I have not endorsed Medicare for All, while I do believe it may be the most humane form of health care system. I believe there are political and practical obstacles of how do we get from what we currently have to Medicare for All. If those obstacles can be addressed then I would support it. Taxes / Budget We need improvements to infrastructure, broadband, regional tourism coordination and marketing, recreation, and education to support the increase in the standard of living. We have some great natural beauty and resources in the Ninth District, and with an infusion of financial resources into the area through the Backbone of America Recovery Act we can reach our full potential. Environment / Energy Another growing industry in Virginia and the country is data centers driven by the growth in artificial intelligence (AI). I understand the desire of counties and municipalities to court and welcome data centers. I also understand the concern about the environment and water and electric power use. I am not against data centers but I am for a livable environment for the present and the future. Taxes / Budget We must have more investment in affordable parks, schools, colleges, and universities. We should prioritize upward mobility without leaving the area, training and hiring locally, and an environment that is welcoming to people of all ages. We can do this through the Backbone of America Recovery Act. (See Prosperity Platform: For American Unity, Maturity, and Prosperity. Start Here!) Defunding national parks, undermining higher education, attacking science, and trying to erase history are not acceptable. Those policies are not welcoming. Our communities deserve better. I am a leader who has a vision of the region that has expanding opportunities for our citizens. Legislation It is time for America to give back to the region with an infusion of money to build up our health care system, provide jobs, build infrastructure, promote education, eliminate illegal drug use, and provide broadband access throughout the region. This is the Backbone of America Recovery Act that I will introduce in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. Also see Affordability. Criminal Justice / Public Safety We must be able to live securely in private, in public, and as a nation. Residents in the Ninth District deserve to feel safe in their homes, schools, and communities, and our nation must be protected. I support the work of law enforcement officers, first responders, and service members who put their lives on the line every day to protect us. We must also adopt common-sense measures to reduce unnecessary violence. Keeping weapons out of the hands of those who intend to do harm to others is good for private citizens and public servants in law enforcement. Criminal Justice / Public Safety I support the Constitution, the 2nd Amendment and equally the 26 other amendments. Each has its place, importance, and limitations. Due process and the right to privacy are important protections contained in those amendments. We have a sound system. It is the people within the system who determine whether it works. I will bring a respect for the rule of law to the office of United States Representative in the Ninth District. I will support efforts to find, recrui,t and train police officers and first responders who represent the best of their profession. Economy The cost of living must come down and stay down so that everyone should be able afford housing,food, utilities, healthcare, and transportation. Our social safety net must work as intended, and we must adopt policies that lower and stabilize prices for essential goods and services—while protecting the individuals, farms, and businesses that provide them from harm. I'm for a basket of basic goods for which there are price controls to keep them affordable over time for working families of all income levels. The price controls would be accomplished through tax incentives for businesses providing those services. Those goods would include basic foods, health care, and housing.Congress has a responsibility to act. This would be proposed as part of what I call the Backbone of America Recovery Act (See Prosperity Platform: For American Unity, Maturity, and Prosperity. Start Here!) This part of the Act would not have to replace already existing pieces of the social safety net, but compliment them. Environment / Energy I support the temporary moratorium on AI data centers Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez Announce AI Data Center Moratorium Act proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Aleexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That moratorium time should be used to produce the comprehensive analysis of the positive and negative impacts of data centers on local communities mentioned above. That analysis should also explain how the power grid and the environment will be protected during the increase in numbers of data centers before the mortorium is lifted.