PRIORITIES

The costs of housing, groceries, health care, utility bills, and other everyday expenses keep climbing — while good jobs vanish and wages stay the same. Families are being priced out of St. Louis, and too many people remain unhoused or struggle to put food on the table. 

We need a life that everyday people can afford. We need to make sure healthcare is affordable, healthy food is accessible in every neighborhood, and union jobs exist for workers of every skill set.

• I’ll continue expanding opportunities for St. Louis. Emerging technologies are transforming our economy faster than workers and communities can adapt. As automation and AI accelerate, many people are being pushed out of stable careers while corporations profit enormously. Unemployment is rising at an alarming pace, leaving people across nearly every sector feeling left behind. Black and brown workers, in particular, are exiting the workforce in disproportionate rates, often facing the toughest barriers to re-entry and advancement. This moment demands real action: technology should enhance human potential, not replace it, and innovation must be paired with responsibility, equitable opportunity, and respect for worker’s dignity.

• I’ll continue fighting for Medicare for All. I championed Medicare for All, co-sponsoring key legislation and advocating for treating universal health care as a basic human right. As a nurse for many years, I’ve seen patients ration medicine or skip treatment because they couldn’t afford it. I’ve seen people die because corporations prioritized profits over lives. I know what it’s like to be uninsured. No one should have to choose between their life and their bank account.

• I’ll continue advocating for utilities to be recognized as a human right. To make sure utilities remain accessible and affordable, I introduced the Utilities as a Human Right Resolution. This legislation positions water, electricity, heating, cooling, broadband, and transit as basic human rights that should be treated as such.

• I’ll continue fighting for more affordable housing and ensure everyone has guaranteed access to shelter. In Congress, I persistently brought up the issue of affordable housing. I introduced the Unhoused Bill of Rights, a plan to end the housing crisis by building more homes, providing universal vouchers, and expanding funding for shelters, social services, and permanent emergency rental assistance. I led a historic sleep-in on the U.S. Capitol steps, successfully extending the eviction moratorium for over 11 million people. I’ve kept the conversation going because we need to push for approaches and solutions rooted in human rights.