Top Priorities

By Lois Capps

The economy continues to be my number one focus in Congress. While it is recovering, we must do more to speed up the process by creating good paying jobs, especially in the high tech and green energy sectors that are so important to the Central Coast. We must also make sure we have the workforce to fill these jobs, which is why I am a strong supporter of investing in higher education. Making college accessible and affordable for all qualified students is vital to our nation's economic stability.

As a nurse, I am also dedicated to strengthening the health care workforce and improving our nation's health care system that has been broken for far too long. The Affordable Care Act is a critical step forward to ending the insurance abuses of the past and improving our system to keep us healthy instead of just waiting to help us when we are sick. In fact, the law has already strengthened the plans of tens of millions of people who previously had insurance and has helped millions of uninsured people get coverage. The law means no more arbitrary lifetime or annual coverage limits on care, or being dropped from your plan if you get "too sick." It also means you can't be denied coverage because you have a "pre-existing condition" like a previous bout with skin cancer, being a victim of domestic violence, or if your child has asthma. Implementing healthcare reform gives people the peace of mind that they are no longer one accident or sickness away from bankruptcy. Much like Medicare, the law will continue to need to be tweaked and improved so that it works well for Central Coast residents and I will continue to find common ground to do just that.

Finally, passing comprehensive immigration reform is vital to our Central Coast economy and communities. Our farmers and ranchers need a stable, reliable workforce to sustain our agriculture sector. Immigrant families want the opportunity to be reunited, work towards earning their citizenship and be a full part of our community. And undocumented students who came to the United States at a young age and call no other country home deserve the opportunity to use their education to contribute to our economy without fear of being deported. We must move forward and fix our broken immigration system.