meet paige!

A healthy America starts with the basics: healthcare you can access, food you can afford, and systems that support people instead of draining them. Right now, too many families are forced into impossible choices; between rent and treatment, groceries and medication, survival and dignity. That’s not accidental. It’s the result of policy choices that put profit over people.

Universal healthcare as a human right.
Healthcare should be simple: you get sick, you get care. I will support legislation to guarantee comprehensive coverage including medical, dental, vision, mental health, and long-term care - based on need, not wealth. I will fight for major federal investment in public hospitals and community health centers in underserved rural and urban areas, expand telehealth, and ensure high-speed internet access so geography is never a barrier to care.

Food security as a foundation of public health.
Eating is not a luxury. Food security means strengthening local and regional food systems. I will fight for federal investments in food hubs, cooperatives, and distribution networks, making it easier for schools, hospitals, and communities to buy local food and keep dollars circulating locally. Hunger is not a moral failing. I support expanding SNAP, protecting it from cuts, increasing funding for food banks and emergency food providers, and implementing federally funded universal school meals so no child goes hungry or feels singled out. Food is as essential as housing, roads, and healthcare. The federal government must invest in grocery access, transportation, and the elimination of food deserts nationwide. Ending hunger requires stronger antitrust enforcement in agriculture and food retail to protect farmers and food workers from corporate consolidation. And as the richest country in the world, we should follow Maine’s lead and recognize food as a basic human right. No one should have to prove they are “deserving” of food.

A healthy America isn’t complicated — it’s one where people are cared for, fed, and supported to live with dignity. Our policies should reflect that.

My mom worked long hours and still had to rely on SNAP to keep us fed. That experience shaped how I see our economy; it isn’t broken because people aren’t working hard enough, it’s broken because it’s been rigged for the wealthy few. I will fight to raise the federal minimum wage and permanently tie it to inflation, so working families aren’t forced further behind every year. Teachers, nurses, and caregivers shouldn’t pay higher effective tax rates than billionaires, and I will fight to make the wealthiest corporations and individuals finally pay their fair share by closing loopholes and increasing corporate taxes.

Workers deserves the right to organize and earn a living wage, I will fight to restore balance by strengthening workers’ rights to unionize and holding corporations accountable when they engage in union-busting. Caring for children, seniors, and people with disabilities is essential labor, yet it has been undervalued for far too long. I will fight for fair pay, benefits, and dignity for professional and family caregivers, and for federal investments that ensure caregiver wages rise instead of being absorbed by corporate profit.

Anyone should be able to start and grow a business and build wealth in their own community. I will fight to expand access to capital for small businesses, simplify SBA loans, and ensure federal grants, tax incentives, and contracts prioritize local, unionized, and community-owned businesses, so public dollars stay local and work for Maine people.

I believe our economy should work for the people who keep it running. And in Congress, that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.

Housing is a human right and the foundation every person needs to live with dignity and stability. Older adults should be able to downsize, young people deserve the security to build their lives, and no one should face adversity without shelter. We can’t fix this crisis with the same failed approaches.

We need a bold, Housing First strategy that treats homelessness as a public health issue, not a criminal one. That means dramatically increasing the supply of quality, permanently affordable homes; investing in wraparound services for mental illness and addiction; and building long-term housing for all. The federal government must commit to subsidizing new housing developments so affordability is not optional, but guaranteed.

We also have to confront what’s driving this crisis. The financialization of housing by private equity and corporate investors is inflating costs and displacing longtime residents. It’s time for a federal tax on corporate and private-equity ownership of single-family homes to discourage speculative hoarding, and for stronger requirements that banks reinvest in affordable housing in the communities they are meant to serve.

Meeting this moment means building capacity where it’s been ignored for too long. We must significantly expand federal funding for construction apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, especially in rural areas, to create good local jobs while building the homes our communities desperately need.

True leadership means standing with people and using our power to reduce suffering, prevent violence, and protect human dignity. I reject the idea that strength comes from endless war, occupation, and genocide. Across the world, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in authoritarianism, political violence, and the erosion of basic human rights. Too often, U.S. foreign policy has responded not with courage or consistency, but with militarism, hypocrisy, and silence in the face of atrocities.

My commitment is to human rights, sovereignty, and self-determination everywhere — from Palestine to Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Greenland. I will stand with people fighting to retain control over their own futures. I will fight for transparency and accountability so our money stops bombing children and starts feeding, housing, and caring for them, here and everywhere.