Chrissy Houlahan

Chrissy Houlahan was born at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1967.[1] She earned her bachelor's degree in engineering from Stanford University in 1989 and a master's in technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining Congress, Houlahan served in the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Reserves. Other work experience includes serving as the chief operating officer of AND1, an apparel company, the chief operating officer of B Lab, a nonprofit, and as a teacher in the Teach for America program.[2][3]

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Campaign website

Houlahan’s campaign website stated the following:

Ensuring Quality, Affordable Healthcare for all Pennsylvanians

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right, not something reserved for the wealthy or for those who don’t need it. Such access can only come from an insurance system in which we all participate, sharing coverage, risks, and costs.

As COO of And1 Basketball, I ensured our employees had great healthcare benefits. We paid more than 80% of all healthcare costs for all our staff.

Rather than responsibly repairing the Affordable Care Act’s deficiencies, the Republicans in the House of Representatives have assaulted the Act itself, throwing an estimated 24 million people off their insurance, making deep cuts to Medicaid, and allowing states to encourage insurers to deny people with pre-existing conditions. Their callous maneuver guarantees a catastrophe in care, threatening Pennsylvanians’ health, and pushing them away from family physicians and back on emergency room lines.

Instead of rationing healthcare to only the rich, Congress should be working to expand access to it, and to control costs through legislation that insists on the incorporation of sound competitive practices into the businesses of drug development and distribution, and hospital management.

Equality for All Americans

All citizens in our country—regardless of age, race, culture, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic class—have a right to participate in our community. Americans should not have to fear being fired, shunned, denied fair housing or a seat at a restaurant because who they are, what they look like, or who they love.

Our nation has come a long way in protecting the rights of LGBTQ Americans, communities of color and countless others who have faced a painful history of discrimination. But even today too many still suffer from negative stigmas, workplace or social discrimination and even the threat of violence. As the mom of an LGBTQ-identifying daughter, I have seen many of these challenges firsthand. As a Representative in Congress, I will fight to ensure that every member of our community has the same opportunities that should exist for all Americans: to build successful careers, start and grow families, get quality, affordable healthcare and serve in our military.

Fighting the Opioid and Opiate Epidemic

America is in the grip of an unprecedented public health crisis from drug overdoses. More than 64,000 Americans died of an overdose in 2016, more than the number who lost their lives to firearm and automotive deaths combined. Today, overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.

I have friends and family members of my own who have been touched by addiction. America is strong enough to respond to this crisis with real solutions that build community resilience all the way from prevention through treatment and recovery.

We need real accountability for drug companies and high-volume opioid prescribers without depriving suffering pain patients that have nowhere else to turn. We need to make sure our first responders have the tools and resources they need to save victims from overdosing.

And we need to keep cheap fentanyl and other deadly opioids from flooding into our streets from overseas.

We must also ensure that treatment is available for individuals suffering from addiction. Today, just one in five addiction sufferers is receiving treatment for their condition. Our healthcare system needs to be ready to accept patients when they have moments of clarity and are ready to seek treatment. That means building a healthcare system that researches and treats addiction as the tragic disease that it is.

If we expand access to proven medical treatments and protect Medicaid - our nation’s number one source of addiction treatment - we will save lives and help more Pennsylvania families and communities find their path of recovery from the devastating effects of this epidemic.

Great Schools for Every Child

Like healthcare and public safety, education is a human right. Local, state and national government needs to support affordable, high quality education that prepares everyone, child and adult alike, for the world and economy of tomorrow. Progress toward this goal can only be achieved through a fully funded, revitalized public school system in which teachers are respected and students are valued, and by providing access to higher education for all who seek it.

As a navy brat, I attended public schools on both coasts. As an adult, I worked as a chemistry teacher in North Philadelphia. I learned first-hand about the pressures on teachers and students in that environment. Subsequently, I led a non-profit focused on early childhood literacy. I am a product of strong public schools, I have studied in them, worked with and in them, and will fight for them in Congress.

Growing Our Economy

Jobs come from a healthy, modern economy, not from one built behind barriers to growth, or upon special provisions installed for the private benefit of the ten percent… or the one percent.

In Congress, my first priority will be to construct and advance programs that improve economic security for Pennsylvania families. We need to build a 21st century economy, one where people can work hard and share in prosperity, not envy it. Having been the chief operating officer of two Southeastern Pennsylvania businesses, I helped bring hundreds of jobs to our region. I know that a good relationship between government and business can spur and support job creation and job security.

We need leaders in Congress with real world experience, representatives who will work to create a prosperous future in which we all can share, while providing up to date training and support for Pennsylvanians whose jobs are gone or going.

Furthermore, we must also ensure that businesses pay a living wage, that equal work gets equal pay, and that the workplace respects the dignity of its employees.

Gun Violence Prevention

Gun violence prevention is a very critical issue. And it is widely agreed upon that many commonsense actions can and should be taken. Shootings are such a regular occurrence that we cannot afford to wait. We need to have this debate now and take the precautions and legislative steps necessary to prevent future tragedies from occurring.

This issue is very near to my heart. I taught high school chemistry in an area in which students were able to get their hands on guns because they were ever-present in the community. Additionally, one of my husband’s cousins was one of the EMTs after the Sandy Hook tragedy; his story rings in my mind every time there is another senseless tragedy.

I support the Second Amendment and responsible gun ownership, but I also believe we must take commonsense steps to reduce gun violence. Enough is enough. We must act. First, we need to allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research these issues so that we can use data to inform our decisions. I cannot understand how the gun lobby has persuaded Congress to ban the CDC from pursuing this basic research.

We also need to pursue some commonsense safety measures — measures that the majority of Pennsylvania families support. These steps include closing the gun show loophole, renewing the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and restrictions on high-capacity firearm magazines, and universal criminal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers.

Immigration Reform

My father was a 5 year old refugee when this country welcomed him. He was a Hidden Child in war-torn Poland – sheltered by a family through the course of the war. Thankfully he survived, as did his mother, and they came here as many do in search of safety and the American Dream.

My dad came here with seemingly nothing to offer. He became a highly decorated veteran, serving our country with honor for a quarter century. One generation later, I am running for Congress – a testament to the power of the promise we make to each other in this great land of opportunity. I am committed to ensuring that this promise and Dream remain intact for generations to come.

Congress needs to come together and provide protections and a path to citizenship for the roughly 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children, many of whom contribute to our economy, play by the rules and in some cases they serve us proudly in the military. These young people need a place in our country. We have promised them this, and we keep our promises.

There is no question that our immigration system is broken, and we must strengthen our borders. Immigration reform is possible and necessary, and if done properly, can result in growing our economy, reducing our national debt, and strengthening our communities.

Our nation’s immigration system is in clear need of improvement, but the only viable solution is a comprehensive, bipartisan approach rather than playing politics. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to move this important agenda forward.

Money in Politics

I’m deeply concerned by the increasing influence of secret money in our elections. It’s wrong that billionaires and special interests can spend unlimited amounts of money to take down anyone who opposes their agenda. It is also wrong that every day citizens are not able to run. We need to reform our campaign finance system to increase transparency and regain the public’s trust in our elected officials. If elected, I am committed to making meaningful campaign finance reform a top priority, including limiting the influence of special interests, full disclosure of who donates so voters know who is paying, and keeping foreigners and foreign governments from secretly spending to influence our elections. I would also like to see reform that allows people from more diverse backgrounds to be able to run for office. Candidates should come from all walks of life, not just the 1%.

Protecting Our Environment and Combating Climate Change

Informed scientists agree: climate change is real. So also is its threat to our home on this planet if we don’t manage to arrest and eventually reverse the processes that are heating our world, changing its weather, raising sea levels, accelerating desertification, and threatening traditional agriculture.

Tragically, the Trump Administration has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax.” It has also appointed deniers and skeptics to key oversight positions, moved to slash research budgets and reduce program funding, and otherwise attacked key domestic environmental programs. Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, not only giving up our leadership of this vital global effort, but also denying it the benefit of American science and expertise. All this in the service of special interests.

As one of the original team that created B Corporations (Benefit Corporations), I know the importance of building businesses, a supportive government and a larger economy that honors our environment and that encourages sustainable practices. In Congress, I will be a champion for our environment and will work to combat the threat of climate change and the assault on truth and data.

Retirement & Healthcare Security for Older Pennsylvanians

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law in 1935, more than half of America’s seniors were in poverty. When Medicare was added in 1966, nearly half of all seniors couldn’t get, or couldn’t afford, health insurance.

Even today, nearly half of all older Americans would be living below the poverty line without Social Security. This critical piece of America’s safety net is as important as ever, protecting 96 percent of our workers and their families. Millions rely on Medicare and Medicaid to help with the rising costs of long-term care, giving them a better chance at a healthier life.

Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans in Congress want to privatize Social Security and turn Medicare into an unstable voucher program that makes it easier for them to cut and run from.

I have met with countless Pennsylvanians who are able to care for themselves and live meaningful lives today thanks to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is critical that we stand up and fight to protect Social Security and Medicare for this generation and the next.

Support of Veterans and Their Families

The militarization of American foreign policy and Congress’ shameful abdication of its war-making powers have, in the age of the professional all-volunteer force, put an even greater burden on our men and women in uniform. These patriots deserve more than gestures and lip service; they merit the best possible training and equipment, commitment to deployment and combat as the last not the first resort, superb and honorable leadership in the field, and high quality services and medical care for themselves, and their families at home. These services must necessarily include retraining into civilian employment for those hanging up their uniforms, and counseling for those coping with the special stresses of combat.

Women's Health

The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress want to turn back the clock on women's health and eliminate vital funding for Planned Parenthood, denying thousands of women access to lifesaving cancer screening and affordable health care. We can't let this this happen. I believe women's health care decisions should be made between a woman, her doctor, and her faith -- not DC politicians. As a mom, wife, businesswoman, and veteran, I know we must do more to help women and families succeed. In Congress, I will fight to pass paid family and medical leave, support the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) to make Pennsylvania safer, protect Planned Parenthood clinics, and fight back against efforts to undermine Roe v Wade.

[4]

—Chrissy Houlahan’s campaign website (2018)[5]