ISSUES

Health 

Care

As a breast cancer survivor, health care is personal to me. I believe health care is a human right, and I will work to ensure everyone has access to high-quality, affordable care. I will fight to expand coverage and protect the Affordable Care Act, reduce out-of-control prescription drug costs, and open Medicare enrollment to any Texan who chooses it while keeping the existing private options in place for people who would prefer them.

Climate & Flood Resiliency

In Houston, we see a “once every 500 years” flood like Hurricane Harvey almost every year. This is one of many local consequences of climate change, a global threat that is already having an impact on every Houston family and business. I support flood recovery, resilience initiatives, and efforts to accelerate the growth of a robust energy marketplace.

Education

As an immigrant, I know first-hand the power of a quality education. My family escaped revolution in Iran to start a new life in America, ultimately building job-creating businesses and lives that embody the American dream. Education powered our success.  I’ll work to make sure every student in our community has the opportunity to succeed, that our teachers are paid well, that college is affordable and that student loans don’t saddle graduates with crippling debt.

Jobs & the Economy

Houston is a community full of hardworking people and the home to cutting-edge industries that will fuel the economy of the future. From health care and medical research to energy production and technology, we are a diverse city of innovators, and our economy should work for all of us.

Women & Women’s Health Care

Though we account for more than half of the population in Texas’s 2nd District, the assault on women and women’s health care has reached a fever pitch in Texas and across the country in recent years. Representation and leadership is urgently needed to protect women’s right to reproductive health care and to make choices about our own bodies. We need to close the wage gap that affects all women and women of color in particular, and ensure equal pay for equal work. We need to end workplace harassment and its devastating effects. We need a national paid family leave policy. And we must come together to address growing rates of violence against women.

Equality

Every American deserves to be treated fairly and to be protected from discrimination. That’s why I will work in Congress to enforce and expand existing federal landmark laws to provide protection for the LGBTQ+ community. This includes supporting a federal Equality Act that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Common-Sense Gun Reform

As someone who grew up hunting with my father, I know the importance of responsible gun ownership. As an American and as a Texan, I’ve also witnessed the growing epidemic of gun violence that plagues our country. I support the same common-sense gun violence prevention that most Americans support, including background checks, closing the gun show loopholes, and instituting “red flag” laws.

Immigration

My family fled the chaos of a revolution for our shot at the American Dream. We found opportunity and freedom in the United States. In this land of hope and opportunity, we built successful businesses that created jobs, earned our education, became involved in our community, raised wonderful children, and lived out the American Dream. I believe in this nation because this nation believed in me, and I’m ready to do everything I can to protect this beacon of freedom, and that includes immigration reform.