Joe Sestak

2019

"An assault weapon is a semiautomatic firearm, typically used as a weapon of war. They are based on weapons designed and built for the military, but have been essentially relabeled for civilian consumer use. Having served in the military for 31 years, I know the kind of rapid damage these weapons do. We should not have these weapons on the streets. As for banning any 'non-assault' weapons, I support existing bans on other types of military weapons and would consider other weapons on a case-by-case basis."

2019

"Yes, as part of a compromise. We cannot abide a situation in which border crossing being a criminal offense - as opposed to a civil one - is used as a pretext to break up families."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Create a path to naturalization for undocumented immigrants willing to pay back taxes, pass criminal background checks, prove gainful employment, and pass a basic English language test."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"I believe in the right to bear arms, but I am also a strong proponent of common sense gun laws, such as closing the 'gun show loophole' (which allows people to avoid background checks by buying guns at gun shows and conventions or from other 'private sellers'), closing the 'gun kit' or 'ghost gun' loophole (which allows people to buy portions of guns that are easy to assemble into functioning firearms), and creating a more effective national background check system, including by enabling states to add felons, domestic abusers, and other violent criminals to the background check database."

2019

"I will take whatever actions are necessary - and likely to hold up in court - to protect the right to choose. I don't want to telegraph exactly what that means right now, but I will not allow women to lose their reproductive rights."

Candidate's Website, 2019

" I'm strongly in favor of banning all future offshore and Arctic drilling, increasing fuel efficiency standards, and ending subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, while instead providing more subsidies to the green energy sector."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Stop the reckless use of scattershot tariffs that hurt American farmers."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"I propose a public investment in infrastructure expansion of $1 trillion over 10 years. It has been estimated that failure to spend such funds would cost us 150% of that sum in congestion costs alone due to the results of decaying transportation infrastructure, so it is an investment we can't afford not to make. I also propose the creation of a national infrastructure bank for loans and credit support for public-private partnerships; a Build American Bonds program; and an expansion of the New Markets Tax Credit for underserved communities."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Privatization is the biggest threat to veterans health care. As a case in point, consider the failed Veterans Choice program, created by Congress in 2014. Its purpose was to allow veterans who live a great distance from a VA medical facility or who face a wait time of at least 30 days to receive medical care from an authorized non-VA facility. While the program was created with good intentions, it resulted in over $2 billion in cost overruns - including at least $90 million in overbilling by third-party administrators - with over $19 billion dollars ending up in the hands of private interests, and all without improving patient outcomes. Congress voted in 2018 to scrap the program and replace it with something called the Veterans Community Care Program (VCCP), which just went into effect on June 6th, 2019. Yet watchdog groups and veterans rights organizations have sounded the alarm that this new program is not ready to launch and veterans' healthcare will suffer with its implementation. Even the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Johnny Isakson admitted at a hearing in April that when it comes to the VCCP 'we're going to stumble before we walk.'"

Candidate's Website, 2019

"I support the immediate shoring up of the Affordable Care Act by, among other fixes, creating a public health option among a basket of private options which will demonstrate that government insurance can provide quality care at lower costs than private insurers that have greater administrative costs and are based upon a profit incentive. This approach will lead to people switching from private health insurance to the public option as a choice, a transition that would eventually lead us to the most cost-effective long-term health strategy for our nation: a single-payer system. I am in favor of this considered transition of choice rather than the quick dissolution of private health insurance because - as my family knows all too well - health treatments are often long processes, and it would be reckless, even dangerous, to impose upon everyone a sudden change to a new medical system, particularly as 255 million Americans have some form of private insurance today. Ultimately I favor a universal healthcare system modeled after the Veterans Health Administration - a national healthcare system for 9 million veterans - which authorities including the New England Journal of Medicine and the RAND Corporation have found actually provides better or equal healthcare outcomes compared to other providers."

Candidate's Website, 2019

• "Improve access to drug addiction treatment.
• "Boost reimbursements to addiction treatment service providers.
• "Fully enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAE).
• "Extend parity protections to Medicare, Medicaid, and bare-bones catastrophic coverage plans.
• "Shore up the Affordable Care Act with a public option, leading ultimately to a universal healthcare system.
• "Increase funding for clinical training programs to improve addiction care.
• "Allow doctors and scientists to study the potential of certain controlled drugs as addiction treatment aids.
• "Improve access to addiction treatment for prisoners.
• "Make public the DEA's opiate distribution database and encourage law enforcement to utilize it.
• "Fight the corruption stemming from the revolving door between the DEA, Justice Department, and pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists.
• "Create a new division in the Justice Department called the Office of Public and Corporate Accountability.
• "Hold pharmaceutical companies and distributors accountable for their role in the epidemic, not only with fines, but criminal prosecutions."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Under President Reagan, Social Security's taxable income cap covered 90% of all nationwide wage and salary income, with those earning above the cap contributing nothing on that income. Today, just 83% of all income is covered, as earnings above today's $132,900 cap have greatly increased - and almost all the loss in covered income has gone to the highest earners. We need to increase that cap so it is no longer so regressive - with the burden of paying into the system overwhelming felt by lower-income workers - and look at various other pieces of the Social Security puzzle. I have also proposed increasing payroll taxes for those earning about $250,000 - and while currently the proceeds of such taxes only benefit the Medicare program, they could benefit Social Security as well. Of course, we must also hold the line against Republican attempts to privatize both of these vital programs that have given security and peace-of-mind to seniors for generations."

Candidate's Website, 2019

• "Increase access to higher education by providing states with grants to support tuition at community colleges and public universities.
• "Reduce costs of higher education by making federal student aid and loans contingent upon each university keeping annual tuition increases at or below inflation.
• "Restructure federal student loans so the government no longer makes a profit off of students attempting to improve themselves.
• "Reform and expand the REPAYE (Revised-Pay-As-You-Earn) program, an income-based repayment plan that currently allows for debt forgiveness after 20 years of borrowers paying 10% of their discretionary income, regardless of the original terms of the loan. (With consideration of reducing both years and percentage of income, especially for lower-income individuals.)
• "Establish a national college credit transfer system.
• "Develop a national apprenticeship program.
• "Create a 'Training for a Lifetime' program to increase opportunities for job training and continuing education."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Implement a fee for carbon polluters, with proceeds being returned to all Americans as a dividend and also devoted to research & development in renewable energy and other climate-stabilizing strategies."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Re-join the Iranian nuclear deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

Candidate's Website, 2019

"Re-join the Paris Accord and restoring our leadership role among the community of nations working together to fight climate change."