Why I am an Independent

Alaska’s Economy

Campaign Finance Reform

Medicare

Medicaid Expansion and the Affordable Care Act

National Defense

Supreme Court Nomination

Standing Up for Alaska Native Communities

Veterans Issues

Taxes

Immigration

LGBT Rights

Reproductive Rights

Second Amendment Rights

I was a Republican most of my adult life. But I have become disillusioned with the role that the special interests, big corporations, and the powerful elites play in Washington. The resulting dysfunction harms our country, damages our economy – including here in Alaska – and erodes confidence in our democratic institutions. People don’t trust Washington because Washington no longer works for them.

These concerns have motivated me to run as an Independent. We want our government to work as the Framers of our Constitution intended. We must restore a national sense of purpose and create a strong economy while always protecting our civil and political liberties. A functional Congress is essential to achieving these goals. As an Independent, I will not be beholden to corporations or the political parties. I will advance reasonable, rational, pragmatic solutions to the systemic problems that are threatening our State and our country. I will seek out and advocate for the best ideas – regardless of where they come from – to help solve this nation’s pressing problems. With independent leadership, we can again make Washington work for Alaska and the country.

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Alaska faces major economic threats, but there are steps we can take at the federal level to help the situation. We must continue to promote responsible resource development while protecting the environment. Resource development will be a central part of Alaska’s economy for the foreseeable future, but at the same time, we can’t afford to ruin the environment that provides sustenance to our people.

Alaska is ground zero for the ongoing effects of climate change. We should be a national and world leader in climate change research and global warming mitigation efforts. Our state university system should lead the way in this area.

We must continue to protect and help market our Alaska seafood resources and promote Alaska tourism. I’m dedicated to helping manage these industries responsibly for the benefit of all Alaskans.

Finally, we must encourage additional federal investment and development in Alaska. We must be vigilant to protect Alaska’s legitimate interests from federal encroachment, but at the same time, we need strong, constructive working relationships with the federal government wherever possible.

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Money is at the heart of the problems in Washington. Political spending is out of control. Our legislators answer to the moneyed special interests. In 2015, for example, Lisa Murkowski only raised $31,517 from donations of $200 or less. In the same period, she raised $1.26 million from more than 500 separate leadership and corporate Political Action Committees (PACs).

Who is going to have Lisa Murkowski’s ear? She will listen to powerful corporations and wealthy individuals but not to ordinary Alaskans.

I have decided not to accept corporate PAC money. Refusing corporate PAC money is an important step in placing the people’s interests front and center as my only focus in Washington. I also support a reversal of the Citizens United decision, a federal rule to ban contributions from lobbyists and PACs while Congress is in session, a complete disclosure of political spending, and a ban on Congressional leadership PACs.

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Today, Medicare covers 55 million Americans, and 98 percent of those age 65 and older are insured. Medicare has successfully provided access to healthcare for millions of older adults while protecting them from ruinous healthcare costs. No doubt, Medicare faces continuing challenges, but there are changes we can make to strengthen it, including eliminating the exemption from “best price” rebates that drug companies are already required to provide state Medicaid programs and the VA.

Rather than improving Medicare, Lisa Murkowski has repeatedly voted for the “Ryan Budget,” which will convert Medicare into a complicated voucher system. Depending on the mix of prices, beneficiaries may have to use their own funds in addition to their vouchers to remain in Medicare. Growth in Medicare spending would be limited by a formula that is below the typical annual increase in healthcare costs and vouchers would purchase less and less coverage every year. People would lose coverage and pay more under this complex, unworkable formula.

Most Alaskans are dependent on Medicare or they are counting on it. These benefits must be 100 percent protected, and that is why I am against converting Medicare into a voucher system.

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Like most Alaskans, I support the federally-funded expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA must be improved, but I do not support repealing the ACA and replacing it with nothing. Medicaid expansion is bringing millions of federal dollars into the state, supporting hundreds of jobs, and providing needed medical services to thousands of Alaskans. Medicaid expansion was supported by Alaska Faith in Action Together, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, the Anchorage and State Chambers of Commerce, and numerous other groups. The ACA also allows parents to keep their children on their health insurance policies until age 26, allows individuals with pre-existing conditions to get insurance, and expands coverage for mental health and drug addiction issues – problems for which we have critical health care service needs. Lisa Murkowski once said that repealing the ACA was not the answer because repealing it without replacing it would not address needed health care reform. She has again flip-flopped on this issue, most recently voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement and voting to pull hundreds of millions of federal dollars out of Alaska.

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I spent 28 years in the Army Reserve. I graduated from the Army War College and have taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. I support a strong national defense. At the same time, we must not send our troops into harm’s way without conducting a thorough and dispassionate analysis of the need, feasibility and cost (both human and economic) of any proposed operation. If we do send our troops to fight, we must be committed to caring for the injured and wounded and to assisting their families and the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Once we decide to act, we should also provide every resource necessary to bring a decisive end to the conflict.

Although I support a strong national defense, I do not support rubber-stamping military spending requests. Runaway military spending, particularly on questionable weapons systems, ultimately results in less national defense and a less robust economy. As an Independent who will not accept corporate PAC money, I will make defense budget decisions based on the best available evidence and solely in the interests of Alaskans and the citizens of our country.

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Congress’ refusal to hold hearings and vote on the recent Supreme Court nominee is only the most recent example of the extreme partisan obstruction that has taken hold of the “world’s greatest deliberative body.” As we know, the Constitution directs the President to submit a nominee to the Senate for consideration. While the Senate may approve or disapprove of the nominee, the process of publicly vetting and voting on the nominee acts as a restraint on unbridled partisan politics. With the Senate’s failure to act on this nomination, the current leadership in that chamber has thrown aside even that limited check on Congressional intransigence and gridlock. Both parties are to blame for scorched earth tactics that have tied Congress and our federal government in knots. But Congressional obstruction is not limited to the recent Supreme Court nomination. In addition to Congress’ failure to vote on dozens of additional judicial nominees, more than 140 individuals seeking to fill important non-judicial federal jobs have found their nominations stalled in the Senate.

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I will listen closely to our Alaska Native communities and collaborate with them to encourage self-determination and economic development. Lisa Murkowski has failed to do that and has flip-flopped on issues of critical importance to Alaska Natives, including the Violence Against Women Act. I will work closely with Native groups and the federal government to address pressing issues such as subsistence rights, environmental remediation, funding for water and sewer systems, ways to address the increasing adverse effects of climate change, and the need for law enforcement resources in remote communities. I will work closely with Alaska Native communities on social issues, since those communities often have solutions to vexing problems that are best developed organically at the local level.

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I began my active duty military service at Fort Richardson in 1986. After serving 28 years as a Reserve officer who performed multiple active duty tours, I appreciate and understand veteran’s issues. It goes without saying that the VA must provide prompt and effective assistance to veterans who have honorably served their country. Many veterans still face lengthy bureaucratic obstacles in confirming their eligibility for VA services and endure lengthy wait times to schedule appointments and receive treatment. As your U.S. senator, I will push hard for additional funding to improve the treatment of Alaska veterans and provide the necessary oversight to make sure that happens.

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Due to partisan gridlock, our federal tax code has not been overhauled in 30 years, and as a result the complexity of the tax code has mushroomed. While some deductions and credits make sense, U.S. senators and House members have also added a mountain of tax loopholes for wealthy special interests. For example, yearly fees paid to hedge fund managers are inexplicably taxed at the lower capital gains tax rate rather than at the ordinary income tax rates paid by regular wage-earning Americans. That has to change. Also, while we have a relatively high 35 percent statutory corporate tax rate on the books, the effective tax rate (the rate actually paid by corporations) is far lower due to numerous exemptions, deductions, and credits. Large multinational corporations have learned to offshore income to foreign tax havens just as they have learned to offshore manufacturing jobs to low-wage foreign countries. Small and medium-size corporations without foreign operations and teams of sophisticated tax lawyers are stuck paying the higher statutory rate and find it all the more difficult to compete against giant multi-national companies. Overall, the percentage of federal revenue from corporate taxes has steadily decreased from approximately 30 percent in the mid-1950s to 10 percent or less today. Although our federal tax code has become an antiquated mess, Congress has failed to do anything to fix it.

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The United States has a unique immigration history, starting with George Washington who gave his orders at Valley Forge in English and German. Our native communities – here in Alaska and elsewhere – are the only original Americans. We need a rational immigration system worthy of our successful immigrant heritage. Today, everyone agrees that the legal immigration system is broken. And yet Congress has failed to act time and time again. We cannot afford to wait any longer, and as your U.S. senator, I will make immigration reform a priority.

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I believe in equal rights for our fellow LGBT citizens and am opposed to the current efforts to legislate discrimination against LGBT individuals. I support the right of gay and lesbian military service members to serve openly in our Armed Forces. Equal rights for every individual should not be a partisan issue.

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Reproductive health decisions should continue to be individual decisions based on one’s own values and principles. Government should not be making these decisions for women. As a member of the U.S. Senate, I will support a woman’s right to make her own reproductive decisions. No one wants to see more abortions, and the best way to reduce the number of abortions is through effective family planning and education. I am opposed to efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and am troubled by the recent efforts of many in my former party to demonize this organization. As your U.S. senator, I will fight to support the reproductive rights of every woman and the freedom to make our own health decisions.

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I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I am familiar with guns from my career in the Army, and my husband and I have owned guns for many decades. I’ve also been an NRA member for many years. My guiding principle will be to do what is best for the State of Alaska, which tragically is ranked first in the country for gun deaths. Suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths in Alaska and elsewhere, and we need to look at a range of steps to reduce this unacceptable death rate, including better mental health outreach and treatment and improved gun safety training.