Issue Position: Safety & Security

Issue Position

Everywhere I go in Alaska, I hear from people that they feel unsafe in their homes, in their businesses and their communities. Anchorage is battling violent crime and property crime like never before. Rural Alaska is struggling to keep our communities safe without adequate law enforcement officers. The opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that's driving up crime. Globally, we lack a foreign policy that makes Americans feel secure and well-protected. Finally, our financial well-being is threatened by proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Alaska needs more from our leaders to strengthen our safety and security.
+ PUBLIC SAFETY

It's clear that there's not adequate law enforcement in Alaska right now. Our State Troopers and Village Public Safety Officers are understaffed and underfunded. There are ways that the federal government can support Alaska as we work to improve law enforcement in our communities.

I support federal community policing grants that help cities and villages hire officers who can not only respond to crime as it happens but prevent crime with strong youth mentoring and local partnerships.

We need a strong re-entry program from prison and from drug treatment programs so people have the support they need to stay in recovery, find meaningful work, go back to school, reunite with their families and live full lives.

+ ATTACKING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC

The ravaging effects of opioid addiction are tearing through our families and communities. Alaska has the country's highest percentage of teen drug users and the second highest percentage of adult users.

In Congress, I will fight to put an end to this epidemic and get support for Alaskans whose lives have been devastated, including:

Better funding for treatment and recovery programs
Strengthening re-entry support for people who have completed treatment, are returning to their communities, and need help to stay employed, sober and stable
Expanding access to mental health services to help people before they turn to self-medication as a way to deal with their suffering
Supporting solutions like Project Hope and recommendations of the Alaska Opioid Task Force to provide these folks with the attention and support they need to help everyone who needs it
Improving research and treatment of intergenerational trauma, which too often leads to drug abuse, violence, and suicide unless the cycle is broken
+ NATIONAL SECURITY

Alaska has the longest coastline in America. We are also the closest state to North Korea. We are on the front line. With a President conducting our foreign policy via Twitter and a Representative who has not found it within himself to challenge Trump no matter how much he puts Alaska at risk, it's time for a Congresswoman who will bring stability and reason to the table.

+ GUN SAFETY

As an Alaskan, growing up in a family of responsible gun owners who taught me how to hunt, I understand the importance of preserving our second amendment and protecting Alaskans' way of life. That's why I believe in measures that promote responsible gun ownership, public health, and help save lives, including comprehensive background checks and eliminating bump stocks, providing mental health services, and funding research to study gun violence and suicides, while maintaining Alaskans' right to bear arms.

+ FINANCIAL SECURITY

The bottom line for safety and security for many Alaskans is financial stability. I will fight for policies that keep people in their jobs, their homes, and their communities including:

Protect Social Security and Medicare, benefits that have been paid for, earned, and promised after a lifetime of hard work
Ensure that the minimum wage is a living wage for hardworking Alaskans and people working to support their families
Help small businesses thrive with policies that make it easier for Alaskans to take on the risk of striking out on their own to create jobs and services in our state
Support education, job creation, healthcare, and high-speed broadband in rural Alaska so young people don't have to leave their elders and communities to make a living

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