Platform - Kai Newkirk for Congress

Our Platform

Make Arizona Affordable for All of Us

Bold action to guarantee the basics of a decent life: Medicare for All. Ban Grocery Price Gouging. Freeze Utility Rates. Lower Gas Prices. Universal Child Care. Tuition-Free Public College & University.

Medicare For All

Medicare for All, a national public health insurance program to cover every American from birth through the end of life and guarantee health care as a right, not a privilege

Require pharmaceutical companies to negotiate with the federal government fair, low prices for ALL medications in order to sell them in the United States
Major expansion of federal funding for public hospitals, community health centers, and access to primary care

Affordable Housing for All of Us

Launch a major federal program to build millions of units of energy efficient affordable and social housing nationwide
End speculation in housing and block private equity, big corporations, and foreign investors from buying up and owning large portions of our housing stock
Create a national rent stabilization policy to limit annual increases, building on the most successful city and state policies
Strengthen enforcement of tenant protections

Affordable Groceries

Ban price gouging by big grocery corporations
Enact a temporary, renewable negotiated national price cap on a “basket” of grocery essentials, modeled on the successful Mexican national policy
Start a national pilot program for public nonprofit grocery stores based on the best city and state models as well as existing military commissaries

Freeze Utility Rates

Enact a four year national freeze on electricity rate increases, using federal incentives to states that participate, a windfall profits tax on oil profits, re-purposed fossil fuel subsidies
Rapid expansion of solar energy infrastructure, including requiring most large parking lots to feature solar panel shade structures, to leverage Arizona’s sunshine to enable free or ultra-low mid-day peak solar period electricity rates (as Australia has achieved)
Moratorium on new AI data centers to prevent power cost increases for local communities and establish effective regulations to ensure the transformational technology benefits all of us not just the oligarchs
Cut wasteful water usage, strengthen water conservation across our economy and communities, and invest in better water recycling capacity to keep water available and affordable year-round and through droughts

Lower Gas Prices & Affordable Transportation

Use a national Windfall Oil Profits tax to fund consumer rebates to put money back in drivers pockets
Enact a temporary, renewable negotiated national or regional price caps on gasoline and diesel at the pump, modeled on the most successful emergency policies of other nations
Increase federal funding for buses and light rail to make them stronger alternatives to car use for more trips
Build a national high speed rail network, including a Phoenix-Tucson-Flagstaff connection
Restore and strengthen subsidies and investment in electric vehicles to lower demand for gas and diesel and lead the car technology of the future

Universal Child Care

Create a national public program, based on the best city and state models, to ensure universal access to child care so parents who want to work can do so without financial strain to ensure care for their children
Increase and extend the Child Tax Credit

Affordable World-Class Education

Tuition-free public colleges and universities, two year and four year
Subsidized post-graduate education for federal employees, healthcare workers, public school educators, and other essential specialist workers
Guaranteed access to workplace training and apprenticeship programs
Cancel student debt
Universal pre-K
Major increase in federal investment in K-12 public schools to raise teacher pay, reduce class sizes, and empower teachers
Fund free meals for all public school students so no child goes to school hungry

Raise Wages and Income

National living wage –– raise the federal minimum wage to at least $17 an hour, indexed to inflation
Increase Social Security benefits and scrap the income cap on SSI tax to help pay for it
Empower workers to raise our wages and benefits through union organizing by passing the PRO Act and additional protections so that everyone is freely able to exercise the 1st amendment right of freedom of association to organize a union and have a voice at work
Establish a federal jobs guarantee so any American looking for employment can be trained and hired to help strengthen our nation where we need them most, including healthcare, construction, and advanced manufacturing
Develop a national pilot program on Universal Basic Income as part of policy to ensure Artificial Intelligence benefits all of us

End Corruption and Save Democracy

It’s time to end Trump’s authoritarian tyranny once and for all and take back our power from the oligarchs. Impeach, remove, and prosecute Trump. Ban billionaire and corporate political spending. Tax the billionaires. We will flip the tables of a corrupt status quo that produces mega-billionaires who use their wealth to buy our elections and rig the economy to grow their fortunes while the rest of us fall behind.

Defeat Authoritarianism and Hold the Oligarchs Accountable

Use the full powers of Congress and nonviolent civil resistance including general strikes and mass civil disobedience supported by the highest levels of the Democratic Party to prevent any further efforts by Trump to impose martial law, occupy American cities with military forces or federal agents, usurp Congress’s powers, suspend or cancel elections, or refuse to leave office if defeated in 2028
Impeach, remove, and fairly prosecute Donald Trump and his co-conspirators in the authoritarian takeover of our government for their egregious high crimes and misdemeanors, including unprecedented corruption and war crimes
Secure the full release of the Epstein Files and prosecute perpetrators of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other crimes

Big Money Out Of Politics

Pass historic legislation to end the big money corruption of our democracy
Ban Super PACs –– no more unlimited political spending by billionaires and the 1%
Ban corporate political spending. Period. End corporate personhood.
Establish public financing of elections so everyday citizens and working class candidates can run on popular support, building on the legacy of Clean Elections in Arizona and modeled on the best local systems like Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers
Use every constitutional means to overturn Citizens United, Buckley v. Valeo, and other rulings, restore Congress’s ability to legislate to prevent corruption and establish political equality, and protect our anti-corruption legislation from Supreme Court rejection, including reforming the Supreme Court and Constitutional amendments

Reform the Court and Fix the Senate

Abolish the filibuster so majorities can pass popular legislation –– just like our Arizona state legislature can
Institute retroactive 18 year term limits for Supreme Court Justices and expand the court to add new justices and redress the abuses of the current regressive super-majority
Establish stronger ethics rules and impeach justices found liable for corruption and major ethical violations

No Profiteering from Public Service

Ban congressional stock trading and gambling on current events in prediction markets
Bar members of Congress and presidential administrations from lobbying and for-profit corporate boards for a minimum 8 years after office
Enforce and strengthen campaign finance laws preventing use of campaign funds or leadership PAC funds for personal expenses
Enforce and strengthen laws to prevent coordination between candidate committees and Super PACs or outside groups not subject to campaign contribution limits

Tax the Rich

Enact a wealth tax on fortunes above $50 million
Increase income taxes for those earning above $1 million annually
Increase taxes on big corporations
Tax all capital gains and stock dividends at same rate as income from wages, not just short term
Increase IRS resources with the directive to collect trillions in unpaid taxes owed by the top 1%
Eliminate the income cap on social security taxes to top earners pay the same rate as average Americans
Introduce a “Robin Hood” small tax on all stock transactions to disincentivize speculation and gamification of financial markets

Expand Democracy and Make Voting Easy for All of Us

Build on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to pass historic legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act and
- Increase access to polling places and voter registration in underserved areas, including sovereign lands, rural communities, and urban centers
- better inform the public when voting processes change,
- and use federal power to prevent discrimination in jurisdictions with track records of voting rights violations
- Protect voting by mail, which most Arizonans use and love
Introduce nationwide automatic voter registration, including in high schools
Ban partisan gerrymandering and pass non-partisan redistricting standards so voters can choose their politicians, not the other way around
End felon disenfranchisement –– the right to vote of Americans is sacred and inalienable with no exceptions
Make DC a state with full representation including at proportional members of Congress with full voting rights and two US Senators
Hold a referendum for the people of Puerto Rico to decide on whether to become a state, to remain a territory, or to become independent

Abolish ICE and Honor Immigrants

ICE has proven it is a danger not only to the rights but the lives of all of us in the United States –– immigrants and citizens alike. Never again will we allow masked federal agents to abduct, abuse, and murder people in our nation. We must reject authoritarian mass deportation and detention and build a new system of immigration law and enforcement that honors the immigrants who contribute so much to our nation and upholds the values memorialized on our Statue of Liberty.

End Authoritarian Mass Deportation and Detention

Abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency
Prosecute federal agents who violated the law and human rights in Trump’s authoritarian mass deportation campaign, including senior officials who issued directives and created policies which mandated or caused such violations
End the cruel deportation of immigrants to dangerous and inhumane places like the CECOT gulag in El Salvador, closing these horrible facilities or ending our participation in them, and secure the release of all migrants who were unjustly deported and detained without due process
Restructure the Department of Homeland Security as it pertains to immigration, including Customs and Border Protection, and reorganize all federal enforcement of civil immigration law within DHS or outside it (as INS operated under the Department of Justice) to ensure that we protect the human rights of all immigrants who seek to come to our country or who encounter representatives of our government
Reform border management to ensure we achieve a well-regulated, secure, and accessible border which enables orderly commerce, tourism, immigration, and travel while protecting local ecology, preventing trafficking of drugs and people, helping border communities to thrive, and protecting the human rights of all people who come to our border
Ban private detention centers, where human rights abuses are far more prevalent than public facilities, and end profiteering in the detention of human beings
Bar state and local police from participating in enforcing federal immigration law

New Laws that Honor Immigrants

Pass a citizenship law that enables the millions of undocumented immigrants who are rooted in our communities and contributing to our nation to normalize their legal status and become American citizens, including pathways for people who would qualify but were unjustly deported or self-deported during Trump’s authoritarian mass deportation campaign
Provide reparations to immigrants who were injured and seriously harmed through grave violations of human rights, violence, or detention in dangerous places and facilities during Trump’s authoritarian mass deportation campaign
Create new legal pathways and processes for poor and working class immigrants and economic refugees to come to our nation and help strengthen our communities, with new programs to support successful integration and connection in their new homes
Reform our asylum laws and systems to ensure timely processing and decisions as well as safe temporary refuge for people fleeing danger and persecution
Reform immigration court and judicial processes to ensure adequate representation and just due process for all immigrants, including children, with cases before our courts

Stop Genocide and Criminal Wars

It’s time to turn the page on a disastrous foreign policy that betrays our democratic principles and sacrifices the lives of American servicemembers and countless precious human beings in service of imperial domination and the profits of military contractors. We will build a new order of peace, justice, and shared prosperity for our nation and the world by leading the way to protect human rights, uphold international law, advance democracy, and ensure collective security.

End the Genocide in Gaza and Support a Just Peace and Palestinian Freedom

Uphold US law and enact a full arms embargo ending all military aid to Israel, as required by the Leahy law, which prohibits military or security assistance to any country credibly accused of gross human rights violations
Impose sanctions on Israeli government officials responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region and genocide in Gaza
Shift US policy to support Palestinian freedom and organize international support to compel negotiations between the democratically-chosen representatives of the Palestinian people and the Israeli government as well, potentially, as other Arab, regional, or international parties, to achieve an agreement that ends Israeli occupation and apartheid, secures historical justice and regional peace, and protects the safety and human rights of all people in the Holy Land

End Criminal Wars

End the war in Iran, using the War Powers Act and all Congressional tools of investigation and accountability to immediately cease all hostilities against Iran, which are costing the American taxpayer tens of billions of dollars, and return to negotiations to secure nuclear non-proliferation, democratic reform, and regional peace and economic cooperation
End US illegal economic and military aggression in Latin America, including extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, military invasion and intervention in Venezuela, and the cruel embargo on Cuba

Hold War Criminals Accountable

Support the International Criminal Court prosecutions of Netanyahu and Gallant and Putin
Investigate and fairly prosecutive Trump, Hegseth, and others found responsible for US war crimes in Iran, the Caribbean, and elsewhere

Build a New Principled Pro-Democracy Foreign Policy

Renew engagement in the United Nations, reform the Security Council, and invest in building new international collective security commitments and investments, building on the model of NATO within the framework of the United Nations and cooperation among democracies, to prevent aggression and uphold international law
Join the International Criminal Court and commit to establish universal standards of accountability under international law to which we hold ourselves
Renew nuclear non-proliferation and reduction negotiations and processes, including all nations with nuclear weapons
Prioritize and invest in diplomacy, democratic cooperation, economic cooperation and partnership, and shared development to build conditions of peace, end famine and extreme poverty and preventable disease, and prevent armed conflict
Lead renewed international mobilization to shift our economy to clean energy, draw down excess atmospheric carbon, and restore ecological health and a safe climate

Cut Wasteful Military Spending and Reduce Overseas Deployment

End business with defense contractors who overcharge the American people for weapons and supplies not necessary to keep us safe
Reduce the Pentagon budget by at least 10% to shift money to programs which make a good life affordable for working class Americans, continuing with further reductions as we build reliable collective security commitments and investments that prevent aggression and secure peace
Complete a successful audit of the Pentagon, including, if necessary, issuing subpoenas to Pentagon officials to demand answers for the failure to pass prior audits
Reduce military bases and deployments overseas, bringing our troops home while saving American taxpayer money to invest here in the United States, shifting from an imperial posture to one of pro-democracy cooperation that ensures peace through collective security

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Our Platform

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Email us: KaiForAZ@gmail.com