Kendra will prioritize investing in our children by properly funding education, making college affordable, and expanding job training programs -- giving every child the ability to compete in today's economy.
The cost of a college education shouldn’t weigh students down for the rest of their lives. Kendra will work to reduce interest rates on student loans and make college more affordable for all aspiring Oklahoma students. We should also make it easier for families to save for their children’s education free of taxes, including programs like 529 savings plans. In K-12, we need to measure progress, but we’ve taken testing to an extreme. States and the federal government need to get on the same page about testing needs, and then get out of the way of teachers and students. Kendra opposes using tax dollars for vouchers or similar schemes.
Kendra will fight to protect and expand access to quality, affordable health care by holding the insurance industry accountable, fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and safeguarding Medicare for Oklahoma families.
Kendra believes health care is a a right, not a privilege. Kendra believes we should lower the price of prescription drugs, big insurance companies shouldn’t be able to impose lifetime caps, and families should be able to keep their children covered under their insurance until they are at least 26. Mental illness and addiction treatment need to be taken just as serious as other health care matters. We need better coordination between our state and federal government to make sure politics isn’t getting in the way of federal dollars coming back to Oklahoma - after all, it’s our taxes we are sending to D.C. Oklahoma is missing out on hundreds of millions of our own tax dollars because we refuse to expand Medicaid.
Kendra has been an advocate for getting women a seat a the table and in elected office. She will be a leader in fighting for equal pay for equal work and expanding paid family leave policies for all Oklahomans.
Did you know that even though women make up 52% of the population here, Oklahoma has only ever elected 2 women to Congress, and we are 49th when it comes to electing women to office? If you are frustrated with how government is -- or isn’t -- working, let’s elect more qualified women to public office. It’s past time we address the problems impacting Oklahoma women -- preventing domestic violence, fighting for equal pay, reducing the number of Oklahoma women in prison (which is the highest in the nation). These are Kendra Horn’s priorities, and we need more people in Washington fighting for them. Kendra has been a longtime advocate for women and families, and believes progress in these areas will make our communities and economy stronger as a result.
It’s time for common sense when it comes to gun safety. End bump stocks, strengthen background checks, and allow the Center for Disease Control to research gun violence in a meaningful way. I support the 2nd Amendment, and common sense gun safety laws don’t threaten it.
We need a comprehensive infrastructure plan. Kendra supports fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, and corporations who stash money overseas to avoid taxes should pay for it. Most politicians think infrastructure ends at roads and bridges, but our economy and our families depend on things like our electric grid, internet access and clean water, among other things. We need an infrastructure plan built for the 21st Century and beyond, not the 19th Century.
The 5th District isn't just Oklahoma County, it's Seminole and Pottawatomie Counties as well. They have unique challenges and opportunities that are different from the suburban and urban parts of the district. Kendra will create a task force to explore collaboration with local, state, and tribal leaders as well as other stakeholders to find new opportunities for rural investment. This effort must include protecting rural schools and health care. We must work together to find solutions for Oklahoma communities -- instead of just settling for solutions coming out of Washington.
According to the Commerce Department, there are over 85,000 open jobs in Oklahoma because we don’t have a skilled workforce to fill them. We need to make college affordable, encourage Oklahomans to attend CareerTech to learn job skills, and provide potential employers a qualified workforce. The lack of an educated workforce is affecting all sectors, including health care and education. Higher education levels lead to higher wages, which will improve our overall economy and quality of life. Congress needs to ensure middle class Oklahoma families have the opportunity to succeed, including raising the minimum wage.
Government should live within its means, but it also needs to pay for core services like public safety, education, and national defense. The most recent tax scam was written to protect millionaires and corporations, instead of the middle class. It also directly threatens Social Security and Medicare, which so many Oklahoma families rely on. Kendra believes we should incentivize good corporate behavior: if they create jobs, raise wages, offer good benefits, and are responsible community citizens then let’s reward that behavior - true tax reform should help everyone, not just shareholders and CEO’s.