Four Surveys.
Complete Answers.
Nothing Cut.

FOOD SECURITY: I briefed 89 congressional staff with a 14-point plan and five-scenario food price projection through 2050 on March 22, 2026, days before the crises hit the news cycle.

American families are choosing between groceries and bills. This is the crisis Congress is ignoring. My "From Seashore to Stockyard" Act addresses the full supply chain — from CA-2's collapsed salmon fisheries to local food hubs in communities more than 20 miles from a grocery store.

AFFORDABILITY AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: Housing costs, student debt, and a vanishing middle class are driving young people out of rural CA-2. My CA-2 CAFE-CH Act funds mass timber manufacturing, broadband, and workforce training — creating family-wage jobs in the communities that need them most, using the forests we already have.

WILDFIRE SAFETY AND HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE: A Mendocino County family who fireproofed their home, cleared their defensible space, and did everything right is still losing their insurance — because the insurer's black-box risk model says so. My California Forest Revitalization Act and California Insurance Improvement Act pair forest restoration under tribal and local stewardship with insurance market reform. Homeowners can see the risk model. Homeowners can challenge it. Homeowners keep their coverage. I accept no donations of any kind. I ask only that you read every bill at gregoryburgessforcongress.com. Nothing is hidden.

Current law admits roughly 490,000–575,000 green cards annually (down from 1.1M in 2023), 315,000 H-2A agricultural worker visas, and a FY2026 refugee ceiling of just 7,500 — the lowest since 1980.

Asylum processing is largely paused, with a $100 filing fee and $102 annual fee. CA-2's farms are losing labor and families are in legal limbo.

I worked at the U.S. border as a CDC Quarantine Officer. I saw firsthand what legal immigrants endure — years of paperwork, fees, interviews, and waiting — to earn citizenship and take an oath to uphold the Constitution and follow American law. Those individuals deserve our deepest respect. People who bypass that process show disrespect to every person who honored it. That distinction matters.

I support changes that are humane, practical, and honest:

— Restore refugee admissions to at least 110,000 annually with rigorous but fair vetting.

— Reform H-2A so farm workers have a clear path to permanent residency — not perpetual temporary status that invites exploitation.

— Restore asylum processing with full due process. Charging fees to people fleeing violence punishes those following the law.

— Enforce immigration the Obama way: humane and effective. His administration deported more people here illegally in 8 years than current brutal tactics have managed — with no citizen deaths and no community terror. That is the standard.

— Mandate ICE empathy training and clear rules of engagement. Terrorizing communities destroys public trust and makes everyone less safe.

Immigration built this district and feeds this country. Policy must reflect that reality — not fear.

As the Statue of Liberty says: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

We need to restore our American Compassion and Empathy. And maintain our beacon of Freedom for the world.

I am accepting zero donations — no PAC money, no individual contributions. Families in CA-2 need that money for food. I ask only for volunteers to pass on my message.

Here is what Congress must do:

— Overturn Citizens United by constitutional amendment. Money is not speech. Corporations are not people. The Supreme Court broke our democracy in 2010. Congress must fix it.

— Pass the DISCLOSE Act: every donor to every super-PAC, dark money 501(c)(4), and political nonprofit publicly identified within 48 hours of any contribution over $1,000. No more anonymous billionaires buying elections.

— Close the "issue ad" loophole: ads naming a candidate within 60 days of an election must disclose all funding, regardless of whether they say "vote for" or "vote against."

— Ban foreign nationals and foreign-owned corporations from all political spending, including through domestic subsidiaries.

— Require real-time FEC disclosure for all federal candidates in a searchable public database, updated daily.

— Prohibit fundraising during congressional session hours. All fundraising calls, texts, emails, and financial transactions must occur while the member is physically in their district, through financial institutions headquartered there. Represent where you serve. Raise money where you live.

My "Show Your Work" philosophy means every dollar, every donor, every bill is public. I am asking Congress to be held to the same standard I hold myself.

CA-2 contains some of California's most critical watersheds — the Klamath, Eel, Russian, Trinity, and Smith rivers. Federal water policy must reflect that reality. I support:

— KLAMATH RESTORATION: Dam removal was step one. Now we need federal investment in salmon habitat recovery, tribal water rights enforcement, and downstream monitoring. The Yurok and Hoopa Valley Tribes must have enforceable water rights and votes on water management boards — not just consultation.

— TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION: The Trinity River Division diverts CA-2 water to the Central Valley. Minimum flow requirements must be fully funded and enforced to restore salmon runs.

— GROUNDWATER RECHARGE: Fund rural CA-2 communities to capture winter floodwater — storing it when it falls rather than draining it to the ocean.

— RURAL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE: My North Coast Healthcare Act and CAFE-CH Act fund rural water system upgrades and emergency supply for communities on aging or failing systems.

— LOCAL GOVERNANCE: Small farmers, ranchers, and local tribes must have equal votes on federal water management boards. Environmental groups should have consultation rights based on the scientific expertise they bring — not simply their political position.

— NO PRIVATIZATION: Water is not a commodity. Federal water infrastructure must remain publicly controlled.

— SOIL HEALTH AND WATER QUALITY: I have drafted legislation and a 14-point policy report to reduce American farmland's dependence on fossil fuel-based foreign fertilizers, transitioning toward local organic compost to halt toxic nitrogen runoff into our water table and oceans.

Clean water is food security. Food security is survival. These are not separate issues.

I am a former Teamster and commercial vehicle operator with hands-on experience across multiple transit modes. I drove school buses, which gave me direct experience in scheduled routing, passenger safety, and ADA-compliant boarding and exit procedures for students with disabilities. I drove for Whistlestop Paratransit, now Vivalon, Marin's premier senior and disability transportation organization, where I operated wheelchair-accessible vehicles, managed tie-down and securement for power wheelchairs and scooters, and learned the specific needs of passengers who depend on paratransit as their only connection to medical care, groceries, and social contact.

I currently drive my 95-year-old Korean War veteran father, in my hybrid Prius, to every VA appointment in San Rafael and San Francisco. This is not abstract — I experience weekly what it means when paratransit scheduling windows are 90 minutes wide, when drivers are not trained in wheelchair securement, and when a missed pickup means a missed specialist appointment that took three months to schedule.

I use the SMART train, the Larkspur Ferry connection from San Francisco, and local Marin Transit routes for work-related trips when the connection works. I support transit because I have driven it, ridden it, and depended on it, and I know exactly where it fails the people who need it most.

CA-2 is a district of extremes — Marin County has the ferry-SMART connection and some of the most sophisticated transit infrastructure in the state; Modoc County has one transit van and a 100-mile drive to the nearest hospital. My approach addresses both realities.

At the federal level, I will advocate for:

• Full funding of the SMART extension to Healdsburg and Cloverdale. SMART has secured $81 million in state grants and $187.7 million in matched funding for the Windsor-to-Healdsburg extension, with construction beginning Spring 2026 and completion planned by end of 2028. I will push to secure the remaining federal funding needed for the Cloverdale extension, which would connect the full North Bay corridor from Larkspur to the Sonoma County northern boundary.

• A Distribution Center Transportation Impact Fee, a federal excise mechanism requiring major last-mile logistics operations (Amazon, FedEx, UPS regional distribution centers) to contribute to a dedicated fund for road maintenance and transit service in the counties their delivery traffic most impacts. Marin and Sonoma County roads bear disproportionate wear from last-mile delivery trucks serving online commerce. The purchasers of goods delivered by those trucks should contribute to the infrastructure cost of delivering them.

• Enhanced Vehicle Smog Check Revenue Sharing. I support amending the Smog Check program so that a portion of the vehicle inspection fee is dedicated to state and county transit operations, with higher fees indexed to emissions levels. This simultaneously discourages high-emitting vehicles, funds transit as an alternative, and contributes to road maintenance. It does not require new taxes — it redirects existing fee revenue to its logical use.

• Coastal Rail Corridor Study: I support a federal feasibility study for extending passenger rail service along the California North Coast, connecting the SMART system through Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties. The coastal towns of CA-2 — Bodega Bay, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Eureka, Crescent City — have natural beauty, local food cultures, and tourism economies that a scenic rail corridor would amplify, as rail tourism has done in Europe. This is a long-term vision, not a short-term budget item, but the right-of-way planning should begin now.

I drove paratransit for Whistlestop/Vivalon. I know this problem from the driver's seat.

The three biggest barriers in CA-2 are:

1. PARATRANSIT SCHEDULING GAPS. Paratransit in Marin County operates on scheduling windows that are too wide and route frequencies that are too low. A senior or person with a disability in Novato waiting for a Vivalon ride to a San Rafael medical appointment may wait 90 minutes to two hours for pickup. For someone with a cognitive disability, a cardiac condition, or a dialysis schedule, this is not an inconvenience — it is a medical risk. I support federal funding dedicated to expanding paratransit route frequency and reducing scheduling window widths, with performance standards tied to federal ADA paratransit funding eligibility.

2. WHEELCHAIR SECUREMENT AND DRIVER TRAINING. In my experience driving wheelchair-accessible paratransit vehicles, the difference between a safe ride and a dangerous one is driver training in tie-down systems, boarding procedures, and passenger communication. This is a workforce training issue, not a vehicle issue. I support federal transit workforce training standards that include mandatory wheelchair securement certification for all ADA paratransit drivers, with federal funding contingent on compliance.

3. RURAL ISOLATION IN NORTHERN CA-2. Siskiyou, Modoc, and Trinity Counties have some of the highest concentrations of elderly and disabled residents in California and among the most limited transit infrastructure. The Siskiyou County Local Transportation Commission operates on minimal resources. A senior in Yreka needing dialysis may have no option except a 120-mile round trip by private vehicle or medical van. I support expanding Section 5310 (Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities) formula funding and raising the federal match for non-urbanized rural counties.

Additionally: I support a small lodging and short-term rental (AirBnB/VRBO) surcharge in tourist-destination communities — Point Reyes Station, Guerneville, Mendocino, Fort Bragg — dedicated to free or reduced-fare local shuttle service connecting tourist lodging to town centers, trailheads, and transit hubs. Tourists who stay in these communities should contribute to the transportation infrastructure they use. This reduces parking pressure, reduces DUI risk on rural roads, and creates employment for local drivers.

As a former school bus driver and commercial vehicle operator, I understand traffic safety from the operator's perspective. The single most underinvested safety intervention in CA-2 is rural highway design — not urban bike lanes, which matter, but the specific road conditions that kill people on Highway 101 north of Cloverdale, Highway 1 through Marin and Mendocino, and Highway 97 through Siskiyou County.

At the federal level, I will support:

• Dedicated Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding for CA-2's rural highway corridors, with priority to Highway 1 (coastal), Highway 101 (Mendocino/Humboldt), and Highway 97 (Siskiyou). These routes have disproportionate fatality rates relative to their traffic volume.

• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant eligibility expansion to rural unincorporated communities. Currently SS4A favors municipalities — small Sonoma County communities like Bodega Bay, Occidental, and Cazadero have no city government to apply.

• School bus safety: Every school district in CA-2 should have fully operational crossing arm systems, camera-equipped stop arms, and stop-arm violation enforcement. I drove these routes. Drivers blow through school bus stop signs at a rate that would appall any parent who has witnessed it.

• Commercial truck speed safety technology: Federal mandate for automatic emergency braking on all Class 8 trucks operating on California highways, phased in over 4 years.

From my experience as a paratransit driver and as a current caregiver navigating transit with an elderly veteran, the most important actions are those that address the human experience of transit, not just the infrastructure:

• Covered bus shelters with seating at every stop with more than 10 boardings per day. Standing in a Petaluma bus shelter in the rain for 20 minutes is a reason people drive instead of taking the bus.

• Adequate lighting at all stations and stops, verified by nighttime safety audits.

• Community Transit Ambassadors, not armed police, stationed at high-ridership hubs during peak hours. San Rafael Transit Center and Santa Rosa Transit Mall both have situations that require de-escalation and resource connection, not law enforcement. Ambassadors with behavioral health training and local services knowledge are a better and less expensive solution.

• Real-time arrival information at every stop. A person waiting for a bus who does not know if it is 3 minutes or 30 minutes away will not keep using transit. This is a solved technology problem that requires political will to fund at the local stop level, not just on smartphone apps.

• Restroom access at major transfer stations. This is not a luxury for elderly riders or people with medical conditions — it is a basic dignity requirement.

• Free or reduced-fare youth transit passes district-wide. Connecting young people to transit before they get a driver's license creates lifelong transit riders.

The ferry-SMART connection from San Francisco to Larkspur Landing and onward to Santa Rosa is the most successful multi-agency integration in CA-2, and it works because the physical connection is seamless and the fare integration has improved. That model should be the template, not the exception.

At the federal level, I will support:

• Conditioning Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula funding on measurable progress toward fare integration and shared trip-planning standards. Agencies that resist integration should not receive the same per-rider federal subsidy as agencies that achieve it.

• A SMART-to-statewide integration strategy: SMART connects at Larkspur to the Golden Gate Ferry to San Francisco. It should also connect, by standardized fare transfer, to Sonoma County Transit, Mendocino Transit Authority, and eventually a North Coast rail corridor. Federal coordination funding should support the interoperability planning.

• Open-loop payment standards: Every transit agency in CA-2 should accept a standard contactless payment, including credit and debit tap-to-pay, so a visitor from Eureka or a tourist from overseas can board a Marin Transit bus without buying a regional card they will never use again.

• I would support revitalization of train station hubs with federal Historic Preservation and Community Development funding, creating incentives for local shops, food vendors, and services at major SMART stations — replicating the European model where a train station is a community gathering point, not just a platform.

Yes, unequivocally. Bus-only lanes, bus bulb-outs, and transit signal priority are among the highest return-on-investment transit improvements available — they cost a fraction of new infrastructure and immediately improve service reliability for existing riders.

At the federal level, I will support:

• Amending USDOT grant criteria to give additional weight to bus-only lane and signal priority projects in federal transit capital funding competitions. Currently these projects compete on the same criteria as major rail capital projects and are systematically undervalued.

• Federal support for state legislation enabling CalTrans to implement transit signal priority on state highways that run through CA-2 communities, including Highway 101 corridor bus service in Marin and Sonoma.

• Removing the requirement that local governments receive separate state and county approval for bus lane conversions on streets with state maintenance funding. The multi-agency approval chain for a single bus bulb-out on a state-maintained street can take years. Federal advocacy for streamlined state permitting is a legitimate congressional role.

Yes. California's per-capita transit funding is substantially below New York, Massachusetts, and Washington state — states that built transit systems when federal matching was more generous and have maintained them. CA-2's transit agencies are chronically underfunded relative to their service area geography.

Revenue mechanisms I support:

• Distribution Center Transportation Impact Fee (federal): As described above, online commerce generates last-mile delivery traffic that wears roads and competes with bus routes. The logistics industry should contribute proportionally to the infrastructure costs it imposes.

• Vehicle Smog Check Revenue Sharing (state): Redirect a portion of smog check fees, indexed to emissions level, to county transit operations. Higher-emission vehicles pay more; revenue funds transit as the low-emission alternative. No new tax — redirected existing fee.

• Short-term Lodging Surcharge for Tourist Shuttles (local): A dedicated 1–2% AirBnB/hotel surcharge in tourist-destination communities along the CA-2 coast, ring-fenced for free local shuttle service. This is self-funding and self-justifying — tourists generate the transit demand and pay for its solution.

• Federal Transit Infrastructure Bank: I support legislation creating a revolving federal transit infrastructure fund that allows agencies like SMART to borrow at below-market rates for capital projects, repaid through fare revenue and state formula allocations, rather than competing for limited discretionary grants.

Yes, and I have direct experience with what federal permitting delays cost real communities. The SMART extension to Healdsburg and Cloverdale is a documented case study: the Windsor-to-Healdsburg segment has $81 million in state grants secured, $187.7 million in matched funding committed, construction beginning Spring 2026, and a completion target of end of 2028. That timeline — four years from funding confirmation to opening — is better than California's average but still slower than comparable European rail extensions. The Cloverdale extension is not yet funded.

I support:

• Federal environmental review streamlining for transit projects that operate entirely within existing public rights-of-way, including existing railroad corridors. A SMART extension on an existing rail line does not need the same NEPA review depth as a new highway through undisturbed habitat.

• Federal design-build contract authority for transit agencies receiving FTA funding, reducing the sequential design-bid-build timeline that adds years to project delivery. SMART is already using a Progressive Design Build delivery contract for the Healdsburg extension — this should be the standard, not the exception.

• A federal transit construction capacity program that supports state agencies in developing in-house project management expertise, reducing dependence on private consultants who drive up costs.

• Mandatory cost benchmarking: FTA should publish international cost comparisons for equivalent transit projects annually, creating accountability pressure on California agencies and contractors to explain why a mile of light rail in CA-2 costs more than in comparable European or Asian systems.

Transit-oriented development in CA-2 means something different than in a dense urban corridor. Here it means ensuring that the communities served by SMART stations — San Rafael, Novato, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg, and eventually Cloverdale — can build housing, shops, and services within walking distance of the station without being blocked by parking minimums, single-family zoning, or local opposition that state law has now overridden.

I support:

• Federal Opportunity Zone investment targeted at SMART station areas in Marin and Sonoma, with preference for mixed-use developments that include affordable housing and ground-floor retail. Station-area retail creates the economic vitality that makes transit feel safe and worthwhile. European train stations are community anchors because they contain shops, food, and services. San Rafael's Downtown SMART station has the bones of this — it needs investment, not parking.

• The Cloverdale extension is the TOD opportunity that has received the least attention. Cloverdale is the gateway to Mendocino County wine country and has significant underdeveloped land near the planned station site. Federal TOD planning grants could position Cloverdale for development that would not only support SMART ridership but provide workforce housing for Mendocino County workers who currently commute south by car.

• Free or subsidized shuttle service from SMART stations to tourist destinations — Point Reyes Station, Bodega Bay, Guerneville, the Sonoma Coast — funded by a hotel/AirBnB surcharge on tourist lodging in those communities. A tourist arriving at Petaluma SMART station who can take a free shuttle to the Sonoma Coast is a tourist who did not drive from San Francisco. This is the modal shift that reduces Highway 1 congestion, reduces parking pressure in fragile coastal communities, and creates local employment.

• SMART's existing pathway (the multi-use trail alongside the rail corridor) should receive federal active transportation funding to complete the missing segments in Marin and Sonoma Counties. A contiguous pathway from Larkspur to Cloverdale would be one of the longest rail-trail corridors in the Western United States and a significant tourist attraction in its own right.

Yes, I support The SMART Initiative unreservedly.

As a Marin County resident, I voted for the SMART train as a citizen. I believe in it not as an abstraction but as infrastructure I use and have watched transform the North Bay corridor. I take my 95-year-old Korean War veteran father on scenic rides on the SMART train — for him, it is not just transportation, it is an experience of the Marin and Sonoma countryside he would otherwise never see from a car window at his age. I have also used the SMART train to travel to the Sonoma County Airport to catch flights to Minnesota to visit my sister and nephews — a trip that would otherwise mean driving, parking, and adding to Highway 101 congestion. The Sonoma County Airport connection is exactly what regional rail should do: make the whole corridor accessible without a car.

The 0.25% sales tax renewal for 30 years — generating an estimated $51 million annually — is the fiscal backbone that makes everything else possible: retiring construction debt, sustaining operations, and funding the Healdsburg and Cloverdale extensions that will finally complete the original vision voters approved. Renewing it is not a new commitment. It is honoring the one already made.

As a member of Congress, I would support SMART through four specific federal levers:

1. Securing federal capital funding for the Cloverdale extension. The Healdsburg extension has $81 million in state grants and $187.7 million in matched funding secured, with construction beginning Spring 2026. The Cloverdale extension — which would complete the corridor to the Sonoma County northern boundary and position SMART for eventual connection to Mendocino County — is not yet fully funded. I would make securing federal FTA capital funding for that final segment a first-year priority. Congressman Huffman nominated the Healdsburg preliminary design for Congressional Direct Spending; I would carry that work forward and push it to completion.

2. Advocating for dedicated federal operating support for regional rail. SMART, like most regional rail systems, relies heavily on capital grants while operating costs are borne locally. The SMART Initiative's 30-year renewal addresses this by providing stable local operating revenue — but federal policy should evolve to treat regional rail operating costs as a national infrastructure investment, not a local subsidy problem. I would advocate for expanding FTA formula funding eligibility for SMART-scale regional systems.

3. Pursuing federal Transit-Oriented Development investment at SMART station areas. The stations at San Rafael, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, and the planned Healdsburg and Cloverdale sites represent the highest-leverage TOD opportunity in the North Bay. I would pursue federal Opportunity Zone investments, Community Development Block Grants, and active transportation pathway funding to build the mixed-use housing, retail, and bike-pedestrian connections that turn SMART stations into community anchors — the way European rail stations work — and drive the ridership that justifies the 30-year investment.

4. Completing the SMART pathway. The multi-use trail alongside the rail corridor is one of the most underappreciated assets in the district. Completing the missing segments in Marin and Sonoma Counties with federal active transportation funding would create one of the longest rail-trail corridors in the Western United States, drive non-motorized access to SMART stations, and establish the North Bay as a genuine cycling and walking destination. A contiguous pathway from Larkspur to Cloverdale, paired with free tourist shuttles from stations to coastal communities funded by a small lodging surcharge, would make the SMART Initiative's 30-year investment self-reinforcing through tourism and ridership growth.

I voted for this train. I ride it with my father. I have flown from the airport it serves. I will fund it, extend it, and build around it.

I possess a United States Birth Certificate, a California Real ID, and a United States Passport. I support voter identification. Every legal citizen who earned the right to vote, through birth or through the demanding naturalization process, deserves to know their vote carries equal weight. I worked at the U.S. border as a CDC Quarantine Public Health Officer and saw firsthand the years of paperwork, fees, interviews, and waiting that legal immigrants endure to take their oath of citizenship. Those people deserve our deepest respect. Their votes should not be diluted. The SAVE America Act aligns with this principle. I would require that implementation include free, accessible ID programs funded federally, so no eligible citizen is excluded due to cost or documentation barriers. Voter integrity and full voter access are not opposing goals. Both are constitutional obligations. I support this Act. The right to vote is the foundation of Democracy and should be protected for all citizens.

The national debt exceeds $36 trillion. Annual interest payments top $1 trillion, money that will never fix a road, educate a child, or feed a family. I call this Intergenerational Injustice. My published "An Honest Economy for All" platform closes the carried interest loophole ($10–15B/year), establishes a multinational corporate minimum tax ($15–30B/year), and creates a high-net-worth realization surtax ($5–15B/year), generating $30–60B annually for debt reduction without raising taxes on working families. My National Solvency Trust Fund dedicates these revenues exclusively to retiring public debt. These are not slogans — they are fully drafted federal bills published at gregoryburgessforcongress.com. The Founders called it obligation to posterity. I call it showing your work. I am fully self funded. People should use their money for food, not campaign ads. I accept zero donations. I have no PAC money. I am working for the 13–30 year olds. We need to leave a solvent America for them.

The United States must protect both itself and its neighbors from terrorism. Approximately 14 million Israelis and Jewish people, and approximately 14 million Palestinians, are human beings who deserve protection from violence. I support Israel's right to exist and defend itself. Any terrorist organization that deliberately murders innocent civilians, regardless of its stated cause or ideology, must be confronted and stopped. That is not a political position. It is a moral one. I also believe that arms supplied by the United States to any nation must be monitored to ensure they are not used to murder innocent civilians. When a government uses American weapons against non-combatants based solely on their identity, that is an accountability failure we must not ignore. Peace in the region requires security for Israelis and dignity for Palestinians. The United States must pursue both simultaneously, with clear eyes about terrorism in every form.

I worked at the U.S. border as a CDC Quarantine Public Health Officer and saw what legal immigrants endure — years of paperwork, fees, waiting — to earn citizenship and take their oath. Those people deserve our deepest respect. People who bypass that process disrespect every person who honored it. I support effective border enforcement and the deportation of individuals here illegally, using the standard set by the Obama administration, which humanely returned more people in eight years than current tactics have managed, with zero citizen deaths and no community terror. I cannot support terrorizing immigrant communities, conducting enforcement that destroys public trust, or treating every immigrant family as a criminal threat. Effective border enforcement and humane enforcement are not opposites. Obama proved it. Brutality is not a strategy — it is a political choice that makes every community less safe and every officer's job harder. Alex Pretti's last words, "Are you ok?" speaks volumes.

State marriage and religious marriage are distinct institutions. I hold this view clearly. A religious institution has the absolute First Amendment right to define marriage according to its theology and to marry only those who meet its religious criteria. No government can or should compel any church, mosque, synagogue, or faith community to perform a marriage contrary to its beliefs. That religious liberty is sacred and non-negotiable. The State, however, must serve all its citizens regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof. Civil marriage is a legal contract providing rights and responsibilities under law. I believe the California amendment correctly recognizes this distinction. Your church's definition of marriage is constitutionally protected. The State's civil framework must serve everyone. These are not incompatible positions. They reflect the relationship between faith and civil governance the Founders themselves intended.

I believe a woman must be in control of her fertility. Her right to Liberty is stated in the Preamble to the Constitution. Government should not make that decision for her. I recognize this is among the most morally serious decisions a person can face, and I deeply respect those who believe life begins at conception. My view is that having 50 state laws will not hold. If we are to establish a permanent national resolution, whether protective or restrictive, only a Constitutional Amendment ratified by the American people through their elected representatives carries sufficient democratic legitimacy. I will not support policies that criminalize women for medical decisions about their own bodies. I believe no woman wants an abortion but sometimes conditions dictate otherwise. I believe the answer to unwanted pregnancy lies in economic security, healthcare access, and the food security policies I have championed. We need to address the desperation that drives this most difficult choice.

Parents have a fundamental constitutional right, affirmed in Troxel v. Granville (2000), to participate in decisions affecting their children's upbringing, education, and welfare. I support this right without qualification. When a school is aware of significant matters affecting a child's identity or wellbeing, parents generally have the right to know. Schools should not conduct social transitions of children without parental knowledge or consent. Under HIPAA, parents are typically the legal personal representative of their unemancipated minor child in healthcare, with full rights to medical records. State carve-outs for specific treatment categories exist but should be narrow — they do not authorize schools or providers to actively withhold a child's general welfare from caring parents. Children thrive when schools and families work as partners, not as adversaries. I support the Supreme Court's recognition that parental rights in education are fundamental and constitutionally protected.

No written comment submitted.

No written comment submitted.

At this point I would need more data. I believe this should be supported by monthly labor statistics data that would show areas where American Workers are not choosing to apply for and take certain jobs necessary to our economy and food security (e.g. agricultural labor). If there is a job shortage in certain sectors we should be able to tailor H-1B, H-2B, OPT and other guest worker programs to fill such vacancies if they remain vacant for longer than 3 months.

When I was in New Zealand I obtained what is their equivalent to a Social Security Card (Inland Revenue number) and paid taxes when I worked there. I had to use their public health system when bitten by a dog. I offered to pay for the treatment but they said there was no need. I felt that since I paid taxes while I was there it was fair that I should receive their health care. But people here illegally are trespassing and should not receive any benefits. I worked at the border as a CDC Quarantine Public Health Officer and know the fair but stringent qualifications and assessments that go in to naturalization. We help legal immigrants to enter the country and it undermines their efforts to arrive here legally. Also they take an oath to uphold the Constitution which trespassers do not. I may have been born here but it is my adherence to the Constitution that makes me a citizen. It is the only document that holds us together as a nation.

No written comment submitted.

I oppose the idea of Amnesty. They need to be processed the same as individuals entering in legally. I am for temporarily raising the quota on those trespassers to allow them to go through the immigration process if they were performing work that does not compete with American Citizens and provides a necessary skill that helps our economy. We are a nation of immigrants but not idiots. If they choose to go through the legal process and succeed they still must wait the same amount of time they were here illegally before re-entry.

I was born here which gives me the privilege of upholding the Constitution for myself and my fellow Americans. The babies born here are born here. They should not be punished for their parents' illegal actions. They are innocent. And they are citizens. Their parents need to take them back to their parents' country of origin until they are able to make their own decision to return to their nation of birth. Their birth should not enable their parents to become citizens. If they choose to return to America they do not have to go through the immigration process.

I need to have more information. Do we need to increase immigration for our nation's food security? 70% of our crops are harvested by immigrants and illegal immigrants. If natural born Americans are unwilling to work harvesting our crops then we need the increase in immigration. I would suggest offering increased SNAP benefits to Americans who qualify for SNAP and are also willing to work full shifts as agricultural labor.

I need more information to make an informed decision. Immigration should be merit based.

Immigration should be merit based.

No written comment submitted.

Local Law enforcement are the backbone of all law enforcement. They know their communities and have a vested interest in protecting them. Federal Agents do not have the local knowledge that helps deescalate situations and should be paired with local law enforcement to improve enforcement efforts and reduce the use of lethal force.