Irina Vilariño for Congress!

The strength of a family is at the core of society. America thrives when families have all the elements to succeed. The federal government must not be an obstacle to a family’s growth, health and prosperity, but should direct its policies to aid in the opportunity for all families to achieve their American Dream.

• Make Healthcare Affordable and Accessible. If a family must decide between a mortgage payment and a health insurance premium, government has failed. The reality today is that the burden of covering sky-rocketing healthcare has fallen squarely on the shoulders of hardworking American families. We must find a better solution that reduces healthcare insurance premiums, allows small businesses to secure affordable insurance for their workers, protects pre-existing conditions, and controls the cost of healthcare.

• Give Parents More Control Over Education. Education is the pathway for future generations to improve on the opportunities of previous ones. A parent is best suited to decide what is best in their child’s education. The federal government must respect a parent’s role and make sure that families have all the choices available to them to make the best decisions so that zip code or socio-economic level are not factors in the opportunities for a child to obtain the best possible education.

• Provide Family Leave Options. The Paid Family Leave Act would allow for new parents to obtain up to three months of their Social Security Benefits to take leave and care for their newborn or adopted child.   

The federal government’s primary responsibility is to provide for our national defense. Some would suggest that America can best reduce conflict in the world by weakening itself and thus keep the world more in balance. What history has shown us is that every time America voluntarily reduces its commitment to her military strength, others will try to fill the void of strength. My philosophy is the same as President Theodore Roosevelt’s. I believe that we should walk softly and carry a big stick.

• Fund our Military. Fully fund the resources our military needs to maintain combat readiness for all four branches of the military while also keeping our financial commitment to our veterans for their service. This means that as a part of the budgetary process, our military and veterans should be funded first and all other priorities thereafter.

• Protect our Borders. Our borders are more than our southern border. We need to finish the wall, but we also need to focus on our seaport and airport security. With one of the nation’s busiest seaports and airports in the country right here in Miami, we understand the need for a broader approach.

• Lead in the Caribbean and Latin America. Congress should fully back President Trump’s strong stance against an oppressive dictator like Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and should encourage his administration to continue to also take steps to stimulate stable representative governments in Cuba and Nicaragua. America’s interests are strongly linked to our friends and allies in this hemisphere, and we need to do everything we can to stimulate democratic reform in our neighbors, for where freedom exists, friendship with America also exists. 

Without a doubt, Israel is the United States’ most important ally in the Middle East. It’s a relationship that ranges from military assistance and foreign aid to programs for cultural and academic exchanges. This bond is critical to U.S. national security interests and vital to the Jewish State. Congress should not only preserve this special relationship; it should continuously seek to strengthen it.

Federal policies should support an economic culture that provides opportunity by guaranteeing a system of free market capitalism. The fate of our small businesses and entrepreneurs should be held in the hands of normal economic forces not in the bookshelves of a federal bureaucrat. That is essentially what happens when we over-tax and over-regulate our economy.

• Reduce Taxes. We would be better served by removing the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax or other type of consumer-oriented tax. That way we will tax consumption, not production and income. It is estimated that after the average citizen and small businessman or woman pays their taxes at all levels of government, they are sending over 50% of their income to fund the bureaucracy. This is unsustainable and must be stopped.

• Stop the Spending. Reckless spending and spiraling debt have encumbered future generations with trillions in debt. In addition, because of the way that we govern our own money supply, when we spend too much money, we devalue the dollar. That hurts retirees, working families, and college kids even more so than it hurts big industrial titans. We must live within our means.

• Invest in Infrastructure. The one way the federal government can ensure that our economy is on solid footing is by making sure that our infrastructure – ports, roads, and communications systems – are in good working order so that our citizens can move goods and services quickly, both domestically and internationally. As a trading hub of the Caribbean and South America, we understand how vital this is. 

Our natural resources are critical to our long-term success as a nation. Our health and quality of life is dependent upon them. Equally so, our quality of life is also dependent upon our commitment to the values that are enshrined in our families and in our constitution.

• Finish the Everglades Clean-Up. South Florida is one of the most desirable areas in the country to live, but our growth threatens that desirability. That’s why we need to bring our federal funding and the Army Corps of Engineers together to finish the Everglades clean-up now before it is too late. Preserving this jewel will guarantee our water quality for decades to come.

• Safeguard our Beaches and Reefs. Our beaches and reefs are natural resources in Florida that provide for our fishing and tourism industries in dramatic ways. We must ensure that funding remains in place to help protect both assets.

• Maintain our Commitment to Our Constitutional Rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – this concept was embedded in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. All 10 of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution must never be compromised. We must protect life at every stage, protect our personal liberties, and provide everyone with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.