Issues/Priorities
I ask you to imagine me as your congressman. I will serve you with integrity, honesty, transparency, and honor. I bring to this service the knowledge gained from working with fellow citizens in occupations as varied as Investment banker, teacher, and Licensed General and Solar contractor. I have a Masters in Public and Private Management from Yale. The questions I will ask every day on every issue I face as your voice in the House are: Is it legal? Is it just? Is it fair? Is it ethical? Is it equitable? Is it consistent with our Constitution? No one – no one –will be able to exert undue or unjustified influence on me. There is no next job I am thinking of. There is no pressure and no person who could diminish my commitment to serve you and to adhere to the rule of law and our Constitution.
Listed below are the Issues/Priorities we are facing and my current thinking on how to address them. I have not tried to list all issues, and I have not included major geopolitical challenges. If you have specific questions, please email me at tom@electtomtaft.com.
Restore the Rule of Law
We are a diverse nation, and at our best, we embrace many cultures and religions. The one common thread running through this nation that binds us together and has created 250 years of freedom is our belief that we are guided by, and adhere to, the rule of law. Without trust in the rule of law, our strength as a great nation dissolves. We meet this challenge by simply acting on it without fear or favor, and we hold everyone — everyone — to the same standard.
Lowering the Cost of Living. Improving the Quality of Life.
Inflation occurs when there is more demand for products than there is supply of those products. As congress members, we can take steps to identify the cause of the shortfalls and work hard to provide the incentives and solutions to address them. Companies are watching out for their individual profits; the government should be watching out for the welfare of all Americans.
Steady Leadership
Steady leadership is required for companies to decide to make new investments. This administration’s policies change depending on how the President is feeling on a given day. Uncertainty is the death of investment in jobs and factories.
Acknowledging the Truth about Taxes
Starting with Reagan there was a conscious move to lower taxes on wealthy people, under the premise that lower taxes would jump start the economy and create jobs. Wealthy people were referred to as “Job Creators.” That premise proved to be false, but it has continued for 45 years. It is time to stop that policy in its tracks, and build a fair tax system that leaves Americans with more financial security.
Invest in Infrastructure to Create Jobs and Boost the Economy
Here is what Brian Fitzpatrick wrote in a recent newsletter about the Randall Ave Edgely Bridge project in Bucks County. It applies to all well-planned infrastructure projects: This bridge is more than infrastructure—it connects neighbors, supports emergency response, and sustains local commerce. Reopening it marks an important milestone, but the work doesn’t end here. I will continue pressing for a durable, long-term solution so the infrastructure serving this community is safe, reliable, and built to last. This is one of the times that Fitzpatrick is correct, but the Republican party ignores that obvious fact. Let’s focus on returning to the policy we had with the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It was working and growing until Trump canceled projects.
Leverage!
That is a term thrown about in corporations everywhere. They invest money in projects they believe will produce the greatest return. Their measurement is profits. Our measurement, as the government of the people, is to use the leverage we have, as the preamble to the Constitution states, to most effectively “promote the general welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” In addition to creating new jobs, here are three ways that we can begin to accomplish that by powerfully using the leverage we have in government to improve lives:
- With the economic necessity of both parents, or a single parent, working, we need to move toward free, safe, nurturing childcare. The impact would leave families feeling safer and more secure. Parents could join the workforce knowing their children are well cared for. Big economic AND emotional impact. Powerful leverage.
- Having worked to help educate students for 36 years, it is painfully obvious that many high school students, young men in particular, are not prepared for the workforce as they leave high school. Many young men are only beginning to come into their own as they receive their diploma. In order to encourage students to continue their education, two-years of community college should be free or close to free. After two years of community college, students are much better prepared to understand themselves and to identify a career choice that fits and excites them. Big economic AND emotional impact. Powerful leverage.
- We set, as a long-term goal, providing universal, high-quality healthcare. It is a complicated challenge and not one that is achieved overnight, but we need to acknowledge its critical importance and remain committed to providing the right and the benefit that citizens of so many other developed nations already enjoy. Big economic AND emotional impact. Powerful leverage.
Governmental Regulations
Barack Obama hired constitutional scholar, Cass Sunstein, to run his Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). His work constituted a real and effective “Department of Government Efficiency” — not the blind chainsaw of Trump and Musk’s actions.
For three years Sunstein’s intense analysis performed the correct version of how we improve the efficiency and fairness of government regulations. His work received strong bi-partisan support. There should be no tolerance for unfair rules, or outdated, abusive regulations. But finding those failures takes real care and careful inspection on an individual basis.
Immigration
We are a nation of immigrants, and how to act in a reasoned and justifiable manner in handling immigration issues is not new and has been a continuing challenge for this nation. Today NINA (No Irish Need Apply) is not an issue, but it certainly was at one time. The people who should be allowed into this country in the future are only those who arrive here legally. However, the current policy of hunting down every illegal immigrant instead of those who have committed crimes is counterproductive and destructive. Solving the challenge of illegal immigration requires a commitment from every member of Congress to finally develop a bi-partisan effective, long-term solution
Support Ukraine
We are Americans. We sent our soldiers overseas to make the world safe for democracy. In World War I, 116,000 young Americans gave their lives in that cause. The attack on Ukraine is an attack on all that we stand for. They are not asking for soldiers. They need our ammunition. All of the money we spend on Ukraine stays in our country!! American workers building American weapons. This is a total win/win policy. We defend Democracy AND create jobs.
Address Climate Change
In America, the need for congress members to begin running for the next election, as soon as the last one is over, has the effect of encouraging them to only address the most pressing issues. Climate change is real. Its effects will be catastrophic — unless we fight our crippling shortsighted planning. It is farcical that Republicans still endorse subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, while complaining about subsidies for the alternative energy sources that are essential to protecting our welfare, the welfare of our children, and the survival of this nation and our entire planet.
Social Justice and Human Rights
I encourage you to read the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. (https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights) It is complemented by the four freedoms Franklin Roosevelt identified as crucial to the safety and wellbeing of Americans: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear. The basic principles behind these statements guide my judgment of the social and cultural issues we face today and will face in the upcoming congressional session. The questions I will always ask are: Is it legal? Is it just? Is it fair? Is it ethical? Is it equitable?
LGBTQ
I have worked in educational environments for 36 years of my life, and in 1972 I trained full-time for the ten-event track & field Decathlon at the same time as future Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce/Caitlin Jenner. Both my experience with students and with the arc of Caitlin Jenner’s life have made it clear that the LGBTQ community represents authentic, fundamental life challenges that must be respected. Each situation must be evaluated carefully by the person involved and with her/his family and doctors. Given all of the opportunities for high school activities I believe that having students compete in high school sports, outside the gender of their birth, clouds the key importance of this issue and allows for an avoidable and unnecessary “us vs them” public battle.
Constituent Services
Excellent Constituent Services are a crucial component of the job of every Congress member. I pledge to meet or exceed the quality of Fitzpatrick’s constituent services. Listening carefully and providing effective individual solutions has been at the core of every job I have had.
Again, there are many more issues, and each of them needs to be approached carefully, thoughtfully and with a clear understanding of the costs and the benefits. Every day in Congress we need to be committed to government efficiency — real and carefully-evaluated government efficiency, not the blind destruction of important government functions.
This comes first: Impeach Trump and make it stick. George Conway is running for congress from New York’s 12th district specifically to impeach Trump. Trump has committed an endless number of impeachable offenses. Impeaching him in the House will be a clear statement that the House of Representatives is taking back its rightful place in our government. It can happen, and with the right persuasion, we can win in the Senate. By January of 2027, every Republican senator should know that siding with Trump will be the end of their careers, not their ticket to a future election win. And when that happens — among so many other things — we take his name off of the Kennedy Center as fast as we can.