My Platform and Policies

MY GOVERNING STYLE: OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE

  • Weekly “Open Congress” Hours: Meet in bodegas, subway stops, NYCHA halls—not D.C.

  • Transparency Pledge: Publish every meeting, donor, and backroom deal.

  • People’s Hearings: Bring landlords, ICE, and CEOs to testify in Brooklyn.

  • No Corporate Money. Ever.

OUR POWER

OUR PRIORITIES

ARTISTS & GIG WORKERS BILL OF RIGHTS

  • 1. LIVABLE WAGES & ECONOMIC DIGNITY

    • Federal "Pay Your Freelancers" Act: Mandates on-time payment, penalizes late pay, and bans "spec work" (free work for exposure). Mandate fair pay for freelancers.

    2. HEALTHCARE & BENEFITS

    • Medicare for All: Covers all freelancers, artists, and gig workers. No more tying healthcare to a full-time job.

    • Portable Benefits Fund: Companies (Uber, Amazon, etc.) pay into a fund that provides gig workers with paid sick leave, injury insurance, and retirement contributions.

    3. UNION RIGHTS & BARGAINING POWER

    • Right to Unionize for Gig Workers: Reclassify gig workers as employees with full collective bargaining rights.

    • Artists’ Unions: Federal support for unions representing photographers, musicians, writers, and performers.

    4. AFFORDABLE SPACE

    • Seize Vacant Properties: Turn landlord-neglected buildings into artist live/workspaces with below-market rents.

    • Zoning for Creativity: Require new developments to dedicate 10% of space to arts venues, studios, or rehearsal rooms.

    5. PROTECTIONS FROM EXPLOITATION

    • Ban Unpaid Internships: Companies must pay interns at least $20/hr.

    Algorithm Transparency: Gig workers have the right to know how app algorithms assign work and set pay.

    • Create first-ever Congressional Artist Task Force (funded by taxing billionaires).

    • Federal Arts Grants: Tax billionaires to fund creatives.

    • Pass protections for gig workers in must-pass bills.

    • Extend OSHA protections to food-truck workers and vendors.

    • Push for a wealth tax (Warren’s Ultra-Millionaire Tax). End carried interest loopholes and stock buyback taxes.

    • Defund Corporate Subsidies: Cancel tax breaks for companies like Amazon that violate labor laws.

    HOW WE PAY FOR IT

    • Tax Billionaire Wealth: 90% marginal tax on incomes over $10M.

    • Tax Wall Street Speculation: 0.5% tax on stock trades.

HOUSING AS A HUMAN RIGHT

  • 1. IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY ACTIONS (First 100 Days)

    A. Federal Rent Control & Good Cause Eviction Bill

    • Cap rent increases at 0% for NYCHA, and 3% for all other units annually. Ban unjust evictions.

    B. NYCHA Federal Takeover & Repairs

    • Seize NYCHA crumbling buildings from private profiteers and failed city/state management and place it under federal receivership (to fix mold, leaks, and neglect).

    C. Eviction Moratorium & Right-to-Counsel

    • Reinstate and make permanent the COVID-era eviction moratorium for non-payment of rent. Fund right-to-counsel for every eviction case by Introducing the NYC Tenant Protection Act.

    2. LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL CHANGE

    A. Social Housing Development

    • Build 1 million units of social housing - publicly owned, permanently affordable, green housing.

    B. Ban Corporate Landlords

    • Prohibit corporations (LLCs, private equity firms like Blackstone) from owning residential housing.

    C. Community Control

    Give tenants first right to purchase their buildings and form co-ops. Create a tenant empowerment fund for legal and financial support.

    • Introduce bills Day 1 and rally progressive coalitions.

    • Introduce the NYC Tenant Protection Act to bypass state preemption and establish federal rent stabilization standards.

    • Introduce the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act.

    • Vote NO on all Israel funding and redirect to NYCHA/clinics

    • Subpoena slumlords in hearings.

    • Fund a federal right-to-counsel program so no tenant faces a landlord’s lawyer alone.

    • Hold public hearings in NYCHA complexes-bring HUD officials to face tenants.

    • Direct HUD to use its authority to appoint a receiver to manage and repair NYCHA, funded by:

      • Cancel Pentagon bloat (1% of military budget = $8B for NYCHA).

      • Tax vacant luxury apartments ($10k/month fine per empty unit).

    • Use eminent domain to seize vacant lots and dilapidated buildings from speculators.

    • Funding:

      • Tax the Rich: 90% marginal tax on incomes over $10M.

      • Wall Street Speculation Tax: 2% tax on all stock trades.

A LIVABLE WAGE FOR ALL

  • 1. Federal $30/Hour Minimum Wage

    • Reintroduce the Raise the Wage Act. $30hr Minimum Wage Law (tips on top for service workers).

    • Based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator for a single adult in NYC ($24.76/hr) + inflation adjustment and a margin of dignity is why $30 is the number.

    2. Abolish Sub-Minimum Wage

    • The People’s Rule: Make bosses pay full wages. All tipped workers (servers, bartenders, delivery workers) must receive the full wage FROM THEIR EMPLOYER, plus they get to keep 100% of their tips. (modeled on DC’s Initiative 82).

    • End Mandatory Gratuity: Outlaw the practice of automatic gratuity charges on bills. Tips must be voluntary, for exemplary service, not a wage subsidy.

    4. Stronger Enforcement & Union Power

    • Triple OSHA Funding for wage theft enforcement.

    • "Card Check" Legislation: Make it easier for workers to form unions without employer intimidation.

    • Healthcare Stipend: Require platforms to contribute to a healthcare fund for workers averaging over 20 hours/week.

    • Leverage committee votes to force corporate accountability.

    • Leverage committee votes to force $30hr wage amendments.

    • Phase-In $30hr: Mandated increase over 4 years, tied to inflation thereafter.

    • Get a Local Economist to sign off on the $30 figure for NYC, giving it credibility.

    • Name/shame corporations stealing tips using subpoena power.

    • Name & shame exploitative businesses in public hearings.

HEALTHCARE FOR ALL

  • Healthcare is a Human Right - Not a Privilege for the Rich.

    The profit-driven healthcare system is a violent failure. It lets people die for money. We will replace it with a single-payer, universal system that guarantees comprehensive care to every person in the United States, regardless of employment, income, or immigration status. The vast majority of families will pay less than they currently do for premiums and deductibles and receive far more in return.

    While fighting for federal Medicare for All, we will use the office to deliver immediate relief:

    • Coverage: Everything. Medical, dental, vision, hearing, mental health, substance use treatment, long-term care, prescription drugs, and full reproductive care (including abortion and gender-affirming care) regardless of employment, income, or immigration status.

    • No Out-of-Pocket Costs: No premiums, no deductibles, no co-pays. Healthcare is free at the point of service.

    • Choice: You choose your own doctors and providers. No more narrow networks.

    • Cancel Medical Debt via federal action using Congressional pressure to force hospitals and banks to erase existing medical debt for NY-8 residents.

    • Save Brooklyn Hospitals: Lead the charge to stop the closure of SUNY Downstate and other safety-net hospitals.

  • FIRST 100 DAYS

    • Push for emergency funding to keep ERs open.

    • Co-sponsor and fiercely champion the existing Medicare for All Act in the House.

    • Introduce the "Medical Debt Cancellation Act" to free millions from financial slavery.

    • Hold "Emergency Room Town Halls" outside Kings County Hospital to collect stories and build public pressure.

    • Hold town halls with doctors/patients to pressure moderates.

    • Hold Pharma accountable by hosting public hearings to subpoena Pharma CEOs to explain their price gouging.

    • Launch a House investigation into pharmaceutical price gouging and use subpoena power to drag CEOs into the light.

    • Expose bribes via House floor speeches.

    How We Pay For It (Taxing the Rich, Not You)

    This is not funded by taxing working people. It is funded by:

    • A 90% Marginal Tax on Incomes Over $10 Million.

    • Taxing Wall Street Speculation (e.g., 0.5% tax on stock trades).

    • Slashing the Pentagon Budget (Redirecting funds from bombs to biopsies).

    • Ending Corporate Tax Loopholes and subsidies for fossil fuel and pharmaceutical companies.

LGBTQ+ & WOMAN’S RIGHTS

  • "Our Rights Are Not Negotiable - They're Non-Negotiable"

    This isn't a sidebar issue. It's central to our fight for bodily autonomy, economic justice, and liberation from a system that commodifies our lives. We will codify Roe, ban conversion therapy, and protect trans rights.

    IMMEDIATE FEDERAL LEGISLATION I WILL CO-SPONSOR & FIGHT FOR:

    1. BODILY AUTONOMY AS A HUMAN RIGHT

    • Expand the VAWA (Violence Against Women Act): Triple funding for shelters, rape crisis centers, and trans-inclusive support services.

    • Pregnancy Justice: Outlaw pregnancy discrimination; mandate paid parental leave and childcare subsidies.

    2. TRANSGENDER LIBERATION & SAFETY

    • Medicare for All w/ Full Gender-Affirming Care: Surgery, HRT, mental health—fully covered.

    • Asylum for LGBTQ+ Refugees: Fast-track protections for those fleeing state-sponsored violence.

    • The Federal Abortion Access Now Act: Legislate abortion as a fundamental right, invalidating state bans.

    • Amend spending bills to block anti-LGBTQ+ state laws.

    • Trans Bill of Rights: Federally ban anti-trans legislation (sports bans, bathroom bills, "don't say gay" laws).

JUSTICE & SAFETY

  • "COMMUNITY SAFETY, NOT POLICE STATE"

    True safety comes from investment, not incarceration. We will fund programs that prevent crime at its root—poverty, mental health crises, and hopelessness—instead of militarizing police to punish it. The NYPD’s $11 billion budget funds military-grade weapons used disproportionately against Black, brown, and marginalized communities, while mental health and youth services are starved. Cops cannot be held legally or financially responsible for misconduct, brutality, or murder, creating a culture of impunity.

    Systems like cash bail criminalize poverty, and federal grants incentivize local police to make more arrests to fill prisons. ICE terrorizes immigrant communities, rips families apart, violates human rights, and receives billions in federal funding. The system traps people in cycles of incarceration with no support, leading to high recidivism rates.

    DEMILITARIZE THE NYPD & REDIRECT FUNDS - Cut the NYPD Budget by 25% and reinvest every dollar into:

    • Mental Health Crisis Teams: Dispatched instead of cops for mental health, substance use, and homeless crises.

    • Community-Led Violence Interruption: Expand programs like Cure Violence that treat violence as a public health issue.

    • Youth Jobs & Recreation: Fully fund after-school programs, youth centers, and summer jobs in NY-8.

    • Fund Restorative Justice Programs in schools and communities as an alternative to incarceration.

    • Federally End Qualified Immunity, allowing victims of police violence to sue officers directly.

    • Stop the 1033 Program that transfers military weapons to local police departments.

    • Decriminalize Poverty: End arrests for low-level, non-violent offenses like fare evasion (which targets the poor).

    • Expand Reentry Services for housing, job training, and healthcare for formerly incarcerated individuals.

    • Defund ICE and CBP and reallocate resources to immigration courts and asylum processing.

    • Block federal deportation funding and protect immigrants by defunding ICE raids in NYC, making it a true sanctuary city.

    • Create a National Police Misconduct Database to prevent abusive officers from being rehired in other jurisdictions.

    • Ban Corporate PACs and End Cash Bail for private prisons, and police militarization Nationally via federal legislation.

    • Hold Public Hearings on ICE abuses at the federal level.

    • Push the EQUAL Act (end sentencing disparities) and Ban the Box federally, making it illegal to ask about criminal history on job applications.

    • End Stop-and-Frisk for Good and Subpoena abusive cops and police unions in congressional oversight hearings over their stop-and-frisk abuses and brutal responses to protests.

SINGLE-SUBJECT BILLS

  • Every bill introduced or voted on in the U.S. House must cover a single subject, clearly expressed in the bill's title. Any member of Congress can raise a point of order against a bill for violating the single-subject rule. The bill is then stripped down to its core subject before a vote can proceed.

    • Kills Poison Pills: Prevents lawmakers from sneaking unpopular, corporate handouts (a fossil fuel subsidy or a bank deregulation clause) into critical, must-pass bills like disaster relief or government funding.

    • Ends Hostage-Taking: Stops the practice of holding popular policies (like childcare funding) hostage to pass unrelated, harmful policies (like ICE expansion).

    • Forces Transparency: Makes it impossible for politicians to hide their votes. They can’t say “I voted for the Infrastructure Bill” when that bill also contained a handout to private prisons.

    • Introduce a “One Issue, One Bill” Rule: Propose a House rules change (at the start of each Congress) requiring single-subject bills.

    • Sponsor a Standalone Bill: Draft legislation mandating single-subject rules for all federal laws (One Subject at a Time Act, previously pushed by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick).

    Challenge every multi-subject bill with amendments or floor objections.

ENDING CITIZENS UNITED

  • Citizens United v. FEC (2010) unleashed a flood of dark money and corporate cash into politics, allowing billionaires and corporations to buy elections and politicians. Our democracy isn't for sale. My campaign is proof.

    Hakeem Jeffries is a product of this system: He has taken over $8 million from corporate PACs, Wall Street, and lobbyists. Result: Policies that benefit the rich against ALL OF US, Medicare for All, against rent control, for endless war funding all while our communities struggle.

    Our 3-POINT PLAN TO END CORPORATE RULE

    This is our bold, named legislation that goes far beyond standard reform.

    1. PASS A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED

    • Introduce/Sign onto a Constitutional Amendment (28th Amendment): Support proposals like the Democracy for All Amendment (previously introduced by Democrats).

    • Explicitly states that money is not speech and corporations are not people with constitutional rights.

    2. ENACT THE ROOT ACT (RESTORING OVERSIGHT OF TREASONOUS SPENDING)

    • Caps Individual Contributions: Limits individual donations to a level a working person can afford ($5,000 max).

    • Mandates Transparency: Requires real-time, public disclosure of all donors over $200. No more "dark money."

    • Creates a People's Fund: Establishes a public matching system for small-dollar donations (like NYC’s 8-to-1 match) to empower grassroots campaigns nationwide.

    3. PROSECUTE CORRUPTION WITH A "CORPORATE CRIME TASK FORCE"

    • Bans Corporate PACs: Makes it illegal for corporations and lobbyist-funded PACs to donate to campaigns.

    • Appoint an Anti-Corruption Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute quid-pro-quo deals between politicians and donors.

    • How we’ll do it: Co-sponsor and champion existing proposals like Senator Udall’s Democracy for All Amendment.

    • Leverage House Oversight Power: Use the seat to subpoena CEOs and lobbyists and hold public hearings on corruption.

    • Push for Public Financing: Sponsor or co-sponsor bills like the Fair Elections Now Act to create small donor matching systems.

BAN CONGRESSIONAL STOCK TRADING

  • If you serve the people, you shouldn't be playing the market.

    Members of Congress, including Hakeem Jeffries, can legally trade stocks based on non-public, insider information they gain from their committee work and classified briefings. They write laws that directly impact companies they own stock in. This is a fundamental conflict of interest and legalized corruption.

    How can we trust a politician to regulate Big Pharma when they own thousands in pharmaceutical stock? We can't. Congress should be a job of public service, not a get-rich-quick scheme. My only interest will be our well-being, not the stock market. As your Representative, I will introduce and fight for a bill that implements The Public Service Over Self-Enrichment Act.

  • A TOTAL BAN

    1. Complete Ban on Trading: Members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children will be prohibited from buying and selling individual stocks, bonds, commodities, and cryptocurrencies while in office.

    2. Mandatory Blind Trusts: Upon taking office, all covered individuals must place existing investments into a truly blind trust managed by an independent entity without their input.

    3. Strict Penalties: Violations will result in:

      • Forfeiture of all profits from the illegal trade to the U.S. Treasury.

      • A fine equal to 200% of the value of the trade.

      • Public censure and potential expulsion from Congress.

    4. Co-Sponsor Existing Bills: Push the TRUST in Congress Act (bipartisan) or Ban Conflicted Trading Act (Dems) to ban stock trading by members, spouses, and dependents.

REINSTATE THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE

  • What Was the Fairness Doctrine?

    • Historical Precedent: A FCC policy from 1949 to 1987 that required licensed broadcasters (TV/radio) to present controversial issues of public importance in an honest, equitable, and balanced manner.

    • It did NOT mandate "equal time" for political candidates but required balance in issue coverage (if a station aired a program on the risks of nuclear energy, it had to allow time for a perspective on its benefits).

    • Why It Was Killed: Eliminated in 1987 under Reagan-era FCC Chair Mark Fowler, who famously called television "just another appliance—a toaster with pictures," arguing it should be governed by market forces, not public interest obligations.

  • Our 21st Century Fairness Doctrine

    This is a powerful and deeply consequential policy that strikes at the heart of modern political division. Billionaires own the airwaves and use them to keep us fighting each other while they pick our pockets. This ends that. We will Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine Act and end the outrage Industrial Complex and reclaim our airwaves for Democracy. This act would modernize and reinstate the doctrine for the digital age.

    1. Broadcast License Requirement: Any network or station holding a public broadcast license must

      • Devote a significant amount of airtime to discussing publicly important issues.

      • Present contrasting viewpoints on those issues, not necessarily in the same program but within their overall programming.

    2. Digital Extension (The Bold Move)

      • Apply the principle to major digital platforms and cable news networks that function as the de facto public square.

      • This would target algorithms that promote outrage and disinformation for profit. Platforms would be incentivized to ensure their recommendation systems don't exclusively push users into ideological echo chambers.

    3. Transparency Mandate: Require platforms and broadcasters to publicly disclose their content moderation and algorithmic amplification policies in clear, accessible language.

    Anti-Censorship Clause: Explicitly state that the doctrine does not grant government the power to censor specific content or viewpoints. Its sole purpose is to ensure a diversity of views reaches the public.

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The Role of a Congressmember

We The People of The United States.

As per the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws. The House is one of Congress’s two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government’s legislative branch. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, a number set by Public Law 62-5 on August 8, 1911, and in effect since 1913, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.

We will use the power of OUR seat as a weapon truly Of The People, By The People, and For The People!

General Role & Powers of a U.S. House Representative

Legislative Authority & Representation

  • Drafting and voting on federal legislation: Representatives propose, debate, amend, and vote on bills alongside the Senate, and if passed, bills go to the President for approval or veto.

  • Origination Clause: All revenue or money-raising bills must start in the House.

  • Fiscal oversight: They help fund government operations and programs through passing appropriation and budget bills.

Exclusive Constitutional Powers

  • Impeachment power: The House has sole authority to impeach federal officials (bring formal charges).

  • Contingent presidential election: If no candidate wins the Electoral College majority, the House elects the President.

Oversight & Investigative Responsibilities

  • Representatives oversee federal agencies, conduct hearings, and monitor policy execution—acting as a check on the executive branch.

Constituency Service

  • Serving district constituents by helping with federal agencies, responding to concerns, and providing services (like nominations, commemorations, etc.)

Participation & Internal Procedures Committee

  • Representatives are assigned to committees (standing, select, joint) that specialize in areas like judiciary, finance, etc. These are where most legislative work happens—debates, amendments, hearings occur there first.

As U.S. House Representative of NY-8 My Role Will be to

ROLE AS NY-8’S HOUSE REP -

As a Voice for Brooklyn Vance will:

    • Advocate for district needs (housing, wages, infrastructure) in Congress.

    • Jeffries’ Failure - Focused on national party politics over NY-8’s crises (NYCHA mold, rent hikes).

  1. Legislative Power

    • Introduce/vote on bills.

    • Jeffries’ Failure - Sponsored zero major housing/healthcare bills for NY-8 despite 11 years in office.

  2. Oversight

    • Investigate agencies (HUD, ICE) via committee hearings.

    • Jeffries’ Failure - Never held hearings on NYCHA corruption or AIPAC influence.

  3. Budget Control

    • Vote on federal funding (NYCHA repairs, subway funds).

    • Jeffries’ Failure - Voted for Pentagon bloat while SUNY Downstate hospital closed.

  4. Constituent Services

    • Help residents with federal agencies (SSI, VA, immigration).

    • Jeffries’ Failure - Ranked bottom 10% in constituent responsiveness (2023 GovTrack report).

Food workers, artists, tenants, and gig laborers will be advisors. No more symbolic bills—only laws that put cash in your pocket and roofs over heads. We’ll Livestream every vote with plain-English explanations.

THE PEOPLE’S CONGRESSMAN

HOW WE WILL USE OUR SEAT TO FIGHT FOR ALL OF US

I don’t want to do this alone. I want everyone’s insight, input, advice, and guidance. This will be truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. We are all stronger as a team. That is the only way this all works.