Ilhan Omar (DFL): 2024 Election Guide
Welcome to WCCO.com's 2024 Election Guide!
We reached out to Minnesota major party candidates running in U.S. congressional races this fall. Candidates were asked to provide answers to a set of political questions of high importance to voters.
Minnesota 5th Congressional District candidate and incumbent Ilhan Omar submitted her answers to the questionnaire below.
This is not a paid advertisement nor does WCCO endorse any candidate.
What do you believe are the most pressing issues facing constituents served by the office you are seeking?
People are struggling to make ends meet. We need a minimum wage that tracks the cost of living, we need more affordable housing, we need health care that is accessible to all, we need to cancel student debt, we need to ensure access to healthy food, and we need to address the climate crisis before it destroys our communities. Our economy should work for all of us, not just the wealthy few.
What are the three big goals or policies you hope to accomplish or pass during your time in office?
I am devoted to fighting for a brighter future for us and our children. We must pass Medicare for All to ensure everyone has access to free, quality health care. We must cancel student debt which has prevented generations from achieving their potential. And we must pass the Green New Deal to create green jobs, hold corporations accountable for their climate impacts, and ensure our children are growing up on a planet that can sustain their future.
Do you think Congress should pass a federal law on abortion rights and what should it look like?
The government has no place controlling our bodies. All women have a right to affordable, quality reproductive health care where they and their doctors are in control of such personal and consequential decisions. We must protect that right by codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law, protecting access to contraception and fertility treatments, and repealing the Hyde amendment.
According to polls, illegal crossings at the southern border and immigration policy are consistently ranked as a top issue for Americans. What do you propose to address these concerns?
Ultimately, the U.S. needs to understand the role that our foreign policy has played in driving migration from Central and South America. We can't destabilize entire regions of the world and then be upset when people come to our shores seeking safety and opportunity. Asylum is a legal right under international law, and we should be proud of our nation's history as a refuge for those fleeing persecution. We must end the dehumanization of immigrants because our future is deeply connected with those who seek refuge in our communities.
What would you do to address violent crime and drug use?
To address violent crime and substance abuse, we must get to the root issues of what leads people to these ends. At the core, I believe this is deeply connected to social isolation and an erosion of social mobility. We are seeing similar crises of anxiety and depression because our social fabric has deteriorated. If you can't get ahead in life, if you are barely scraping by, if you are living a life where you don't feel connection and meaning – the social contract that previously defined American life is no longer a driving force in your life.
The only way to repair this harm is to invest intentionally in education, housing, health care, community connections, and employment. We need to destigmatize mental health issues and provide treatment, increase the minimum wage, and pass funding for child care to support working families so kids have the resources and support to finish school. We need to cancel student debt and make education tuition-free to ensure everyone has access to continued education. We need to provide meaning and opportunity so that every single person can work towards the life they want to have.
Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States. What do you believe the federal government should do to reduce gun violence?
For too long, Congress has refused to pass comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation. While we have made progress in recent years, there is still a long way to go.
We need to build on the success of the 2022 bipartisan Safer Communities Act by banning the sale of assault weapons, strengthening red flag laws that prevent convicted domestic and animal abusers from accessing guns, funding and supporting the accessibility of mental health services and substance use treatment, and closing the gun show loophole so that background checks are required for every single firearm sale.
Do you believe there should be term limits for members of Congress?
Yes.
What economic policies do you propose to address high prices and cost of living?
The economic status quo has led to a concentration of wealth in a small handful of elites while working people suffer. As prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, corporate profits surged. Corporate control over housing, food systems, and everyday necessities has meant that profit motives drive everything. We need to create a more progressive tax system by creating a wealth tax for the richest Americans, and we need to strengthen small businesses that drive regional economies.
We need to increase the minimum wage and track it to inflation, build more affordable housing, and pass the Medicare for All Act to ensure all Americans have access to affordable health care. I recently introduced a "shrinkflation" bill that would combat the deceptive practice of reducing product size and quantity while maintaining or increasing its price. My Homes for All bill would build millions of affordable housing units all over the country. I will add my voice to the struggle for systemic change, while working diligently on policies that can move forward the status quo.
What is the government's responsibility when it comes to climate change? How would you address it?
The United States is responsible for a quarter of historic climate emissions, and U.S. policy not only allowed it – we drove it. We need the government to take bold action to combat climate change. In 2022, we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate action plan in world history, but we need to keep pushing and fighting to end fossil fuel use, increase energy efficiency, and decarbonize our economy.
I introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act to stop the $757 billion of subsidies our government gives to the fossil fuel industry every year. I led a Congressional call for the creation of a Loss & Damage Fund to support small nations that are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. I fought hard to stop new fossil fuel infrastructure from locking us into decades of carbon emissions. Everything we are fighting for depends on stabilizing the climate.
As government, health care, and financial institutions face increasing threats to cybersecurity, what measures should policymakers and Americans alike take to protect people from these ongoing threats?
Our personal data and information should be handled ethically, and we should be in control of how it is used. It should not be a commodity. Companies that collect our data should be responsible for its safekeeping, and there should be meaningful standards for how they protect it. This includes strong federal data protection laws, enforcement and oversight, and a potential private right of action.
Who won the 2020 Presidential election? How confident are you in the integrity of our elections?
Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election. Full stop. As every person across this country who runs our elections has said – with the backing of every court who has adjudicated the former president's conspiracy theories – they are secure and they are accurate. It is disturbing to have a former president degrade our traditions, and make a mockery of our laws, our constitution, and our oaths of office.
