Candidate Tamara Zwinak for U.S. House District 11 responds to Mountain Xpress Candidate Questionnaire

COVID-19 is having significant negative effects on the WNC job market while the area’s cost of living has continued to rise. What will you do to create employment opportunities that pay a living wage? 

The pandemic shuttered business and caused record unemployment rates. Govt. stepped in to provide stimulus checks and additional unemployment benefits. As a member of Congress, the way to create employment opportunities in the region is by lowering taxes on business or offering tax incentives. In a capitalist economy, free markets are the best way to increase employment and to start new and innovative businesses. I support raising the federal minimum wage to $18 an hour. 

 How does your approach to climate change address its accompanying social challenges, such as climate-driven migration and disproportionate impacts on low-income communities? 

We are in a global emergency that is much larger than climate change. The pandemic is the result of the destruction of the rain forests and natural habitats. Plastics are destroying the coral reefs and contaminating our water and food source. Industrial waste is polluting our soil and streams. I plan to create the U.S. Dept. of Sustainability tasked with formulating a comprehensive National Sustainability Plan to address the complex and intersecting aspect of this global emergency. What specific federal funding do you intend to pursue on behalf of WNC projects? 

Accessible healthcare is a top priority for the people of WNC. I will increase federal block grants to keep public clinics and hospitals open and easily accessible. I will also sponsor funding for block grants to deliver a coronavirus vaccine, delivery items such as syringes, rapid testing results, as well as medication and PPE. What WNC residents do you believe have the least voice at the federal level, and what message do you hope to bring from them to Washington?

The homeless have no voice in Congress. Renters have the least say in federal funded housing programs, resulting in displacement and homelessness. When elected, I will reform the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program to mandate the inclusion of a Tenant Association at each development and mandatory eviction tracking. No one should be homeless in America and I will end homelessness if elected. 

Given your social media history, which political opponents have found to be offensive or inflammatory, how can voters trust that you will represent all of WNC? 

I find Madison Cawthorn the most offensive in his brazen unrestrained display of high capacity weapons and handguns in our climate of gun violence. Too many young people are influenced by this behavior from a person in leadership and this sometimes ends in tragedy. We all must realize the impact we have on people. When you send me to Congress, you will be going with me. My office is your office. My door will be open to everyone and I will listen to your opinions and concerns.

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