CAITLIN ROURK

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Affordable Health Care & Lower Costs

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Washington spends too much time chasing headlines and not enough time solving problems. I'm focused on lowering costs, strengthening our economy, protecting our security, and making government work better for the people it serves.

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Lower Health Care Costs and Expand Access

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That experience shapes how I view America’s role in the world and our approach to military power and foreign policy. Too often, the United States finds itself drawn into conflicts without clear objectives or defined end states, while straining the alliances and partnerships that are essential to our national security.

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I believe America is strongest when it leads with purpose, discipline, and clarity. That means staying engaged in the world as a force for stability, strengthening alliances, and using all tools of American power - diplomatic, economic, and military - in a coordinated and strategic way. Military force has a role, but it should never be the default option or a substitute for clear strategy.

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At the center of this approach is a standard that will guide my decisions on national security: questions of war, peace, and global engagement must be grounded in expertise, accountability, and principled leadership. Our service members deserve clear missions, and the American people deserve a foreign policy that reflects both our strength and our responsibility.

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Ensure any use of military force is tied to clear objectives, achievable outcomes, and a defined strategy for success.

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Invest in defense innovation and dual-use technologies that support the warfighter, strengthen America's technological edge, and create high-quality jobs across our district.

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Strengthen alliances and partnerships to deter adversaries, support global stability, and reduce the risk of wider conflict.

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Restore U.S. foreign assistance funding. For less than $1 per average taxpayer, these programs kept screwworm out of Texas and addressed the root causes of illegal migration.

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Support a responsible trade approach that protects American workers, strengthens supply chains, and avoids unnecessary trade conflicts that raise costs for Texas families and businesses.

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Use America’s diplomatic and economic leverage to improve security conditions in Gaza, ensure sustained humanitarian access and reconstruction, and advance a durable path toward a negotiated two-state solution that provides security, dignity, and self-determination for both Israelis and Palestinians.

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Halt U.S. funding and sales of offensive weapons to Israel while maintaining defensive support, with much stronger transparency and oversight.

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Support Ukraine’s sovereignty and ensure the United States and its allies are positioned to help Ukraine negotiate from a position of strength while holding Russia accountable for its invasion.

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Compete effectively with China by investing in American innovation, strengthening domestic manufacturing, securing critical supply chains, and working with allies to protect U.S. interests and uphold a free and open international order.

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We can't separate foreign policy from how we treat our service members and veterans. I believe we have a responsibility to ensure those who swear an oath to defend the country are given the training, equipment, leadership, and support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. I'll fight to keep the military insulated from politics, guided by professional leadership, and focused on mission readiness and national defense.

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Veterans deserve the same commitment from our nation that they gave in service to it. I'll work to protect and strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs and expand access to mental health care, addiction treatment, housing support, job training, and earned benefits so that we fully support those who serve, both in uniform and after their service ends.

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I believe deeply in public service, the kind of steady servant leadership that isn’t performative or loud. Restoring trust in government starts with accessible and accountable representation that empowers people to shape the decisions that affect their lives.

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Ban members of Congress and their spouses from owning or trading individual stocks and require remaining assets to be held in blind trusts.

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Increase transparency around dark money and lobbying so voters can see who’s influencing federal policy and funding campaigns.

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Protect independent oversight so government watchdogs can investigate wrongdoing free from interference or retaliation.

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Defend constitutional checks and balances through stronger limits on government power.

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Require federal agencies to publish budgets, contracts, grants, and decisions in standardized, searchable public databases.

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Health care is a human right. And that isn't a political slogan. I've seen how our health care system can work well and how it can fail people when they need it most.

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Allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, cap out-of-pocket costs, and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for excessive price increases.

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Protect coverage for pre-existing conditions and expand access to mental health and substance use treatment.

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End surprise medical billing and increase transparency around health care costs.

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Expand access to care in rural and underserved communities by supporting hospitals, clinics, telehealth, and community health providers.

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Restore nationwide protections for reproductive freedom by codifying Roe v. Wade and protecting access to contraception, IVF, and emergency reproductive care.

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Invest in medical research through the National Institutes of Health and other programs that drive lifesaving treatments and innovation.

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In Texas, we’ve moved in the wrong direction on public education. Public schools are being stretched thin while voucher programs divert taxpayer dollars away from neighborhood public schools and into private systems. In many parts of our district, residents don’t even have access to schools that accept vouchers. When state leaders fail our kids, Congress has a responsibility to ensure every child has access to a strong public education.

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Fully fund Title I to support low-income, rural, and high-need communities.

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My life looks like the lives of many families across our district: scrambling for child care, juggling work schedules, and getting the dreaded call: your child needs to be picked up right away. And I hear it constantly from parents: “It shouldn’t be this hard just to go to work and raise a family.”

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Expand affordable child care by strengthening and fully funding federal programs like the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

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Support policies that raise wages and improve benefits for child care workers, including federal incentives tied to fair pay and stable working conditions.

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Expand access to high-quality early childhood education, including pre-K and Head Start programs.

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Across our district, I hear growing concern about large-scale data centers and technology projects being built without meaningful transparency or community input. These projects can bring opportunity, but they also raise serious questions about energy demand, water use, grid reliability, and long-term impacts that are often left unanswered.

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Pause large-scale data center development while we put stronger guardrails in place to protect communities, our energy grid, water resources, and critical infrastructure.

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Establish a federal framework for transparency and community input on large-scale data center development so local communities have a meaningful voice in how AI infrastructure is built and expanded.

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Require clear reporting on the full impact of data centers, including energy and water use, grid demand, and other infrastructure strains, so policymakers and the public can make informed decisions.

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Ensure local communities share in the economic benefits of development, including good-paying jobs, local hiring commitments, and fair contributions to public revenues.

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Promote responsible AI development that strengthens national security, protects privacy, and sets clear limits on data collection, surveillance, and misuse of personal information.

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Support workforce transition policies that include job training, reskilling, and protections for workers affected by AI-driven changes in the economy.

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Strengthen cybersecurity standards to protect critical infrastructure and safeguard Americans’ personal data from foreign adversaries and cyber threats.

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Immigration and border security have too often been reduced to fear and scapegoating. Our immigration system is broken because it hasn’t been meaningfully updated in decades. And border security has become a political symbol instead of a serious, practical policy challenge - one that costs taxpayers billions without fixing the underlying system.

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In our district, employers and small business owners tell me they're struggling with workforce uncertainty and broken processes that disrupt operations and create instability. Americans are being forced into a false choice between border security and compassion, or between the rule of law and humanity. That's not the reality we have to accept.

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Modernize border security by investing in advanced technology, hiring more asylum officers and immigration judges, and improving coordination with regional partners to manage migration more effectively.

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Fix the legal immigration system by reducing visa backlogs, expanding work visas, supporting family reunification, and modernizing outdated processes.

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Ensure immigration policy supports economic growth, national security, and America’s ability to attract and retain global talent.