Valerie Foushee, candidate for U.S. House District 4 in NC
Name: Valerie P. Foushee
Elected office sought: US House District 4
Political party: Democrat
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 66
Campaign website: valeriefoushee.com
Occupation: State senator, retired administrator for Chapel Hill Police Department
Education: B.A., Political Science and Afro and African-American Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill
Have you run for elected office before?: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board, 1997-2004; Orange County Board of Commissioners, 2004-2012; NC House of Representatives, 2013; NC Senate, 2013-present
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Chapel Hill-Carrboro Area Alumnae Chapter; Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated Triangle Park Chapter; The Links Incorporated Randolph Chapter #185; Order of the Eastern Star, PHA; Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP; leadership position at First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill; North Carolina Black Alliance Chair; Marian Jackson Center Board of Directors.
What are the three issues that you see as most important to your constituents and what will you do to address them?
Families are struggling, facing rising costs and a volatile housing market. I’ll support legislation that keeps money in the pockets of working people and drives down costs for families. Let me say, unequivocally, I will always champion access to abortion and vote to codify Roe v. Wade to protect all women, regardless of the state they live in. Climate change must be addressed. In Congress, I’ll support the Green New Deal and fight for legislation that moves us toward our clean energy goals.
What action by Congress would you support to help reduce inflation?
The supply chain has been devastated by COVID. In Congress I’ll fight to end supply chain disruptions by investing in American manufacturing and closing loopholes that allow companies to ship American jobs offshore. I’ll fight to increase wages to keep up with inflation and work to reduce regressive taxation on groceries, goods and services. I’ll also fight for a progressive tax structure that helps working people keep more money in their pockets and has the wealthy paying their fair share.
What federal legislation would you support on abortion?
Codify Roe v. Wade.
Should members of Congress be banned from owning and trading individual stocks?
Yes.
What changes in U.S. immigration enforcement and restrictions would you support?
I will support decreased funding to detainment and enforcement efforts at the border and I’ll always oppose privatized detention centers in our country. I support a pathway to citizenship, the DREAM Act and in-state college tuition for immigrants who graduate from public high schools. There is a humanitarian crisis at the border and we need to prioritize compassionate policies to help those crossing our borders to become healthy, contributing members of our society and economy.
What legislation would you support to make Americans safer from crime? What legislation would you support to make mass shootings less likely?
A considerable amount of crime is rooted in larger social issues like a lack of opportunity, a lack of access to quality education, and poverty. In order to reduce crime, we must start by addressing the real problem and strengthen our social programs and safety nets. We must also pass common-sense gun control, including a federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, and closing the “Charleston loophole.”
What, if anything, does Congress need to investigate?
Congress needs to continue to investigate the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. We must get to the bottom of exactly what happened that day, who was involved, and then we must hold those who would seek to undermine our democracy, accountable. Further, we should continue to investigate the attempts to overturn the results of the election through state BOEs and the Trump administration’s involvement in those stunts.
Do you accept the results of the 2020 presidential election?
Yes.
