The Great American Comeback
In the following pages, I lay out what I believe to be the unifying vision and plan, something we can all believe in and work on – and what will lead to our Great American Comeback.
America needs a comeback, led by those of us who love this country and who have the energy, toughness, courage and commonsense to take on the elites – on the political right and the left – who have rigged our economic, political, and cultural systems and institutions to the benefit of themselves at the expense of most Americans.
Our comeback will be rooted in our shared purpose and common values: return wealth and power back to the American people, revive the American Dream for every American, and fix our broken democracy and politics.
This effort is anti-establishment, anti-status quo, anti-corruption, and anti-extremism. It’s the change that people have been calling for, and that both political parties have failed to deliver.
In the following pages, I lay out what I believe to be the unifying vision and plan, something we can all believe in and work on – and what will lead to our Great American Comeback.
Table of Contents & Summary
Foreword
The Great American Comeback is a plan to revitalize the American Dream and unite the country around shared values of fairness, opportunity, democracy, and hard work. It lays out 10 transformative bills and calls for bold, pragmatic leadership to challenge a rigged system that benefits the economic, political, and cultural elites at the expense of everyone else.
Like the Civil Rights Movement, the Great American Comeback requires a multiracial, multigenerational coalition led by a new generation of leaders ready to upend the status quo and deliver real change.
The Unattainable American Dream
Our country is facing real challenges: affordability and healthcare crises, a loneliness epidemic, crime, and threats to democracy and global and national security are undermining the American Dream, causing a majority of Americans to believe that their hard work does not pay off. These challenges demand new, bold, and immediate action and leadership.
The History of the American Comeback
America has faced many reckonings in its history, from the American Revolution and Civil War to the Great Depression and Jim Crow. Each time, the nation has come back stronger – expanding freedom, justice, and opportunity through daring, pragmatic leadership and collective action. Today, we again face threats to the American Dream and rising corruption and authoritarianism. As past generations did, we must meet this moment with courage and purpose and lead our own Great American Comeback.
Dedicated Leadership
The Great American Comeback will require strong, dedicated leadership. Modeled on the Civil Rights Movement, this coalition must be multiracial, multigenerational, and unifying — bringing together faith, business, and elected leaders. Leaders must reject extremism, confront broken systems, and focus entirely on building the Great American Comeback.
Listen, Don’t Lecture
Political leaders must rebuild trust with Americans by listening, acknowledging past mistakes, and offering a clear, unifying plan. Most politicians seem out of touch, failing to address or understand concerns about the economy, safety, education, deficit, voting rights, women and men, and hyperpartisan politics.
The path forward requires:
Fixing the economy and unrigging our systems so hard work finally pays off for everyone.
Ensuring safety through commonsense policing, gun, and border reforms.
Rethinking education with major national investments focused on making sure everyone has the tools they need to have a good-paying job and succeed in life.
Reducing the deficit by making the super wealthy and big corporations pay all their taxes and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse.
Giving power back to the people by ending voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, and dark money in politics.
Addressing the unique challenges facing women and men, including reproductive healthcare, childcare, pay equity, isolation, and disparities in educational and career outcomes.
Ending hyperpartisanship and extremism by returning to politics where people work together.
By listening, being honest, and acting boldly, we can rebuild trust with the American people needed for a Great American Comeback.
Our Pledge to America
The Pledge to America is a policy platform consisting of 10 concrete and unifying bills to fix what’s broken in America and deliver results for working people, the middle class, and all hardworking Americans:
Reward Hard Work Act – includes overhauling the tax code, making the super wealthy and big corporations pay all their taxes, ending costly trade wars, raising wages, and providing monthly stipends to help people pay their bills.
Build Baby Build Bill – the largest investment in housing, infrastructure, broadband, and clean energy in U.S. history, including constructing 10 million new homes, expanding broadband to low-income and rural communities, and investing in clean energy infrastructure to lower costs and combat the climate crisis.
Healthier America Act – expand coverage, restore healthcare cuts, create a public option, lower healthcare costs, and improve quality of care (including access to vision and dental).
21st Century Anti-Crime Act – make our communities safer by hiring 100,000 new police officers, enacting commonsense gun reforms, and investing in crime prevention and rehabilitation programs.
Future of Education Act – investing in every stage of learning — from early childhood through college and careers. Includes expanding prenatal care, paid family leave, and childcare, preschool, extended learning opportunities, increasing teacher pay, and making college and trade school affordable.
Fix Our Government Act – includes requiring annual votes on waste, fraud, and abuse, banning congressional stock trading, establishing term limits and ethics rules, and streamlining government services.
Democracy for the People Act – includes banning dark money, ending partisan gerrymandering, stopping voter suppression, and making voting easy and accessible.
Real Border Security and Immigration Reform Act – would fix our broken and out-dated immigration system, including hiring more border patrol officers and immigration judges, improving border technology, streamlining the asylum process, expanding legal pathways, and protecting Dreamers and DACA recipients.
Restore Personal Liberties Act – codify reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights, strengthen protections for press and speech, and restore public media funding.
National Security and Global Leadership Act – reaffirm U.S. alliances, fight authoritarianism, expand trade, and restore American global aid and leadership.
Together, these 10 bills form a commonsense governing agenda to rebuild trust, lower costs, strengthen democracy, and lead a Great American Comeback.
How We Get This Done
To build our Great American Comeback, we need strong leadership, clear priorities, tangible action items, and a new entity and team dedicated entirely to this work: the Coalition for the Great American Comeback. Getting this done means focusing on leadership and staffing, communications and messaging, and legislation.
Reason to Believe
Our country’s history and my experience in politics gives me reason to believe that the Great American Comeback is possible. When you believe in something, and you refuse to give up, you can make big things happen. It’s been true for me, and it’s been true for our country. And it will be true about our Great American Comeback.
Foreword
We need to find our shared purpose as Americans.
I came of age when the American Dream was very much real – and when our politics, while not perfect, was still productive. I grew up in what was the American middle class – folks who worked hard, didn’t have a ton of money but also didn’t want for much. We also had leaders who were respected, people who worked together and, sometimes, did really big things for the country, rather than just for themselves.
I want this to be real, for my children and yours.
When I got into politics in the 90s, most Americans seemed to believe in our shared values – liberty and opportunity, equality and fairness, truth and democracy, justice and the rule of law – and that hard work would pay off. We’ve lost too much of this – and I want to be part of a generation of leaders that helps the country find these values, and achieve something infinitely better.
The following document lays out the strategy for the future of our country. It outlines where we’ve been, where we are now, and the leadership we need to get us to where we want to go. It lays out 10 unifying and transformative bills that will lead to what we are calling, the Great American Comeback.
Through daring, energetic, pragmatic, anti-establishment leadership, we’re building something new and better – something that brings people in, makes them feel seen and heard, and shows them that we can and will make their lives better.
This document establishes who and what we’re fighting against: the status quo and the political, economic, and cultural elites, on both the political right and the left, who rigged our systems – from healthcare and economics to politics and media – to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.
The individuals, companies, interests, institutions, and systems who tell hardworking people “you don’t matter.” Who live thousands of miles away, so far removed from the lives and struggles of the majority of the country. Who make decisions every day that affect your life and livelihood, not caring about who they hurt in the process. Who put shareholders and profit ahead of their workers and customers. Who cut corners and bury you in fine print, red tape, and bureaucracy to avoid taking any accountability for the damages they’ve caused. Who police your language and behavior, imposing onto you their ideas and rules about how you should live your life. Who say if you don’t use the right words or hold all the same beliefs as them you’re a bad person. Who hoard wealth and power, using their influence to drown out your voice.
All because they believe that you don’t matter.
The greatest divide in our country today is not between Democrats and Republicans, or rural, urban and suburban America. It’s between the honest people who are working hard and doing their best, and simply want a good life and a good future for their families – and the elites have so much wealth, power, and influence that they don’t understand or care about you. Hardworking Americans – no matter our differences – will always have more in common with one another than we ever will with the elites who have never been to a town like your’s, or known what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, or worried about how they’re going to pay for retirement.
And, perhaps more importantly, this document establishes who and what we’re fighting for. For an America that everyone feels like they have a stake in – and a say in. For us to find our shared purpose as Americans. For hard work to finally pay off for everyone, for people to afford to pay their bills and have some left over. For parents to be able send their kids to good schools and not have to worry if they’ll make it home safely. For a good government that gets things done. For a country where people have compassion for their neighbors and feel safe in their communities.
Finally, this Great American Comeback must bring together the broadest possible coalition, with the same purpose and fervor of the Civil Rights Movement. It must be multiracial, multigenerational, and led by a new generation of leaders who have the energy, strength, and courage to upend the truly problematic status quo and stand up to anything that gets in our way.
The Unattainable American Dream
Our country is facing real challenges. Perhaps the most prominent is the decline of the American Dream. 70 percent of Americans do not believe their hard work pays off, and 75 percent don’t believe they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. This is a sharp – and very telling – break from previous generations.
At the same time, we’re seeing the largest upward transfer of wealth and power from working people and the middle class in U.S. history. In 1963, the wealthiest people had 36 times as much wealth as middle-class people. Within 60 years, that number had nearly doubled to 71.
The American Dream has become unattainable because America has become unaffordable.
We face an affordability crisis.
Our economy, while strong for some, simply doesn’t work for most Americans. People work harder than ever, but it isn’t paying off – the rising costs of housing, utilities, childcare, education, and food, among other things, have left most struggling to get by. Tariffs, inflation, tax breaks for the super wealthy and big corporations, and cuts to critical programs and services are only making things worse for working people and the middle class.
We also face a health crisis.
Americans are facing greater risks to their health today than they were a year ago – and are less likely to be able to access the care they need. Millions of Americans – children, families, young adults, veterans, seniors, people with disabilities – are experiencing higher healthcare costs or losing coverage entirely. Critical research – including into pediatric cancer – is being abruptly terminated. Rural hospitals are closing, people are losing access to vaccines, and communities are reporting outbreaks of contagious diseases.
The affordability and health crises are not the only threats to the American Dream.
We face crime and threats to public safety.
Our sense of safety is undermined by gun violence and crime. Mass shootings have become routine, gun deaths remain devastatingly high. Our need for border security and comprehensive immigration reform has not been met with smart, feasible solutions but more chaos and division. Folks don’t feel safe in their communities anymore.
We face attacks on our democracy and personal liberties.
The current administration is consolidating power and preparing to rig elections in the most un-American way possible. Mid-decade gerrymandering, calls for greater restrictions on voters, and ignoring clear separation of powers present clear and present dangers to the democracy that generations of Americans have fought and died for. At the same time, basic freedoms are being stripped away from millions of Americans.
We face a loneliness epidemic.
People today – especially young people – are more isolated and lonely than ever, turning to their phones instead of one another to find connection, meaning, and purpose. Social media is spreading fear, hatred, and division, turning us against one another and weakening the social bonds that tie us together. Young people today give us so many reasons to be hopeful about the future of our country – but they’re facing challenges from technology that other generations never had to worry about.
We face an international and national security emergency.
America’s role in the world is collapsing. Since our country’s founding, we have stood with our allies around the world in fighting for freedom and democracy. Today, we are antagonizing our allies and empowering our adversaries. The administration’s behavior has signaled to our allies that we are erratic and unreliable, while signaling to our adversaries that they can do whatever they want without facing any consequences.
The History of the American Comeback
Yet this is not the first time our country has faced adversity. Over the course of American history, we’ve seen moments of incredible progress and advancement. But we’ve also endured periods of uncertainty and painful setbacks – when our democratic institutions caved to pressure, when violence and fear seemed to overwhelm hope, when division threatened to tear the country apart.
We are in a moment of uncertainty and painful setbacks.
But we know that our country has always found its way back – and forged a better path forward. We are a people that have always met these moments with an unrelenting desire to do better – and to build something better.
This is what makes our country so special.
We always come back.
This has been true since our country’s earliest days. During the Revolutionary War, we fought the most powerful empire on earth to secure our freedom. Then, after a dozen years of uncertainty and disarray, we established one of the most groundbreaking and influential documents in human history – the U.S. Constitution.
Our founders started this country with the purpose of building something better, with a promise of freedom, equality, and opportunity for everyone. As the Constitution begins: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the General Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty for Ourselves and our Posterity, do ordained and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Despite these words, slavery would plague us for eight decades more, until it nearly ripped the nation in two. This remains one of America’s greatest and most painful contradictions.
President Lincoln, in the midst of a Civil War that tested the foundation of our country, foreshadowed an American comeback. He called for dedication to three great tasks that remain before us today: That the honored dead at Gettysburg “shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Our country was saved from destruction and division – and then we came back stronger and more unified. The period of Reconstruction saw the abolition of slavery, the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, the expansion of voting rights and equal protection under the law, and the election of historic numbers of African Americans to office.
After the First World War and Great Depression, we came back with Social Security, labor and banking protections, workers’ rights, and unprecedented investments in the future of the country.
After our triumph in the Second World War over the greatest threat to democracy the world had seen, we started our next comeback. This included rapid economic growth and rising wages, establishing the American middle class, building tens of millions of new homes, sending veterans to college through the G.I. Bill, and expanding women’s rights.
We came back from McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare of the 50s – loyalty oaths, blacklists, government corruption and censorship, fear, mistrust, and neighbors turning on neighbors – with more government transparency, accountability, and oversight, and with a renewed dedication to civil rights and justice.
In the wake of the brutal and deadly era of Jim Crow, we came back with the Civil Rights Movement – the Freedom Rides, Montgomery Bus Boycotts, and March on Washington, landmark Supreme Court rulings and the end of segregation, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
It was during this time that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The assassinations of key political leaders in the 60s – Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy – shocked the nation. But in the face of immense division and grief, we endured – and came back stronger.
These moments in our history are all stories of American resilience. In grappling with our contradictions, shortcomings, and failings, we have emerged stronger and with a restored commitment to the fundamental promise of our country: freedom, equality, and opportunity for everyone.
The resolve of our nation continues to be tested today.
We’ve recovered from the financial crisis of 2008, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, but we haven’t fully come back from either. Not yet.
In the last few decades, wealth and power have become extremely concentrated, creating one of the steepest wealth gaps in our country’s history. The loss of manufacturing jobs has contributed to this divide – leaving workers behind and hollowing out entire communities, while allowing the elites to get richer and more powerful.
Through all of this, we’ve lost our sense that we, as Americans, are in this together. We’ve lost our shared purpose – the thing that binds us all together.
We’re now in a period of unprecedented chaos, corruption and cruelty. We face dire threats to the American Dream as the rise of authoritarianism and rampant corruption is taking even more wealth and power from the American people.
We must meet this moment with the purpose, heart, and focus of generations of Americans before us.
It is time for us to lead our own Great American Comeback.
Dedicated Leadership
When undertaking anything of substance, especially something as big as this, we need leadership. In this case, we need a new entity consisting of a dedicated team of leaders – folks focused entirely on this moment and in a position to help us do what needs to be done.
Call it, for example, the Coalition for the Great American Comeback.
We need good messaging and a plan.
We should look to the Civil Rights Movement – and the multi-generational, multi-racial coalition they built to achieve monumental change. They showed us what’s possible when faith, business, and elected leaders work together with a common purpose – something our country has been missing for too long.
We must choose leaders who will lift us up, bring us together, and reject the failed rhetoric and policies of political extremism. Leaders who will take on our broken systems and upend the status quo.
Leaders who have the strength, energy, and courage to lay out the path forward for our Great American Comeback.
It’s essential that we have folks who focus entirely on this work. Look at the Apollo Space Program for example. This program was a focused, national, “all-hands-on-deck” effort with a clear goal: land Americans on the moon and get them home safely. Everyone involved in this mission – from the engineers, scientists, astronauts, and contractors to the broader American public – was on board and entirely focused on achieving the set goal. We need the same thing, and we need it quickly.
Listen, Don’t Lecture
To get folks back on board, political leaders must start by listening to their concerns and admitting that we can and must do better. Too often, politicians tell people that they know what’s best for them and then tune out anyone who disagrees. This makes people feel ignored, dismissed, and looked down upon – like their concerns or experiences don’t matter.
Leaders need to do a better job of listening, and being open to learning and changing their minds – and speaking about the issues and our answers to them in a clear, direct, and transparent way that Americans can understand and relate to. It’s the only way we can begin to engage with and persuade people in a meaningful way.
Americans want change, and they want leaders who will reject the status quo and fight back against our rigged systems.
And yet, politicians – on both sides – have often remained the defenders of those broken systems, becoming symbolic of the establishment and its unwillingness to change. As a result, support for the two parties has declined dramatically.
Take the top issues, and where the parties have landed:
The Economy. Many Democrats told folks the economy was great when – for most Americans – it wasn’t. Growth, employment, and household incomes haven’t kept up with rising prices, leaving the vast majority of Americans struggling to provide for themselves and their families. The truth is that the economy has been broken for decades - mostly because of the way Republicans have set up the tax system: the super wealthy and big corporations continue to amass wealth and power, a record number of people in the middle class don’t see a future where they can afford to buy a home, start a business, or have children. We must be the ones that fix this economy, and unrig it for working folks and middle class families.
Crime and the Border. Whether it’s because of a broken border policy or underinvestments in police – as well as a failing strategy to pass substantive gun safety reforms – too many Americans have been left feeling unsafe. The fact that gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children is arguably the most disturbing reality of life in America today. We must be the most reliable leaders when it comes to keeping folks safe. Democrats have been too weak on these issues, and Republicans have been way too extreme and reckless.
Education. We spend very little on early childhood education and we underinvest in our schools, students, and teachers. Neither party has had a major national education improvement plan in 25 years. Our kids are falling behind – average test scores are reaching record lows and students are graduating with underdeveloped skills. We need to be the leaders that re-focus the nation on what must be one of our top priorities: building the greatest system of education in the world to ensure that every child has the chance to succeed in life.
The Deficit. Both parties have ignored the deficit. President Clinton was the last president to balance a federal budget. In fact, his administration had budget surpluses from fiscal years 1998 to 2001. He did it by making the wealthy pay all of their taxes and keeping federal spending down. Since then, however, both parties have ballooned the debt by creating big deficits every year. Our national debt – now approaching $40 trillion – has become a huge problem. We are spending $1 trillion on interest payments every year and our borrowing drives up interest rates for Americans and American businesses. In addition, foreign adversaries holding our debt makes us vulnerable to any number of geopolitical issues. We need to fix the tax code and tackle waste, fraud and abuse in a serious way – and begin to pass budgets that significantly reduce deficit spending.
Protecting Voters. Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, red states have found new ways to make it harder for people to vote. Tens of millions of Americans face significant barriers to voting, and millions of folks don’t vote altogether. Voter suppression, coupled with partisan gerrymandering, have taken power away from most Americans and allowed politicians to pick their voters – when it should be the other way around. Dark money and corporate spending on elections have further diluted the power of voters. We need reforms to return power back to the American people, and we must be all in to get them done. Republicans have pushed for this awful undermining of our democracy, and Democrats have not pushed back hard enough.
Women and Men. Reproductive freedom has been stripped away from women and girls, and research into women’s health is still neglected. The pay gap between women and men remains a major issue, and finding affordable childcare, while a challenge for all working parents, especially impacts working moms. Boys and men are struggling, too, but in different ways. Boys are falling further behind academically, and young men report the highest feelings of isolation and have the highest rates of suicide. My wife and I have a son and daughter. We want them both to do well – and the same for all children. This means working on issues that our women and girls face, and the issues that our boys and men face. We can do both. Republicans have been on the wrong side of issues of freedom for women and girls, and Democrats have struggled to find ways to communicate and connect with boys and men.
Hyperpartisan Politics. Most Americans are somewhere in the middle politically. Yet, too many politicians have tried to appease those on the extremes, and social media and cable news have worsened the problem. People are tired of fighting with their family and friends over politics. We can’t – and shouldn’t – maintain the status quo. Instead, we need to find our way back to politics where people work together. It’s the only way to solve big problems in a real and durable way.
Trust is key to getting things done. By listening to folks – and acting on what we hear – we will gain trust back.
Our Pledge to America
To fix the many problems threatening the country we love, we need a new governing document. We should start with a “Pledge to America,” or our blueprint that has the clarity of the GOP’s 1994 Contract with America.
Our pledge should be built around 10 concrete and unifying bills – each one focused on fixing what’s broken and delivering real results for everyday Americans.
1. The Reward Hard Work Act would fix our broken economy and ensure it works for hardworking people. This would be the most significant overhaul to our tax code yet – and it would unrig the system so that hard work is finally rewarded for all Americans.
This bill would require super wealthy and big corporations to pay all of their taxes by closing loopholes, establishing a minimum tax rate for the super wealthy, and resetting corporate tax rates to pre-2017 levels. When we stop spending trillions on the super wealthy, we can do two big things: invest in hard work and reduce deficit spending. This is how we help Americans pay their bills, get back to real fiscal responsibility, and fix our broken economy.
This bill would spur spending by providing refundable tax relief to folks who need it, and lower the cost of private-sector borrowing by reducing the amount that the federal government borrows every year. It would also empower workers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, end the costly trade wars, and take on corporate consolidation and price gouging.
Affordability Tax Cuts
Perhaps the most important aspect of this bill would be a fully-paid for, refundable tax break for working families to deal with the high cost of living – from housing and healthcare to food and other basic expenses.
This would be paid out in advance each month, similar to Social Security, and would help working folks pay all of their bills on time. Americans desperately need help in the midst of this affordability crisis. They’re working harder than ever, and they’ve earned it.
End Costly Trade Wars
Congress must take back its tariff authority and end the costly trade wars that are hurting American consumers, businesses, and manufacturers. From here, Congress and the administration can work together on targeted tariffs that help, not hurt, American companies and consumers.
American Workers First
This bill would establish national protections for workers that they can count on, no matter where they live – including minimum wage, workplace safety, healthcare, paid time off, and other benefits.
Competition
Finally, this bill would end price gouging and tackle corporate consolidation to return power back to consumers. The market, led by consumers, should set prices – not a few companies that have all but eliminated competition, one of the pillars of a strong American economy.
The bill would also expand tax incentives, benefits, and resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs, which will increase competition, create more choices for consumers, and give more people the opportunity to start and grow their own businesses. Small businesses drive economic growth and help Americans make ends meet.
2. The Build Baby Build Bill would get America building again – from housing, roads, and bridges to broadband and clean energy infrastructure – and pursue the largest federal investment in housing and community development in U.S. history.
This bill would fund national infrastructure and housing banks to provide loans and grants to local communities, helping them pay for major infrastructure projects and build more housing. It would include serious investments to incentivize local permitting and zoning reforms, allowing communities to build infrastructure and housing more quickly and in more places. This bill would also expand successful programs to help offset the cost of rent in key areas where housing has become increasingly unaffordable – more housing, lower rents. In addition, this bill would pursue similar reforms and investments in America’s critical infrastructure, broadband, and clean energy work to lower energy prices and address the climate crisis.
10 Million New American Homes
America needs the most ambitious housing plan ever – which involves building or renovating 10 million new homes.
Key to this plan would be a new national housing fund to provide cash to local projects – new housing, renovating existing housing, and rent programs to keep families in their homes and their homes market-ready and well-maintained.
This bill would include provisions on permitting reforms and incentives for land use and zoning reforms that will allow folks to build more housing in more places.
Broadband Everywhere
Similar to the housing approach, this bill would set an ambitious plan to expand high-speed, future-oriented broadband to every American – with a focus on rural and low-income communities that lack the broadband they need to succeed.
Right now, there are several disjointed programs – Lifeline, E-Rate, and others in the Universal Service Fund – that have helped bridge the digital divide, with varying success. However, tens of millions of Americans still can’t afford broadband and more than 23 million Americans lost their broadband subsidy when the Affordability Connectivity Program (ACP) was not renewed. We need to consolidate existing programs – such as combining ACP into USF, which would not require an appropriation from Congress – so that our significant investments now ensure that every American is connected today and in the future.
Infrastructure, Transportation, and Clean Energy
For years, leaders have called for both a national infrastructure bank to fund ongoing work to rebuild America, while establishing essential, clean infrastructure to lower costs and create good paying jobs. This bill will do both.
Permitting Reform
While funding is important, we also need permitting reform. This includes cutting red tape, setting up “shot clocks” for permitting processes, and making sure state and local permitting offices have the staff and resources they need to streamline review processes, ensuring that money gets out the door quickly.
Permitting reform will speed up construction and connect new energy projects around the country, making our electricity grid more reliable, cleaner, and less expensive for households.
3. The Healthier America Act would provide much needed reforms to health insurance in America, the pharmaceutical industry, and Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and reverse cuts made in the Mega Spending and Healthcare Cuts Bill of 2025 (or the “One Big Beautiful Bill”). It would also strengthen and expand Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Affordable Care Act – broadening coverage and lowering out-of-pocket costs.
Taking Back My Healthcare (Restore)
First, this bill will reverse the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act in the Mega Spending and HealthCare Cuts Bill of 2025.
It would also reverse the current administration’s cuts and changes to the National Institutes for Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health – including critical funding for medical research and public health.
Public Option Plus (Expand)
America needs a public option, and allowing people who want to buy into Medicare – the most efficient healthcare system in the country – would help tens of millions of Americans get the healthcare they need and can afford. This bill would create that public option.
While a public option will be a game changer for Americans, Congress must also strengthen access and reimbursement rates for Medicaid, CHIP, and the Affordable Care Act.
Expansion efforts must include dental and vision coverage.
Cutting Costs and Medical Debt (Save)
This bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices without annual limits, cap the cost of prescription drugs – such as those for diabetes, asthma, chemo, heart disease, HIV, and autoimmune diseases – for all Americans, reverse price gouging by Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Big Pharma, and require full transparency for healthcare providers to reduce costs further. It would also significantly ease the burden of any American with medical debt – including by capping interest charged on medical debt to no more than three percent, reigning in debt collectors’ abusive practices of going after patients for old bills, prohibiting garnishing wages, and limiting what can be reported to credit agencies.
4. The 21st Century Anti-Crime Act would help communities hire and retain law enforcement officers and implement common-sense gun reform that will end our gun violence nightmare. This would be in conjunction with bills to address other safety issues, including the border and national security.
100,000 New Police Officers
This bill would help local communities hire the police officers they need, and provide them with the support and training that will lead to successful 21st century policing that keeps everyone safe.
No Guns for Dangerous People
This bill would pair hiring officers with the commonsense reforms that will keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous people: closing loopholes that allow dangerous people to buy guns online or at gun shows, allowing law enforcement everywhere to ask a judge to remove weapons from dangerous people, requiring a violent history background check for all gun purchases, and putting restrictions on assault weapons – which would only be allowed to be used in designated places such as gun ranges.
This bill would also fully fund anti-gun violence task forces, which have been very successful.
Crime and Addiction Prevention
Finally, this bill would fund projects and policies that have been proven to work in communities across the country: local anti-drug task forces, neighborhood and school intervention efforts, victim support, interventions at hospitals, and rehabilitation programs.
5. The Future of Education Act would pursue a new approach to education reform by helping new moms and dads set their kids up for long-term success. It would expand prenatal care, paid family and medical leave, childcare, preschool, extended learning opportunities, and include efforts to make college and the trade schools affordable.
Invest Early
Decades of research and experience show that we can drastically improve American education by investing early. This bill would be a transformative investment in early learning because it would match education with brain development, most of which happens prenatally and in the first several years of a child’s life. By pairing education with brain development, we will substantially improve lifetime outcomes.
This bill would ensure that every child shows up to kindergarten fully prepared – which will improve both individual and school outcomes – in two main ways. One, it will provide paid family leave and expand affordable, quality childcare and preschool. Two, it will pay for an extra year of preschool if a child is not prepared for kindergarten.
This bill would also expand access to prenatal care for expecting mothers, which will improve birth outcomes.
Invest in Classrooms
This bill would increase teacher pay, as well as the time that teachers spend with students needing extra help – both after school and during the summer.
Part of this new investment would support more project-based and hands-on learning in classrooms. Most students do better when they can move around, and move at their own pace. Project-based, experiential learning allows for both.
This bill would also fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities and Education Act to ensure that children with disabilities have the support they need, at no extra cost.
Invest in Careers
Finally, this bill would make two-to-four year community college and trade schools free, while increasing access to financial aid and loan repayment and forgiveness programs for colleges and universities.
It would also establish and strengthen programs for national and community service, like AmeriCorps.
Finally, it would focus on recruiting and retention efforts for key fields facing worker shortages, including healthcare, STEM, public service, and education.
6. The Fix Our Government Act would ensure that we are consistently making our government work better. It would require an annual, independent audit of all federal spending with binding votes on waste, fraud and abuse, and include anti-corruption and ethics requirements.
Vote on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
This bill would require an annual, independent assessment of all federal spending with mandatory votes from Congress, which would address the nation’s debt crisis and the issues with ongoing deficit spending.
This would help restore trust in our government by demonstrating to taxpayers that their taxes are being used carefully, responsibly, and efficiently.
Ban Congressional Stock Trading
Fixing government means addressing conflicts of interest – which is why this bill would include a ban on members of Congress trading individual stocks.
Term Limits and Ethics Rules
This bill would also establish term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as enforceable ethics rules for the Supreme Court.
Fast and Reliable Government Services
We have to make our government work better for everyone. This bill would set up a bipartisan working group – with a mandatory vote in Congress on their recommendations – to cut red tape and improve customer service, ensuring that government services work every time for every person.
7. The Democracy for the People Act would include the content of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to ban dark money, end voter suppression, eliminate partisan gerrymandering once and for all, and restore our democracy. Democrats should organize with the singular goal of returning power back to the people.
Ban Dark Money
This bill would end Citizens United and ban dark money in American politics. Every dollar donated to a federal political campaign or PAC must be disclosed and made public.
End Partisan Gerrymandering
American voters should pick their politicians; politicians should not be picking their voters. That’s why this bill would end partisan gerrymandering in America and establish independent redistricting commissions with equal representation from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in every state.
Stop Voter Suppression
In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This bill would reverse that disastrous decision. It would require automatic and same-day voter registration, protect early voting and vote-by-mail, establish protections against voter roll purges, and make Election Day a federal holiday. Voting should be easy to do – for everyone.
8. The Real Border Security and Immigration Reform Act would secure our border and fix our broken and out-dated immigration system. It would hire new border patrol officers, streamline the asylum process, add new judges, and include real immigration reform that protects Dreamers and establishes more legal pathways through expanded work permits. It will also require federal law enforcement officials to clearly display their identification at all times.
Border Security
This bill would hire more border patrol officers, invest in border security technology, and combat the flow of fentanyl and illegal weapons into our country through expanded inspections.
Streamline Asylum Process
This bill would also hire much-needed immigration judges, and set up regional satellite offices in Latin America to allow people to apply for asylum without having to travel to our southern border.
Family separation would be prohibited in this bill.
Pathway to Citizenship
After decades of broken promises from politicians on both sides of the aisle about immigration reform, this bill would expand workers permits based on merit and need (adjusting quarterly with jobs reports), and finally protect DACA recipients and Dreamers.
9. The Restore Personal Liberties Act would fully codify reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights. It would ensure that everyone has the right to make decisions about their own bodies – medical decisions should be made by individuals, doctors, and parents, not politicians. The bill would also provide additional protections for the press, ensuring that no one is targeted by the government for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Politicians should not be allowed to use the government to punish people they don’t like or understand. Democrats should give people their freedoms back, and then leave everyone alone.
Codify Reproductive Rights
This bill would codify Roe v. Wade and protect access to birth control, Plan B, and mifepristone nationally.
Codify LGBTQ+ Rights
This bill would fully codify LGBTQ+ rights to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination in key areas like healthcare, employment, housing, education, federal programs, and public service.
Protections for the Press and Speech
This bill would enhance existing protections for the press and media to ensure that they are not punished or targeted by the government for their reporting.
It would also restore the cuts to public broadcasting and media, ensuring that everyone has equal access to nonpartisan news and information.
10. The National Security and Global Leadership Act would pass binding resolutions to reaffirm the United States’ leadership role in Europe, the Middle East, and Taiwan to strengthen national security and global stability. This means rejecting authoritarianism, fighting terrorism, selling more American-made products abroad, restoring foreign aid, and rejoining our allies in support of democracy.
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This blueprint provides us with a starting point to shift the narrative, and meet the moment. It allows us to lay out a legislative agenda to fix the economy, lower costs, and keep people safe.
This is the commonsense plan to win back Americans and lead our Great American Comeback.
How We Get This Done
The kind of change required for the Great American Comeback – upending the status quo, fixing broken systems, and taking on the super wealthy and well-connected – will not happen overnight.
While this comeback will be difficult, our history shows us that it’s possible. Overcoming adversity and coming back stronger is fundamental to who we are as Americans.
Here are three areas we must focus on to build our Great American Comeback:
Leadership and Staffing. The Coalition for the Great American Comeback will consist of full-time, dedicated leaders and staff. While we need buy-in from existing leadership, we also need new leaders – from faith, business, and community leaders to elected officials and communications and policy experts. The Coalition will provide structure and organization, but it must be energetic and anti-establishment.
Communication and Messaging. We have to go everywhere – podcasts, national and local news outlets, college campuses, town halls, and community events. We also need to be active on social media to spread our message.
Legislation. We need to have clear, publicly accessible legislation that members of Congress can sign onto. We must work with lawmakers to draft legislation and ensure we have the majority support we need to enact real change.
Reason to Believe
In addition to our country’s long history of overcoming adversity and emerging better, my own experience in politics gives me reason to believe that the American Comeback is possible.
Years ago, I set out with others to make Cincinnati the first city in the country to provide two years of quality preschool. It took us years of organizing, but we got it on the ballot in 2016. It passed with the largest margin of victory in the school district’s levy history.
When I was at City Hall, we brought people together to pass comprehensive eviction prevention reforms. This included the first-ever Eviction Prevention Fund to provide emergency rental assistance to local families – an effort has kept tens of thousands of children and families in their homes.
We also passed budgets that invested in police, fire, prenatal care, childcare, youth jobs, and affordable housing.
In 2022, I was one of only two people to beat a sitting incumbent, flipping our congressional district from red to blue. I won again in 2024 – in a purple district – by nearly ten points.
In my first term in Congress, we forced a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act – a bill that had over 300 cosponsors but hadn’t moved in Congress for 25 years. We got our vote and passed the bill. Now millions of retired teachers, police officers, firefighters, and letter-carriers receive every dollar of the Social Security benefits that they earned and paid for – which amounts to $20 billion each year.
When you believe in something, and you refuse to give up, you can make big things happen. It’s been true for me, and it’s been true for our country. And it will be true about our Great American Comeback.
So important to have a balanced vision so thank you. I think the erosion of democracy and the corporations not paying their fair share and having undue influence are huge. Climate disruption and biodiversity loss are not mentioned anywhere except in referencing clean energy infrastructure. This is essential to address or the rest of the plan will be meaningless due to continued environmental catastrophes and related health impacts. Please include this.
Thanks for laying out this ambitious plan in such detail. It is sure to meet much opposition from vested interests that continue to benefit from the status quo. I believe, with you, that progress is possible, though, and just hope to see it during my remaining lifetime so I can leave this world with hope that a better one is evolving for my daughter and granddaughter.