INVEST Initiative

Our veterans, enlisted military families, nursing and home healthcare professionals, security officers and teachers keep us safe and free, educate our children and do the jobs that make our everyday lives possible. But many of these people are underpaid, overworked and living in poverty.

In the 1st District, we have three major military installations at Quantico, Dahlgren and Fort A.P. Hill and one-third of military families receive food assistance to feed their families. Veteran poverty is steadily rising, and we have a shortage of first responders and teachers that is hurting public safety and our education system.

That’s why I’m proposing the INVEST tax initiative.

These positions are critical to the fabric of our society but mostly rely on public funding. Instead of using the tax code to benefit the wealthy, let’s use it to fix some of the serious problems facing our communities.

My proposal is simple:

Exempt the first $50,000 of earnings of federal income tax from INVESTers and give them an immediate boost of up to $6,000 a year in income.
Pay the estimated $60 billion annual cost of this initiative by closing the loopholes from the alternative minimum tax that allows corporations and the wealthiest 1% to hide income.
Use this measure as a first-step solution to give state legislatures, local jurisdictions and the federal government time to develop strategies to improve long-term compensation for teachers and school personnel, first responders, veterans and enlisted military families.
INVESTers still pay Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes, and premiums on healthcare and retirement plans.

My proposal provides a much-needed income boost without costing local taxpayers an extra cent.

Veterans

In the past eight years, veteran poverty has increased 9%, where veterans between 18 and 34 years old have a higher poverty rate than all other age groups. Vets with disabilities and mental illnesses are more likely to be more food insecure and homeless than those experiencing the general systems that create poverty. After these brave servicemembers have put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, the least we can do is give them the economic security needed to live out their lives.

Solution: INVEST will leverage the $50,000 federal tax income exemption to assist veterans and retired military members with additional income for cost of living expenses.

Enlisted Military Families

The people we ask to potentially sacrifice their lives to protect our freedom can’t feed their families. Approximately 35% of enlisted military families rely on food stamps and food banks to feed their families. Food banks and pantries are reporting an increase in military families – primarily young, junior-level service members with kids – showing up to their pantries for help. It’s also not uncommon for active military members to have a second job to make ends meet. This is unacceptable.

Solution: INVEST will give lower ranking enlisted military families a short-term economic boost to increase access to affordable and nutritious food.

Nursing and Homecare Professionals

Our nursing and homecare professionals are on the front lines daily. They are overworked and often lack resources they need to keep millions of Americans safe. The United States has fewer nurses and fewer hospital beds per capita than most other developed countries. We need to ensure our healthcare providers that we are prioritizing their needs. That is why the INVEST initiative is important. Our healthcare service providers need to be treated as the hero’s they are.

Solution: INVEST will provide funding to hospitals, create more jobs for individuals seeking careers in healthcare, and eliminate healthcare disparities across the board.

Safety Officers

Our first responders are under-resourced and overworked. Fire and police departments are having a hard time filling critical positions because of the ‘pay vs. risk calculation.’ Counties are also dealing with a high turnover rate with personnel leaving due to overtime, little benefits and long work commutes. The shortage of first responders put the people who do these difficult jobs at even more risk and injury, and they deserve to make a little more.

Solution: INVEST will provide incentives for safety officers and first responders to recruit and retain talent to keep our communities safe.

Teachers

Our public education system is facing a critical teaching shortage. There are several reasons for the shortage including low salaries, licensure requirements and additional debt to obtain a complete a five-year program. Overall, there’s a 35% drop in graduates with education degrees, forcing schools to rely on substitutes and underqualified instructors teaching in areas they aren’t experts in. This leaves the next generation unprepared, unskilled and uninspired to be innovative leaders of the future. Investments in good teachers must become one of our highest priorities.

Solution: INVEST will add, on average, another $300-450 every month to the paychecks of teachers and school personnel and make their positions more pay-competitive.

INVEST is not a cure-all solution, but it’s a new idea that we should be talking about.