Government Corruption
David's primary goal is to introduce an amendment that restricts legal entities from financial engagement, returning power to natural persons, and capping candidate spending and contribution amounts. David is working to support any and every candidate, regardless of political affiliation, that pledges to support this movement, and encourages voters of all parties to vote against candidates that refuse. A movement he calls Fire Congress.
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Beyond overhauling the campaign finance system, David believes that all civil servants should be required to place their assets in a blind trust during tenure in public office, as well as full financial transparency. David believes that elected officials have been hired by the people to serve a function. As such, they should be prohibited from engaging in commercial enterprise during tenure, including publishing books and publicity tours and paid speaking engagements.
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David believes the bidding process for government contracts should be completely blind and as publicly accessible as possible. Unreasonable delays and exceeding the proposed budgets should be penalized.
Healthcare
David firmly believes that healthcare, including mental health care, is a fundamental human right, and human rights should not sit behind corporate paywalls. David grew up without insurance, and never had regular care until joining the army. No one should go without basic care. Universal healthcare is a priority. Immediate action can be taken through passing regulations to protect consumers. These regulations would include preventing a corporate entity from controlling both providers and insurers, preventing insurers from using AI to process claims and approvals, heavily regulating private capital management of care, and capping pharmaceutical prices when development was subsidized with taxpayer funding.
Education
An educated and informed electorate is essential to a functioning democracy. Beyond civic engagement, access to education encourages experimentation, innovation, and discovery. Access to quality education is supposed to provide all children with equal opportunity to advance regardless of background. Schools should also introduce children to ideas and individuals outside of various insular groups. These reasons are why David opposes charter and private schools. Such institutions serve no purpose but to drain resources from public schools and further disenfranchise those not a part of the socioeconomic elite.
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We must forgive student debt and end the predatory loan system that saddles our youth with insurmountable debt; a debt that cannot be discharged for accessing higher education. David made a choice to join the Army to avoid taking on debt even though he believed the two wars at the time violated international law, and the benefits scheme meant that pursuing the first advanced degree in his family meant massive debt. All the while, elite private universities received billions in federal grants, contracts, and control endowments worth billions that further enrich a handful of individuals and corporations through compensation and tax breaks. These same private universities were shown to collude to block financial aid for low-income applicants and admit non-qualified applicants after receiving large donations. This system must end.
Housing
Housing is a human right. That is non-negotiable. Basic stable housing, with access to clean water, sanitation, and protection from the elements is not a privilege. The shelter system is not sustainable and provides no real solutions while more and more individuals are priced out of housing markets across the country. Creating a caucus that aligns with policy stances of the existing voting block is a publicity stunt to distract from continued failures to act. We must increase permanent public housing options that center around housing first. We must work to provide comprehensive services for those facing housing instability, including consolidating assistance programs, and eliminating the red tape to accessing assistance.
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David cares deeply about housing rights; limited tenant protections and lack of access to services meant a childhood of housing insecurity and exploitation. A two-income household often went without adequate food or utilities to pay rent. There were periods without electricity where food was cooked, and bathwater heated, on a camp stove. His family was evicted when he was 12 years old, spending several months sleeping on the floor of a one-bedroom apartment. No one should grow up like that.
Substantive Due Process
The progressive era of the twentieth century established legal precedents protecting fundamental privacy rights. And the last decade has seen the culmination of coordinated efforts to dismantle legal frameworks, threatening all natural rights, from bodily autonomy to the surge of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. The progressive members of government have responded with speeches and soundbites instead of action. The incumbent is insisting that they are the only candidate that can stop the republican agenda, but their terms in office have failed to protect constituents from attack. This is not a time for publicity stunts. It is a time for coordinated legislative action and coalition building. David will work tirelessly to support competent and capable officials in offices to enshrine these rights and expand them.
Foreign Policy
First And Foremost: David has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, has supported a ceasefire since the latest round of violence erupted. David rejects the two-state solution, instead believing that there needs to be one unified state, giving the Palestinian people an equal say in the political future of the region. David has joined a coalition of candidates that have signed a ceasefire pledge:
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We hereby pledge as members of Congress we will speak out and vote against sending any more money or weapons to Israel until:
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Israel implements a permanent ceasefire and negotiates the release of all hostages and prisoners between Israel and Palestine
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Israel ends its military occupation of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem, & Golan Heights
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Israel allows humanitarian aid into all of Palestine
We pledge as members of Congress to not accept any money from any group or entity lobbying against a Ceasefire, and the principle that no foreign country should have this much control over our democratically elected representatives in the United States.
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David believes that international cooperation is fundamental to national security and economic prosperity. All peoples have the fundamental rights of self-determination, sovereignty, and security. The United States must work with the global community to prevent violations of these rights. Instead, administration after administration continues the Cold War standard of political and economic interference, exploitation, tacit support of human rights violations, and violent intervention. We must abandon this approach. The countless billions funneled to oppressive regimes and proxy wars is merely an evolution of imperialism. It creates a less safe world, fosters patterns of resource scarcity in vulnerable populations, and funnels taxpayer money to the military industrial complex. The consequences of these failed policies are playing out as refugees flee the violence and instability we caused. And instead of working to rectify the suffering we created, our leaders demonize our victims seeking safety and security.
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We should instead work to build literal and figurative bridges globally. As we work to modernize our domestic infrastructure, we should also commit to public investment in developing nations, completely free of political or economic conditions. After all, lack of development and stalled advancement are the lasting consequences of colonial subjugation and western interference. Ethical resource management, accessible and stable renewable energy sources, efficient transportation systems, and access to economic opportunities foster global security and economic prosperity. Military action should only be used for individual and requested collective self-defense. The use of force should be proportional to the threat, be limited to stopping the immediate hostilities, operate within the framework of international humanitarian including prevention of civilian casualties and destruction of non-military targets. We must pledge to only use Security Council veto power to prevent unnecessary intervention and human rights abuses, and we must rejoin the Rome Statute and support the ICC.
Economics
David believes that blended economic systems provide the greatest stability and nurtures innovation. Tax structures and financial regulations established in the interwar period facilitated massive economic expansion and a thriving middle class. Monied interests gradually chipped away at these regulations promising economic freedom and career options for workers, leading to rampant corruption and exploitation. Most Americans struggle to survive as corporations declare record profits and soaring stock prices reminiscent of the Gilded Age.
The current conditions are not sustainable. We must break up the ever-expanding monopolies that dominate every sector, stifling competition and creating barriers to new enterprise. The nominal tax rate for corporations must return to post-war levels, only allowing offsets for investment in the workforce through profit sharing, pension plans, benefits, and regular wage increases that meet or exceed inflation. Worker protections must be strengthened, and corporations must face catastrophic penalties for interference with labor organizing and employment law. Executive compensation should be capped to a ratio of lowest pay rates within publicly traded companies. Any organizations that attempt to avoid taxes through offshore operations should face import tariffs based on domestic market share.
Veterans
Military recruitment relies heavily on the promise of benefits guaranteed to all service members upon discharge. These incentives are presented as automatic and lucrative. The reality is that the claims process is difficult to navigate and overly burdensome to veterans transitioning to civilian life, and there is no official guidance provided to service members during out processing. Congressional members on both sides of the aisle are quick to cut VA budgets and services in fiscal negotiations. Disability benefits are arbitrarily assessed, appeals are discouraged under threat of diminished ratings, and healthcare is irregularly available by location and need. Veteran Housing Association loans are treated inconsistently by lenders and sellers. Education benefits are cut by percentages, including housing allowances, and tuition payouts are capped by degree programs. David has experienced the VA system and witnessed the struggles of those he served with. We must fully fund the department, tying the budget to defense spending. VA claims should begin during transition to civilian life, and medical networks should be expanded and include access to facilities on all military installations.
This is not a comprehensive list of every policy position or stance. David has detailed policy positions on a wide variety of issues. Voters and members of the press are welcome and encouraged to email the campaign at info@ferrellforcongress.com for interview requests, specific positions not listed, points of clarity, and constituent issues.