Chip Coldiron’s Plan to Protect and Expand the American Dream for All
Our ability to pursue the American Dream has long been a staple of American political and cultural life. We take pride in calling ourselves a “Land of Opportunity” where everyone is entitled to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” However, this opportunity has never been truly accessible to all, and more and more we are seeing failures in policy push even a true pursuit of the American Dream out of reach of many. Fixing these failures won’t be easy, but it is possible. In order to protect the idea of the American Dream for every American, we must focus on addressing racial injustice and expanding that opportunity to those who have most consistently been left behind.
This past summer, our nation has witnessed a wave of protests and demonstrations as we reckon with the darkest pieces of American history. While our Founders established this great nation by declaring that “all men are created equal,” it has been a consistent, centuries-long project to make that vision a reality for all Americans. The arc of American history bends toward justice, but as this summer proved, our work is not yet complete.
The tragic murder of George Floyd, and the social unrest that followed has sparked controversy, confrontation, and division. Amidst it all, it has been easy to focus on the chaos of the times, rather than do the hard work of bringing Americans together in these difficult moments to chart a collective path forward that creates a fairer, more just, and more equitable future for all Americans.
While we can have an honest debate about how to reach a common goal, there are certain truths all leaders must be able to voice. First, Black Lives Matter, and we need action from our leaders in order to turn that calling into a reality. Second, the policy failures that have excluded so many communities of color from equal access to the American Dream have also left countless working class Americans behind, regardless of race, gender, or upbringing.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only amplified the disproportionate harm our government’s failings have on black and brown Americans, it has laid bare the broad failings of our social safety net. I believe this moment, while dire, also presents us with an opportunity to bring Americans together across personal, racial, and ideological lines, to rebuild the infrastructure that holds up the American Dream to take a long overdue step toward justice for all.
If elected, I will fight tirelessly to ensure we build a more equitable world. The policy plans detailed here focus on some of the most specific, systemic failings that have left black and brown Americans behind for far too long. But, make no mistake, implementing these much needed reforms will make our democracy, our law enforcement, our housing, and our education systems better for every American. We must understand that a rising tide lifts all boats, and together, by targeting our efforts to our neighbors most often excluded, we can protect the American Dream for everyone.
In this plan, I put forward detailed priorities to do the following:
Protect Voting Rights and Defend our Democracy
Reform our Policing and Criminal Justice Systems
Bring Equity to our Education System
Ensure Affordable Housing for All
Section 1) Protect Voting Rights and Defend our Democracy
Pass H.R. 1: Ultimately, no matter what reforms any politician promises to introduce or propose when elected, it is up to voters to hold them accountable to those promises. That is only possible with a healthy, functional, and open democracy. If I am elected, it will be a top priority of mine to work with Congressional leadership in both parties to build support for and pass H.R. 1, the comprehensive voter access and anti-corruption bill that already passed the House once.
This bill includes voter access measures for the 21st century that will make voter registration safer and more accessible, make Election Day a national holiday, increase the ease and transparency of absentee voting, extend full representation in Congress to millions of disenfranchised Americans in our territories.
Additionally, this legislation includes essential anti-corruption, campaign finance, and gerrymandering reform to decrease the influence of special interests and ensures the voters, not the politicians, pick their leaders in Washington.
Fight Voter Suppression: Ever since the 15th and 19th Amendments expanded voting rights to all Americans, those wishing to maintain their power have sought ways to suppress the votes of people who threaten that power. America was built on the idea that the people get to choose their own government, and it is on all of us to ensure everyone has the chance to have their voice heard.
If elected, I will fight every day to protect our democracy and everyone’s right to vote. I will oppose any and all efforts to disenfranchise, intimidate, or suppress votes. I will also work to restore the provisions of the Voting Rights Act that protect communities of color from disenfranchisement.
Section 2) Reform our Police and Criminal Justice Systems
Increasing Police Training Standards and Capacity: Our law enforcement professionals are tasked with an often impossible job, and put their lives on the line every day. That responsibility and that risk should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately, too many officers are sent into the line of duty without adequate preparation for the difficult job they have been asked to do.
When I was serving active duty in the military, we would receive a year and a half or more training to prepare for a deployment--and even then would encounter scenarios we didn’t prepare for. The average police officer on the other hand, receives only 6 months of training before being placed on the streets. The federal government should help local communities increase their training capacity, so every officer can start their workday confident they have been prepared for what may come their way.
The federal government should increase training budgets and raise training standards to include de-escalation of force, rules of engagement training, cultural competency, and community-centered policing techniques. Increased investment by the federal government should also be tied to the implementation of local reforms that are created alongside the communities most impacted by our policing policy by establishing civilian advisory councils.
Ending Qualified Immunity as We Know It: There is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding Qualified Immunity, but in reality, it is a relatively new policy with roots in Jim Crow Era ideology. While pitched as an attempt to protect public employees from frivolous lawsuits, in effect, it provides nearly absolute immunity in cases of wrongdoing by public officials by requiring an unnecessarily narrow interpretation of a “clearly established” civil rights violations.
Under current law, the only way to meet the high bar of a “clearly established” violation is for claimants to find a previous comparable case that was ruled a civil rights violation. Since qualified immunity shields public officials from having to face trial altogether, this severely limits the number of scenarios courts have been able to rule on, limiting the public’s protection against civil rights violations.
I believe it is time to reset this bar for accountability back toward the people by embracing a reform plan that has received bipartisan support. Under my plan, public officials would only be able to claim qualified immunity if their action had already been deemed lawful by the courts, rather than that a particular violation had already been deemed unlawful.
This will not only provide more equal footing for those who have been victims of wrongdoing on behalf of public officials and law enforcement, but it will also help police departments more naturally weed out bad actors in their departments and allow courts to more clearly identify lines for lawful discretion by public officials--meaning public officials and law enforcement can go about their daily work more confident in the laws that guide them.
Increasing Transparency and Building Trust in our Criminal Justice System: Too many communities suffer from a lack of trust between our police and the people they serve. This lack of trust stems from a history of violence toward black and brown communities, both from bad actors in police departments and from non-police actors like white supremacist terrorists who have too often escaped justice. Re-establishing trust between communities and the justice system is essential for keeping our communities safe.
This should start by designating white supremacist organizations as domestic terrorists, increasing the capacity for federal agencies to investigate their actions, prevent violence, and bring those who perpetuate violence toward communities of color to justice. Second, we must increase transparency in all government functions, including police departments. If I am elected, I will push for the creation of a national database to track confirmed unlawful incidences of police brutality and civil rights violations by government officials, so communities can identify bad actors within their own ranks, be accountable for retraining of officers and government officials found guilty minor or incidental misconduct, and neighboring communities can have more information on the backgrounds of potential rehires. Third, and most importantly, we must encourage communities not to put police officers into situations they are not trained for by increasing funding for social services and mental health interventions, especially in predominantly underserved black and brown communities, which can de-escalate a crisis or prevent it altogether.
Section 3) Bring Equity to our Education System
Increase Public School Teacher Pay: As a teacher myself, I know firsthand the difference teachers can make in the life of a student. Unfortunately, for too many teachers, a career in public education is falling too far out of reach. Indiana currently has one of the lowest teacher pay rates, and with the cost of higher education increasing, we are losing good, dedicated teachers every year simply because they are no longer able to support their families on a teacher’s salary.
A shortage of good, experienced teachers hurts every student in our district. But the impacts fall hardest on schools in low-income areas where teacher pay is often at its lowest. Education has a direct impact on future earnings, health outcomes, and crime rates. Local third grade literacy rates are even the metric that is used to plan the number of jail cells in a community. Many of the solutions to the inequities our communities face starts with education, and if we are to close the education gap, we need quality teachers.
If I am elected to Congress, I will fight every day to make teaching a profession that doesn’t price people out of supporting their families. Not only will I work to reduce the cost of higher education for teachers by designating it a “national service” eligible for loan forgiveness, but I will also work to increase federal spending directly on supporting state efforts to raise teacher pay all across the country. This will help all schools improve the quality of teaching faculty, but it will also open the doors to more diversity in the teaching profession, an important factor in improving education across race and gender.
Reforming Title I Education Funding: While most funding for education comes from the states, the major account used by the federal government to support low-income schools is Title I funding. However, the Title I program is both woefully underfunded, and often ineffective.
Our elected officials should do everything in our power to help make sure that a high school diploma from Carroll or Homestead is just as valuable as one from Wayne or East Noble. If used effectively Title I funding can help level the playing field for students and help make sure every student in our district is prepared to pursue whatever future they please. If elected, I will not only propose increasing Title I funding to make sure it achieves the goals set out by the legislation, but will propose reforms to the program that provide local flexibility to target resources to the students that need the most support. I will also propose reforms to the Department of Education to identify evidence-based practices to reduce the education gap, and establish clear outcomes for accountability.
Section 4) Ensure Affordable Housing for All
End Homelessness in America: It is an abomination that in the richest country in the world, there are over half a million Americans living on the streets on any given night. Homelessness is the direct result of systemic racism in our housing policy and a failure of a wide variety of our social systems. Partially as a result of the long-term impacts of redlining in housing markets, Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and housing insecurity. The good news is, we know how to end homelessness, and many communities across the country are already proving that it is possible.
The U.S. has learned valuable lessons from efforts to end veteran homelessness that can be scaled up to address homelessness for all Americans. Currently, we spend over $4 billion every year, just funding the work of our Congress, but we spend only half that amount on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) primary homelessness program. If elected, I would propose doubling the budget for HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants to fund proven, Housing first solutions, scale up the HUD-VASH program, which combines housing vouchers from HUD and supportive services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for homeless veterans, to match the need for every homeless veteran, and establish similar partnerships for homeless families through TANF, and for homeless youth through reform of the Runaway and Homeless Youth program.
Investing in Affordable Housing: While homelessness is the worst possible outcome of our failed housing policy, millions of Americans struggle with housing insecurity and are at risk of falling into homelessness as a result of what could be as simple as an unexpected medical bill. This is because in almost every community in the country, housing costs have been rising faster than wages for decades. In over 99% of counties in the U.S., including every county in Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, a 40-hour minimum wage job can’t cover the average cost of rent. This is a national crisis which has only been made worse by the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If I am elected, I would work to tackle the housing affordability crisis by both encouraging the creation of new, affordable housing through incentivizing zoning reform to scale up inclusionary zoning and by increasing funding for Housing Choice Vouchers so all Americans eligible for assistance can receive it.
Strengthen Fair Housing and Tackle the Racial Wealth Gap: America’s history of redlining - a practice that literally excluding people of color from certain neighborhoods throughout the country and enforced segregation even after it was deemed unconstitutional, has helped drive a deep wealth gap between white and black Americans. If elected, I would work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to strengthen fair housing rules to ensure all Americans can purchase or rent without discrimination, and I would propose legislation to empower the National Housing Trust Fund to target spending specifically on evidenced-based efforts to increase homeownership for underrepresented communities as a means for increasing household wealth.
Summary:
Today, the American Dream is a reality only to an elite few. As someone born to a working class family in a small Indiana town, I know the struggles of working people in America. But the reality is, even I had it better off than far too many Americans. As we live through a national reckoning on racial justice in America, we must elect leaders who are willing to dedicate themselves to addressing the systemic inequities in our society. We must elect leaders who understand that the phrase Black Lives Matter is more than a hashtag and the fight for justice is more than a photo op.
So many of the systems we rely on to hold our nation together have fundamental failures that disproportionately harm black Americans and communities of color. While the far-right activists that have taken over the modern Republican Party want us to believe that addressing these inequities is a zero-sum game that will take away from others, the reality is, by targeting solutions to those failures that have the worst outcomes for communities of color, we can make the American Dream more accessible for every working American.
By committing, together, to have our neighbors back in every way, we can deliver a stronger democracy, more humane and effective policing, a fairer justice system, better education, and a more prosperous housing system for us all. If I am elected, I will commit myself to working with those most impacted by the decisions Congress makes every day.