Virginia

Q4 Southside Virginia has seen growing investment in new agricultural technologies, including vertical farming and industrial hemp cultivation, as the region works to diversify its economy beyond traditional crops like tobacco. What is your view on the role of agricultural research and technology in Virginia’s rural economies, and what policies, if any, would you support related to it?

I support initiatives that increase regional food security, nutritional density, expansion of small farms, and the reduction of subsidies that hurt these small farms opportunities to be profitable for their families and communities.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q5 In Culpeper County and neighboring localities, several large data center campuses have been approved on land previously zoned for agricultural use, and similar proposals have spread to nearby Spotsylvania and Orange counties. What is your view on how local and state governments should balance data center development with preserving farmland and rural land use, along with the natural resources necessary for agriculture, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

I support technological development, but not at the expense of our farmland, natural resources, property rights, or rural communities.

That is why I proposed the Data Center Community Consent Act, one of my five major legislative initiatives. It would require independent environmental and infrastructure impact studies paid for by developers, along with approval from two-thirds of directly affected property owners. Developers must also cover infrastructure costs rather than passing them on to residents and taxpayers.

My American Working Farms Act complements this proposal by reducing federal tax burdens on working farms and helping preserve their economic viability.

Local governments should maintain land-use authority while ensuring transparency and protecting agricultural land, water resources, and neighboring property owners.

Technological progress should strengthen our communities, not come at the expense of the people and farmland that sustain them.

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

Data centers should pay their own way. I will not ask working families in this district to subsidize AI campuses and hyper-scale developers through higher Dominion bills.

Virginia already hosts the world’s largest data-center market. That growth has brought tax revenue and some construction jobs, but the power and water those facilities consume are not free. When Dominion proposes a 14 percent residential rate hike and points to data-center and AI demand, that is a warning that costs are being socialized onto households while the profits stay private. That is backwards.

I support policies that put the incremental cost of new load on the customers who create it. Developers should fund the generation, transmission, and water infrastructure their projects require—on-site generation, dedicated substations, long-term power-purchase agreements, and water recycling—rather than rolling those costs into the residential rate base. Localities should not compete to give away tax breaks and cheap utilities if the result is higher bills for the people who already live here.

I also oppose using ratepayers to bankroll unreliable generation schemes that cannot actually serve 24/7 data-center load. Families need affordable, dispatchable power. Data centers that want firmed supply should contract and pay for it themselves.

Growth is fine. Shifting the bill onto Northern Virginia homeowners is not. If elected, I will treat this the same way I treat other special-interest subsidies: the people who profit from the demand should carry the cost of meeting it.

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

With the growing demands of AI, the expansion of the data center market has significantly strained Virginia’s electrical grid. While I understand the need for additional energy sources, I am opposed to data center infrastructure in residential neighborhoods, and I have serious concerns regarding the environmental impacts and increased household energy costs. In an effort to regulate data center construction and address these issues, I introduced the Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act and the AI Environmental Impacts Act.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

a moratorium on data centers is needed

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

If businesses need more power, they should pay for the infrastructure and the electricity. Absolutely no exercising of emminent domain laws should be permitted to take private land for private gain, this is a clear demand from constituents in the fifth district. I am appalled at the $30,000,000 annually (approx.) that dominion takes from consumers and pays out to candidates and representatives to buy influence over constituents. We have no choice in power buying, which signifies a monopoly and I support greater transparency and citizen involvement for the SCC as they sit and operate in downtown Richmond in their giant glass skyscraper. There needs to be more public input and oversight concerning the 3 elected commissioners, their ability to authorize changes, and the ability of citizens to participate, which currently feels ceremonial or a token position.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q5 In Culpeper County and neighboring localities, several large data center campuses have been approved on land previously zoned for agricultural use, and similar proposals have spread to nearby Spotsylvania and Orange counties. What is your view on how local and state governments should balance data center development with preserving farmland and rural land use, along with the natural resources necessary for agriculture, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

I support technological development, but not at the expense of our farmland, natural resources, property rights, or rural communities.

That is why I proposed the Data Center Community Consent Act, one of my five major legislative initiatives. It would require independent environmental and infrastructure impact studies paid for by developers, along with approval from two-thirds of directly affected property owners. Developers must also cover infrastructure costs rather than passing them on to residents and taxpayers.

My American Working Farms Act complements this proposal by reducing federal tax burdens on working farms and helping preserve their economic viability.

Local governments should maintain land-use authority while ensuring transparency and protecting agricultural land, water resources, and neighboring property owners.

Technological progress should strengthen our communities, not come at the expense of the people and farmland that sustain them.

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

I support technological innovation and economic development, but Virginia families and small businesses should not be forced to subsidize the enormous electricity demands of private data center developments.

My proposed Data Center Community Consent Act would require developers to pay the full costs of infrastructure improvements their projects create, including electrical grid upgrades, without passing those expenses on to residential customers.

I would also support transparent utility pricing and stronger safeguards to ensure that large industrial electricity consumers pay their fair share of the costs they impose on the grid. Independent assessments should determine those costs before projects receive approval.

Data centers can bring investment and tax revenue to our communities, but those benefits must be weighed against their impact on electricity rates, infrastructure, and natural resources.

The principle is simple: Virginia families should not pay higher electricity bills to finance the infrastructure needs of multibillion-dollar corporations.

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

I support a moratorium on data center construction until laws are passed and guardrails put up to protect our water and environment, contain AI and make Big Tech pay the bills.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

American households have on average 21 devices connected to the Internet, from smart phones and tablets to TVs, thermostats and even refrigerators. This number will only grow as AI becomes more intertwined in our daily lives. As a result, data centers could account for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use within a few years. Today, the costs of that growth overburdens consumers and small businesses instead of the data centers that drive the demand. That is why I have cosponsored legislation, such as the Ratepayer Protection Act, to require state utility regulators to ensure that data centers pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines, and other upgrades to serve large-load customers, such as data centers, as the Virginia State Corporation Commission did by establishing a new rate class for hyperscale data centers in Dominion’s service territory. I also have cosponsored the Load Forecasting Enhancement Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state utility commissions to better coordinate load forecasting to prevent underbuilding infrastructure or overcharging consumers for unneeded capacity. And I have cosponsored the Power to the People Act, which would create clear FERC guidelines and rules ensuring that local communities do not bear the cost of data center build out. We must ensure that we continue to meet our technological demands while protecting consumers from bearing the financial burden. We must also ensure we do not overburden our grid or our environment, which is why we must continue to invest in clean-energy technologies to meet growing demand while protecting the planet for future generations.

I have also condemned the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempts to undermine the Clean Air Act by allowing data centers, fossil fuel plants and other major facilities evade the Clean Air Act regulations. Specifically, I urged the agency to withdraw a proposed rulemaking that would allow major polluting facilities—including data centers and fossil fuel plants—to begin construction activities without securing air quality permits required under federal law. Communities should not be forced to bear additional pollution because EPA chose to prioritize the financial interests of developers and fossil fuel companies over the Clean Air Act’s public-health protections.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

Data centers pay less for electricity than homeowners because data centers pay the industrial rate. The rate should be increased for data centers to make the centers pay for their own electricity. Virginia’s last-minute $1.6 billion tax on data centers should have been used to reduce homeowner electric bills instead of funding out-of-control state spending. Data centers are primarily the responsibility of local governments, which control zoning decisions.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

Virginia should remain a leader in technology and innovation, but innovation should not come at the expense of the family paying the electric bill.

Northern Virginia is the largest data-center market in the world, and that industry brings investment, jobs, tax revenue, and an important role in America’s technology economy. But it also creates extraordinary demand for electricity and requires major investments in generation, transmission, substations, and other infrastructure. Virginia’s own JLARC study concluded that Northern Virginia accounts for about 13% of reported global data-center capacity and that continued growth will require substantial additional power infrastructure.

My principle is simple: growth should pay for growth. If a data center requires a new substation, transmission upgrades, additional generation, or other infrastructure primarily because of its demand, the developer and large energy user should bear a fair share of those costs. Residential customers should not be asked to subsidize infrastructure built primarily to serve some of the largest electricity consumers in the world.

I support separate rate structures for very large-load customers, strong minimum-payment commitments before utilities build infrastructure on their behalf, and protections against residential ratepayers being stuck with stranded costs if a proposed data center is delayed, downsized, or never built. Virginia’s State Corporation Commission has already moved in that direction by establishing a separate GS-5 class for customers demanding 25 megawatts or more, along with minimum-demand payment requirements intended to protect other customers.

But protecting ratepayers is only half of the answer. We also need more energy. My Promise for America is built around energy abundance: modernizing our grid, increasing transmission and substation capacity, strengthening reliability, rebuilding critical equipment supply chains, and dramatically expanding reliable American generation.

That is why advanced nuclear power and small modular reactors are central to my plan. I support creating Nuclear Ready Grid Zones where states, utilities, and private developers can accelerate advanced nuclear deployment, including generation capable of supporting major data-center and manufacturing loads. Instead of responding to growing demand by continually raising the cost of scarce electricity, America should increase the supply of reliable power.

I also believe data centers need to be strategically located. Economic development matters, but so do the families already living in these communities. Local decisions should seriously consider proximity to homes, transmission infrastructure, noise, water use, traffic, and the capacity of the existing electric grid.

As a former town manager, I understand that infrastructure has a cost and somebody eventually pays for it. The responsibility of government is to make sure that cost is allocated fairly—not simply passed along to the easiest customer to bill.

Utility rate design in Virginia is primarily a state responsibility through the State Corporation Commission, so I would not pretend that a member of Congress sets Dominion’s residential rates. My role in Congress would be to attack the underlying problem: accelerate reliable generation, modernize the grid, reform permitting, strengthen domestic transformer and critical-equipment manufacturing, and support federal policies that prevent extraordinary large-load costs from being unfairly shifted onto ordinary households.

I welcome data centers, AI, and technological growth. I want Virginia and America to lead the world in these industries. But leadership requires responsibility. The companies creating extraordinary demand should help pay the extraordinary costs of serving that demand—and the family at the kitchen table should not be handed the bill for the server farm down the road.

We can have innovation, economic growth, and affordable electricity. The answer is fair cost allocation and more American energy—not asking Virginia families to choose between technological progress and an affordable electric bill.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

Data centers should pay the incremental costs they impose on electricity and water infrastructure, rather than having their expansion subsidized through ordinary consumers’ bills.

I support the fact that the SCC has already created a separate GS-5 rate class for very large electricity users, effective January 2027, with minimum payment obligations and protections against shifting infrastructure costs onto other customers. The GS-5 rate is an important development, but it remains to be seen whether its protections will fully cover the costs associated with data center growth - so this should be monitored closely.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

DATA CENTERS OUT . The people said send the message … I do not support these developers.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q11 Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world. Dominion Energy has proposed a 14% rate increase for residential customers in 2026, citing data center growth and AI-driven demand. What is your view on how the costs and benefits of data center growth should be divided between developers and residential ratepayers, and what policies, if any, would you support on this issue?

For any data center to be approved, it must comply with stringent environmental regulations (pollution, noise, water, etc); it must bring its own energy, sourced from renewable sources; and it must not raise the electricity rates for surrounding ratepayers. Asking ratepayers to subsidize private companies’ business models is unacceptable.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q2 The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach is the largest offshore wind development under construction in the United States, expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes once complete. What is your view on the role of offshore wind and other renewable energy sources in Virginia’s energy mix, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding their development?

It’s needed here in Hampton Roads I do Support.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

As someone who has lived and worked in this district for years, I know NSF headquarters is a real employer for roughly 1,600 people here in Alexandria. Those are our neighbors. I also spent 27 years inside federal agencies managing facilities, budgets, and contracts. I saw how money actually moves, how overhead grows, and what happens when you raise questions about waste. That experience shapes how I look at every federal agency, including science agencies.

The federal government’s proper role is not to be the default funder of every research program universities want. Basic science has value, but so does fiscal reality. We have a massive national debt. Congress should fund only what is clearly within its constitutional lane and can show results that taxpayers can evaluate. Mission-driven work tied to defense, public health emergencies, or other limited federal responsibilities is easier to justify than open-ended academic grants that become self-perpetuating.

I would not campaign to shutter NSF tomorrow or throw 1,600 Alexandrians out of work. I would support policies that:

• Demand transparent budgets and measurable outcomes instead of treating agency headcount as an entitlement.
• Reduce administrative bloat and grant overhead so more dollars actually reach research rather than process.
• End the habit of using science agencies as vehicles for political or social priorities unrelated to rigorous inquiry.
• Encourage private, philanthropic, and industry funding to carry more of the load for curiosity-driven work, as happened for much of American scientific history.
• Apply the same waste-cutting standard I would apply to every other federal operation I have seen from the inside.

Local jobs matter. Protecting an unaccountable bureaucracy does not. Northern Virginia should not treat federal agencies as permanent economic development projects that are off-limits to scrutiny. Families here already pay high costs of living; they should not also subsidize inefficiency just because the building is in Alexandria. If elected, I would treat NSF and similar agencies the same way I treat every other part of the federal machine: insist on accountability, cut what does not work, and stop expanding government simply because it is already here.

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

The National Science Foundation as an independent federal agency has long been a leader in innovation and scientific breakthroughs essential to America’s security. The recent displacement and termination of NSF employees, along with the budget cuts under the current administration, pose serious threats to our national security and scientific development. I fully support our federal science agencies and remain committed to defending their funding and advocating for the reinstatement of unlawfully terminated personnel.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q8 Fairfax County is home to a life sciences and biosciences workforce of more than 60,000 people, supported by federal research institutions, private companies, and public universities in the region. What is your view on the state’s role in supporting scientific research and the research workforce in Northern Virginia, and what policies, if any, would you support related to it?

The federal government should not make cuts so that the state needs to pick up the slack so that these important jobs can be continued without interruption.

Q8 Fairfax County is home to a life sciences and biosciences workforce of more than 60,000 people, supported by federal research institutions, private companies, and public universities in the region. What is your view on the state’s role in supporting scientific research and the research workforce in Northern Virginia, and what policies, if any, would you support related to it?

Attract business with low taxes, low regulation, quick permitting. Address housing affordability by lowering real estate taxes. The recently approved Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave Act is an example of business and personal tax hikes and regulation that discourage business.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

I believe the federal government has an important role in funding basic scientific research, particularly where that research strengthens American innovation, economic competitiveness, national security, energy independence, and our ability to compete with countries like China. But federal research funding should be competitive, merit-based, transparent, and accountable to the taxpayer.

The National Science Foundation is a good example of where federal investment can help build the foundation for discoveries that eventually become new technologies, companies, industries, and American jobs. NSF supports roughly one-quarter of federally funded basic research conducted at U.S. colleges and universities.

I also strongly support keeping high-value federal science institutions and their skilled workforces here in Northern Virginia when it makes operational and economic sense. NSF is remaining in Alexandria, with approximately 1,600 positions moving to its new headquarters in the Carlyle neighborhood. That is good for Alexandria, good for the 8th District, and an opportunity to strengthen the region as an innovation center.

But my goal goes beyond protecting federal jobs. My Promise for America calls for building a new private-sector jobs ecosystem centered on manufacturing, innovation, skilled trades, emerging technology, AI readiness, advanced energy, cybersecurity, and critical technology production. I want institutions like NSF to help serve as anchors for a larger innovation economy—connecting universities, entrepreneurs, researchers, manufacturers, and private investment so discoveries made with American research dollars can become American companies and American jobs.

I would oppose arbitrary cuts that weaken strategically important scientific capabilities, but I would also demand regular program reviews, strong oversight, and measurable outcomes. We should fund science because it advances the national interest—not because Washington has always funded a particular program.

America has led the world because we have never been afraid of discovery and innovation. My objective is to make sure the next generation of breakthroughs—in energy, AI, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and other critical technologies—is researched here, developed here, and ultimately creates jobs here in America.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

Federal funding of science - often of science which has no immediate commercial interest - is still highly valuable to a world-leading economy. Today’s science may be the breakthrough of tomorrow. I am running as an Independent because political dysfunction leads to disasters like the 2025 government shutdown. It’s bad for people, bad for the economy and bad for science (and a host of other areas) - and disproportionately affects Northern Virginia, DC & Maryland.

We need a Congress that recognizes the long-term value of scientific research, provides stable funding for institutions like the National Science Foundation, and stops allowing political dysfunction to undermine the very institutions that help make America a world leader.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

Teacher shortages in special education, early childhood, and especially STEM are real. Throwing more money at the same system that drove good teachers out will not fix it.

I am an electrical, computer, and environmental engineer and a licensed PE. I want kids in this district to learn actual science and math, not slogans. The fastest way to fill STEM classrooms is to make teaching those subjects a job a competent professional would take—and keep.

I would support policies that:

• Pay more for hard-to-staff subjects and high-need classrooms instead of locking every teacher into the same step-and-lane scale. A physics or special-ed teacher carrying a shortage load should not be paid like every other assignment.
• Open alternative certification for career-changers who already have STEM degrees and real-world experience. An engineer or technician should not need a year of education-school ideology to stand in front of a high-school lab.
• Get politics and social engineering out of the classroom so teachers can teach content. Many left because of mandates, closures, and curricula that sidelined parents and fundamentals. Restore order, phonics, math, and science, and some of them will come back.
• Defend parental rights and school-level accountability. Families who can see what is taught and have real options put pressure on schools to hire people who can actually deliver STEM, not fill a vacancy with a warm body.
• Stop using schools as a jobs program for administrators. Dollars should reach classrooms, aides, and specialists—especially special education—not central-office growth.

I do not support blank-check “recruitment” grants that expand the education bureaucracy without raising standards. Shortages in STEM are a warning that the product and the workplace are broken. Fix the mission, pay for scarce skills, and let qualified people enter the profession without jumping through political hoops.

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

Education is the backbone of our society, and I am deeply committed to protecting and strengthening our public schools. We are facing a nationwide teacher shortage driven by a combination of educator burnout, the failure of salaries to meet the rising cost of living, and a decline in those entering the field. I support robust federal funding for our public schools and full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to ensure all teachers and students have the support they need for a successful, well-rounded education.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

Teaching these subjects could be part of a an implemented service program that all Americans could participate in (like the military, Peace Corp, etc.)

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

I think incentives, like loan forgiveness programs are effective when the repayment work is focused first in the areas of most need. We need educators and graduates need to pay back loans. I think this also grows a pride in service which is an important component to a healthy society.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

As a former university instructor, I understand the importance of qualified teachers and the challenges they face. I believe education decisions should remain primarily with states, local school districts, educators, and parents rather than being dictated by Washington.

I support reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, expanding alternative teacher certification pathways, and allowing qualified STEM professionals to transition into teaching without excessive licensing obstacles.

I would also encourage partnerships between schools, universities, and private-sector employers to provide mentorship, professional development, and practical STEM learning opportunities.

For special education and early childhood programs, I support improving teacher preparation, classroom resources, and retention while protecting the educational rights of students with disabilities.

Our priority should be helping qualified teachers enter the classroom, supporting those already teaching, and giving local communities the flexibility to address their specific shortages.

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

I believe Congress should take advantage of community colleges and career-switcher programs to bring people from outside of teaching into the profession.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

I fully support efforts to address teacher shortages, especially in STEM, and ensure every child has access to a quality education. I co-lead H.R. 1331, the Teacher and School Leader Quality Partnership Grants Act, which aims to address educator shortages by reauthorizing funding through 2031 and expanding preparation and personal development programs. I also cosponsor H.R. 2094, the Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder Act, to establish a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforce officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. This bill intends to address housing accessibility which contributes to educator shortages. I also cosponsor H.R. 6893, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement for Training, Education, Restoration and Science (WATERS) Act, to provide statutory authority for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office’s watershed education and training program for elementary and secondary schools. Finally, in November 2026, I intend to introduce new legislation to specifically address the STEM educator workforce and expand professional development opportunities for STEM educators.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

The root of the problem failure to teach mastery of arithmetic facts by third grade, including the abandonment of drill (it’s “drill and skill”, not “drill and kill”), failure to memorize multiplication tables, too-early introduction of word problems, and reliance on hand calculators. The result is fewer students are prepared for STEM which means fewer graduates will enter STEM fields, including teaching.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

A lower overall vacancy rate is encouraging, but the problem is not solved. Virginia still faces serious shortages in critical areas such as special education, science, mathematics, and early childhood education.

My approach would focus on recruiting talented people into these high-demand fields, removing unnecessary barriers to entering the classroom, and giving great teachers a reason to stay.

STEM deserves particular attention because this is not only an education issue—it is an economic and national-competitiveness issue. My Promise for America is built around expanding American leadership in advanced manufacturing, AI, cybersecurity, nuclear technology, skilled trades, and emerging technologies. We cannot build that workforce if our children do not have excellent math and science teachers preparing them.

I would support targeted scholarships, loan assistance, and recruitment incentives for teachers who commit to critical-shortage fields such as special education, mathematics, science, and early childhood education, particularly in communities where vacancies are hardest to fill.

I also want to create more pathways into teaching without lowering standards. A talented engineer, scientist, cybersecurity professional, veteran, or experienced technical professional should have a practical path to bring that knowledge into a classroom. I would support partnerships among school divisions, universities, community colleges, and private employers that provide accelerated teacher preparation, residencies, mentoring, and appropriate alternative-certification pathways while maintaining strong expectations for classroom competency.

Retention is just as important as recruitment. We should compensate teachers competitively, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, and create career pathways that allow outstanding educators to advance financially and professionally without having to leave the classroom for administration.

For special education, I would protect IDEA responsibilities, support preparation and recruitment of special-education professionals, and make sure funding intended for students with disabilities actually reaches the classrooms, teachers, specialists, and families it was designed to serve.

The larger principle is simple: identify where the shortages actually are and build the workforce to meet them. Washington should not micromanage Virginia classrooms, but it can help remove barriers, support targeted workforce pipelines, and invest in areas of genuine national need.

For STEM especially, I see an opportunity to connect education with America’s future. If we want the next generation building nuclear reactors, designing semiconductors, securing our networks, developing AI, and creating the technologies that keep America competitive, it starts with a great math or science teacher inspiring a student in a Virginia classroom today.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

My two children were educated in the Alexandria City Public School system, and I was very happy with the education they received. I understand that some teacher shortages are being relieved by lower enrolment (sadly, because that seems to be because of reduced federal workers in the area.) I won’t pretend to be an education policy expert, but I think we could look at higher teacher pay, and a longer school year.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

Bring our good teachers back home. I have to first make the pay competitive and reach the national median, the educational phase will be updated and gifted to our youth for generations to come.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q12 According to the Virginia Department of Education, there are currently overall fewer vacant teaching positions in public schools than in years’ past. However, teacher shortages are still a major concern, particularly in areas such as special education, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), and early childhood. Through what policies, if any, would you address teacher shortages in Virginia’s K-12 schools in these high-demand areas, particularly in STEM?

We need to increase programs such as Teach for America to get motivated people of all ages into the classroom. Much like ROTC scholarships for college students heading towards a military career, the government should provide teaching scholarships to student in exchange for a fixed period of service upon graduation. Finally, we need to increase teacher pay over time and allow further experimentation using charter schools.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

I am a licensed professional engineer. I was trained to use data, test assumptions, and change course when the evidence changes. Science should inform policy. A job title should not.

“Subject matter expert” is not a reliable source by itself. During COVID we were told to trust SMEs while they hid uncertainty, punished dissent, and moved the goalposts. Expertise can be real. It can also be captured, grant-driven, or politically screened. I will not treat an agency badge, a dean’s title, or a consensus statement as proof.

Evidence belongs in the process the same way engineering review belongs on a project: on the table, in writing, open to challenge. I would look at measurements, methods, funding, replication, and real-world results—not at who was invited to the briefing. Dissenting engineers, physicians, and researchers get a hearing too. If they have better data, they win the argument.

How I would use evidence:

• Ask what was measured, who paid for it, what the uncertainty is, and whether anyone has reproduced it.
• Separate established engineering and physical science from politicized modeling and public-health messaging.
• Judge a policy by what actually happened to families, not by the résumé of the person who recommended it. If school closures, mandates, or energy rules fail in the real world, the expert who promoted them does not get to keep the policy in place just because of their title.
• Keep values in their lane. Data can describe risks. It cannot cancel parental rights or informed consent.

On uncertainty: say it out loud. If the evidence is thin, evolving, or split, the public should hear that. I would rather tell constituents “we do not know yet” than launder a guess through an expert panel and call it settled.

Experts can advise. They are not an authority I outsource my vote to. Elected officials decide, show their work, and answer to voters.

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Scientific evidence and experts are foundational to my policymaking process. Scientific development should not be political, but it should inform our policy. I surround myself with skilled experts on my staff who advise my work on the AI Task Force and the Congressional AI Caucus. Additionally, to deepen my own understanding of AI, I am a part-time student at George Mason University, pursuing a master’s in machine learning.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

the media plays an important part and should not be biased based on politics

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

There should be no closed doors, and I would offer first person communication everywhere possible. All meetings with experts; questions, answers, and discussions should be live and recorded for posterity so a constituents continuity of understanding can be reached by observing past insight and the identified unknowns. There need be no secrecy between a representatives meetings, briefings, or information and their constituents. Rare exceptions with concerns of security can be identified, but sunlight is the best disinfectant and we have a virus of distrust and conspiracy laden thinking that can only be cured with transparency and accountability. We need the expertise shared with the people and not only in the fancy restaurant between investor, regulator, and representative. I can not think of an issue that I would not seek expert advice on before voting for our constituents.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

As a former university instructor with a background in research and national security, I strongly believe scientific evidence and expert knowledge should inform responsible policymaking.

However, science should guide decisions, not replace public accountability, individual freedoms, or democratic debate. I would seek input from independent experts, universities, private-sector researchers, and affected communities while encouraging transparency and open discussion of competing findings.

Scientific understanding evolves, and elected officials must be willing to acknowledge uncertainty, reconsider assumptions, and adjust policies when credible new evidence emerges.

I would communicate clearly to the public what we know, what remains uncertain, and why decisions are being made. I would also distinguish scientific findings from political judgments.

Good policymaking requires evidence, transparency, intellectual honesty, and respect for individual liberty.

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Unlike the current administration, I would put my faith in scientists and researchers and give them the freedom to do their work.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Lawmakers cannot and should not legislate in a vacuum. We need to ensure we solicit and incorporate diverse, credible, and evidence-backed perspectives that will help guide our policymaking processes and ensure we are developing intentional policies that appropriately address the challenge we seek to solve. As a Member of Congress, I believe one of my biggest responsibilities is communicating and informing my constituents about my work in Washington, why it matters, and how it impacts their lives. Often, this also involves explaining complex and nuanced challenges that continuously evolve. As elected officials, we have a responsibility to communicate accurately and keep our constituencies apprised of evolving situations – and I work to do that every day through my communications, whether newsletters or social media or public appearances.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Listen to experts on both sides of an issue and protect unfettered free speech to communicate uncertainty and evolving evidence.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Science should inform public policy, but it should never replace common sense, judgment, or accountability.

Throughout my career, I learned that leaders rarely have perfect information. You bring the best experts to the table, challenge assumptions, study the evidence, understand the risks, and then make the best decision you can for the people you serve.

I would bring that same approach to Congress. Whether the issue is healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, or emerging technology, I want scientists, engineers, physicians, and other experts helping us understand the facts. But elected leaders must also consider individual freedom, economic consequences, national security, cost, and the real-world impact on American families.

And when the evidence is uncertain or changing, we should simply tell the American people the truth: what we know, what we do not know, and why we are making the decision we are making.

America has always advanced by combining scientific discovery with common sense and human judgment. Good leadership means listening to the experts, asking the hard questions, and having the courage to change course when the facts change.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

That’s a great question, and sits deep within some of our disappointing cultural wars right now.

Politicians shouldn’t manipulate or disregard scientific evidence simply because it’s politically inconvenient - and yet they do. The cure - elect better politicians who aren’t in the control of special interest groups (who likewise manipulate or disregard scientific evidence); and get a better press, one that has more than a passing interest in scientific facts.

Science evolves, the world changes, and we don’t live in complete certainty. Or complete uncertainty. A politician who has spent most of their life in politics probably isn’t the best person to convey that.

I have a Masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (from Oxford University) - so I guess I’m 1/3rd a dismal scientist!

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

Everything will have balance under my watch, will will thrive in Hampton Roads .

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q15 Scientific and technical expertise can inform decisions related to healthcare, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and emerging technologies. What role, if any, should scientific evidence and expert input play in your policymaking process, and how would you communicate scientific uncertainty or evolving evidence to the public?

I have worked in scientific and technical fields for over 40 years, and I have clearly found that policy and funding decisions that are based on objective, quantitative analysis yield the best results by far. The Scientific Method needs to be restored to its position of primacy when evaluating scientific efforts and results, and preconceived agendas must be removed from the funding and policy processes. As noted, uncertainty and revision are parts of science. Scientific leaders and policymakers must be honest with the taxpayers about these sources of variation and provide rational explanations for why certain decisions are made, embrace the fact that no set of decisions is going to be perfect from the start, and embrace equally and without hesitation the fact that changing data and circumstances often require new and different decisions.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Healthcare is too expensive because government, insurers, and hospital systems have turned it into a captured industry. I lived that as a mom, a Navy veteran, and someone pulled through the behavioral-health system after a bad reaction to a prescription. Mandates, bureaucracy, and taxpayer-funded care for people who should not be here all push costs onto working Virginians.

If elected I would not vote to expand the Affordable Care Act or pour more open-ended subsidies into the same insurance model. I would:

• Restore medical freedom. No federal vaccine or treatment mandates. Informed consent belongs with patients and parents.
• Stop using Medicaid as a magnet. Citizen and legal-resident families come first.
• Cut the rules that inflate prices—certificate-of-need barriers, billing games, and red tape that protect incumbents.
• Require real price transparency so families can comparison-shop.
• Put more focus on prevention, nutrition, and chronic-disease reduction instead of a sick-care model that profits from lifelong prescriptions.
• Hold agencies and hospital systems accountable when they waste money or push one-size-fits-all protocols.

Affordability will not come from writing bigger checks to the same system. It will come from shrinking the parts of government that make care more expensive and putting families ahead of special interests.

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

I would not create new federal programs that sort people by identity and then grow another office to administer them. That is how care gets more expensive and less equal.

What I would support is narrow and earned:

Veterans earned care through service. Fix the VA so it delivers, instead of parking people in waitlists and paperwork.

First responders and their families should not be last in line.

Maternity care should protect mother and unborn child. That is a medical and moral duty, not a new grant category.

On mental health I am cautious. I have seen “help” turn into coercion, forced drugs, and lost liberty. I would not expand civil commitment or pharmaceutical pipelines without strict due process and informed consent. Family-centered alternatives matter more than another federal behavioral-health slush fund.

Rural shortages are real. The fix is letting qualified clinicians practice, easing licensing cartels that keep clinics from opening, and stopping policies that drain citizen resources. It is not another Washington targeting formula.

Help veterans, legal residents, and families. Do not build demographic programs that last forever.

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

We must expand healthcare access and reduce the cost for American families by protecting the Affordable Care Act, lowering prescription drug prices, and ensuring a public health insurance option is available to all Americans. I helped introduce the Choose Medicare Act, which would grant every individual who is not already eligible the choice to enroll in a new Medicare program. Additionally, I have introduced the National All-Payer Claims Database Act to establish a comprehensive database of healthcare costs. By increasing transparency, we can effectively lower healthcare costs and improve support across our healthcare system.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Healthcare affordability and access vary across demographics, making it vital to ensure all populations are supported. Expanding access to mental healthcare is one of my top priorities in Congress. As a Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health Caucus and founder of the Suicide Prevention Task Force, I recently reintroduced the 988 Implementation Act to expand the infrastructure behind the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which has received more than 26 million calls and texts since its launch in 2022. Regarding maternity care, I am a cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protect Act to codify federal protections for reproductive healthcare, including prenatal and postpartum care. Additionally, while I represent an urban district, I work closely with my Virginia colleagues to support telehealth, mobile clinics, and rural hospitals facing funding cuts.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

a national health care program is needed

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

A needed national healthcare program would ideally take care of all needs. We need it now.

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

I would support healthcare as a right in America and this includes mental, dental, and vision. 60% of bankruptcies are due to medical bills and 80% of those individuals had private health insurance. I think a minimum care for all people in America is within our capabilities and it is represents an American ideal. The ACA was a great step forward for millions of Americans by ensuring coverage of “pre-existing conditions,” but we can move forward by signaling and incentivizing doctors and nurses with loan forgiveness programs, and creating a public option that utilizes the proven economics of collective bargaining. We need a resurgence in these fields which have been abused by for profit corporations squeezing our most dedicated and caring Americans, those who provide care in the most stressful scenarios in life.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

I am for a balanced budget, but I do not believe we get there by cutting medicare and snap benefits. I would support reversing the changes that have reduced access to food and healthcare in the fifth. I do not believe Americans will save money in the near future by exacerbating health conditions and contributing to food insecurity. I believe it is representative that we strengthen the economic possibilities for the fixed income individuals in the fifth. This includes the solvency of social security through an end to the cap on its tax. This includes removing the barriers to work that older individuals experience. Almost countless times I have learned of the preclusion to work by my elders because they would lose their benefits. It was literally causing a shortage in bus drivers because they are older and will get kicked off benefits if they worked too many hours. This is an affront to Americans worth ethic, to have benefits taken because they wanted to work more. This may be fixed with a sliding scale rather than a firm cutoff.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Healthcare should be affordable and accessible without forcing Americans into financial hardship. I believe we need more competition, greater price transparency, and fewer unnecessary regulations that drive up healthcare costs.

I would support expanding access to independent clinics, allowing patients to compare prices before receiving treatment, and reducing administrative burdens that increase costs without improving care. We should also encourage competition in prescription drug pricing.

For our veterans, I have proposed the Veterans 28 Act, requiring timely VA appointments and access to community care when the VA cannot provide treatment within established deadlines.

I also believe Congress must prioritize healthcare needs here at home, eliminate wasteful spending, and ensure that essential services reach the people who need them.

My goal is a healthcare system where patients have more choices, providers face fewer unnecessary barriers, and families can afford the care they need.

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Yes. Rural communities, veterans, expectant mothers, and people with disabilities often face additional barriers to healthcare. I support targeted solutions that address these challenges without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

For rural communities, I would encourage independent clinics, telehealth services, and incentives for healthcare professionals to practice in underserved areas. I also support improving access to prenatal and maternity care, particularly where hospitals have reduced services.

My proposed Veterans 28 Act would require VA appointments within 28 days, or 20 days for mental healthcare, with timely access to community care when those deadlines cannot be met.

For people with disabilities, I support strengthening access to home- and community-based services, reducing caregiver shortages, and protecting individual choice.

Healthcare policies should recognize that different communities have different needs while ensuring every American has a fair opportunity to receive timely, affordable care.

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

First, I support restoring ACA enhanced subsidies and rescinding Medicare cuts immediately. I support universal healthcare coverage.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Maternal care is a huge issue in my rural district.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Congress must reverse the largest cuts to our healthcare safety net in American history in the Republicans’ Big Ugly Law (HR 1) and reinstate the enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act in order to reverse the healthcare crisis that threatens over 300,000 Virginians. As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I fought against the Medicaid cuts and advocated for extension of the enhanced premium tax credits under the ACA in a 26.5 hour hearing on HR 1. Over the past year, I have traveled across my district and the Commonwealth to discuss the impact of these and other federal funding cuts with patients, providers, and communities. Outside of reversing the cuts made by congressional Republicans and reinstating the enhanced premium tax credits, we must also work to lower the cost of prescription drugs, expand access to comprehensive healthcare services, including reproductive and mental health services, close the coverage gap to ensure individuals can receive preventative care before they develop a serious condition that requires hospitalization, and more. In addition to these efforts, Congress must go even further. In July, I unveiled my All American Family Agenda, a legislative framework designed for a post-HR 1 world, where the Big Ugly Law’s cuts are reversed. The agenda centers on two pillars and involves (1) supporting family formation by strengthening reproductive and family planning freedom, improving maternal health nationwide, and supporting every path to parenthood, and (2) strengthening family well-being by making family life economically accessible and supporting working parents and caregivers.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Far too many demographics face disparate health outcomes caused by a lack of access to comprehensive healthcare services. Those challenges have been made worse by the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans’ HR 1. Since passage of the bill, I have traveled across the Commonwealth to discuss its impacts on rural hospitals, clinics, and communities. Unfortunately, rural providers have already closed or cut services as a result of federal funding cuts in HR 1 and beyond. Three Augusta Health clinics closed and Farmville’s Centra Southside Community Hospital closed its labor and delivery department citing Medicaid cuts. The Virginia Joint Commission on Health Care has identified 13 hospitals at risk of closure when the cuts take full effect in January, including Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center in the Fourth District. We must immediately repeal the HR 1 Medicaid cuts, invest in our rural providers, support telehealth service options, and ensure health insurance coverage for rural communities.

Maternal health remains a personal issue for me. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation in the world. Black women in the United States are more than three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes that white women. More importantly – and concerning – the vast majority of maternal deaths are preventable. I almost became a part of the statistics when I nearly died during childbirth with my daughter after my placenta ruptured 9 weeks before my due date. We must codify Roe as the law of the land to keep politicians out of private medical choices, give providers access to the full spectrum of reproductive care options and protect those in need of emergency care. We must also support policies to specifically address the maternal mortality crisis. In Congress, I introduced the Child Care Assistance for Maternal Health Act to help low-income and vulnerable mothers access short-term childcare during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. I also cosponsor the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, a package of 14 bills to address every driver of maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities in our nation. In July, I also unveiled my All American Family Agenda, a legislative framework designed for a post-HR 1 world, where Republicans’ Medicaid cuts have been reversed. This agenda is centered on two pillars: (1) supporting family formation by strengthening women’s choice and family planning freedom, improving maternal health nationwide, and supporting every path to parenthood, and (2) strengthening family well-being by making family life economically accessible and supporting working parents and caregivers.

For mental healthcare, we must do more to expand access to mental health services, addiction treatment, and crisis support services. In 2025, I introduced H.R. 3266, the Mental Health Infrastructure Improvement Act, legislation to address mental health and substance use disorder facility shortages. The bill would establish a new loan and loan guarantee program within the Department of Health and Human Services to build or renovate mental health or substance use disorder treatment facilities. I also introduced H.R. 10240, the Behavioral Health Crisis Services Expansion Act, to expand insurance coverage for crisis response services, including mobile crisis response teams, 988 Lifeline calls, and short-term crisis receiving and stabilization under public and private insurance.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

The federal government spends $2 trillion on medical care, and 90% of medical spending is on chronic disease. Federal and state governments and businesses are going bankrupt paying for the chronic disease epidemic caused by the thousands of unregulated chemicals in ultra-processed food and by the old food pyramid that for 40 years told us to eat a high-carb diet. That was a prescription for diabetes, and now half of American adults are either diabetic or pre-diabetic. The “healthcare” industry is actually profiting off of chronic disease and has no financial incentive to make us healthy. It’s not healthcare; it’s sick care. Fortunately, RFK Jr. has fixed the food pyramid. We need to return to eating the way our grandparents did: eggs, full fat dairy, red meat along with fruits and vegetables and a minimum of refined carbs. Follow realfood.gov. That will stop chronic disease and slash the $2 trillion-dollar federal deficits. If elected I would vote to remove unhealthy chemicals from our food, promote the corrected food pyramid, and promote regenerative farming to restore topsoil.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

The federal government is broke. With $2 trillion deficits we have high inflation from overheating the economy and high interest rates. Higher program spending will be paid for with inflation and high interest rates.The best targeted program is reverse chronic disease by avoiding ultra-processed food and following the corrected food pyramid, at realfood.gov. Note that ultra-processed food and following the old high-carb food pyramid cause mental illness, which can also be reversed with proper nutrition. See Dr. Chris Palmer and his book “Brain Energy.”

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Healthcare should put the American people back in the driver’s seat.

The affordability problem is real. A 2025 Altarum survey of more than 1,380 Virginia adults found that 72% were worried about affording healthcare in the future, and 69% reported delaying or going without care because of cost.

I believe America can do better, but I do not believe the answer is simply handing more control of our healthcare system to Washington. I believe in capitalism and genuine free-market competition. When consumers have choices, understand what things cost, and providers have to compete for their business, I believe we can drive costs down while improving quality, innovation, and customer service.

Unfortunately, healthcare today often does not operate like a true competitive marketplace. Patients frequently have little idea what a procedure, test, medication, or hospital service will cost until after they receive the bill. They may have limited choices among insurers or providers, and changing jobs can mean changing or losing coverage. That leaves the patient with too little control.

My American Health Freedom Plan starts by changing that relationship. I would protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions while increasing competition, patient choice, portability, and transparency. Healthcare decisions should remain between patients, their families, and their doctors—not insurance companies or government bureaucracies.

First, I would make real price transparency a priority. Patients should be able to know and compare prices before receiving non-emergency care whenever reasonably possible. My plan calls for upfront pricing disclosure, standardized billing, public comparison tools, and meaningful enforcement of transparency requirements. If hospitals, providers, and insurers know patients can compare price, quality, and service, they have a greater incentive to compete for those patients.

Second, I would expand competition and consumer choice. I support allowing Americans greater ability to purchase health insurance across state lines where appropriate, expanding portability so people are not trapped in a plan simply because of where they work, and giving families more control over their healthcare dollars through expanded Health Savings Accounts.

Third, we have to expand access to actual healthcare—not simply insurance cards. That means addressing provider shortages, expanding direct primary care, protecting access to telehealth, and using technology to reach people who have difficulty getting an appointment or reaching a provider. My plan specifically calls for permanent telehealth protections and solutions for rural and underserved communities.

Fourth, we need more competition throughout the healthcare industry. I would examine anti-competitive practices, consolidation, and prescription-drug middlemen that can increase costs without improving the patient’s care. A free market only works when there is genuine competition—not when a handful of large organizations dominate the choices available to consumers.

I do not want a healthcare system controlled by Washington, but I also do not want one where the American patient feels powerless against an insurance company, hospital system, or pharmaceutical company.

I want doctors, hospitals, insurers, and drug companies competing for the American patient’s business. They should have to earn that business through better prices, better outcomes, innovation, and better customer service.

My goal is straightforward: lower costs, more choices, better access, better quality, and greater control for the American people.

Healthcare is one of the most personal decisions a family makes. The patient should be in the driver’s seat, the doctor should be beside them, and government should establish fair rules of the road—not decide where they are going.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Yes. I support targeted programs when there is a demonstrated gap in access, but they should be focused, accountable, and designed to expand patient choice—not create another layer of bureaucracy.

My overall healthcare philosophy is to put the American people in the driver’s seat. I believe capitalism, transparency, and free-market competition can lower costs while improving quality and customer service. But competition only works when people actually have access to providers and meaningful choices.

For rural and underserved communities, I support expanding telehealth, direct primary care, and incentives that help bring doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals into areas facing provider shortages. My Promise for America specifically calls for addressing provider shortages and expanding access in rural and underserved communities.

For mothers and maternity care, I support better access to prenatal and postpartum care and stronger support for women facing difficult pregnancies. If we want more women to choose life, we also have to make sure they know they will have medical, financial, and community support before and after the birth of their child.

For mental healthcare, I support expanding the mental-health workforce, tele-mental-health services, and earlier access to care. We should not wait until someone reaches a crisis before they can get help.

I would also protect services for Americans with significant disabilities and families who depend on home- and community-based care. We should fight fraud and waste, but people with serious disabilities should not become the easiest place for government to cut spending. We also need to strengthen the caregiver workforce through training, recruitment, retention, and better career pathways.

My principle is simple: identify the barrier, expand the choices, measure the results, and keep the patient in control. Government should help make sure a functioning marketplace exists—not take over the healthcare decisions that belong to patients, families, and their doctors.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Two answers to this:

1) We need universal access to healthcare, and to ensure that we have insured pools of people with little to no heathcare needs to balance out the individuals with significant needs. To that end we should auto-enroll everyone US adult (if they don’t have a plan covered by their employer/parent. “Oh no - a new tax,” you may say! But this should be no cost, and one that would move to means-adjusted market premiums over say 10-15 years. That will require deficit spending, but that’s deficit spending I’m OK with to achieve this ‘Moonshot’ goal of universal coverage.

2) I have proposed a ‘United States Health Service’ (USHS) - a not-for-profit integrated healthcare service commissioned by Congress to challenge the private companies who extract large profits from the US healthcare system. We already have the VA healthcare system, which is the largest in the US… while people complain about it, it has improved. and shows that the US Government can achieve great things. This would also support greater coverage in rural and under-served areas. I wouldn’t want to see private healthcare systems nationalized, just more competition and greater levels of service.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

Yes, please see the above proposals, especially the ‘United States Health Service’ (USHS) - importantly, unlike private providers, this wouldn’t need to target “profit pools” but would provide care equally across under-served populations, and populations with different healthcare needs.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Universal Healthcare for All, I’m Fighting.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

I will consider and implement all programs that allow access to healthcare and affordability to all the Citizens of this great district .

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q9 Healthcare affordability and access are major issues for Virginians. A 2025 survey by Altarum found that 72% of Virginians worry about paying for healthcare in the future. If elected, what action would you take to address healthcare affordability and access?

Health care is a basic right and the state of the American health care system is a national shame. Funding needs to be restored for the recent Medicaid cuts as well as the recent cuts to ACA subsidies, with the caveat that both should be examined by a truly neutral process to minimize fraud, waste, and abuse. Beyond that, I support efforts to rationalize the health care system and drive down administrative costs, including moving towards a Medicare-for-all-who-want-it option.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q10 Healthcare access and affordability can also vary by demographics and need (e.g., rural areas, maternity care, mental healthcare). Are there any targeted programs you would support for specific needs or populations?

As noted above, Medicaid and ACA need be made whole again, along with ongoing efforts to get ever larger portions of the population covered by insurance. Mental health care is clearly a weak spot across the country, with large portions of our increasing homeless population suffering from mental illnesses. Addressing those illnesses not only helps the affected individuals but improves the quality of life for the whole community by reducing homelessness.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

As someone who has lived and worked in this district for years, I know NSF headquarters is a real employer for roughly 1,600 people here in Alexandria. Those are our neighbors. I also spent 27 years inside federal agencies managing facilities, budgets, and contracts. I saw how money actually moves, how overhead grows, and what happens when you raise questions about waste. That experience shapes how I look at every federal agency, including science agencies.

The federal government’s proper role is not to be the default funder of every research program universities want. Basic science has value, but so does fiscal reality. We have a massive national debt. Congress should fund only what is clearly within its constitutional lane and can show results that taxpayers can evaluate. Mission-driven work tied to defense, public health emergencies, or other limited federal responsibilities is easier to justify than open-ended academic grants that become self-perpetuating.

I would not campaign to shutter NSF tomorrow or throw 1,600 Alexandrians out of work. I would support policies that:

• Demand transparent budgets and measurable outcomes instead of treating agency headcount as an entitlement.
• Reduce administrative bloat and grant overhead so more dollars actually reach research rather than process.
• End the habit of using science agencies as vehicles for political or social priorities unrelated to rigorous inquiry.
• Encourage private, philanthropic, and industry funding to carry more of the load for curiosity-driven work, as happened for much of American scientific history.
• Apply the same waste-cutting standard I would apply to every other federal operation I have seen from the inside.

Local jobs matter. Protecting an unaccountable bureaucracy does not. Northern Virginia should not treat federal agencies as permanent economic development projects that are off-limits to scrutiny. Families here already pay high costs of living; they should not also subsidize inefficiency just because the building is in Alexandria. If elected, I would treat NSF and similar agencies the same way I treat every other part of the federal machine: insist on accountability, cut what does not work, and stop expanding government simply because it is already here.

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

My vote on NSF, NIH, and other science-agency appropriations would follow the same rules I apply to every federal dollar: constitutional purpose, measurable results, and no blank checks for agencies that have abused the public’s trust.

I am an engineer who spent years inside federal institutions. I saw waste, overhead, and retaliation when someone asked hard questions. Science funding should buy rigorous work, not permanent bureaucracies or political campaigns dressed up as research.

Priorities that would guide my votes:

• Fund mission work that is actually federal—defense-relevant research, genuine public-health emergencies, basic measurement and infrastructure—not every academic proposal that finds a lobbyist.
• Demand transparency and replication. Grants should not disappear into unreadable papers and 50-percent overhead. Taxpayers deserve to know what they bought.
• End the use of NIH and NSF as vehicles for mandates, censorship, and one-size-fits-all medical policy. COVID showed how “follow the science” became follow the agency. I will not reward that.
• Cut administrative bloat first. Protect inquiry; do not protect headcount in Alexandria or Bethesda as an entitlement.
• Stop politicized social-science and DEI set-asides that crowd out physics, engineering, and honest biomedical work.
• Encourage private, philanthropic, and industry funding for curiosity-driven research so government is not the only gatekeeper.

Local NSF jobs in this district matter to our neighbors. That does not make the agency’s budget sacred. I will support funding that is accountable and useful. I will oppose funding that grows government, hides results, or treats dissent as misinformation.

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

I spent 17 years as a federal civilian after my Navy service. I managed budgets, facilities, and people inside that system. I also saw waste, inefficiency, and what happens when you raise concerns. That is how I would vote on appropriations for federal civilian positions in public health, science, and R&D.

I would not treat headcount as a goal. I would fund positions that do real work with measurable results, and I would cut positions that exist to expand process, political programming, or agency self-protection.

My approach:

• Start with the mission, not the org chart. Fund scientists, engineers, lab staff, and program officers who produce research or protect the public. Do not automatically refill every administrative, communications, or “equity” slot that grew after 2020.
• Demand transparency. Congress should know how many civilians are in each function, what they cost, and what they delivered. If an office cannot show that, it should shrink.
• Separate essential public-health capacity from the mandate-and-messaging apparatus. I support competent disease surveillance and emergency response. I do not support using civilian payroll to enforce one-size-fits-all medical policy or to police speech.
• Apply the same standard to NSF, NIH, CDC, and similar agencies. Overhead and grant administration have grown faster than results. Cut that first before touching bench science.
• Do not hide behind “local jobs.” NSF is in this district. Those are neighbors. That does not make every GS slot permanent. Protect productive work; do not protect bureaucracy because the building is in Alexandria.
• Stop using federal hiring as a social program. Hire for competence. Alternative talent from industry and the military should be welcome. Loyalty tests and ideological screens should not be.

I took an oath to the Constitution, not to any agency’s workforce target. Appropriations should pay for a smaller, more accountable civil service that serves taxpayers—not a permanent class that serves itself.

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

The National Science Foundation as an independent federal agency has long been a leader in innovation and scientific breakthroughs essential to America’s security. The recent displacement and termination of NSF employees, along with the budget cuts under the current administration, pose serious threats to our national security and scientific development. I fully support our federal science agencies and remain committed to defending their funding and advocating for the reinstatement of unlawfully terminated personnel.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

I am fully committed to funding federal science agencies, which are crucial to America’s health, economic development, and security. As co-chair of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus and cosponsor of several pieces of AI legislation, I am particularly focused on the regulation and development of AI technology. Additionally, as the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Fusion Energy Caucus, I am a staunch advocate for development and commercialization of fusion energy.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

The recent termination of federal employees in the scientific community, combined with the budget cuts under the current administration, pose serious threats to our economic development and security. To protect independent federal agencies from political interference, I introduced the Scientific Integrity Act. Additionally, in an effort to support federal employees, I introduced both the REHIRE Act to rehire wrongfully terminated employees, and the PREP Act to prevent future abuses against the federal workforce.

KEYWORDS: AI & Fusion Energy

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

these are needed agencies and should be fully funded

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

these important and needed jobs need to be re-established and funded

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

Education and in my estimation STEM is an increasingly important focus in our ability to raise the quality of life in America. My desire to pay our debt and reduce the deficit spending that our elders have ignored would guide my desire to fund federal science initiatives. The immediate concern for the NSF and the NIH is artificial intelligence and its impacts on human civilization and this appears paramount to all other concerns.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

Deficit spending and the greed of our past generations has direct impacts on appropriations and I support the slow and concerted effort to bring our representatives moral terpitude into alignment with the people they represent. Funding these positions is important and should be free of political litmus tests.

KEYWORDS: independent

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

As a Libertarian, I believe scientific innovation should be driven increasingly by private initiative, competition, and collaboration rather than dependence on federal funding. I would support a gradual transition that encourages greater private-sector investment through targeted tax deductions and incentives for corporations funding legitimate scientific and medical research.

On the other hand, I strongly believe that federal funding should prioritize essential research that serves the public interest, particularly projects that the private sector cannot reasonably support on its own. I would also demand transparency, measurable results, and accountability for taxpayer dollars.

My objective is to expand scientific research while gradually reducing dependence on federal borrowing and government spending.

We should encourage innovation through private investment, not assume that every scientific advancement requires more government spending and debt.

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

As a Libertarian, I believe federal funding should focus on essential public responsibilities while encouraging efficiency, accountability, and greater private-sector participation.

I would support maintaining qualified federal civilian professionals in critical areas such as public health, disease prevention, scientific research, and national preparedness. However, funding decisions should be based on demonstrated needs and measurable results rather than automatically expanding federal agencies.

I would also encourage public-private partnerships, targeted tax incentives, and collaboration with universities and independent research institutions to gradually reduce dependence on federal spending without disrupting essential services.

My goal is not to eliminate valuable federal positions, but to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, avoid duplication, and ensure taxpayer dollars directly support meaningful scientific and public health outcomes.

We need an effective federal workforce, not necessarily a larger one.

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

First, I would restore cuts to NIH and all government-backed science programs Roanoke, in my district, is home to the Fralin Biomedical Institute, which has been hurt by cuts. I support continued funding for NIH and NSF.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

I have met with government workers who were DOGE’d out of jobs. I support restoring funding to fill those positions, including for science and research.

KEYWORDS: Beth Macy for Congress

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

From the beginning of the second Trump Administration, I have spoken out against the haphazard and reckless cuts to crucial federal investments in key programs that support scientific research and development. As lawmakers, we have a duty to appropriate funding conscientiously and invest in the programs that will improve American research and development, competitiveness, and public health, and I believe our federal science agencies deserve robust federal funding to support their work. As a former member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I routinely supported proposals for federal funding and legislative support to bolster science, technology, and STEM programs.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

From the beginning of the second Trump Administration, I have consistently pushed back against the Administration and DOGE’s reckless and haphazard attacks on our federal workforce. I vehemently disagree with DOGE’s gutting of our federal workforce and believe Congress must reclaim its constitutional authority as a co-equal branch of government and serve as a check on this Administration. I would support robust funding to restore our federal workforce.

KEYWORDS: Healthcare, Voting Rights, Energy & Environmental Policy, Lowering Costs

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

Former New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Editor-in-Chief Dr. Marcia Angell wrote that a large portion of published clinical research is unreliable or compromised.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

We’ll hit the $41.1 trillion debt ceiling around February, 2027. No new funding, and given the pervasive conflicts of interest in research and the low quality of research, this is a good area to scrutinize.

KEYWORDS: deficit, affordability, healthcare, inflation

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

I believe the federal government has an important role in funding basic scientific research, particularly where that research strengthens American innovation, economic competitiveness, national security, energy independence, and our ability to compete with countries like China. But federal research funding should be competitive, merit-based, transparent, and accountable to the taxpayer.

The National Science Foundation is a good example of where federal investment can help build the foundation for discoveries that eventually become new technologies, companies, industries, and American jobs. NSF supports roughly one-quarter of federally funded basic research conducted at U.S. colleges and universities.

I also strongly support keeping high-value federal science institutions and their skilled workforces here in Northern Virginia when it makes operational and economic sense. NSF is remaining in Alexandria, with approximately 1,600 positions moving to its new headquarters in the Carlyle neighborhood. That is good for Alexandria, good for the 8th District, and an opportunity to strengthen the region as an innovation center.

But my goal goes beyond protecting federal jobs. My Promise for America calls for building a new private-sector jobs ecosystem centered on manufacturing, innovation, skilled trades, emerging technology, AI readiness, advanced energy, cybersecurity, and critical technology production. I want institutions like NSF to help serve as anchors for a larger innovation economy—connecting universities, entrepreneurs, researchers, manufacturers, and private investment so discoveries made with American research dollars can become American companies and American jobs.

I would oppose arbitrary cuts that weaken strategically important scientific capabilities, but I would also demand regular program reviews, strong oversight, and measurable outcomes. We should fund science because it advances the national interest—not because Washington has always funded a particular program.

America has led the world because we have never been afraid of discovery and innovation. My objective is to make sure the next generation of breakthroughs—in energy, AI, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and other critical technologies—is researched here, developed here, and ultimately creates jobs here in America.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

My decisions on federal science funding would be guided by a simple principle: America should invest in discovery where it strengthens our health, prosperity, national security, and ability to lead the world—while demanding scientific merit and accountability for every taxpayer dollar.

I strongly support basic research. Not every important discovery produces an immediate commercial return, and some of the technologies and medical advances we depend on today began with fundamental research whose eventual application was not obvious at the time. NSF’s existing merit-review system is designed around intellectual merit, broader societal impact, and evaluation of results, which is the kind of competitive, evidence-based approach I would want federal research funding to follow.

My priorities would be:

• Scientific merit before politics. Funding decisions should be driven by rigorous science, qualified researchers, reproducibility, and the potential to advance knowledge—not partisan ideology or political fashion.

• American health and medical breakthroughs. NIH research should remain focused on preventing disease, improving diagnosis and treatment, extending healthy lives, and reducing illness and disability. That is the core purpose of NIH and an appropriate federal responsibility.

• National competitiveness and security. I would place significant emphasis on fields where America cannot afford to surrender leadership: AI, cybersecurity, quantum science, biotechnology, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, energy technology, and nuclear science. NSF itself currently identifies many of these technologies as major research areas. This aligns directly with my Promise for America, which calls for a new American jobs ecosystem based on manufacturing, innovation, AI readiness, emerging technology, and critical-technology production.

• Turn American research into American opportunity. When taxpayers help fund discoveries, I want more of the resulting innovation, intellectual property, companies, manufacturing, and jobs to stay in the United States. Federal research should be an engine that helps American entrepreneurs and private investment take discoveries from the laboratory into the marketplace.

• Accountability and stewardship. Supporting science does not mean writing blank checks. I would support strong audits, program reviews, safeguards against waste and duplication, protection of sensitive research from foreign adversaries, and measurable accountability. Research agencies should be able to explain what they are trying to accomplish and how taxpayer dollars advance their missions.

I would also protect the research workforce itself. America cannot lead scientifically if young researchers, engineers, physicians, and technical professionals see no future here. We should develop domestic talent, strengthen partnerships among universities, community colleges, laboratories, and private industry, and build pathways into the high-demand scientific and technical careers that will define the next generation of the American economy. That is consistent with my platform’s emphasis on workforce development, AI skills, apprenticeships, and emerging-technology careers.

I do not see this as a choice between supporting science and being fiscally responsible. Good government should be capable of doing both.

America has led the world because we have always been a nation of builders, inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and people willing to explore what comes next. I want federal science policy to preserve that spirit: fund excellent research, protect the taxpayer, strengthen American security and health, and make sure American innovation continues to create American opportunity.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

I believe the federal government should be strong where it needs to be, efficient where it can be, and always accountable to the American people.

When it comes to public health, science, and research and development, we are talking about more than positions on an organizational chart. We are talking about scientists, physicians, engineers, researchers, cybersecurity professionals, and technical experts whose work can protect American lives, strengthen our national security, and help keep our country at the forefront of innovation.

I do not believe every federal position should automatically be protected simply because it exists. But I also reject the idea that good government is measured by how many jobs we can eliminate. The question should be: What does America need this agency and this workforce to accomplish?

As a member of Congress, I would protect funding for mission-critical positions in areas such as biomedical research, public health, emerging disease threats, AI, cybersecurity, advanced energy, nuclear technology, and other fields important to America’s security and economic future.

At the same time, taxpayers deserve accountability. I would support regular workforce reviews, stronger audits, clear performance standards, and the elimination of duplicative programs and unnecessary bureaucracy. If a position is essential to the mission, we should recruit and retain the best person we can find. If a position or program no longer serves a meaningful purpose, government should have the courage to change it.

I would also make sure our science and technical agencies can compete for exceptional talent. America should not lose a brilliant scientist, engineer, physician, or researcher simply because a federal hiring system takes months to make a decision. We can make government more efficient without lowering standards or abandoning merit.

And I would never forget that federal employees are people—not political talking points. Many have dedicated their careers to serving this country. Reform should be thoughtful, professional, and based on mission and performance, not political winds.

My approach is not bigger government or smaller government for its own sake. It is better government.

Protect the people and capabilities America truly needs. Eliminate waste where it exists. Reward excellence. Demand accountability. And make sure every taxpayer dollar helps keep America healthy, secure, innovative, and prepared for the future.

I believe America’s greatest breakthroughs are still ahead of us. Our responsibility is to make sure the government has the talent necessary to help America reach them—without asking taxpayers to finance bureaucracy that does not advance the mission.

KEYWORDS: America’s Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of Us

Q6 The National Science Foundation, which funds about a quarter of all federally supported basic research at U.S. colleges and universities, is headquartered in Alexandria and employs roughly 1,600 people there. What is your view on the federal government’s role in funding scientific research, and what policies, if any, would you support regarding federal science agencies headquartered in Virginia, particularly in the 8th district?

Federal funding of science - often of science which has no immediate commercial interest - is still highly valuable to a world-leading economy. Today’s science may be the breakthrough of tomorrow. I am running as an Independent because political dysfunction leads to disasters like the 2025 government shutdown. It’s bad for people, bad for the economy and bad for science (and a host of other areas) - and disproportionately affects Northern Virginia, DC & Maryland.

We need a Congress that recognizes the long-term value of scientific research, provides stable funding for institutions like the National Science Foundation, and stops allowing political dysfunction to undermine the very institutions that help make America a world leader.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

I feel I should leave that to the scientists to decide, rather than an economist like me - but here are some that have my attention and interest:

Artificial Intelligence. Humanoid robotics. Cancer research. Quantum computing. New approaches to energy (e.g., small scale nuclear)

I would protect funding for fundamental scientific research, including research with no immediate commercial application, because we cannot always predict where the next amazing breakthrough will come from.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

First off, we must never have political dysfunction result in government shutdown like the one in 2025 - we can’t have government workers treated like that, plus the families and businesses that depend on them. This is a day 1 priority for me, and there is existing proposed legislation that has stalled.

It’s legitimate for government agencies (and the GAO) to assess their workforce relative to needs, and adjust accordingly - coming from business I understand that. What we saw with DOGE was nonsensical and spiteful, in my opinion. Scientific agencies need continuity of expertise - and when experienced researchers, technical specialists, and program managers leave replacing their institutional knowledge can take years.

KEYWORDS: AI,Humanoid Robotics,healthcare

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

Yes.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

Yes.

KEYWORDS: Bishop Staten

Q3 NASA Langley Research Center and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility represent two major federally funded research centers located in Virginia’s 3rd district. What role do you see these research centers playing in this district and how would you consider these in science funding related legislation?

These and other federal scientific centers of excellence across the country are foundational not only to our scientific establishment, but to our economy and the quality of life of our citizens. Building up the requisite subject matter expertise takes decades, and has been decimated by the current administration’s DOGE and other efforts to de-fund scientific work that does not fit into their agenda. Congress needs to re-assert its authority, re-fund these organizations, and mandate efforts to reconstitute the work force from the damage done in the last two years.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q13 As a member of Congress, you would vote on appropriations for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. What priorities, if any, would guide your decisions on federal science funding?

At this point, the priority needs to be on providing funding as soon as possible to give us the best possible change to reconstitute the federal government’s scientific work force, before it is completely absorbed into the private sector or moves to other countries. Concurrently, all programs within NSF, NIH, and other scientific agencies (NOAA, NASA, etc.) should be examined to identify if there are improvements in efficiency and effectiveness that can be accomplished during that process.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service

Q14 As a member of Congress, you would also vote on appropriations affecting federal civilian positions, and the availability of these positions. Specifically focusing on workforce positions related to public health, science, and research and development, how would you approach appropriations/funding for federal civilian positions?

Very similarly, funding needs to be restored to allow all needed portions of the work force to be reconstituted.

KEYWORDS: climate change, sea level rise, flooding, meteorology, oceanography, data, data-as-a-service