Democratic Primary candidates outline their priorities

Candidates for the Democratic Primary for the 8th Congressional District don’t differ much in terms of policy positions, but they do differ on what they can bring to Congress.

The incumbent, Rep. Don Beyer, has experience, having served in Congress since 2015.

He chairs the Joint Economic Committee, serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Science Space and Technology Committee, and co-chairs the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force.

His challenger in the primary, Victoria Virasingh, is the daughter of immigrants and a political newcomer who can bring more progressive and younger people into the Democratic Party.

The primary is June 21. The 8th District encompasses parts of Annandale and other areas in Fairfax County, Falls Church, Arlington, and Alexandria.

The two candidates addressed a long list of issues at a forum April 24, including the following:

Immigration

In one area they where they differed, Virasingh said she supports lifting Title 42, which allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border.

“I stand in favor of modernizing our immigration process” and “a clear pathway for citizenship,” Virasingh said.

While Beyer also supports immigration reform, he stopped short of calling for an immediate end to Title 42.

“It’s the right thing under the law. It’s the right thing morally. It’s probably a dangerous thing politically,” Beyer said. He is concerned that the Biden Administration is “not ready for the surge that will follow after Title 42.”

Student debt  

Both candidates urge Biden to keep his campaign promise to eliminate student debt. And both called for reducing college costs.

But while Virasingh would immediately eliminate $50,000 worth of debt, Beyer would start with $10,000 as proposed by Biden.

“We need to rethink what post K-12 education looks like.” It could be a trade school or apprenticeship program, as well as a four-year college degree,” Virasingh said, adding, state college tuition should be tax deductible.

Affordable housing

Housing is one of the top three issues Virasingh said she heard on the campaign trail. “I stand with the YIMBY movement – Yes in My Backyard” for more affordable housing opportunities in the 8th district.

She also called for more action at the federal level for subsidized housing and community land trusts.  

Beyer noted he is one of the congressional leaders pushing for low-income housing credits in the Build Back Better bill, which hasn’t yet passed. He also called for doubling the number of housing vouchers.

Labor unions

Both Virasingh and Beyer support the PRO Act, which would restore the right of workers to form a union and bargain for changes in the workplace. They both lauded the workers at the Starbucks in Merrifield for unionizing.

Beyer, one of the sponsors of the PRO Act, said to get Congress to pass it, voters need to elect more Democrats and Congress needs to get rid of the filibuster.

“Supporting unionization efforts is the way to rebuild the working class,” said Virasingh. The PRO Act would restore dignity to workers and “ensure we have good-paying jobs with healthcare and pensions.”

Healthcare

When asked how to gain public support for expanding Medicare for all, Virasingh stressed the importance of getting people to understand that prescription drug prices would be reduced and that they would gain dental and vision coverage.

Beyer supports dropping the age limit by 15 years first, then working to include everyone. He also supports legislation to allow negotiations on drug prices.

Regarding lessons learned from the pandemic, Beyer said we need to prepare now for the next one. Despite the warnings, “we weren’t ready” for Covid. The country didn’t have enough personal protective equipment and didn’t plan ahead.

“As a consequence, we lost many more people than we should have,” he said, noting about a quarter to a third of the deaths could have been prevented.

Virasingh cited three takeaways from the pandemic: We need legislation to combat the influence of misinformation. We need universal healthcare. And the way we work has changed and has become the new normal.  

Reproductive rights

Both candidates would like Roe v. Wade added to the Constitution, and they both support the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds for most abortions.

Beyer said he fears the Supreme Court is moving in the wrong direction, which would mean the end of reproductive rights for women in 30 to 35 states.

Virasingh said reproductive rights also extend to education and access to contraceptives and affordable healthcare.

Childcare and paid family leave

Biden was one of the congressional leaders in getting paid family medical leave for federal employees. He noted the tax credits for childcare lifted half the nation’s children out of poverty last summer.

The proposals for free prekindergarten in Build Back Better are critical for bringing parents back into the workforce, he said. “We’ve done part of it. We have much more to go.”

“Childcare is the number one issue when I talked to working moms regardless of socioeconomic status,” Virasingh said.

The lack of affordable childcare was a problem 30 years ago when her mom had to bring her to the nail salon where she worked. “In 2022 the same thing is happening.”

Virasingh said guaranteed subsidized childcare and federal parental leave policies are among her top priorities.

Foreign policy

“Our greatest long-term challenge has to be China,” Beyer said. “We should cooperate with China wherever we can and we should compete wherever we must.”

The other big challenge “is the rising autocracy everywhere,” he said. “We have to fight for democracy. And we first have to fight for it here where it’s under attack” in state governments.

Virasingh called for building diplomatic relationships with neighboring and allied countries, like those in Central America, “whether we agree with their government or not.”

Related story: Victoria Virasingh runs against Rep. Beyer

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Virasingh would pursue strong economic sanctions against Russia.

She also called for a stronger refugee program that provides access to housing, healthcare, jobs, transitional programs, and English classes.  

“I absolutely oppose ground troops in Ukraine,” Beyer said, which would lead to skyrocketing civilian deaths and the risk of nuclear war.

“I think we’re going to win the war in Ukraine,” he said. “We thought Russia has the second-best army in the world. It turns out it’s the second-best army in Ukraine.”

Increasing pressure on the Russian economy will hasten Russia’s exit from Ukraine, he said. Eventually, “Russia will be weakened enough and will think about different kinds of leadership moving forward.”

Renewable energy

Beyer said it’s possible to get to 100 percent renewable energy. “But the way we’re doing it now, without Build Back Better, without permanent tax credits for solar and wind energy, is going to take a long time.”

He is a strong supporter of fusion energy, which can run on sea water with no radioactive waste and can power the entire world. Fusion “can make climate change a thing of the past and lift 2 billion people out of poverty,” he said.

Virasingh, who says she never owned a car and relies on urban transportation, proposed investing in urban planning and a tax code that incentivizes the use of renewable energy.

Both candidates support the Green New Deal.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing us,” Virasingh said. While aggressive action is needed, “we must ensure the burden is not unfairly placed on low-income communities and communities of color.”

“If I can only get one thing done, I want to be the clearest strongest voice to fight climate change I can be,” said Beyer, who also noted climate justice is an important part of this.

Money in politics

Beyer and Virasingh would both support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the Supreme Court ruling that said corporations are people in terms of political donations.

Both also expressed concern about the need to reduce the influence of money in politics.

Virasingh refused to accept campaign donations from corporations. Beyer sold all his stocks in February, which he didn’t manage anyway, and moved the money to mutual funds.

Federal spending

Members of Congress got 10 earmarks this year, meaning they could direct funds to specific projects, Beyer noted. In determining which projects to fund, he asked local government leaders in the 8th district what their priorities are.

Some of the things he used earmarks for included body cameras for the Alexandria police, a mental health unit for the Arlington police, and sewer systems for Falls Church.

Virasingh said she would prioritize transportation access for people with disabilities, urban planning, bike lanes, and mental health services in schools.

According to Virasingh, investing in education, healthcare, and clean air and clean water will “build our domestic resiliency.”

Defense spending, which is actually a relatively small percentage of the federal budget, is still important, Beyer said. What the war in Ukraine taught us, “We are still the guarantor of many, many people’s security around the world.”

Beyer put together a working group to stop the modernization of the nuclear arsenal. “We can already kill everyone dozens of times over. We don’t need to kill them 100 times over,” he said.

Gun violence

To curb gun violence, Virasingh would ban assault rifles and support a federal red flag law, which allows the confiscation of guns from people at risk of committing violence.

Beyer created a suicide task force, noting that two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides. He would also strengthen the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and better regulate gun dealers. He said about 10 percent of the nation’s gun dealers account for 70 percent of the guns used in crimes.

Reparations

Virasingh supports cash reparations for the descendants of slaves. She noted homes in Black communities are appraised at lower values than comparable homes in White communities.

“Reparations level out the playing field,” she said. “It’s not just about the money. It’s about acknowledging our past.”

“I’m deeply, deeply committed to this,” Beyer said. Rather than a cash payout, he supports “baby bonds” that invest in children at birth and subsidizing housing costs for first-time homebuyers.

Contested primaries

According to Beyer, contested primaries “strengthen our democracy,” and participating in a primary “makes me a better candidate.”

The only thing he regrets is having less time on fundraising for at-risk Democrats.

Having a primary draws people from communities that have never been invited to participate in the electoral process before, Virasingh said. “Win or lose, we’re bringing new people into the party.”