Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Rana Abdelhamid for US Congress NY-12

Candidate Name: Rana Abdelhamid

Office Seeking Election for: US Congress NY-12

Website: https://www.ranaforcongress.com/

1. Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district.

Growing up, I went to underfunded New York City public schools in Queens and walked through metal detectors to get into the building. When I was a child, I saw Rep.

Maloney, on TV wearing a burqa on the floor of Congress to justify the invasion of Iraq and praise President Bush for his response. I grew up in a neighborhood literally nicknamed “asthma alley” and watched as friends, neighbors, and my own family were forced to move by gentrification and rising rents. I’ve watched as our elected officials prioritized wealthy donors and giant corporations while delis like my father were forced to close their doors.

When the pandemic hit, the inequities in housing, community safety, healthcare, and education that have always existed were exacerbated. Small businesses suffered and shut

down, immigrants were excluded from federal aid, more New Yorkers got sick, went hungry, and struggled to find a place to sleep. Our communities were struggling, and our leadership was nowhere to be found. However, I saw how beautifully we showed up for each other; how community food banks and mutual aid efforts sprang up. From a place of deep love for my community and city, I responded to this inequity by organizing. I founded a halal community fridge to feed our neighbors during the pandemic. I organized a march against the Muslim Ban. I worked with immigrant and queer folks to build trauma informed, community led safety programs for ourselves.

I believe we deserve a Representative who fights for us as hard as we fight for each other. I have spent the last decade organizing across New York City: fighting against gentrification, addressing challenges of food insecurity, marching for Black lives, and advocating for gender justice. I am running for Congress to take this fight to a higher level, and build a society rooted in justice, human rights, and solidarity.

2. Do you now support or have you ever supported an openly LGBTQ candidate for public office?

I was a strong supporter of Councilmember Tiffany Cabán. I not only organized house parties and fundraisers for her, but I also organized within my community to increase turnout in the race. I also have the endorsements of LGBTQ leaders like Councilmember Cabán, Assemblymember Jessica Gonzales-Rojas and Cynthia Nixon.

3. If applicable, what legislation directly affecting the LGBTQ community have you introduced or co-sponsored? (indicate accordingly).

This is my first time running for public office, but if elected following would be my legislative priorities for the LGBTQ community:

? Housing equity for the LGBTQ community- Between 20 and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as queer. Homelessness or the threat of homelessness frequently forces LGBTQ youth into survival behaviors that jeopardize their wellbeing and safety. They are also at a much higher risk of being targeted by police violence. I will not only ensure that I co-sponsor the Equality Act, but will also work with allies to mount a meaningful public pressure campaign to get it passed. I strongly believe the path to full housing for LGBTQ folks goes through fully funding Public Housing. I will use every tool at my disposal to pass the Green New Deal for Public Housing and Rep. Omar’s Homes for All Act. I will also work to ensure that every housing legislation has strong justice and equity standards for LGBTQ folks and people living with HIV/AIDS.

? Safety for the LGBTQ community: In 2020, the New York Police Department used pepper spray and batons against queer demonstrators on the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Uprising. In a 2015 Urban Institute study of young LGBTQ people, 15 percent of respondents reported that simply having condoms when stopped by police was enough to justify sustained questioning, and even arrest, for prostitution-related offenses. I believe true safety for queer people means large scale, meaningful police reform, housing security, and ending criminalization of sex-work and poverty. I would work tirelessly to redirect funds from policing to

mental health care, trauma informed respondents, community control and accountability for police violence and centering safety of sex workers; to repeal FOSTA/SESTA, which Rep. Maloney supported.

? Healthcare equity: In a 2017 survey 1 in 10 LGBTQ+ individuals reported that a health care professional refused to see them in the prior year because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Nearly 3 in 10 trans people reported that providers would not see them because of their gender identity. There are promising clinical trials of an AIDS vaccine, but people who need these medical breakthroughs the most never get them. PrEP is very effective in preventing HIV, yet only 43 percent of the Black men who have sex with men were had discussed PrEP with their physicianan. 58% of white men who have sex with men talked with their doctors about the medication, which is still far too low. Our for-profit healthcare system is not equipped to deliver quality care to those who need it. We need fully funded single payer healthcare, expand publicly funded, trauma informed, LGBTQ+ aware primary care. I will organize on the outside with movement partners and inside the halls of Congress to pass single-payer enhanced and expanded Medicare For All. We also need to take a close look at the medical curriculum. A key part of ending queerphobia and transphobia in healthcare is also dismantling it in medical education.

4. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?

After surviving a hate-based attack from a man who tried to rip off my hijab when I was 16, I founded an organization, Malikah, to create trauma informed community spaces and to teach self defense to women and non-binary folks. We are an organization led by, for and made up of predominantly LGBTQ+ folks. After Trump got elected I also taught self defense in collaboration with organizations serving queer and trans people through the Movement Voter Project and their affiliates.

5. If applicable, what LGBTQ organizations have you allocated funds to? N/A

6. Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBTQ community? I do not.

7. Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years? Yes I have.

8. Have you employed openly LGBTQ individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?

Yes I have both in the past as a part of my work with Malikah (a gender justice org), our program director, grants manager, finance director and our full board (except for one person) are LGBTQ and currently in my campaign staff. My Call Time Manager and one of my senior advisors and mentors openly identify as LGBTQ.

9. If you receive the endorsement, do you agree to identify the club on all literature and electronic materials where you list endorsements?

Absolutely, with pride.

10. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBTQ issues, pro choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?

I was one of the organizer of the march against the Trump Muslim Ban in Boston where I was studying at that time. I also participated in demonstrations at ICE detention centers to protest family separation and deportations.

11. Will you advocate for legislation to mandate the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals aged 55 and older who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release?

Absolutely. The US has more people in prison than any country in the world. America locks up 22 percent of the world’s prisoners, despite accounting for only 4 percent of the world’s population. In addition to supporting sentence reviews and release of individuals over the age of 55, I believe we need to reverse the harmful effects of the 1994 Crime Bill, which Rep. Maloney supported, and reduce the federal prison population by 80% as proposed by Rep. Pressley through her transformational People’s Justice Guarantee framework. I would co-sponsor and organize to pass the following legislation:

a. Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act introduce by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Cori Bush, Congressman and Hakeem Jeffries

b. The Dismantle Mass Incarceration for Public Health Act with Reps. Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Barbara Lee which ties eligibility for federal funding to urgent release of medically vulnerable individuals

c. Decriminalize Marijuana and other low-level offenses and expunge past records.

12. Will you advocate for legislation that would ensure those appearing before the New York State Parole Board are considered for release from prison based on who they are today and not exclusively based on the nature of their crime?

Yes. We need to overhaul our parole system, and ensure that it is focused on rehabilitation and re-entry rather than focusing on the nature of the crime someone is charged with. I would support efforts to ensure that our parole system focuses on wrap-around services like housing, healthcare, jobs training and apprenticeships, and mental health and community support.

13. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons such as Bedford Correctional Facility? When was your last visit to visit incarcerated constituents?

Yes. I commit to visiting incarcerated constituents and fight in Congress to ensure that the civil, human and labor rights of incarcerated folks are protected and codified in law. I haven't visited a prison so far.

14. Have you participated in any demonstrations or protests in relation to the issues of clemency and parole?

I have not attended protests specifically for clemency and parole issues.

15. Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals?

Unequivocally yes. I will also fight to ensure that any COVID recovery, infrastructure or Climate jobs bill has employment programs for formerly incarcerated individuals. I will also propose a Reparations for War On Drugs bill that ensures affirmative employment in the cannabis industry and zero to low-interest loans for folks targeted and incarcerated due to the racist war on drugs.

16. Do you believe in the decriminalization of sex work?

Yes. I believe criminalization of sex work exposes workers to trafickers and violence. I worked on Amnesty International's ICM 2015 decision to decriminalize sex work as part of our human rights policy, learned from sex workers directly on the harms of the Nordic model and FOSTA/SESTA.

17. Will you oppose any legislation that promotes the Nordic model? Yes. The Nordic model is harmful to sex workers.

18. What proposals will you advocate for the protection of immigrants and further New York as a Sanctuary City?

For physical safety and protection of immigrants in NYC, I believe we need to pass federal guidelines prohibiting hospitals, public institutions, emergency services, employers, and social services institutions from collaborating and sharing data with ICE. For economic safety, my office will review HHS programs from which immigrants are excluded and we will leverage every tool at our disposal to ensure that immigrants have full access to critical social safety nets and federal aide that is their right.

19. Will you advocate, including introducing legislation, to remove public funding from religious schools?

Yes, absolutely.

20. Do you support the establishment of safe consumption spaces?

Yes. Nationally, over 100,000 Americans died of an overdose between April 2020 to April 2021. In New York City, 2,062 people died of an overdose in 2020, the highest number of deaths since reporting began 20 years ago. Last year, President Biden embraced harm reduction, becoming the first president to include it in their drug policy priorities. However, there are still significant legal obstacles to widespread operation of

overdose prevention centers. Half-hearted measures and directives are not enough. We have decades of peer-reviewed research that shows overdose prevention centers reduce public drug use, reduce overdose deaths, and provide people with the resources and pathway to seek services and treatment. We need a federal law empowering states to implement evidence based tactics to fight the overdose epidemic and I will work with movement partners to push the Biden administration to endorse OPCs.

21. Have you ever endorsed any member of the IDC or any candidates who challenged IDC members? Please identify all candidates

I haven’t supported any IDC candidate or their allies.

22. Will you commit to hiring a member of the LGBT community to serve as a liaison to the community?

I will. Not only that, I will ensure that senior staff in non-liaison positions and in the legislative department are representative of the LGBTQ community whenever possible.

23. Will you commit to ensuring diverse LGBT representation among your staff?

Yes, I will. I have LGBTQ representation among my campaign staff and advisory team. During the transition period we will set up a framework for representation against which we will evaluate our applicants pipeline. I believe that to ensure representation in staff, we need to be proactive in creating a diverse pipeline of candidates and we will not move forward with the hiring process until we have exhausted all reasonable measures to ensure that.

24. Who did or do you support for office in the Democratic primary in the following races

A) mayor and comptroller in 2021 B) President in 2016 and 2020 C) Governor and Lt. Governor 2022

I supported the following candidates:

A) Maya Wiley for Mayor and Comptroller Brad Lander

B) Bernie Sanders in both Democratic primaries

C) Jumaane Williams and Ana María Archila

25. Describe any federal legislation and policy changes that you support in order to address the ongoing effects of slavery, racism, colonialism, and discrimination

Achieving true racial, gender and other forms of equity and addressing ongoing impacts of past injustices is not just about passing one bill. It is about ensuring that every legislation centers those who are the most impacted by the racist, homophobic, classist, and sexist policies of the past and actively undoing the harm. Racism, queerphobia and inaccessibility for folks living with disabilities is a core part of many American institutions and has led to disparate outcomes in housing, healthcare, employment, life expectancy, education, incomes, and access to greenspaces, clean drinking water and air to name a few. Since oppression is multi-faceted and ingrained in our institutions, so should our response to them be.

This is why every bill/ legislation I have proposed so far has centered communities impacted by institutional oppression. Our housing proposal - Housing for the People - proposed reparations for redlining. I also support the reparations bill in the House: HR40. In the aftermath of the New Deal, while white families were receiving the benefit of expanded social services and federal investment, Black families were being systematically excluded from these services through redlining. We must pay reparations for stolen generational wealth both through cash payments and through equitable investment in historically redlined neighborhoods without causing displacement of the families who have lived there for generations.

Similarly, a climate justice legislation we support, The THRIVE Act, mandates that at least half of the new investments directly benefit frontline communities that have borne the brunt of systemic racism, environmental injustice, and economic exclusion, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Arab, Asian, and Pacific Islander communities.

To undo the impacts of colonialism, we need to end the colonization of territories like Puerto Rico. I support a congressionally-sanctioned binding referendum that lets residents of these territories determine their own future.

26. What legislation or other policy changes do you support in order to make college and graduate school affordable for poor, working-class, and middle-class Americans and to alleviate the crushing loan debt that many students and alumni are facing?

I believe we need to cancel all student debt and remove barriers to higher education for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities. I also believe we need to pass tuition-free public colleges, triple the funding for HBCUs, and massively expand nursing and healthcare education capacity to meet the healthcare needs of our communities as we move toward universal single-payer healthcare.

27. Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Please elaborate.

During the pandemic, I had the misfortune to experience our two-tiered healthcare system first hand. On the night when my mom struggled to breath, every Doctor recommended that we not take her to a hospital in Queens because of how overwhelmed and under-resourced the hospitals were. This is common throughout the country. The level of care and resource allocation depends on your zip code. Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor communities got worse care. This is a direct result of our for-profit healthcare system.

I believe we need single-payer Medicare for All. We need to repair the harm done by decades of disinvestment in healthcare for underserved communities. Any healthcare bill should have strong standards for labor, racial, and economic justice and must distribute investment equitably. We also need fully-funded public colleges and universities and triple the investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities to ensure we can bridge the gap between patient needs and the number of healthcare workers.

28. Discuss your stance on reproductive rights, including access to contraceptives and abortion services.

I believe in universal, accessible, and free at the point-of-service reproductive care and abortion services. I volunteered on the ground in Puerto Rico helping folks access reproductive care when clinics on the island had shut down because of hurricane Mariah and the austerity forced by the PROMESA Act, which Rep. Maloney vigorously supported.

As Democrats we lost two huge opportunities to codify Roe V Wade into federal law when we had the opportunity. We also failed to expand the Supreme Court as promised by President Biden when he was running for office. If elected, I will work with the White House and the party leadership at every level to walk the talk on reproductive rights and leverage our power to deliver on these promises.

29. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate?

100% yes. I already do. I am accepting no real estate money whatsoever.

30. Will you refuse money from police and corrections unions? I am accepting zero cents from police and correction unions.

31. Will you refuse and refund any contributions from executives at corporations complicit in the Trump agenda?

Yes, without hesitation.

32. What additional information would you like Jim Owles to consider when we are making our endorsements decisions?

The only thing I would like to add is that it is one thing to cosponsor a bill; it is another to organize a meaningful public pressure campaign to actually win and deliver care results for the people who need them most. I will follow the footsteps of those like Rep. Cori Bush who never stopped being an organizer. I intend to use my constituent services department office in the district as an organizing base. My legislative, political and constituent services team will work together to ensure that we use every tool at our disposal to deliver on the movement’s priorities. We will work with allies, persuade good faith detractors politically, and organize to build outside pressure on those who are beholden to their donors. I will never stop being an organizer.

33. If you resign in the middle of your term, will you let the voters decide? Do you plan to serve your term and not send a vacancy to the county committee?

I will not resign in the middle of my term. I know the implications on marginalized communities when the machine gets to pick their candidate. As a movement candidate, I am accountable to those closest to the pain caused by decades of willful neglect and disinvestment. I will ensure that this seat and NY-12 moves in a more progressive direction with my actions and words and that this seat remains ours in Congress.

34. Who are you supporting for Speaker/Democratic leader in 2023?

It is too early to say. If elected, my goal will be to support someone who is willing to fight the difficult battles on full and equitable COVID recovery, Green New Deal for Public Housing and Public Schools, and large scale reform of policing and prison systems. Additionally we also need someone who is willing to push the party and its members to fight the ideological battles, like rights of trans folks, critical race and gender theory, and full citizenship for undocumented immigrants to name a few, in national media and on the floor of Congress. I will support the candidate who can demonstrate the ability and willingness to fight these battles and defend the party’s stance on these issues.

35. In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with AIDS, and was blatantly racist, would you support a city bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge? Do you authorize the use of your name for such a purpose?

Like most New Yorkers, I continue to refer to the bridge as the Queensboro Bridge. Its original name is as iconic as the bridge itself and this is what I still call it! There was no need to rename it, let alone after someone with the history of Ed Koch. Yes, I would support this effort and authorize the use of my name to demonstrate public support.

1. What is your position on removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle and if so, what should replace it?

We should remove the statue. I believe that there is a difference in teaching real history and glorifying parts of our past simply because they are a part of our history. At a time when Republicans are trying to start an ideological battle on teaching accurate history in classrooms, we can not cower and be afraid to stand for our values. I don’t believe exalting people like Christopher Columbus accurately reflects the part they played in the racist, genocidal beginnings of our country. That history is better taught with somber reflection and critical thinking in classrooms using a curriculum that includes contemporary sources from Indigenous history. I think the statue should be replaced with something memorializing the history of the Lenape people, the native tribe whose land it resides on, and Seneca Village, a thriving center for African immigrants in New York City before their entire village was destroyed to create a portion of Central Park in 1857. Ultimately this should be a decision led by a civilian committee led by elders and representatives from the Black community and the Lenape tribe.

2. What is your position on FOSTA/SESTA, passed in 2018? Do you or will you sponsor the Safe Workers Study Act which has been introduced by Elizabeth Warren and co- sponsored by Reps. Barbara Lee and Ron Wyden and a host of other sponsors including Bernie Sanders.

FOSTA/SESTA, which Rep. Maloney supported, has made sex workers more vulnerable to traffickers and violence by stripping away the tools they use to be in control of their safety and well-being. Trans sex workers of color are already at disproportionate risk of both poverty and violence, and FOSTA-SESTA has only made the situation worse. I support repealing FOSTA/SESTA and I will co-sponsor and organize to pass the Safe Workers Study Act.

3. Do you support the class-wide scheduling of Fentanyl-related substances, which groups like Human Rights Watch have argued would worsen pretrial detention, mass incarceration, and racial disparities?

I strongly support letting the temporary ban on fentanyl related substances expire and instead investing in evidence-based public-health focused solutions. Class-wide scheduling exacerbates pretrial detention, mass incarceration and racist disparities in the prison system, doubling down on a fear-based, enforcement-first response to a public health challenge.

4. Do you support the Green New Deal?

Absolutely. I grew up in Astoria’s “Asthma Alley,” where the air quality was a public health risk because we were surrounded by fossil fuel peaker plants. Half of the hospitalizations for asthma in the city are right here in Astoria. Last summer, Hurricane Ida pummeled our district with 9 inches of rain, flooding streets and basements throughout the district. In Queens, people died in their basement apartments as backed up rain and waste water flooded their homes. The compounding structural injustices of racism and poverty means that Black, brown, Indigenous, poor and disabled communities bear the brunt of climate impacts. Power plants, refineries, and extraction sites are more likely to be located near Black, brown, and Indigenous communities; as a result, communities like mine face more of the health impacts from air pollution, like asthma and cancer. The Green New Deal framework is the only one that addresses the scale, scope and urgency of the climate crisis, and centers frontline communities for equitable and just transition. I not only support it, but the Green New Deal for Public Housing and the Green New Deal for public schools are also my top legislative priorities.

5. President Biden has not granted a single pardon or commutation. When have you publicly demanded that Biden do more on this issue? Will you pledge to publicly speak out about this in 2022?

Absolutely. I also believe we need to overhaul our pardon and commutation system and bring more democracy and transparency into the process. I will co-sponsor and organize to pass Rep. Pressley’s FIX Clemency Act to ensure that people with relevant expertise, including in behavioral health, rehabilitation, and re-entry, to recommend individuals for clemency directly to the President and that clemency process protects people from greater prosecution.

6. Do you commit to not supporting Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema? Will you consider supporting a primary opponent?

Yes. I believe this is about the soul of the party. We need to decide if we are still the party of labor rights, civil rights, and justice. We can not be that if we don't stand up for our ideals and ensure that every person who runs on the Democratic ticket for any level of office works toward a progressive vision rooted in justice and equity.

7. Some members of congress indicate they will only support incumbents regardless of their politics and regardless of who is presenting them a primary. Are you one of them?

Absolutely not. As Democrats, we have to think about party building; not just think about the “right now”, but also keep an eye on the future of the party. We lost to Trump because we have forgotten that young people, BIPOC communities, working-class families and LGBTQ folks are our base. We did not fight for universal public healthcare, reproductive rights, The Equality Act, and expanding voting rights when we had the supermajority in Congress and the White House.

Our party needs to reflect our base and deliver on the promises we make to them, which means electing fighting Democrats; Democrats who don't take money from the real estate industry, fossil fuel executives and Wall Street.