Yadira Caraveo

Replacing:

New Seat Following 2020 Census[i]

WORK HISTORY:

Colorado House of Representatives (State Representative, District 31); Peak Pediatrics (Pediatrician); Horizon Primary Care (Pediatrician); University of New Mexico (Pediatric Resident)[ii] [iii]

Education:

Diploma, Northglenn High School; BS, Regis University; MD, University of Colorado at Boulder[iv]

Campaigned On:

Health Care; Housing; Climate Change; Reproductive Rights; Voting Rights[v]

On the Issues

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Caraveo is pro-choice and says she will “fight like hell” in Congress to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law.[vi] In the Colorado legislature, Caraveo supported legislation codifying legal abortion in state law and providing reproductive healthcare for undocumented immigrants.[vii] [viii] [ix] She is endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice American and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.[x] [xi]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

Lowering costs for working families will be a key priority for Caraveo in Congress, “whether it’s around health care, whether it’s around housing.” She says she will work to lower taxes for the working class and ensure corporations and the wealthy “pay their fair share.”[xii] Caraveo supports a $15 federal minimum wage, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and creating a federal family and sick leave package.[xiii] [xiv] [xv] [xvi] [xvii] She is a former union representative and an advocate for workers’ rights, and in the Colorado legislature, she “fought” for legislation eliminating the “subminimum wage” and requiring employers to compensate individuals with disabilities fairly.[xviii] [xix] [xx]

Healthcare & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Healthcare will be Caraveo’s top priority in Congress. She asserts, “It’s the reason I ran. […] affordability and access is always going to be at the top of mind for me.” She says she will work to pass a public health insurance option “to make sure that we’re providing pressure on the marketplace” and “providing an option for people to access health care affordably.”[xxi] As a member of the state legislature, Caraveo helped created Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which has the power to review and cap the prices of prescription drugs.[xxii] As a pediatrician, she argues there are not enough healthcare ”workers” and “experts” in Congress, and says she will work to protect Medicare and Social Security.[xxiii] [xxiv] [xxv]

Immigration & BORDER SECURITY:

As the daughter of immigrants and the relative of DACA recipients, Caraveo believes the US immigration system should be “totally reformed.” She argues, “it’s been decades where we’ve just been talking, talking, talking,” adding, “we have increased prices for people to apply for citizenship. We need to reform the system so it doesn’t take so long. We’ve been delaying, because of political reasons, changing people’s lives.” In 2021, Caraveo signed a letter alongside other state lawmakers urging federal democratic leadership to prioritize immigration reform and “divest from immigration enforcement agencies like (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and (Customs and Border Patrol).” She has since said she would not defund ICE or CBP.[xxvi] [xxvii] In the state legislature, Caraveo advocated for legislation providing contraceptive care to undocumented immigrants and enacting workplace protections for agricultural workers.[xxviii] [xxix]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

Following the death of Elijah McClain, Caraveo cosponsored a Colorado bill limiting the use of ketamine and sedative drugs by law enforcement and prohibiting them from ordering paramedics to sedate people.[xxx] [xxxi] She also supported a 2019 bill reducing penalties for drug possession, including fentanyl, because Colorado needed “a different approach with fentanyl” that targets dealers rather than addicts.[xxxii] Caraveo further supported a 2022 Colorado bill providing $30.5 million in grant programs for state law enforcement, known as the “fund the police” bill.”[xxxiii] [xxxiv] In April 2021, Caraveo praised the verdict finding Derek Chauvin guilty of George Floyd’s murder, adding, “we must transform the institutions that consistently devalue Black & brown lives.”[xxxv]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Caraveo has argued that voting rights are “under attack,” and that “ever since Trump spread his ‘Big Lie’ after the 2020 election, Republicans have been working to destroy voting rights.” In Congress, Caraveo says she will “fight to bring better ballot access” to her community.[xxxvi] As a member of the state legislature, she fought for legislation enacting multilingual ballot access and establishing a ballot translation hotline.[xxxvii] [xxxviii] [xxxix] Caraveo has called Colorado’s voting system “the country’s gold standard,” and praised Major League Baseball for moving its All-Star Game to the state after it left Georgia in protest of the state’s new restrictive vote laws.[xl] [xli] [xlii] She is endorsed by the national election reform group, End Citizens United/Let America Vote.[xliii]

EDUCATION:

Caraveo is an advocate for public education and argues Colorado’s public education system is “grossly underfunded.” She believes charter schools should be held to “the same standards as traditional public schools,” and that they should be “accessible to the same populations that traditional public schools serve and should be transparent in their use of public funds.”[xliv] In 2019, Caraveo introduced legislation which would increase taxes on nicotine products and use the revenue to support rural education and preschool programs in the state.[xlv] [xlvi] In December 2021, she praised the Biden administration for extending the student loan moratorium.[xlvii] Caraveo has also supported bills in the state legislature expanding funding for colleges and schools, and creating a “refundable tax credit for early childhood educators earning up to $75,000.”[xlviii]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Caraveo has reportedly argued that climate change is man-made, and government action must be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[xlix] During a campaign for Colorado House of Representatives, Caraveo argued that fracking “releases toxic chemicals into the air and children are at particular risk from exposure due to their size and anatomy,” and that oil and gas production in Colorado had “moved into heavily populated areas in Colorado and will pose an increasing threat to the health of individuals in the metro area.”[l]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

In an October 2021 tweet, Caraveo shared an article reporting on a former Facebook data scientist accusing the company of failing address it negative impact on teens and “being dishonest in its public fight against hate and misinformation.” Regarding the article, Caraveo said she was “deeply concerned to hear from a former Facebook employee these allegations of disregard for our democracy and public health.” She said she will “fight for federal action to address this concerning behavior” in office.[li] [lii]

GUN SAFETY:

In support of eliminating high-capacity magazines and expanding background checks on gun sales, Caraveo has argued that current gun safety measures must be protected and the US must ensure that “guns are kept out of the hands of those with violent criminal histories and mental instability.” [liii] As a member of the Colorado House, Caraveo voted for HB19-1177, a bill to establish extreme risk protection orders, as well as HB 21-1106, legislation to require gun owners to securely store their firearms.[liv] [lv]

FOREIGN POLICY:

Caraveo condemned Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and asserted “the U.S. must stand with Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, support Ukrainian refugees, and make clear that we will never allow Russia to succeed in undermining democracies around the globe.”[lvi] As a member of the state legislation, she sponsored a resolution “concerning support for Ukraine and against Russian aggression.[lvii]