My Opponent — Michaela For Tennessee

I'm running against Tim Burchett. Why?

A lot of people in East Tennessee like Tim Burchett. He’s friendly, he’s approachable, and he talks a good game about fighting the Washington machine. I understand why he's won so many elections.

But just being likable doesn’t make you a good Representative. Talking the talk means little when you're not walking the walk. Tim has been a career politician for 32 years, and has spent the last seven years as our Representative in Congress. His record tells a different story than his speeches and social media posts do.

East Tennessee deserves someone that is going to fight to represent us even when it’s hard.

He's had seven years in Congress. What has he done?

In that time, not a single bill he has sponsored has become law. Not one. But his votes have had real consequences for real East Tennesseans.

Here’s how Tim and I stack up against each other.

Tim's Record on Our Economy

East Tennessee used to be a place where folks could thrive, not just survive. During his time in Congress, Tim consistently has helped the elite, not the working class.

Here's his record:

Tim Burchett has not held an in-person town hall since 2020. How can he know what’s working for us if he won't talk to us?
Voted to increase our healthcare costs by 3x and take food off the table for more than 55,000 East Tennesseans
Voted to extend President Trump's war in Iran, which is driving up the price of gas, groceries, and other everyday essentials for East Tennesseans, costing Tennessee households more than $450 each on gas and diesel alone
Voted against $176 million in investments for TN-02 that would have lowered our energy costs
Voted against $22 billion in investments for Tennessee’s energy, industry, and transportation sectors
Voted against 690 new good-paying jobs for TN-02 in 2022
Voted to add $4.2 TRILLION to the national debt to give tax cuts to the elite and foreign investors
Supported President Trump's haphazard tariff policies, which increased costs for East Tennessee households without bringing any manufacturing home
Voted to deliver 45% of all tax cuts to the wealthiest 5% of Americans while the bottom 40% come out behind after tariffs — and paid for it by cutting the Medicaid and food assistance that keep rural hospitals open and East Tennessee families fed

My Plan to Make The Economy Work for the Working Class

Working hard should get you ahead, not put you behind. Here’s how I am making sure that every East Tennessean has access to the opportunities they deserve

What I'll work for in Congress:

I'm already holding regular town halls across our district and am committed to continue holding in-person town halls when elected. Check my events page for upcoming town halls
Fight for East Tennessee's share of federal infrastructure dollars to put local workers to work building our own communities
Bring good-paying jobs home through workforce training, apprenticeships, and manufacturing investments that keep money in East Tennessee
Hold corporations accountable when they break labor laws and rig the system against workers
Invest in public schools and universal pre-K so every East Tennessee kid starts with a real shot
Push for a livable minimum wage so a full-time job actually pays the bills
Restore the ACA tax credits and crack down on insurance companies that deny valid claims

Tim's Record on Healthcare

Tim Burchett critiques other people's plans to fix our broken healthcare system, but he has no plan himself to bring costs down or increase access for the people of East Tennessee.

Here's his record:

Supported shutting down the government instead of lowering your healthcare costs
Voted to raise your healthcare costs by up to 300% just to keep Washington insiders and Donald Trump happy
Voted against capping the price of insulin
Slashed funding for 9 rural Tennessee hospitals
Voted to take away health insurance from over 29,000 East Tennesseans

My Plan to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System

Insurance companies and big pharma continue to take advantage of those most in need, increasing consumer costs and denying care. Meanwhile, these companies keep posting record profits. This is unacceptable.

What I’ll work for in Congress to fix it:

Rein in insurance company abuses by requiring insurers to spend more of every premium dollar on actual patient care and health outcomes, penalizing companies that routinely deny valid claims, and support antitrust action to break up corporate healthcare monopolies that dominate the market to post record profits while people go without care
Work to restore and expand the ACA premium tax credit to make our current healthcare options affordable while ensuring that insurance companies aren’t taking advantage of government dollars
Advocate for a universal healthcare option, while preserving your freedom to purchase additional insurance coverage
Champion drug price caps by building on the IRA's Medicare negotiation framework to extend hard price caps to insulin, cancer drugs, and other essential medications for all Americans, not just seniors
Empower Medicaid to negotiate drug prices, directly lowering your costs for your medications
Fight to lift the cap on federally funded medical residencies to add thousands of new residency slots annually and address the physician shortage before it becomes a full collapse
Draw more medical professionals to our region by increasing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates in rural areas
Fund community-based health programs so they can solve the biggest health problems in their areas
Support evidence-based substance abuse treatment to address the opioid crisis in our communities

Tim's Record on Government Corruption

Tim Burchett is part of the problem he rails against. He may have gone to D.C. to drain the sewer, but he's became part of the system he loves to criticize. Although he's chairman of the DOGE subcommittee, he hasn't helped make government less corrupt or more efficient.

Here's his record:

Suspiciously sold all of his restaurant stock right before COVID hit. He only wants to ban stock trading now that he made money from it
Collected over $800,000 from special interest PACs
While 55,000 East Tennesseans worried about losing SNAP benefits, Tim took a vacation to Maine and spent $900 on a limo and $1,000 for one night at a hotel
Unavailable to his constituents, having not held an in-person town hall since 2020
Spent $4,471 on a SINGLE MEAL at the Capitol Hill Club in DC to wine and dine the Washington elite
Voted against banning partisan gerrymandering
Voted against closing the loophole that lets foreign money buy our elections
Not a single bill he has sponsored has become law. Not one
Tim's support of a bill means it is 35% less likely to become a law
Tim thinks Congresspeople should serve three terms, but he is running for his fifth. Hypocrisy has never been more obvious

My Plan to Reform Our Government

I understand why so many people don’t trust that our government is working in our best interests – because in so many cases, it isn’t. To solve any of the problems we face, we need to fix corruption and stagnation in government.

Here's what I'll work for in Washington:

Limit political spending by massive corporations
Ban congressional stock trading
A constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore voting power to the American people
End partisan gerrymandering by requiring independent redistricting commissions, ensuring free and fair elections where every vote counts equally
Set reasonable age limits for members of Congress, President, and Vice President
Establish term limits for members of Congress
Institute term limits and a binding Code of Judicial Ethics for the Supreme Court
Support a lobbying moratorium or ban for members of Congress after they’ve left office

Tim's Record on East TN Infrastructure

Our infrastructure isn't keeping up with growth, and East Tennesseans' quality of life is worsening as a result.

Here's Tim's record:

Voted against $176 million in investments in TN-02 and lowering our energy costs
Voted against $22 billion in investments for Tennessee’s energy, industry, and transportation sectors
Voted against $6 billion in critical funding for Tennessee roads and bridges
Last year, Tim could only secure 0.6% of the money he advocated for to improve our roads

My Plan to Invest in East TN Infrastructure

We have billions of dollars in backlog infrastructure projects. We send federal dollars to Washington, and I'll advocate to bring those home to invest in our district.

Here's what I'll work for in Congress:

Fund our most critical road and bridge projects by using my engineering background to direct federal dollars to our district
Close the broadband gap in rural communities
Invest in East Tennessee builders through vocational and technical education
Bring funding for the clean water upgrades our counties need
Advocate for federal transit grants to connect our communities
Upgrade our public schools and the technology our students use so every kid starts with a real shot

If you're ready for a change in Representation, I'd be honored to earn your support.

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