Issues
See Where Carri Stands On Some Of Oklahoma's Top Issues!
Education
During her time in the legislature, Oklahoma has begun to restore decades of budget cuts to public education. However, Oklahoma consistently falls in the bottom 10 states for funding public education. As a former educator and mother of three, Carri has seen how budget cuts in the past impact students first hand. Overcrowded classrooms coupled with a devastating teacher shortage, threaten the academic potential for all of our children. Our veteran teachers are retiring at a rate three times higher than average in the wake of the most challenging year in education. Lack of funding to support technology in the classroom became more visible than ever in highlighting the digital divide in our learning environments. Carri knows that unless things change, our kids will leave school without the skills they need to enter college or the workforce. In the Senate, Carri continues to fight tooth and nail to ensure public dollars are going to public classrooms. She has actively fought against measures to defund public education, while being an avid advocate for ensuring our public classrooms get the funding they deserve.
Healthcare
Carri believes that access to great healthcare for Oklahomans is a fundamental right. When Carri was pregnant with her second child, her first-born son became seriously ill. After weeks of declining health, he ended up in the emergency room and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Carri is grateful for the lifesaving care her son received, but knows that many families lack access to quality medical care. Our uninsured rate remains high, hospitals across the state are closing, and we have a severe shortage of nurses and healthcare workers. Medicaid expansion is a huge step in the right direction in covering families and individuals with health insurance, but there is so much work left to be done to improve our health outcomes. Carri believes every family deserves the best treatment possible, no matter their background, their income, or zip code. Some of Carri's greatest accomplishments in healthcare reform in her first term were authoring and passing legislation for emergency access to lifesaving medications and capping copays on insulin. Healthcare continues to be one of Carri's top priorities and she remains steadfast in her commitment to improve health outcomes for Oklahomans.
Economic Recovery
Our state is facing a massive labor shortage, and we have a unique opportunity to build back better. As our largest economic sectors are working through existing challenges compounded by the Pandemic, it is important to ensure that everyone has equal access to the workforce. Carri supports meaningful reforms to invest in our communities so that folks can go to work and take care of their families. Carri has been a tireless advocate for small business owners, constantly communicating to ensure needs are being heard and addressed. From fighting for economic relief for everyday Oklahomans to pushing to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit, she knows economic relief starts by ensuring hard-working families can reinvest in their local communities. As we continue to repair the economic damages of COVID-19, Carri will continue to fight for responsible economic recovery, and put the needs of workers first.