Texas — 37th District

Greg Casar

Supports criminal justice and police oversight reform

Casar supports comprehensive criminal justice reform, including passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and ending the federal death penalty. As an Austin City Council member, he established 911 mental health response services, reformed use-of-force rules, and created Texas's first Fair Chance Hiring policy.

• Co-sponsors the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act.
• Supports federal legislation for Fair Chance Hiring and legalizing marijuana with record expungement.
• Established mental health emergency response teams at 911 and expanded violence prevention programs.

“Casar ended all arrests and citations for personal marijuana use in Austin and helped support policies that reduced these arrests in San Antonio and San Marcos.”

Lauren Peña

Supports law enforcement and full funding

Peña advocates for fully funding police departments, restoring community trust through education, and opposing all police defunding efforts. Drawing on her civic experience with public safety commissions, she seeks to educate critics on modern gang trends and law enforcement procedure.

• Pledges to fully fund law enforcement and oppose any efforts to defund police.
• Advocates for community education on police procedures to build trust between inner-city youth and law enforcement.
• Focuses on addressing reorganized street gang activity and root causes of urban crime.

“Back the Blue. Fully fund law enforcement. Will never vote to defund the police.”

Greg Casar

Supports immigrant rights and citizenship pathways

Casar opposes border militarization, Operation Lone Star, and restrictive enforcement laws, focusing instead on protecting immigrant families from separation. He advocates for pathways to citizenship and rolling back anti-immigrant state and federal legislation.

• Co-leads the New Way Forward Act to roll back anti-immigrant legislation and border militarization.
• Supports the American Dream and Promise Act and Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act.
• Opposes state-level border enforcement programs like Operation Lone Star.

“Casar believes all families, including immigrant families, deserve to live dignified lives free from fear of being separated, deported, or discriminated against.”

Lauren Peña

Supports strict border security and trafficking bans

As a human trafficking survivor, Peña prioritizes securing the border, finishing the wall, and ending catch-and-release to halt trafficking routes. She has authored federal legislative proposals to eliminate legal loopholes for predators and mandate reporting in entertainment venues.

• Champions the SAFE NIGHTS Act to mandate reporting and target human trafficking in nightlife venues.
• Authored the SODA Act to eliminate legal protections for predators.
• Supports securing the border, completing the border wall, and ending catch-and-release.

“As a survivor herself, Lauren will fight harder than anyone to end human trafficking. The SAFE NIGHTS Act is her first bill.”

Greg Casar

Supports economic justice for working families

Casar advocates for economic policies aimed at supporting working-class families, including living wage jobs, Medicare for All, and investments in public infrastructure and housing affordability.

• Supports living wage protections and expanded labor rights for workers.
• Advocates for universal healthcare through Medicare for All.
• Supports city and federal investments in public housing and infrastructure.

“Let's win economic justice for working families.”

Lauren Peña

Supports welfare reform and spending cuts

Peña advocates for reforming public assistance programs to eliminate benefits cliffs that disincentivize work, drawing on her personal experience navigating Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF. She supports cutting federal spending to lower inflation and local living costs.

• Prioritizes federal welfare reform to create smooth transition periods for recipients gaining financial independence.
• Supports auditing federal agencies via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut waste.
• Proposes reducing federal expenditures to curb inflation and high housing costs.

“Welfare reform—long ignored by Republicans—is Lauren’s priority. The Democrat-run system traps families in generational poverty at taxpayers’ expense.”

Greg Casar

Supports grid reform and green energy transition

Casar focuses on fixing Texas's electric grid, addressing climate change, and investing in renewable energy to transition toward a sustainable economy.

• Pledges to fix and federalize oversight of power grid reliability.
• Supports clean energy investments and ending the climate crisis.
• Advocates for sustainable environmental infrastructure.

“Let's fix our power grid and create a sustainable world for all.”

Lauren Peña

Supports domestic energy deregulation and nuclear power

Peña champions rolling back federal regulations on Texas oil, natural gas, and LNG exports while protecting ERCOT's independence. She supports expanding nuclear power as a clean baseload energy source.

• Eliminate federal regulations restricting Texas oil and gas production.
• Expand LNG exports and protect ERCOT independence from federal oversight.
• Support nuclear energy as a reliable baseload power source and oppose Green New Deal mandates.

“Eliminate federal regulations strangling Texas energy production”

Greg Casar

Supports codifying abortion rights nationwide

Casar advocates for making Roe v. Wade federal law, expanding mail access to medication abortion, and protecting reproductive healthcare providers from state-level restrictions.

• Co-sponsors the Women's Health Protection Act and EACH Act.
• Co-sponsors the Protect Access to Medication Abortion Act and Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act.
• Led efforts to keep Planned Parenthood clinics open and provided municipal funding support for travel care.

“it’s more important than ever before that we make Roe v. Wade the law of the land.”

Lauren Peña

Opposes abortion and supports family protection

Peña grounds her platform in conservative constitutional values, emphasizing faith, family, and defending traditional principles.

• Maintains a constitutional conservative platform centered on defending traditional family values.
• Opposes federal mandates that conflict with state-level family and protection laws.

“Faith, family, and freedom are not negotiable.”

Greg Casar

Supports strict gun control and assault weapon bans

Casar advocates for federal gun safety measures including universal background checks, safe storage laws, ending permitless carry, and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

• Co-sponsors the Assault Weapons Ban and Bipartisan Background Checks Act.
• Co-sponsors Ethan's Law and advocates repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
• Supported local violence intervention programs and the Office of Violence Prevention.

“Congressman Casar is committed to ending the epidemic of gun violence in our country.”

Lauren Peña

Opposes gun restrictions and supports constitutional carry

Peña opposes federal red flag laws, universal background check mandates, and assault weapon bans, advocating instead for nationwide constitutional carry and concealed carry reciprocity.

• Opposes federal red flag laws and universal background checks.
• Opposes assault weapons bans.
• Supports nationwide constitutional carry and state-to-state concealed carry reciprocity.

“Shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed.”

Greg Casar

Supports voting rights expansion and campaign finance reform

Casar supports federal legislation to eliminate partisan gerrymandering, ban dark money, expand voting options, end the Senate filibuster, and expand the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Co-sponsors the Freedom to Vote Act and supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
• Co-sponsors the Democracy for All Amendment to overturn Citizens United.
• Refuses corporate PAC donations and supports Supreme Court expansion.

“Congressman Casar is a proud co-sponsor of the Freedom to Vote Act, which ends partisan gerrymandering, cracks down on dark money in politics, establishes automatic voter registration, and combats voter suppression.”

Lauren Peña

Supports congressional term limits and full transparency

Peña focuses government accountability on congressional term limits, real-time stock trade disclosures, auditing federal agencies for waste, and unredacted transparency regarding government files.

• Supports a 12-year maximum term limit for members of Congress.
• Requires real-time disclosure of all congressional stock trades.
• Demands releasing the full Epstein client list without redactions and auditing federal spending.

“Release the full Epstein client list — no redactions”

Greg Casar

Supports public education funding and anti-discrimination policies

Casar supports robust federal funding for public schools, early childhood Pre-K, and afterschool programs while opposing discrimination against minority and LGBTQ students.

• Advocates for increased funding for public schools, Pre-K, and afterschool care.
• Opposes state legislative efforts that divert resources from public education.
• Supports anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students.

“investing in Pre-K, summer school, and afterschool programs enriches our kids and saves money in the long run.”

Lauren Peña

Supports school choice and parental rights

Peña champions school choice and Education Savings Accounts, defending parental rights in medical and educational decisions and opposing gender ideology in K-12 public schools.

• Expands school choice, Education Savings Accounts, private schooling, and homeschooling support.
• Opposes gender ideology in K-12 public schools.
• Defends parental notification rights regarding medical decisions and library content.

“Parents — not the government — raise children.”

Greg Casar

Supports LGBTQ rights and equal rights legislation

Casar is a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, championing the Equality Act, the Trans Bill of Rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment to eliminate gender and sexuality discrimination.

• Member of the Congressional Equality Caucus supporting the Equality Act and Equal Rights Amendment.
• Co-sponsors the Trans Bill of Rights, Do No Harm Act, and Paycheck Fairness Act.
• Supports the PrEP Access and Coverage Act.

“Casar also supports the Trans Bill of Rights, the Do No Harm Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act, the PrEP Access and Coverage Act”

Lauren Peña

Opposes gender ideology and government overreach

Peña pledges to protect individual rights, religious freedom, and free speech, while firmly opposing gender ideology programs in public institutions.

• Defends constitutional guarantees of free speech, religious freedom, and parental rights.
• Opposes federal mandates promoting gender ideology.

“I will not compromise on free speech, parental rights, religious freedom, or the right to self-defense.”

Greg Casar

Supports Medicare for All and public healthcare

Casar supports expanding federal healthcare guarantees through Medicare for All and protecting public health administration.

• Supports Medicare for All to guarantee healthcare for all residents.
• Advocates for public health access and federal healthcare funding.

“Working families deserve good jobs, Medicare for All, and affordable education.”

Lauren Peña

Supports VA streamlining and medical freedom

Peña prioritizes streamlining VA benefits claims, expanding veteran mental health care, opposing all federal vaccine mandates, and removing pharmaceutical liability immunities.

• Streamline VA claims so no veteran waits more than 30 days, and expand VA mental health programs.
• Oppose federal vaccine mandates and protect doctor-patient autonomy.
• Investigate COVID-19 origins and end pharmaceutical immunity from liability.

“Oppose federal vaccine mandates of any kind”