Meet the candidates: US Rep. District 16
This will be the first time voters elect a U.S. House of Representative in Texas' District 16 using new boundaries following redistricting using 2020 census figures.
The district is different but still focused on some key features in the Borderland such as Fort Bliss Army Post, relations with Mexico and New Mexico, immigration, economic development and homeland security.
Fort Bliss, which stretches from El Paso to southern New Mexico, has been a part of the landscape since 1848. It is an important installation in the Department of Defense. It is home, in part, to the 1st Armored Division, the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, the Joint Modernization Command and the William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. They are paid $174,000 annually and have full-coverage health insurance. They also have taxpayer money for staffing and district offices. Members can be selected to serve on select House committees, which oversee important federal functions.
The District 16 member of Congress deals with a number of key national and local issues such as access to health care, pandemic recovery, updates to the ports of entry, Social Security and drug and human trafficking.
Aside from those topics, we asked the candidates about inflation, assault weapons, access to health care for women, climate change and immigration reform. Equally, important we asked the candidates a critical question about government transparency. In a nutshell, how will they remain open and accountable to voters.
The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted.
More:The 2022 Texas midterm elections are Nov. 8. Here's what you need to know
Veronica Escobar - D, Incumbent
Please describe your personal and professional background.
I’m a third-generation El Pasoan and lifelong Democrat. Before I was in public service, I was a teacher at UTEP and EPCC. I also served in Mayor Ray Caballero’s administration and then ran Community Scholars, a non-profit organization. Prior to my public service as congresswoman for El Paso, I served as County Judge and County Commissioner.
I’ve sponsored more than 30 bills including the Homeland Security Improvement Act, the Reimagining Asylum Processing Act, Fairness to Fallen Soldiers Act, Military Spouse Entrepreneur Reimbursement Act, Colonias Infrastructure Improvement Act and the Department of Defense Climate Resiliency and Readiness Act, while co-sponsoring over 800 additional pieces of legislation.
In Congress, I’ve voted to support senior citizens, veterans, LGBTQ+ rights, equal pay, women’s rights, gun safety, environmental protections, expanding healthcare for all, election security and much more. Where most members of Congress serve on two committees, I have the honor of sitting on four: House Armed Services Committee, Judiciary Committee, Committee on Ethics and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. I’m a proud UTEP and NYU graduate. My husband and I live in Central El Paso and have two adult children.
How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?
I’m currently serving as congresswoman for Texas’ 16th congressional district (El Paso), which is my full-time job.
Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?
WH Burges High School; UTEP, BA; New York University, MA
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
My current leadership roles in Congress include Deputy Whip for the Democratic Caucus, Deputy Whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Vice Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and Co-Chair of the Women’s Working Group on Immigration. I served as conferee for the America COMPETES Act negotiations, which became the CHIPS and Science Act, a bill that would drive innovation and entrepreneurship in communities like El Paso. I also serve as Vice-Chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, advocating for and ensuring our active-duty soldiers have the resources they need to defend our country. In the 116th Congress, I served in House Democratic Leadership as Freshman Representative to Leadership.
I have also served on a number of boards throughout my adult life in El Paso.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.
I was arrested by Capitol Police in Washington, D.C. for civil disobedience when I and other Democratic lawmakers protested the roll back of women's health care rights following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
I've not had civil judgment filed against me or been in arrears.
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.
There are no conflicts of interest. I’m able to fulfill my duties to bring money and resources back to El Paso without issue which includes more than $1 billion in federal funding so far. I’d be honored to continue to do so.
Irene Armendariz-Jackson - R
Please describe your personal and professional background.
I was born in El Paso in 1970 in the Segundo Barrio at Newark Hospital which no longer exists. I was born to Mexican legal immigrants, Ernesto and Graciela Armendariz. I grew up in the Chelmont area and I went to Hughey Elementary, Ross Middle School and I graduated from Burges HS in 1988. I have two sisters and one brother. My husband Bill and I have been married almost 29 years and we have three daughters, one son-in-law and four grandchildren and another precious baby on the way.
In 1999 I received my Real Estate license and I love helping people purchase their part of the American Dream.
How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?
I have been a Realtor since 1999 but have stopped working in my profession since 2019 because I want to see change in my community. It’s not enough to complain, we have to be willing to be part of the solution and so I had been helping other candidates until I was asked to run.
Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?
I graduated from Burges HS in 1988, my Bachelors is in Business from Howard Payne University and my Masters Degree is from Regent University in Government with a concentration in law and public policy.
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
I have led many efforts from established programs to creating new efforts mainly in a church capacity. I believe as a taxpayer and hard working American who has also had a small business I will be able to transfer my leadership skills to the political world. It’s time for the people most affected by laws passed in Congress with a desire to help our community to take that passion to Washington DC and look after the interests of the community and not just the special interests wealthy who finance their campaigns. I was born and raised in El Paso, and as many in our community, I saw the struggle from an immigrant family’s perspective with my dad providing for us with hard work in drywall (chirraquero) and my mom working, taking care of the children and going through college with the language barrier to attain her Bachelors and then her Masters. They both taught me that with hard work and perseverance you can accomplish anything you set your mind to in America.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.
No, I haven’t ever been charged with a crime or have had a civil judgment against me. I have always paid my taxes.
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.
I don’t have any potential conflicts of interests because my concern is the citizens of El Paso and I have no private loyalties.
Issue related questions
Veronica Escobar - D, incumbent
Why are you running for this office?
I am proud to serve El Paso. My motivation and inspiration are centered around ensuring that El Pasoans have access to great jobs, health care, an economy that works for them, and an enriched quality of life. In my first four years in this office, I have been successful in bringing an historic amount of resources back to our community and want to continue that work. While we’ve made much progress, decades of Republican control at the state level have blocked El Pasoans’ access to health care and robust K-12 education funding, keeping our community economically disadvantaged, so we have a lot of ground to make up.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I have a record of delivering for our community. While at the county, I expanded access to health care, successfully worked for ethics reform and professionalized county government. While in Congress, I have successfully built relationships that helped me influence funding for El Paso. I have brought 20% of Congress to our community to see the challenges and opportunities we face first-hand. I’ve secured historic amounts of funding for infrastructure, local governments, community projects, water for colonias, and more. I have a record of working hard and delivering for El Pasoans, and I’m proud of that work.
What are your top three priorities?
1. Economic support for El Pasoans. I’ve brought home more than $1 billion in federal funding for projects like expanding water access in our colonias, $600 million for upgrades to Bridge of the Americas, $490 million dollars for small business loans to help local businesses operate during COVID, and more. These investments are critical to our future.
2. Great jobs for El Pasoans. A top priority is ensuring El Paso expands our defense manufacturing because it will diversify our economy and provide some of our brightest El Pasoans with great employment. We’re already seeing this bear fruit with the recently announced $40 million to UTEP’s Advanced manufacturing program. I was proud to support and vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has brought millions of dollars to El Paso to improve our roads, bridges and infrastructure. I was the only member of Congress for our region that voted for this legislation. In fact, since the beginning of 2021, when President Biden entered office, over 26,500 jobs have been created in this Congressional district alone. Our investments and the $700 billion infrastructure bill Congress approved and President Biden signed into law will also create great jobs in El Paso.
3. Lowering costs for El Pasoans.
I’ll continue to do everything possible to expand access to health care to the nearly 25% of El Pasoans who remain uninsured by pushing for a single-payer health care system. I’m proud of securing some big wins for people on Medicare, including capping insulin at $35/month and prescription drug costs at $2,000/year, which we passed into law this summer. Also, in the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve built in cost-saving measures for energy while addressing supply chain issues by investing in American manufacturing. During the height of COVID, I ensured that our community clinics had the resources and funding they needed. Furthermore, reducing our reliance on Chinese-made goods will make our country more competitive while creating jobs in our communities. This will help lower costs for Americans.
Inflation is a top issue with voters. How would you address the issue of families struggling with housing, health care and food?
There is no “on/off” switch for inflation, but the two major drivers of inflation are supply chain issues (which will be eased with the CHIPs Act) and energy costs (which will be eased with the Inflation Reduction Act). But this will take time. Both of these laws will reinvest in American manufacturing so we can make more products here in the United States and expedite our transition to renewable energy while creating American jobs. For example, in 2021, 26,000 workers in El Paso worked in the clean and emerging energy sectors, with an additional 34,000 working in sectors that will be the new frontier of energy security as the US transitions to cleaner energy sources. The Inflation Reduction Act makes those in-demand jobs feasible.
The House fought for and passed the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act that would reduce food prices in the grocery store while also expanding access to cleaner fuel options. House Democrats also passed the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, which makes it illegal to sell gas at artificially high prices and protects independent and family-owned gas stations from Big Oil when they raise prices. Both these bills have my support, but they were not allowed to move forward in the Senate because there was no Republican Senator willing to side with the American consumer. Legislation to lower the cost of groceries, cap insulin costs for all Americans, expand child tax credits, take on big oil companies who are price gouging consumers, and other cost-saving measures had my support and votes, but these bills were all blocked in the Senate by Republicans.
Congress should also pass comprehensive immigration reform to address our labor shortage, which would in turn also help combat inflation.
Republicans in large part opposed all these solutions and brought none of their own to the negotiating table in Congress.
Should assault weapons be banned?
Yes, we’ve seen undeniable evidence that the assault weapons ban of 1994 reduced the amount of mass gun violence in America. It’s time we protect our communities and our children by banning weapons that were designed to cause the most bloodshed and carnage. Easy access to these weapons has made our country and communities less safe and I was proud to vote for the ban in the House. We’ve banned assault weapons once to protect our nation; we can do it again.
What’s your best idea for providing health coverage for more Americans?
Access to health insurance is fundamental to a productive, healthy citizenry; it helps combat poverty and it increases productivity. Texas Republicans have successfully blocked El Pasoans’ access to the Affordable Care Act, so I have supported every bill that would get healthcare to every American regardless of what state they live in. Every American should have access to high quality healthcare.
I recently supported the bill, now signed into Law by President Biden, that will cap insulin costs at $35/month, and prescription drug costs at $2,000/year for Medicare recipients. I also support President Biden's plan to offer affordable hearing aids over the counter for millions of Americans. And I'm very proud to have supported expanded healthcare benefits for nearly 1 in 5 veterans who were exposed to toxicities during their service.
What, if anything, should Congress do regarding health care for women now that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade?
Congress must ensure that a woman’s reproductive freedom is protected by law, which is why I voted for the Women’s Healthcare Protection Act. I trust women – not politicians – to make decisions about their reproductive health with their doctors. As the Vice Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, I have fought hard to protect the rights of women to choose what's best for themselves. Republicans in Congress have targeted women by continuing to vote against paid family leave, preventing mothers from guaranteed time to raise their newborn in the first crucial months of infancy. They have made it harder for a woman to return to the workforce by denying children access to universal pre-K. And they've voted against providing families childcare tax credits that put money back into the pockets of hard-working parents. Now they want to control how women make decisions about our lives by coming after contraception and birth control.
I'm proud to have supported bills that would truly support women and children and will continue to fight for policies that protect women's healthcare and support them as parents.
Many of the proposed solutions to migrant influxes at the Southwest border require congressional action. (a) What solutions do you propose to fix the nation's immigration system? (b) What will you do, specifically, to work with the other party to achieve compromise?
I worked to create and appropriate funding for civilian positions at CBP Processing Centers to allow border patrol agents to spend more time in the field, while also working with the federal government to reimburse non-profits and local governments for the crucial work they provide in caring for migrants. I also filed legislation to reform central processing to centers altogether, to civilianize the personnel there and I’m working with Secretary Mayorkas to implement these reforms.
While President Biden was a candidate, I was part of his Unity Task Force, which created the framework for comprehensive immigration reform. I’ve filed and supported a number of immigration bills and work for additional reform through the appropriations process, as well as through discussions with the White House and Secretary Mayorkas.
For too long, the U.S. immigration strategy has focused only on the border. If we want to see long-term solutions, we need to address the reasons people are fleeing their country before they arrive at our nation’s door. We must also open pathways to citizenship and allow people to apply for asylum in their home countries instead of at our border. We must expand and streamline Visas.
To continue to address immigration with border-only policies while failing to work with world leaders to stabilize their countries will have a minimal impact on the challenges we see at our border. I’m ready and eager to work with anyone who is willing to create humane, long-lasting, efficient immigration solutions.
What actions, if any, should Congress take to address the impacts of climate change in the Southwest and Texas, including extreme heat, forest fires and flash floods?
As a member of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, I’m proud of the $700 billion investment Congress approved through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those two bills will help incentivize our transition to a clean energy future and provide resources to both industry and everyday Americans to lower those costs. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I’ve worked to ensure our military installations reduce their carbon footprint so that the Department of Defense leads the way.
In El Paso, my office leads a local task force that is creating a framework for a community action plan around addressing the climate crisis. We have worked with countless stakeholders throughout the community on this and will be sending our report soon. Also, I have introduced legislation, H.R. 9026, the Climate Adaptation Plan Act, that provides funding for communities like El Paso to create a climate resiliency plan.
Our climate issues don’t stop at heat, fire, and floods. Climate degradation will continue to fuel challenges like drought, famine, and force people to flee their countries where crops can no longer grow. We’re running out of time to address this issue that impacts our entire planet.
What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?
I’ve worked tirelessly to maintain a transparent and easily-accessible office for the constituents of El Paso. I have weekly “pen and pad” sessions for local media, and am accessible to national media. We publish a newsletter, send out information about legislation by mail, and utilize numerous social media platforms. I have public telephone town hall meetings that reach thousands of El Pasoans, attend and speak at neighborhood meetings throughout the community, have regular stakeholder meetings, and more.
Irene Armendariz-Jackson - R
Why are you running for this office?
I am running because I don’t like the direction the country is taking. Many of us trusted that the elected officials would do their due diligence to look out for the interest of the people but with inflation at 9.3% the working class is suffering. We cannot continue in the same trajectory expecting to evade consequences. El Paso has been run by the same party for over 60 years and all we have to show for this is high taxes and low wages.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I am the best candidate for this position because I have no hidden loyalties and my concern is the people of El Paso. We need relief from the increased costs of everyday goods, food, gasoline and utilities like gas and electricity; there is shortage of medication and health costs are rising with no end in sight. I believe in strong border security, we need to know who is coming into our country, this is a matter of protecting our families and our way of life. We cannot sustain the amount of illegal immigrants pouring in through our borders.
What are your top three priorities?
TAXES, BORDER SECURITY, INFLATION (costs of goods and services)
Inflation is a top issue with voters. How would you address the issue of families struggling with housing, health care and food?
The Biden Administration has declared war on American energy and before he took office we were energy independent. With the price of gas going up by the lack of supply it also allows for everything else to increase in cost. Becoming energy independent once more will have an immediate impact on the price of gas and everything else.
This administration with the incumbent spends our tax dollars to fund their special interests groups driving inflation up to record highs. There is no such thing as government funded, we the taxpayers, pay for everything and as inflation and taxes rise, that takes away from our own families needs.
Should assault weapons be banned?
Should we erase our Constitutional rights?
What’s your best idea for providing health coverage for more Americans?
Insurance companies should compete for the American people’s business, when competition exists in the marketplace, costs drop and the consumer wins. The same should apply to insurance companies.
What, if anything, should Congress do regarding health care for women now that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade?
The choice to be pregnant or not should come before the pregnancy occurs. Our Constitution specifically states that anything that is not written in the Constitution should go back to the states. Our Constitution has made us a unique country with a government with 3 branches with shared powers and if we want to see our Republic continue to exist we must go back to the original intent of our founding fathers.
Many of the proposed solutions to migrant influxes at the Southwest border require congressional action. (a) What solutions do you propose to fix the nation's immigration system? (b) What will you do, specifically, to work with the other party to achieve compromise?
The solution is to enforce our laws and have consequences for those who do not follow the process.
I ask the people of El Paso: What compromise should we make with those who have already proven to have a complete disregard for American’s safety and who are not concerned with our security?
What actions, if any, should Congress take to address the impacts of climate change in the Southwest and Texas, including extreme heat, forest fires and flash floods?
The allegations of the left have only financed special interest factions who are friends with those making the claims and spending our tax dollars in their feudal interests. If we want to get serious about saving the earth and humanity we must focus on real solutions that would produce the amounts of food and good environment we need to thrive. Scare tactics only make a few wealthy and it leaves the rest of us with the same problems we are facing now.
What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?
Transparency means to be forthcoming with the information that would empower the citizens in our community to make informed decisions and not be led by emotion. I will be 100% accessible. As a matter of fact, let’s start right now, you may email me directly with your ideas and input at irene@armendarizforelpaso.com; and, I will focus on being in my community making sure everyone in El Paso has the opportunity to thrive if they are willing to work hard and persevere.
To view the complete questionnaires go to ElPasoTimes.com and read answers to these additional questions:
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you?
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest?
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
What actions, if any, should Congress take to address the impacts of climate change in the Southwest and Texas?
What’s your best idea for providing health coverage for more Americans?
What does transparent government mean to you?
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Meet the candidates for congressional District 16 in El Paso election
