Rick Coplen for Congress

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"Republicans like Scott Perry have betrayed the Constitution, betrayed the Country and betrayed all of us in doing so. I'm running for Congress to fight for our democratic ideals and all of our freedoms."- Rick Coplen

<h2>Democrat Rick Coplen: A Lifetime of Service</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/cd54d4a3-f932-4a59-a66b-419e225cabee/af76677f-e818-4253-9cdc-e8050f559961/7dd3902d-6128-44ea-80ee-0690ee9121ee.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C2836%2C4096&amp;w=1500" alt="" title="" caption="" align="right" alignwidth="42.5" variant="base">A husband, father, combat veteran, teacher and school board member, Rick Coplen has dedicated his life to serving our country and community. The son of a Mexican immigrant, Rick was taught hard work, equality, and service at an early age — values that took him to West Point, across the globe, and here to South Central PA where he serves on the local school board. Rick is running for Congress to help bring everyone the opportunity to pursue their own unique American dream. Rick is a veteran. He started his journey at West Point and served in the U.S. Army under three presidents. He always upheld his oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not any specific person. While serving in the 82nd Airborne, Rick parachuted into combat. Rick is a teacher. He followed in his mother's footsteps as a teacher. Rick has taught subjects like Economics, Business Ethics, Strategic Leadership, and International Relations to cadets at West Point, adult learners at Elizabethtown College, and senior leaders at the U.S. Army War College. Rick is a husband and a dad to two amazing, accomplished daughters. One is a UVA Law graduate and U.S. Army lawyer; the other is an award-winning poet studying International Relations at Oxford. All these incredible women have shaped Rick and made him passionate about supporting women's rights — especially reproductive freedoms.Rick is a community leader. Since 2015, Rick has served a member of the board of directors for the Carlisle Area School District. He's also a Rotarian, leader of the Rotary Veterans Initiative, and Board Member of the Employment Skills Center, helping displaced workers gain new skills in our changing economy.Rick is a small business owner. Together with his wife, Lorelei, Rick runs Rendezvous Run Farm, LLC, where they care for and train sport horses. He knows the challenges of running a small business and wants to support others in building success. With your support, Rick will be the next leader to represent Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District in Congress. Join the team and get involved in our campaign to defend democratic ideals and individual freedoms, reduce gun violence and achieve gun safety, defend reproductive freedoms, and protect our environment.

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Rick's Key Issues for Congress

I believe in our unique American experiment in democracy and democratic ideals.I believe that, as our founders declared in 1776, “all men are created equal” and that we Americans are all entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of our own unique version of happiness. I also believe that as citizens we all have responsibilities to ourselves, our families, our communities, and our country.I believe in the democratic ideals established by our Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, including limited government (as defined by our Constitution), &nbsp;natural rights, popular sovereignty, republicanism, and the social contract.I have always fulfilled my oath to support and defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I've done so while serving in uniform in both combat and peacekeeping. I’ve done so while serving as a proud member of the Carlisle Area School District Board. I will always do so.I've dedicated my entire adult life, including four years in training as a West Point cadet and then 42 years of public and commUNITY service, to defending and strengthening our democratic ideals.&nbsp; Working together, we must ensure that we hand over to our children an even stronger democracy than we inherited from our parents.&nbsp; Ever optimistic, I believe that our children will further enhance the incredible power of our democracy and democratic ideals.

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Defending Democracy

When someone else controls your body, you are a slave.Today millions of women have lost control over their own bodies thanks to the extreme conservative Republicans who have turned the Supreme Court into the Extreme Court. It is the first time in American history that a right once recognized has been repealed.Today millions of American women in Republican-controlled states have become slaves to Big Brother. MAGA Republicans have taken control over the most intimate decisions a woman can make.Next, Republicans have their eyes set on banning contraceptives. Women are in danger of losing that right, too.As the son of an immigrant mother, husband, and father of two young women, I have always believed and strongly advocated for equal rights for all. I will not stand for this assault on women's rights!Reproductive freedom is a fundamental right of privacy – the right to be left alone.I will vote for both laws and a constitutional amendment to ensure that the reproductive freedom of women is once again guaranteed in America.

Reproductive Freedom

It is long past time for Congress to take action to effectively reduce gun violence, achieve gun safety, and protect the 2nd Amendment. We can and must do all three.We are Americans. We are back-to-back World War Champions. We put men on the moon first. We lead the global economy and international regimes dedicated to peace, prosperity, and security. Surely, we can protect our children MUCH more effectively. &nbsp;Congress, supported by commUNITY-led efforts, MUST pursue a comprehensive approach. Based on extensive conversations with residents during my ongoing ‘Listening Tour’ throughout Dauphin, York, and Cumberland Counties, I believe this is the strategic outline we should pursue:<ul><li>Background Checks.&nbsp; Background checks have blocked more than 3.5 million illegal gun sales in the past 20 years. I support the most effective background check system possible to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.</li><li>Domestic Violence. According to Moms Demand Action, America is the most dangerous country in the world for gun violence against women. I support disarming domestic abusers who are convicted of a crime or are under a restraining order.</li><li>Red Flag Law.&nbsp; I support a “red flag” law to allow families and law enforcement to intervene if someone is a threat to himself or others with a gun.</li><li>Responsible Gun Ownership:<ul><li>Training. I support responsible gun owner safety classes like those the NRA provides,&nbsp; including mandatory training for those purchasing certain weapons.</li><li>Storage. Every year, 700 children commit suicide by gun. More than 4 million children live in homes with unlocked/loaded guns.&nbsp; I will work with the NRA and gun safety advocates to educate people about keeping guns safe in the home. I support mandatory trigger locks.</li><li>Reporting. I support mandatory reporting of all lost and stolen guns to help law enforcement pursue criminals.</li><li>Adult Responsibility. I support holding parents liable for gun crimes committed by their minor children.</li><li>Open Carry. I support banning open carry in public places with exceptions for hunters in the field and in transit.</li></ul></li><li>Guns Off the Streets. Guns used to commit crimes should never be back on the streets endangering our communities. I support their immediate destruction after they are no longer needed as evidence.&nbsp; I support a gun buy-back program by the federal government to get more unneeded guns out of circulation.</li><li>Assault Weapons. When the assault weapons ban was in force, mass killings in America went down. Since the ban was revoked, mass killings have gone up. I will vote to ban assault weapons as a Constitutional way to save lives.&nbsp; I support banning modifications to ordinary guns that increase their firing power.</li><li>Ghost Guns. Ghost guns are unregistered and untraceable guns built from kits at home. They have become the gun of choice for criminals because they can’t be traced.&nbsp; They are an assault upon law enforcement and a plague upon communities trying to stay safe. I support outlawing ghost guns.</li></ul>

Reducing Gun Violence

Rick Coplen on Social Security and Medicare<ul><li>We must protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare now and in the future!&nbsp;</li><li>Social Security and Medicare are a contract with the American people, who have been contributing their share of the contract for decades</li><li>It is morally imperative that we keep the faith with those who are relying on Social Security and Medicare to live their final years in health and with dignity, which is to say nearly ALL of us</li><li>I support raising the income cap on Social Security contributions so that the wealthy pay their fair share</li><li>I OPPOSE efforts to reduce or replace Social Security’s guaranteed benefits with:<ul><li>Individual investment accounts</li><li>Increases in the retirement age</li><li>Changes to the calculation for the annual cost-of-living adjustment</li><li>Means testing</li><li>Any other actions that weaken this critical safety net for older Americans</li><li>Both now and in the future</li></ul></li></ul>Scott Perry on Social Security and Medicare“Social Security provides critical financial support to more than 56 million beneficiaries, including widows and those with disabilities. Social Security is funded by the payroll taxes of current workers to pay the benefits of current retirees. The Social Security Board of Trustees estimates that by about 2035 the Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted. When that happens, beneficiaries could face a painful 23% benefit cut.”“Medicare is the cornerstone upon which all other government health programs rest. In their most recent report, the Medicare Trustees projected that the account that funds Medicare’s hospital benefit will go bankrupt by about 2024.”“I’ve long supported responsible reforms that preserve Medicare and Social Security benefits, while ensuring that our Nation’s seniors continue to be protected. The reforms I support don’t touch benefits for middle-class seniors currently benefiting from Social Security; however, in order to keep our promises to current and future generations regarding their health and retirement security, comprehensive reforms must be enacted to protect these programs.”We have LOTS of questions for Scott Perry:<ul><li>If you don’t touch current benefits for middle-class recipients, who do you touch?</li><li>Why just middle-class?</li><li>&nbsp;Are you cutting benefits for the poor and expanding them for the rich?</li><li>Will you cap Social Security and Medicare at current levels to create a crisis to justify privatization or dissolution?</li></ul>Who do you really represent? The people of PA10 or big money special interests?

Social Security and Medicare

Abraham Lincoln was right to declare that the education of children is “the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.” We can best strengthen the American economy by investing in opportunities for our children and workforce. We must make high-quality, free early childhood education through high school available to ALL children. We must make ALL career and technical students job-ready when they graduate, and we must help older workers adjust to the jobs of a dynamic economy.

A Robust U.S. Economy

I support expanding the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to include a public option for those who choose it. This act has already made it possible for millions of Americans to afford healthcare who did not have coverage and to get healthcare regardless of pre-existing conditions. These are major improvements and we should not allow Republicans to undo those gains for the American people.Expanded health insurance coverage not only helps individuals, but it helps business because a healthy economy thrives with a healthy workforce.

Affordable Healthcare

Alcohol and Drug Abuse PreventionWhile we work to remove barriers to treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, we must also expand and increase drug and alcohol abuse prevention/educational efforts. Let’s increase funding and support for K-12th grade prevention/education. Let’s establish and maintain Student Assistance Programs in all of our schools.Alcohol and Drug Addiction TreatmentUntreated alcohol and drug addictions impact all of us in painful and costly ways.&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, 1 in 4 of our families are struggling to help a loved one with an addiction and last year, over 5,490 Pennsylvanians died needlessly from drug overdoses.&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition to these deaths, another 3,500 Pennsylvanians annually die from alcohol-related problems. The cost of this problem to the country is estimated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at over $600 billion a year.&nbsp;Coverage for the treatment of addiction is already included through most health plans including the Affordable Care Act, the Mental Health Parity &amp; Addiction Equity Act, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;The coverage is there, yet these plans are incredibly difficult to access and poorly enforced.&nbsp;&nbsp;Barriers and delays in admission cost us dearly in terms of crime, highway safety, health care and in human life.&nbsp;Treatment that we have already paid for must be made available to those seeking help. As your Congressman, I will identify and attack barriers to addiction treatment in health plans and ensure that the full continuum of treatment is available to all.&nbsp;

Alcohol and Drug Prevention &amp; Treatment

It should go without saying that women’s rights are civil rights, and I support women’s reproductive freedoms, pay equity and the elimination of sexism wherever it exists.The sooner we recognize our common humanity the better for our nation and our world. I support legislation that protects racial minorities and members of the LGBTQ+ community – and all people – from discrimination in employment, education, housing, and public accommodation.

Civil Rights

Climate change is real, and it will not solve itself. But as JFK said, “Our problems are man-made; therefore, they can be solved by man."Today, men and women across the globe must work together to defeat the existential threat of climate change. As individuals, communities, and national governments we must help by committing to:·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Achieve global carbon neutrality by 2050.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Achieve 100% renewable energy with strong legislative support for wind, solar, nuclear, and geothermal energy.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fulfill the climate goals expressed in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Climate Justice

Our police need greater support, and I will work toward a major initiative to strengthen mental health and social services in support of police officers, who are often called upon to make judgments they are not trained to make. I support reducing the prison population as justice warrants on a case-by-case basis. I support robust education and workforce training programs for prisoners so that they have real skills to sell in the marketplace upon their release. All deserve the opportunity to advance themselves and support their families and communities.&nbsp;

Criminal Justice

Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”I support public education because I believe it is essential to democracy and to America’s economic leadership in the world. Further, it is a moral imperative to provide ALL children with the opportunity to make the most of their talents and abilities.I support greater funding for early childhood education, providing support for both teachers and parents. I support universal academic and financial accountability standards for all schools that receive public funds, whether public or private. I support using those standards to inform parental choices about the education of their children.I support increased financial support for public higher education – whether in community colleges and universities or in trade and technical schools – so that America can make the most of its reservoir of talent without placing undue financial burdens on graduates.

Legal voting should be easy, supported by special efforts to reach everyone. In our democracy, no legal voter’s voice should be suppressed or negated but should be encouraged and heard.With our democracy at stake, I will vote for the “For the People Act” and the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.” I support increasing voter registration and participation in elections, including making Election Day a national holiday and automatic voter registration.&nbsp;I will work to end partisan gerrymandering by creating clear systems for drawing fair legislative districts that protect the integrity of elections. Our people crave a process they can trust, and they are right.&nbsp;&nbsp;I also will vote to prohibit the pernicious influence of dark money, foreign actors, and domestic intimidation on the integrity of our elections.

Elections and Voting

Given how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is driving up the cost of oil, I support President Biden's use of our strategic oil reserves to lower prices.&nbsp; I support environmentally responsible efforts to develop more of America’s own energy resources. I support achieving 100% renewable energy with wind, solar, nuclear, hydro and geothermal energy. I support investigating whether a windfall profits tax on oil companies is warranted by their excessive profits at a time of high prices at the pump.I do not support the expansion of oil exploration on public lands. Oil companies today have thousands of leases that they are not using. As we work to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels, these leases should be exhausted before going any further down that road.

Energy

Why do extreme conservative Republicans always need someone to hate?In my lifetime, I’ve been told by some that I have to hate African-Americans, Jews, feminists, immigrants (like my mother), people with disabilities (like York’s Loretta Claiborne), and now people whose sexuality isn’t as rigid as the minds of MAGA Republicans. Thankfully, I do NOT hate any of these good people. The attack on trans people is just the latest car in their long and reprehensible train of “othering.” When MAGA Republicans pledge “liberty and justice for ALL,” do they really mean it? I do.When they hear the Declaration of Independence proclaim that “ALL men are created equal,” do they mean it? I do.“All” means ALL. Long ago, Americans realized that it is foolish and inhumane to marginalize people because of who they are, who they love, whose religion they embrace, what gender they are, what they struggle to do, and where they came from. To prosper as a democratic nation, we need the talents and skills of ALL. And we ALL have something to offer each other.I will take every opportunity in Congress to ensure that the human and political rights of LGBTQ+ people are never compromised and that these Americans are welcomed into our communities. We will ALL be better for it!

LGBTQ+ Rights

The federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug creates legal conflicts between the federal and state governments where marijuana has been legalized for either medical use or for recreational use. It is unfair and unproductive to put small businesses and legal users in this bind. It also wrongly classifies marijuana as a more dangerous drug than methamphetamine and anabolic steroids. This is wrong and needs to change.

Legalizing Marijuana &amp; Creating Jobs

The reality is the majority of us have ancestors that came from another country.&nbsp; My mother’s family immigrated from Mexico.&nbsp; Many of our industries benefit greatly from people coming to America from elsewhere – whether they are here legally or in an undocumented status.&nbsp; The federal government should finally adopt comprehensive immigration reform that provides a viable path to citizenship to those seeking to contribute to our Nation of Immigrants.As a son of an immigrant, I will not close the door behind me.

Immigration

In March of 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, disrupting the world’s oil and gas supplies and systems. Oil companies exploited this crisis to raise prices and take record profits at the expense of ordinary Americans. Oil inflation raised prices on everything that has to be shipped, which is just about everything. Unfortunately, the damage is done and although the price at the pump is back to normal levels, other prices remain stubbornly high.I support President Biden’s use of strategic oil reserves to bring down the price of gas and his other proposals to reduce the cost of living, such as by eliminating surprise and unnecessary fees on goods and services. Together with a cautious, real-time approach by the Federal Reserve, these policies are taming inflation.

Inflation

Recognizing this is the responsibility of the US President and Senate, I believe Supreme Court nominations should not be limited to those who pass an ideological litmus test but should be based on a nominee’s experience, judgment, and intellectual qualifications. A nominee who is able to see a variety of viewpoints while considering the impact on America is always worthy of consideration.Relying solely on the ideology of “originalism” is an impediment to a modern court. While the original intent of the founders, to the extent it can be known, is a valuable consideration, just as valuable are the 246 years of experience that our founders could not foresee. A Supreme Court that serves all of America should reflect the history and experience of all Americans, not a favored few.

Supreme Court Nominations

As a combat and peacekeeping veteran, I understand the many problems veterans confront on a daily basis and sometimes throughout their lives. The stresses of combat, even combat conducted by drones, can lead to serious mental illness and, tragically, suicide. Homelessness, addiction, and lack of access to health care are intolerable among those who count on us to match their commitment to America with our own commitment to their health and prosperity after their service.&nbsp;Unemployment is unacceptably high among our veterans and, in partnership with the Carlisle Rotary, I am leading a program to support local veterans. Called the Rotary Veterans Initiative, this effort provides education, training and job search opportunities for veterans, especially younger veterans who are just leaving active duty. This initiative has had remarkable success and I will work to bring this and programs like it to scale for veterans everywhere.Republican proposals to privatize the Veterans Administration are unconscionable derelictions of the duty we, as a government and as a people, owe to our veterans, and I will oppose such proposals at every turn.

Veterans

Working people are the heart, soul, and engine of America!&nbsp;All work has worth, and no one in America who works full time should live in poverty. I support a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour. More, I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to work in high-quality jobs with living wages. Everyone deserves access to high quality education and workforce training, including re-training in the face of changes to the economic and occupational landscape. Everyone deserves access to the jobs of the future that will ensure our grandchildren have clean air and water and a livable environment.The right of collective bargaining should not be infringed. I support the rights of ALL workers, including public employees, to choose union representation in the workplace without interference or coercion by employers.

Working People

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"As a father, combat veteran, teacher, and school board member,&nbsp;I have dedicated my life to serving our country and commUNITY. I'm ready to serve you in Congress.&nbsp; We need collaborative leaders who will stand up for democracy and bring us together for the common good — because united, we can ALL win."

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