113th Congress: Grace Meng, D-N.Y. (6th District)

By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff

As she heads to Washington, Grace Meng says her top priority will be striving to bring jobs to her Queens district.

Her plan would involve directing federal aid to state and local governments for hiring new teachers, police and firefighters; supporting tax credits for small businesses; and pushing initiatives that would build the borough into a technology corridor. Meng also says she wants to send federal transportation dollars to her district — and she is hoping to achieve that goal through a seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“I have a clear vision and a specific plan, and when I get to Washington I will hit the ground running in pursuit of these objectives,” she says.

Meng supports the 2010 health care law as a vehicle to provide critical services to small businesses. She particularly favors provisions that bar providers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and the requirement that young adults be allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26.

She also pledged to oppose what she calls a “right-wing assault on the health care and senior citizen programs that are so crucial to the fabric of our society.”

Rather than seeing social programs cut, Meng favors raising revenue by eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and corporations that outsource work overseas. She’s a backer of the so-called Buffett rule, which would raise the minimum tax rate on people making more than $1 million per year to 30 percent.