A New Future
Broadband and rail are not extras. They decide whether families stay, students succeed, and local farms and small businesses keep up. Reliable internet lets kids do homework at the kitchen table instead of sitting in a fast-food parking lot just to get a signal. It helps farmers use precision equipment, real-time data, and smart tools to stay competitive and keep more profit here. It keeps local stores and small businesses running credit cards, reaching online customers, and standing a fair chance against bigger competitors.
Better rail service connects our towns to each other and to larger job markets, schools, and hospitals without forcing people to lose an entire day on the road. Right now, Danville’s only daily train reaches Washington after lunch. The earliest weekday train from Lynchburg and Charlottesville gets there just before noon — too late for anyone who needs to work a full day. We need schedules that make sense. Better connections give people real reasons to invest and build a future here.
Broadband
What Congress Can Do
- Back local and regional broadband projects that deliver real service to farms, homes, and small businesses.
- Fix funding rules so rural areas are not punished for being spread out.
- Stop letting new lines and towers sit stuck for years while communities wait on permits.
- Protect fair competition so local co-ops and small providers have a fighting chance.
What Congress Cannot Do Alone
- It cannot wire every farm, house, or business itself, but it can lower costs, clear delays, and hold companies to what they promise.
- It cannot run your local broadband office, but it can make sure money reaches the people who paid the taxes.
What I Will Do
- I will work to protect the federal broadband funding already promised to Virginia and press to make sure it reaches families, students, farms, and small businesses in the Fifth.
- I’ll track how the money moves, press agencies and providers for updates, and call out delays and broken promises before they become long-term problems.
- I’ll back rural counties as they navigate federal systems, and I’ll keep the focus on real outcomes—better access, better speed, and better service at home.
Passenger Rail
What Congress Can Do
- Approve and fund new routes and upgrades that keep service safe, reliable, and frequent enough to be practical.
- Support fair agreements with rail operators so more towns get real stops and usable schedules, not just lines on a map.
- Make sure smaller cities like Lynchburg and Danville are not left out while bigger cities with stronger lobbyists get all the funding.
What Congress Cannot Do Alone
- It cannot run the trains itself, but it can protect funding, shape fair deals, and make sure local communities have a say in how routes and schedules work.
What I Will Do
- I will push for investments that keep Lynchburg, Charlottesville, and Danville connected to larger job markets, schools, and medical services.
- I will back local governments that want better service and realistic schedules so people here can travel for work or family without giving up a whole day. This region should not watch from the sidelines as other places move forward.