Affordable Healthcare

  • Congresswoman Sykes is a healthcare champion for Ohioans.

    During the pandemic, Sykes supported the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a significant step towards expanding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA is historic healthcare legislation that enables Medicare to negotiate the price of life-saving prescription drugs and caps the price of insulin for Medicare enrollees. 

    Congresswoman Sykes has pledged to fight for lower prescription drug costs and broader Medicare benefits, including better coverage for vision, hearing, and dental services for seniors [1]. She has also pledged to defend the ACA – a lifeline for 2 million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions – and pushed for its expansion [2]. Sykes has also condemned Ohio Republicans for seeking a waiver that would implement work requirements on some low-income Ohioans for receiving Medicaid [3].

    Sykes said that she would “not support any plan that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.” She fought back against potential Medicare restrictions and voted against two Republican bills over the last two years that would have threatened healthcare benefits for thousands of workers [4].

  • During the pandemic, Sykes introduced a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis, asserting that COVID-19 disproportionately affected the Black community. She said: “Racism is the systemic oppression of people who are deemed inferior, and the result of that is detrimental to people's health. […] And then we have the coronavirus, which is clearly an issue for every single person in this country, but it impacts Black bodies differently, and it is disproportionately impacting Black communities in a negative way [5].” 

    Congresswoman Sykes also supported the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which delivered immediate relief for hard-hit Black families and small businesses, built a bridge toward economic recovery, and reduced poverty in Black communities during the pandemic [6]. 

    Sykes is a co-sponsor of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus, which provided funding for community-based organizations working on maternal health and equity, supported moms with mental health conditions and substance use disorders, and promoted maternal vaccinations. Sykes also helped create the first-ever Ohio Black Maternal Health Caucus [7]. She has called for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prioritize women’s heart health, citing racial disparities in the rates of cardiovascular disease among Black women [8].

  • Coughlin staunchly opposes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicare. 

    During his term as a state legislator, he attempted to dismantle the ACA’s individual mandate at the state level in 2009. He supported Republican Paul Ryan’s 2011 proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher program for people under 55, which would have gutted Medicare funding within a decade. 

    Coughlin also supported the Cap, Cut, and Balance Act of 2011, which would have capped federal spending and threatened Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. At the time, his plan would cost nearly 160,000 Ohio seniors over $6,000 each for health care [1].

    Donald Trump – whom Coughlin has endorsed for President – pushed to repeal the ACA during his presidency and has called to replace it during his current presidential campaign. If the ACA is dismantled, 857,000 Ohioans would be at risk of losing their coverage, and nearly 2 million Ohioans with preexisting conditions could be denied healthcare [2].

Economic Security For Working Families

  • Congresswoman Sykes is a childcare champion for Ohio families. She has consistently pushed to increase childcare funding at the state and local levels. 

    In 2023, Sykes signed a letter calling for continued childcare funding from the ARPA and advocated for increased childcare options for rural communities. 

    In the Ohio legislature, Sykes co-sponsored the House version of the Childcare Stabilization Act, which could provide over $500 million for childcare if passed [9]. She also introduced legislation to help lower costs for Ohio workers and families and grow the middle class by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) – while paying for those expansions by making large corporations contribute their fair share [10]. 

    The expanded CTC has increased the aid per child from $2,000 to $3,000 and provided an additional $600 for children under age 6 [11]. These payments have cut the child poverty rate by more than 30 percent and lifted nearly 10 million children above or close to the poverty line, including over 2 million Black children, about 4 million Latino children, and about 441,000 Asian American children [12].

    At the local level, Sykes helped secure a $1.4 million federal grant to support the Summit County Head Start program. This substantial funding will strengthen local capacity to provide high-quality education services for the most vulnerable members of the Akron community [13].

  • Congresswoman Sykes advocates for fair and livable wages. 

    In 2023, Sykes co-sponsored two bills that protect and raise wages for Ohioans: the Raise the Wage Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. 

    The Raise the Wage Act would raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour and eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. It would also increase wages for nearly 32 million Americans, including roughly a third of all Black workers and a quarter of all Latino workers. 

    The Paycheck Fairness Act would allow employees to discuss salary without fear of retaliation [14].

  • Congresswoman Sykes supports job creation and protection for Ohioans. 

    She has stated that the CHIPS and Science Act’s investments would boost Ohio’s economy by “lowering costs for Northeast Ohioans and creating thousands of good-paying, union jobs.” In 2023, she co-sponsored a bill to streamline approval for projects supported by the CHIPS Act [15].

    Sykes has also pushed to expand funding for diverse infrastructure projects under the CHIPS and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts (IIJA). This includes projects that improve transportation, roads, manufacturing, and broadband Internet access throughout the country – which help American cities grow while supporting local jobs [16]. 

    In 2020, Sykes also called for AT&T to suspend job cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic [17].

  • Congresswoman Sykes consistently advocates for the protection and expansion of Social Security. 

    Last year, she co-sponsored two bills in 2023 that could expand Social Security benefits and extend the program’s solvency [18]. One of those bills – called the Social Security 2100 Act – would cut Social Security’s shortfall in half by imposing a payroll tax on the wealthy. 

    In addition, Sykes opposes any legislation that might cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. She has fought back against potential Medicare restrictions and voted against two Republican bills over the last two years that would have threatened healthcare benefits for thousands of workers [19]. She also opposed the Default on America Act, which could bring devastating cuts to Social Security if passed [20].

  • Congresswoman Sykes also supports the financial needs of low-income families. Earlier this year, she introduced legislation to ensure that families relying on SNAP benefits do not lose that critical safety net when events beyond their control threaten access [21].

  • Congresswoman Sykes is committed to expanding access to healthy food and reducing the number of food deserts in Ohio. 

    She has supported a significant amount of legislation that ensures low-income, unhoused, and food-insecure Ohioans have access to food during extreme events like government shutdowns and can access food permanently. In 2022, Sykes secured a statewide grant to create a food pantry for food-insecure patients with chronic illnesses in Akron, a result of her consistent efforts [22].

    Sykes also supports the continuation of the ARPA, which increased SNAP benefits by 15% during the pandemic. The ARPA funded partnerships with restaurants to feed American families and keep workers in the restaurant industry on the job [23].

    Sykes continues to advocate for the role of healthy food in ensuring healthy nutrition for Americans. She is a part of local and federal efforts to end food insecurity in Northeast Ohio and across the country [24].

  • Research could not find a clear stance for Coughlin on providing Ohioans with childcare. 

  • Research could not find a clear stance for Coughlin on providing Ohioans with livable wages.

  • Research could not find a clear stance on Coughlin providing jobs for Ohioans. 

    His Washington supporters also voted against the CHIPS and Science Act, which spurred investment and job growth in the American manufacturing industry in states like Ohio [3]. 

  • Coughlin has proposed gambling Social Security by privatizing the programs and has advocated for converting Medicare into a voucher program and increasing the eligibility age to 67 [4]. 

    Coughlin has suggested that entitlement programs should to be cut [5].

Public Education

  • Congresswoman Sykes supports fairly and fully funding Ohio public schools.

    She has criticized school vouchers and religious exemptions in schools. In 2019, she opposed a bill that allowed religious students to be exempt from penalization on school assignments. In 2020, she said: “You can have the opportunity to be educated well in the state of Ohio, and we cannot do that through our public school system if we are siphoning funds away from them to pay for other school opportunities which are not constitutionally mandated [25].”

    In 2019, Sykes urged Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to veto legislation that increased private school funding and decreased oversight for charter schools [26].

  • Coughlin does not seem to support fairly and fully funding Ohio public schools. 

    Instead, he supports school choice vouchers. During his time in office, he sponsored an unsuccessful bill that would have expanded the school voucher program in Ohio [6].

Reproductive Health & Maternal Health

  • Congresswoman Sykes is a staunch supporter of reproductive and bodily freedoms. She has said: “Whether it’s abortion, birth control, or breast cancer screenings, the government has no place telling a woman what to do with her body.” 

    Last year, Sykes supported Issue 1, which codified abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution. She also co-sponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act and sponsored the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act to protect abortion rights and shield people from disinformation peddled by anti-abortion centers. In 2018, she voted against a notorious Ohio heartbeat bill [27]. 

    Previously, Sykes has called for health care expansion to combat ongoing high infant mortality rates in Ohio, with her hometown of Akron having one of the highest mortality rates in the state [28]. 

    As a state legislator, she co-founded Ohio’s first Black Maternal Health Caucus. As a congresswoman, she joined the Black Maternal Health Caucus at the federal level and introduced the Momnibus Act to combat maternal mortality [29].

  • Coughlin does not support reproductive freedom for Ohioans. 

    Instead, he has touted his record as a pro-life politician. He said he has “co-sponsored or voted for every allowable Roe v. Wade state restriction.” 

    In 2010, Coughlin opposed a potentially transformative bill that would have codified abortion rights into the U.S. Constitution. He also supported legislation that would have prohibited health insurance providers from covering abortion. 

    Coughlin is endorsed by the extreme anti-abortion organization Ohio Right To Life. He also supports Ohio’s six-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest [7].

    Coughlin also endorsed former President Trump, who has supported a federal abortion ban and said women who receive illegal abortions should receive “some sort of punishment [8].”

Community Safety

  • Congresswoman Sykes proposed declaring racism a public health crisis in Ohio through HCR 31. This resolution would promote racially equitable economic and workforce development and prioritize the health of people of color [30].

    According to the article, Emilia Sykes, who was the Ohio House Minority Leader at the time, played a significant role in advocating for police reform and improved training. She emphasized the importance of de-escalation techniques and proper training for law enforcement officers to prevent tragic outcomes in police encounters [31].

  • Sykes supports transparency and accountability for law enforcement officers. As an Ohio legislator, she criticized her Republican colleagues for failing to enact recommended legislation to improve policing, such as limiting the use of deadly force. 

    In 2023, Sykes requested that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct an investigation into the Akron Police Department after police killed 25-year-old Akron resident Jayland  Walker during a traffic stop [32].

  • Sykes has called for more research into racial disparities in arrest rates, charges, and sentences for Ohioans. 

    She said: “Just the mere fact of having adequate representation can mean the difference between probation and a 20-year prison sentence, and while that might seem like a very stark difference, it is very real [33].”

  • In 2024, Sykes helped secure $14.9 million in federal funding for community projects in the 13th District, including nearly $1 million for the Akron Urban League’s Community Crime Prevention and Youth Engagement initiative. 

    This funding will help promote alternatives to violence for at-risk Akron youth through mentoring and life skills coaching, community leadership activities, and workforce development programming [34].

  • Last year, Sykes helped secure more than $1.5 million in federal funding to hire and retain police officers and support community policing within Ohio’s 13th Congressional District [35].  She also supported bipartisan legislation that would allow local law enforcement to utilize program grants for recruitment and retention bonuses [36]. 

    Earlier this month, Sykes helped secure nearly $1 million to acquire police cruisers for police in her congressional district [37]. She is advocating for greater federal funding for firefighters and EMS officers in her district and nationally [38]. 

  • Research could not find a clear stance on community safety for Kevin Coughlin.

Student Debt Relief

  • Congresswoman Sykes is fighting back against a Republican bill that would repeal the Biden-Harris administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The SAVE plan has been a lifeline for many low- and middle-income borrowers in Ohio and nationally. 

    The opposing Republican bill could lead to a monthly payment increase for more than 5 million student loan borrowers in Ohio. 16,000 of these borrowers live in Sykes’ district [39].

  • Research could not find a clear stance for Coughlin on easing the burden of student debt on Ohioans.

Voting Rights & Democracy Reform

  • Congresswoman Sykes has championed voting rights protection and expansion by co-sponsoring the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in 2023 [40]. 

    Sykes called a 2021 Republican plan to require voters to provide two forms of ID in order to vote as “draconian. She also criticized efforts to limit ballot drop boxes [41].

    As minority leader in the Ohio legislature, Sykes was an outspoken advocate for fair districts. She served on Ohio’s Redistricting Commission and voted against severely gerrymandered GOP district maps. 

    She vocally opposed district maps that did not meet standards outlined in Ohio’s constitution in 2021, criticizing Republicans for negotiating in bad faith and passing unfair maps. She said: “This is a shameful abuse of power, a sad day for our democracy, and another reminder that Republicans are unfit to lead our state [42].”

  • Coughlin does not support Ohioans’ right to vote. 

    Instead, he wants to restrict voting by enacting voter ID laws and limiting early voting options [9]. 

    In 2005, Coughlin vocally opposed a redistricting proposal that would have created competitive districts for Democrats and Republicans and preserved communities in Ohio district maps [10].

Affordable Housing

  • Congresswoman Sykes focuses on affordable housing as part of the New Democrat Coalition. She has created policy recommendations for expanding housing options, including extending tax credits to incentivize affordable housing development [43]. 

    Sykes said: “Every person in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District deserves to have a safe, secure, and affordable place to live. Unfortunately, a lack of affordable homes, historically high interest rates, and outdated zoning laws have all caused the American Dream of homeownership to be out of reach for too many people in Northeast Ohio [44].”

  • After leaving the state Senate, Coughlin became a well-paid lobbyist for real estate investors in Ohio. He was paid to protect landlords over tenants and exclude landlords from important civil rights provisions. His efforts cost Ohioans over $1 million in Housing and Urban Development funding [11].

    More recently, Coughlin has praised the efforts of Ohio real estate investors to provide safe and affordable housing [12].

Footnotes