National Coverage Plan: End Dead Zones & Protect Every SC District 1 Resident

 

Closing the Digital Divide: Real Solutions for Nationwide Coverage

Why It Matters

With nearly half of American homes relying solely on cell phones, wireless service has become essential—especially in emergencies en.wikipedia.org+5ooma.com+5relocation.com+5. Yet, many rural and urban areas still suffer from “dead zones”: dropped calls, failed texts, and no access to 911 wired.com. In a crisis, that gap can become a life-or-death issue.

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🔧 Proposed Reforms for Full Coverage

1. Expand Cell Towers & Small Cells
   Mandate carriers to fill gaps using strategies like AT&T’s small-cell trials, which have proven 100% coverage in test zones relocation.com+15wired.com+15reddit.com+15. Prioritize rural and highway coverage with targeted infrastructure grants.

2. Enable Satellite Backup Services
   Support partnerships like the new T‑Mobile‑Starlink initiative, approved by the FCC, to deliver cell service via satellites—eliminating coverage gaps in rural or remote locations reuters.com+1theverge.com+1.

3. Carrier Accountability & Transparency
   Require carriers to publicly report coverage blackspots and demonstrate concrete plans to fix them. If you're paying $150/month for 2 phones, you deserve reliable service everywhere—even off the beaten path.

4. Support Lifeline & Low-Income Plans
   Expand FCC’s Lifeline program to provide discounted or free mobile services to low-income and rural households, ensuring no resident is left unreachable deadcellzones.comcellcoveragemapping.com+1theseniorlist.com+1phonearena.com+2en.wikipedia.org+2lively.com+2.

5. Boost Building & In-Home Signal Support
   Encourage widespread deployment of cellular repeaters or femtocells in schools, nursing homes, and public buildings—addressing coverage gaps created by structure and terrain en.wikipedia.org+2ooma.com+2esim.holafly.com+2.

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🛡️ The Public Safety Case

With 600+ dead zone complaints per million people in some regions deadzones.com+5esim.holafly.com+5deadcellzones.com+5, unreliable service isn’t just an annoyance—it’s a danger. By investing in next-gen infrastructure and satellite backup, and enforcing strict accountability, we ensure that every District 1 citizen can call for help anytime, anywhere.

FEMA & Insurance Reform: Faster Disaster Aid & Fairer Claims

 

Modernizing FEMA & Strengthening Insurance Protection

Why This Matters for District 1

With FEMA facing staff shortages, morale issues, and bureaucratic delays—especially after disasters like hurricanes—it’s clear the system needs urgent reform eelp.law.harvard.edu+15reuters.com+15facebook.com+15. Meanwhile, insurance companies are increasingly stalling payouts or canceling policies in high-risk areas, creating financial hardship just when communities need support most en.wikipedia.org. For SC District 1 and the entire nation, this is unacceptable—and my “FEMA & Insurance Reform Act” provides real solutions:

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1. Make FEMA Fully Independent & Speed Up Assistance

• Lift FEMA out of DHS and make it a Cabinet-level independent agency, with enhanced direct reporting to the President congress.gov+15infrastructurereportcard.org+15moskowitz.house.gov+15.

• Streamlined, project-based funding: Shift from slow reimbursements to pre-approved block grants that states can use immediately, reducing red tape floods.org+3infrastructurereportcard.org+3moskowitz.house.gov+3.

• Recovery Task Force: Assemble a bipartisan team to clear old declarations and ensure rapid response across federal, state, and local agencies time.com+10transportation.house.gov+10nlihc.org+10.

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2. Modernize Insurance—Cover Claims When They Matter

• Mandatory prompt payouts: Require insurers to pay out validated claims within 60 days post-disaster. Denials must be specific and appealable.

• Regulate market conduct: Expand the Federal Insurance Office’s authority to monitor private insurance, enforce consumer protections, and ensure claims are honored en.wikipedia.org.

• Encourage parametric policies: Establish federally-backed index-insurance pilots for floods and wildfires—triggering fast, automatic payouts linked to storm data, reducing claim wait times and disputes .

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3. Accountability, Transparency & Preparedness

• Central tracking portal: Make all FEMA and insurance payments publicly visible—who received what and when—so taxpayers can hold agencies accountable .

• Federal-Local partnership: Offer financial incentives to states that pre-submit disaster mitigation plans—rewarding preparation and lowering future response delays cbo.gov+15transportation.house.gov+15facebook.com+15.

• Rebuild staff & training: Reverse recent FEMA layoffs by hiring new personnel and increasing training programs for emergency responders, especially ahead of wildfire/hurricane seasons .

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🔥 What This Means for You

When Disaster Strikes	Under This Plan
FEMA delays response	Funds go directly to states to start rebuilding immediately
Insurance claim denied	Must receive fast, fair payout or clear appeal instructions
Smoke from wildfire	Pre-set index triggers instant relief
Taxpayer funds?	Every dollar is tracked on a public site

With these reforms, SC District 1—and the entire U.S.—will receive faster assistance, fairer insurance payouts, and stronger disaster resilience.

Fix the Mental Health Crisis: Cyberbullying, Care, & Community Action

 

America’s Mental Health Crisis: What Must Change

Mental health across our nation is in alarming decline. Teen and young adult suicide rates have surged, with youth aged 10–24 facing a 56% rise in suicides over the past decade en.wikipedia.org+1kff.org+1. In 2023, over 46,000 lives were lost to gun-related deaths—including more than 27,000 suicides—often driven by underlying mental health issues publichealth.jhu.edu. Adding to this burden, exposure to gun violence—through personal experience or media—dramatically increases stress and suicidal thinking, especially in marginalized communities psychiatrictimes.com+6theguardian.com+6kff.org+6.

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💻 Cyberbullying: A Silent Crisis

Our schools and online spaces are failing our kids. While nearly every state requires bullying policies in schools, laws follow, but lack enforcement and only rarely apply to off-campus digital harassment stopbullying.gov+4cyberbullying.org+4findlaw.com+4. Heartbreakingly, cyberbullying has led to teenage suicides—remember Ryan Halligan, who was tormented until he took his own life from online attacks findlaw.com+2en.wikipedia.org+2theverge.com+2. It's time for Congress to enact comprehensive cyberbullying and online-harassment laws—including criminal accountability for platforms that ignore complaints leading to tragic outcomes.

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🏛️ A Bipartisan Plan to Revive Mental Health Care

1. Rebuild Psychiatric Facilities
   The deinstitutionalization of the 1960s left hundreds of thousands without care—many ending up homeless or incarcerated en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org. We must reinvest in modern psychiatric hospitals, while properly staffed and community-linked, to ensure intensive care when early intervention fails.

2. Expand Community-Based & Crisis Services
   Mobile Crisis Teams (like CAHOOTS and STAR) have proven effective at de-escalating mental health emergencies en.wikipedia.org. Federal matching grants should support 24/7 mental health response teams statewide, helping communities across District 1.

3. Boost Research, Telehealth & Training
   We need robust investment in research on trauma, loneliness, youth mental health, and the mental-health impacts of exposure to violence. Expand telehealth and mental health apps to reach underserved populations , and integrate mental health literacy into school curriculums to demystify conditions early and reduce stigma.

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💬 Why This Matters

Our mental health is not just a personal matter—it’s a community imperative. Preventing suicide, reducing violence, and supporting recovery depends on a fully funded, proactive system. By combining strong anti-harassment laws, institutional care, crisis response, education, and research, we can reduce suffering and heal a nation in distress.

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✅ Call to Action

Join me in championing a comprehensive mental health and anti-bullying legislative agenda—one that holds platforms and institutions accountable and ensures no one is left to struggle alone.