Summary
Current Position: Consultant
Affiliation: Republican
Candidate: 2024 US Representative for District 8
Former Position: Corporate Strategy Development from 2009 – 2022
Her campaign is focused on delivering common sense solutions to Washington to achieve common goals for all. Those goals: more money in your wallets, preserve your retirement and savings accounts, lowering energy costs, combating inflation, and protecting our children.
Source: Campaign page
Featured Videos:
OnAir Post: Karina Lipsman
About
Source: Campaign page
A Product of the American Dream
I arrived in this country as a refugee from Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union with my single mother and grandparents. We didn’t speak English, survived on food stamps and lived in low income housing in Baltimore City. I remember my first day at public school, seeing my fellow students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and not knowing a single word they were saying.
My mother played the role of both parents, while working as a seamstress to make ends meet and attending community college in the evenings to learn English and earn her bookkeeping certificate. Life was not easy but I learned from an early age the meaning of perseverance and hard work. I knew that because of my mother’s sacrifices, I had the opportunity to make something of myself. I started working at the age of 14 at a local bagel shop and I’ve worked ever since.
American, by choice
As soon as I turned 18, I applied to be an American citizen. At my citizenship ceremony, I recited the most meaningful Pledge of Allegiance of my life and I knew in that moment just how fortunate I was to be given this opportunity that most people around the world can only dream of.
Academically and professionally accomplished
I completed my studies in 3 years with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics while working full-time in the financial industry. After graduation, I joined the world of national defense and earned a Master’s degree in engineering from The Johns Hopkins University while working full-time. After spending over a decade in the defense and intelligence communities, I voluntarily resigned to run for Congress.
Why I’m Running
Politicians in our current environment are out of touch and all you see is infighting instead of collaboration. It is my generation’s time to get involved and change that toxic climate. As an immigrant from an oppressive regime, I don’t take the freedoms in this nation for granted. It’s my civic duty to get involved and support our society. That’s why I’m running for Congress. To set an example of serving my nation, to represent my neighbors, and to leave the system better off for the next generation.
I have lived in Arlington, VA for almost a decade and I am living and experiencing the issues that we are all facing together in our community. As your Congresswoman, I will engage with everyone, regardless of party affiliation to represent your interests. I will prioritize introducing common sense solutions and work across the aisle for our district over engaging in partisan politics. I will advocate for common-sense policies that fight crime, reduce inflation, ease transportation and improve our educational standards.
Common Sense Solutions Before Partisan Politics
As someone with the nation’s highest level of security clearance classification, I’m well aware of the external and internal threats facing our country. Our enemies know that we are weaker when we are divided. Let’s be honest – there are loud extremists on both sides, who benefit from dividing our country, and we cannot let that happen. Divisive politics are poisonous and we must work together to overcome the gridlock on the critical issues that are facing our country.
We will not make progress as a country if we immediately dismiss ideas simply because they come from the other side. We cannot demonize our fellow citizens simply because they have a different view. So, unlike some other politicians, I will not go to Congress to play partisan politics. I will prioritize the interests of my district and my country and fight to deliver bipartisan solutions that improve the lives of my constituents.
Web
Campaign Site, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
Politics
Source: none
Issues
Source: Campaign page
Her campaign is focused on delivering common sense solutions to Washington to achieve common goals for all. Those goals: more money in your wallets, preserve your retirement and savings accounts, lowering energy costs, combating inflation, and protecting our children.
Common sense is our common goal. I’m running for Congress to set an example of serving my nation, to represent my neighbors, and to leave the system better off for the next generation. It is time for new energy and a fresh vision for Northern Virginia.
Economy & Jobs
Economy
I will staunchly oppose any measures that seek to increase taxes, I will work to get our inflation under control, stop wasteful government spending and bring high-paying jobs back to the U.S.
In Biden’s America, inflation is the highest it’s been in 40 years. The cost of fuel, groceries, utilities, and everyday goods are through the roof. As your Congresswoman I will get our economy back on track.
I am the only candidate (as of April 2022) to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which is my promise to the people of Northern Virginia I will never raise your taxes.
Our government is addicted to debt. We must get spending under control, but first, we must cut off the stream of taxpayer money going to the federal government, and that starts with not raising taxes and then reforming social spending programs.
The outsourcing of the manufacturing of goods has to end! I will work with domestic manufacturers, union and non-union, to develop smart, pro-growth tax policies that will ensure we do everything to make products here in America.
Fair Trade
A global trading system is important for everyone, but the U.S. must never be taken advantage of. We need fair trade policies that ensure our trading partners are operating under high human rights, labor, and ethical standards, and are paying living wages to their workers.
For years, unfair trade practices, currency manipulation, and dumping placed American products at a disadvantage worldwide, and undercut our domestic workforce.
Free and fair-trade agreements can and should be negotiated, in good faith with our allied trading partners. We must ensure that they are operating under fair labor laws, humane and ethical standards, and paying fair wages to their workers.
While tariffs can be a tool in the arsenal to ensure equity among trading partners, exemptions must be considered for American companies importing products that simply cannot be made in the United States. With that in mind, as your Congresswoman I will also support policies that encourage the manufacturing of products here in American when at all possible.
We must not let other nations, such as China, gain the cutting edge in technologies like chip manufacturing and rare earth mineral mining that are critical to our national security. We need a strategy that looks to the future and features a landscape that favors the United States.
Supply Chains
We should endeavor to ensure U.S. importers and domestic producers source their products from countries with high labor and human rights standards, while at the same time promoting strong domestic manufacturing agenda.
We are still reeling from COVID’s effects on supply chains: fewer people in the workforce, less products being produced, and less products being transported. We need to get people working again at full capacity and promote policies that shrink our reliance on imported goods.
We should make manufacturing in America a priority. We are too reliant on foreign suppliers. In the last Administration we held China and others accountable, enjoyed energy independence, and promoted domestic manufacturing of steel, aluminum, and more; now we are beholden to foreign imports.
We should reduce our economic relationships with countries who do not share our values and are actively working to undermine America.
Domestic COVID-relief policies made employment unattractive. Low U.S. employment meant higher imported products because of low domestic output of goods. A shortage of government employees working the ports meant long delays at ports of entry and border crossings. Inflation compounded this problem further.
Efforts to strengthen our domestic industries will take time. Until then, intricate supply chains may be necessary, but we must ensure they are free of forced-labor products (such as the raw materials sourced from Africa, in mines controlled by the Chinese, who employ child and slave labor).
Environment & Energy
America has been blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas. We can put thousands of American men and women to work in high-paying jobs, while generating tax revenue to the federal government through royalty sharing programs and ending our reliance on foreign energy. As we transition to a cleaner economy, this must be a part of the solution.
Renewable energy has great promise for our country – but it cannot exist forever with government handouts, and we cannot be reliant on other countries to supply the necessary parts such as imported solar components. We must incentivize the production of renewable energy components here at home, and until then, ensure the critical and rare earth mineral supply chain does not include forced labor.
Addressing environmental concerns should not mean raising taxes on American families and businesses while the rest of the world continues to operate under business as usual. If we are to truly address any environmental issues, it must begin with a global understanding that the U.S. will never go-at-it-alone.
As your Congresswoman I will support safe domestic exploration and policies that expedite permitting, as increased domestic supply can help alleviate the price at the pump. I will also encourage Gov. Youngkin to suspend the state gas tax temporarily to provide relief to your wallet. At the same time, I will push for electric vehicles and renewable energy parts to be made right here in America, ending our reliance on China and other adversarial countries. I support policies promoting clean air, water, and near-zero or zero emissions technologies, but I will never do so at the expense of raising taxes on families in this country, or hurting our businesses.
Health & Education
Education
Parents must have transparency into what happens in the hallways and what is being taught in the classroom. I am 100% pro-school choice and I will never support lowering educational standards for the sake of politics.
I am a product of public schools, traditional four-year college, and advanced education. I know the value of education, especially for immigrants. Education is the great equalizer and lifts people out of poverty and out of a path of crime. Quality education is critical to the future of our children, and their future leadership in our nation.
We need to not only maintain a high standard of learning, but increase it. If we lower expectations for any specific group of people, the knowledge base is lowered for everyone.
I am 100% pro-school choice, and I will always protect parental rights to choose schools based on what is best for their children’s future; including public, private, parochial, charter schools, and homeschooling.
I also realize my education path is not for everyone. A four-year degree should not be a pre-requisite for employment in this country. As your Congresswoman I will support community colleges, technical schools, and vocational training programs to ensure students who choose these paths are able to secure a high-paying, quality job.
Human Rights
Life
I have spent countless hours trying understanding the scientific, moral, and religious perspectives around this issue. I have concluded we must always give life a chance.
I have humbly concluded that, as a society, we must give life a chance, since it is the most beautiful thing in this world.
As a country, we judge and despise nations who promote terminating a pregnancy because of the baby’s gender. We should apply this same judgement domestically.
We cannot avoid the discussion on addressing the issues by which women find themselves in a situation where terminating a pregnancy must be considered. That is also a level at which this problem should be addressed.
Additionally, we must speed up adoption procedures in America and make it easier for families who can not conceive to bring a child into their home.
Public Safety
Crime
The crime in Northern Virginia must come to an end! I stand firmly behind the men and women in law enforcement. Defunding the police only hurts our community. I will always support measures that strengthen our law enforcement agencies and improve their effectiveness.
During the Biden Administration, crime is on the rise in our schools, on our streets, and in our communities. This must come to an end!
As your Congresswoman, I will support legislation that ensures law enforcement has the tools they need to perform their jobs. We also can not allow crime to be tiered based on the value of what is stolen or damaged. Theft is theft, and if we give criminals an inch they will take a mile.
Foreign Policy
Russia, China and North Korea are the biggest external threats facing the United States right now. With Northern Virginia being mere miles from DC, the Pentagon, and housing some of the best defense and national security minds in the world, this issue is a top priority for me.
I have spent over a decade working in the national defense and intelligence sectors. I speak multiple languages fluently, and can have conversations in many others. I have worked on defense and security issues on the ground in dozens of countries.
Immigration
As an immigrant myself, I can personally attest to how beneficial legal immigration is to this country. But, illegal immigration brings drugs, crime, sex trafficking, and must be stopped. I will support policies that repeal Biden’s open borders and protect the rights of those who want to come to this country legally.
Our immigration policy must work for everyone – that means enforcing the laws for illegal immigration and at the same time, providing a straight-forward path for those who choose to enter this great country legally, like myself, my mother, and my grandparents did in the early 90s.
The integration of immigrants into our society strengthens America. The discussion on immigration is often focused on who comes in and who doesn’t, but very little on what happens after immigrants have arrived. Once immigrants pass through our borders legally, we should do everything possible to ensure they assimilate, and contribute, to our society.
Illegal immigration must be stopped! The rate of drug overdoses, especially fentanyl deaths, sex abuse and trafficking, child-separations at the border, is largely due to illegal immigration. As your Congresswoman I will support policies that utilize 21st century technologies to stop illegal activity at our borders, and legislation that provides Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the resources they need.
I am ready to receive top secret intelligence briefings, digest the information, and make an informed decision on day one to ensure our safety and interests are never compromised.
The current Administration has let us down with their lack of foreign policy leadership and blundered international relations – and bad actors have exploited our perceived weakness. The mismanaged withdraw of troops and citizens from Afghanistan, and the invasion of Ukraine, should have never happened.
We must not appease dictators like Xi and Putin, who only understand and respect strength. Our strength must be demonstrated through proactive and clear policy, military second-to-none, and decisive actions.
Veterans
Veterans volunteered to protect our country. They and their families have made the ultimate sacrifice. I stand fully behind our veterans will ensure we have legislation and a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that is supporting them.
Our brave men and women sacrifice so much to serve our country, yet when they come home, they often feel overlooked by a broken VA and complicated legislative and regulatory hurdles.
I stand 100% behind our veterans, the spouses and families of veterans, and the spouses of active duty. When they return home, we must provide paths for assimilation back into the community, the workforce, and ensure they have all options at their disposal to assist with housing, medical benefits claims, pension claims, and more.
