Chris Diep
for New York 12
Meet Chris
Running for New York’s 12th District
Chris Diep is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a software engineer, and kids’ soccer coach. Growing up, he saw his parents work hard to find opportunity and build stability for his family. But today, the American Dream feels out of reach for many.
The economy should reward people who work hard, build things, and take risks. New Yorkers want affordable housing, meaningful and stable jobs, and technology that supports them.
As Congressman, Chris will fight for tax cuts for working people, stronger unions, better layoff protections, and an economy that prioritizes regular people before Wall Street.
Build the Uplift Economy
This Economy is Broken.
The American economy runs on people — their ideas, their hustle, their willingness to take a risk on something new. But for decades, we've been investing in the wrong things. Money flows into real estate, hedge funds, and insurance company profits while working families, small business owners, and new Americans get left behind. I call it the Uplift Economy — a simple idea that when we invest in people, everyone wins.
That starts with three commitments.
Invest in people, not Wall Street.
Tax cuts for working people. Small banks and credit unions that know your name over Too Big to Fail institutions that don't. Capital should be flowing into small businesses and bold ideas, instead of rental properties and hedge funds.
A healthcare system that sets you free
Health Savings Accounts for everyone. Subsidies going directly to hospitals, not insurance companies. When people aren't one diagnosis away from financial ruin, they have the freedom to start taking risks, like starting a new business or changing careers.
Immigration is our economic engine.
My family came here with nothing and built a meaningful life. That story is America's story. H-1B workers who get laid off deserve protection, not deportation. New entrepreneurial Americans are exactly who this economy needs. We must embrace our neighbors with the same respect they have for coming to this incredible country.
Support the Campaign!
The Policies
Affordability
New York is too expensive. Rent is too high, groceries cost too much, and healthcare is unaffordable. People are working harder just to earn the same, while corporations earn more and more.
Chris will support tax relief for working people, fight corporate price-gouging, protect key social programs, and invest in the things that lower costs over time: housing, transit, healthcare, and jobs.
Immigration
Immigrants make New York stronger.
Chris is the son of refugees, and he knows that immigrants are central to this city’s economy and culture. They start businesses, work essential jobs, build neighborhoods, and bring new ideas.
Chris will fight for a humane immigration system, protect immigrant workers, expand English-language and legal support services, and give H-1B workers more time to find new jobs after layoffs.
Small Businesses
New York runs on small businesses.
Chris will support small banks/credit unions and expand resources for local entrepreneurs.
Public Safety
Everyone deserves to feel safe. Chris believes public safety means fewer guns, stronger communities, and accessible mental healthcare.
Housing
Every New Yorker deserves a safe and stable place to live. Too many families are being pushed out while large investors buy up property.
Chris supports limiting how much housing large institutional investors can buy, increasing federal funding for affordable housing, and strengthening tenant protections.
Jobs
New technology should make life easier for workers, not give companies another excuse to cut jobs or lower wages.
Chris will support worker protections in the age of AI, stronger notice before layoffs, real retraining programs, privacy protections, and safeguards against algorithmic discrimination in hiring, housing, lending, healthcare, and criminal justice.
Transit
A city like New York, where everybody is always working, needs working transportation. New Yorkers deserve reliable trains, buses, sidewalks, and streets.
Chris will fight for federal investment in public transportation and specifically high-speed rail.
Education
Chris believes education should help people discover what they are good at and give them the tools to build a life. That means strong public schools, career training, financial literacy, English-language classes, and access to new technology.
Veterans served this country.
Congress must serve them.
Veterans should not have to fight for healthcare, housing, education, or economic opportunity. They earned these benefits, and the federal government has a responsibility to make sure those promises are kept.
For Chris Diep, supporting veterans is part of building an economy that gives every American the freedom to build a stable life. Chris, the son of Vietnamese refugees and a software engineer, is running for Congress because he believes the American Dream should be real for everyone — including the veterans who defended it. This starts with making sure veterans can access the care, support, and opportunity they deserve.`
Protect VA healthcare.
Veterans should not lose access to care because Washington decides to cut staff, shrink services, or balance budgets on the backs of people who served. In Congress, Chris will fight to fully staff the VA, protect VA healthcare from future cuts, and expand funding for doctors, nurses, mental health providers, and other frontline workers. Veterans need care that is fast, local, and reliable. He will also have a veteran’s liaison specialized to work with issues unique to VA healthcare.
Use technology to improve care.
As a software engineer, Chris understands how technology can improve systems when it is used responsibly. He supports expanding telehealth so veterans can access care more easily, especially when travel, mobility, work schedules, or family responsibilities make in-person care harder.
Show up at the VA.
Veterans deserve a representative who doesn’t just talk about VA care from Washington, but actually shows up. Chris will call before his regular visit with the Manhattan VA to hear directly from veterans, providers, and staff about what they need.
Make benefits work in NYC.
Chris supports modernizing the VA loan program so veterans can use their earned benefits to buy co-ops and other forms of housing. He will also fight for broader housing policies that lower costs, increase supply, protect tenants, and stop large investors from driving up prices.
Expand opportunity after service.
Chris will support veterans pursuing quality public education, career training, affordable childcare, and jobs in fast-growing fields like technology. He will also strengthen oversight of predatory for-profit schools that exploit GI Bill benefits while leaving student veterans with debt and weak outcomes.
Defend the Constitution veterans swore to protect.
Veterans take an oath to the Constitution, not to any party or president. Chris believes Congress has given too much power away to the executive branch. He will support stronger oversight of military action, emergency powers, and executive orders that bypass the legislative process.
Veterans kept their promise to this country. Chris Diep will fight to make sure Congress keeps theirs.
In the News
4 Key Takeaways From The East Side's NY-12 Forum
“An engaged crowd of Democrats kicked off the congressional primary season Wednesday night at a forum featuring candidates vying to replace longtime Rep. Jerry Nadler.”
Read more in the Patch article.
Crowded NY-12 race to replace Nadler…
“Diep, a software engineer, framed his candidacy around economic anxiety and fading upward mobility. He said he was running because he saw the American dream that worked for his refugee father becoming harder to reach.”
Read more in the amNewYork article.
Power this Campaign
Your contribution, no matter how big or small, helps build the Uplift-People Economy. Any amount helps Chris get to Washington to represent the people of New York’s 12th District.