Health care, infrastructure and farm bill are Cabrera priorities (2024)

Editor’s note:This is one of 12 profiles featuring a candidate in Montana’s Second Congressional House District primary race. The profiles are being published daily over 12 days and in alphabetical order. Each of the candidates were asked the same questions.

For 30 years, Ming Cabrera traveled across Montana as a pharmaceutical rep. What he learned along the way shaped his politics, making him the Eastern U.S. House district candidate that he is.

The Huntley Project native’s focus is equal parts health care, infrastructure, and agriculture. On the campaign trail, Cabrera said he listens. What voters are telling him is that there’s work to be done in all three areas.

“The biggest thing right now in the rural areas, especially in the farming communities, is the Farm Bill. We need to know where we are going with the farm bill so we can plan our communities. Farmers say ‘where are we going to go with disaster insurance, or any farm insurance? If we plant this thing, are we going to be there, or are we going to rely on subsidies for the next two years, or the government to get us through tough times?’ A lot of people are waiting on that.

“The other thing people are worried about is the closure of nursing homes and provider health care. It’s really low right now.”

Cabrera lives in Billings where has served in local government and run unsuccessfully as a Democrat in a reliably Republican state House district in Billings Heights.

Montana is the nation’s sixth oldest state. As the Billings Gazette has reported, 11 rural nursing homes closed in 2022. The lost services weren’t just in rural areas. Last year, St. John’s United closed 60 nursing home units. Staffing shortages were a problem but so was Medicaid compensation for nursing home patients, an issue that requires action from Congress. About 70% of St. John’s United nursing home residents in Yellowstone County depend on Medicaid.

Cabrera also has infrastructure experience on the Billings Heights Water Board. He said there are water projects across Eastern Montana that need congressional attention.

“There are some issues that I’m very well versed in because I’ve been on the water board. I know what’s going on in terms of what infrastructure is needed and where we’re having troubles in regard to paying for certain things out there,” Cabrera said.

“And the rural water is so important and so is, let's say up in Saco, Montana, where they're having problems with their natural gas lines right now. They're so antiquated, they're going to have to do something. And so, these are the questions that need to come before the people in Montana. These other issues (national issues) are important, but these are the ones that really affect the people, the people that I know that they're hurting daily. And that's what they want to know. They said, ‘we’re they're telling you nobody really cares about us.’ And I want to tell people, ‘I do care, because these are the issues that they need to come to me and let me know, in my office once I'm in Congress, that I can work with, and I can help them try to get grants.”

Political party:Democrat

Age and place of birth:65, Butte

Home:Billings

Occupation:Small business owner, retired restaurant owner, retired hospital sales representative

Family:Married to wife Digna for nearly 40 years, two grown children

Education:Bachelor's of science in biology, Creighton University, then medical school for 2.5 years before returning to Montana following a family emergency.

Past employment:Restaurant owner, small business owner, hospital and pharmaceutical sales

Military:None

Political experience:Past Chair Yellowstone County Democrats; Past Board Member of Montana Democratic Party; Past Chair of Billings Heights Water Board; Vice- Chair and Member of Billings Heights Water Board; Past Chair of Billings Heights Task Force; 2016 Legislative Candidate State Legislature House District 44

Endorsem*nts:Many healthcare providers, educators, and community members across the district. Many of them have written letters to the editor endorsing my candidacy in a variety of publications.

Ways voters can contact you:

b.) Address: Ming For Congress, PO Box 22722, Billings, Montana 59104

c.) Phone number: 406-561-7578

Q. Identify two national priorities that are part of your platform, explain your position on each and tell voters how you intend to address both. If there’s an existing bill you support to advance your position, please identify it.

1. Affordable healthcare: I strongly support policies that prioritize affordability and excellence in Montana’s healthcare system. The closures of nursing homes, rural hospitals, and the lack of mental healthcare access across the state highlight the need for immediate action to ensure access to essential services. Coupled with expansion of Medicare prescription drug coverage, these actions will alleviate financial burdens on our elderly and at-risk populations – and on the taxpayers footing the bill for expensive and preventable emergency care.

We must also empower healthcare providers to make decisions in the best interest of their patients, and stop asking them to spend their time negotiating with bureaucrats who hold the purse strings.

2. Farm bill 2025: The Farm Bill has faced many recent legislative hurdles, from insufficient votes to pass the House floor to delays in short-term extensions with no markups or legislative action. Agriculture is vital to Montana's economy, and it is imperative that our communities be able to plan their futures. Features like crop and disaster insurance, appropriations for SNAP, and farm commodity and dairy programs make inconsistent government policies an unacceptable problem. We need a solid, consistent Farm Bill, and we need it now.

Q. Name two issues unique to the Eastern District that you will have to advance because no one else in the House will be familiar enough to do so. Explain how you’ll get the job done.

The Worden-Ballantine Water and Sewer District will begin construction on four new groundwater wells to meet water standards with federal, state and county directed funding. However, new distribution lines connecting the new water wells are needed. The funding for six miles of updated pipe needs to be granted through DNRC funding or another source to complete this project. Any grants or funding must be approved by the board that submits the proposal. I can make sure federal funds provide the safe water necessary for Ballantine and Worden area. My goal will be to follow through on this project for the district.

The Medicare Modernization Act has barred the U.S. government from directly negotiating with drug companies to lower prices. This has caused the federal government to pay more for Medicare drugs than for drugs purchased through other federal program such as the VA, Department of Defense, Medicaid, and private health insurers. This must be changed, and we must establish a formulary for Medicare plans. My experience working with these systems in my decades-long career in hospital sales makes me the best candidate to negotiate a better deal for Montanans on the prescription drugs we need to live, and live well.

Q. A rare earth minerals miner in Montana recently suggested that to sustain a domestic supply of metals essential to all things tech —semiconductors, batteries, advanced military equipment — Congress would have to act. Otherwise, China, which supplies about 80% of the rare earth minerals imported by the U.S., will continue the dominate supply. Consider the traditional basket of trade options — tariffs, subsidies, government purchases, federal leasing, and environmental laws — and suggest a policy approach to this challenge.

It is a fact that China has most of the rare earth minerals needed to continue a domestic supply of essential metals and must be imported until our natural resources can start the process to mine what we know is available in Utah and Wyoming. Congress needs to act by loosening import tariffs for these metals. A fair deal would allow our Montana farm products such as pulse products, livestock and wheat exports to China be part of a trade agreement in the Farm Bill so we can trade our agricultural products for these essential metals lowering restrictions on a tariff trade-off.

Another possibility is for areas known to contain these valuable minerals on federal land to provide these resources, but only when they can be accessed without destruction to the environment. These new mines on federal land must abide by DEQ and DNRC regulations and strict standards; our wild spaces are too important to our culture and economy to trade for quick access to resources that can be obtained through trade relationships that will greatly benefit Montana's farmers and ranchers.

Q. Explain how an import tariff consequential to sales of U.S. Corn and Soybeans to China affects the price of Montana’s top export ag commodity.

Montana's agricultural communities know what happens when unreasonable tariffs restrict imported products like steel and factory goods, causing other countries to retaliate on agricultural exports. The government, and American taxpayers by extension, were forced to subsidize farm products because the restrictions resulted in both oversupply and loss of trade with foreign counterparts. Montana tried mitigate this problem by exporting our products through Canada because they had favorable pricing due to lower tariff barriers. However, the standards for Montana wheat and pulse products were graded differently under Canadian Standards resulting in costs that were not favorable to the Montana farmers. Clearly, the "tariff wars" have harmed our agriculture communities, and will continue to do so for as long as they stand. The Farm Bill due to be passed in 2025 has to potential to solve this problem, and will be vital to the sustainability of small farms and communities to survive and plan their crop productions.

That's why the Farm Bill is one of the most important parts of my platform; we must ensure that our farming community is well represented. As your Congressman, I will make sure the voices of our agricultural communities are heard, loud and clear.

Q. President Joe Biden has suggested “codifying Roe,” in other words creating a national right to abortion. Explain your position on this issue.

As a degree holder in biology with years of experience in the medical field, my stance on reproductive rights is shaped by academic and professional knowledge as well as compassionate humanity and humility. As a medical student in the Philippines, I witnessed the devastating consequences of restrictions on reproductive freedom, where women faced life threatening situations and the loss of both maternal and fetal lives. It is not the governments' role to pry into our private medical records or to make moral decisions about woman’s healthcare. I firmly believe that women are perfectly capable of making these deeply personal decisions for themselves, and as a candidate for public office, I am committed not only to opposing any legislation that would limit a woman’s right to choose, but also to actively supporting measures that codify this fundamental right to medical privacy and reproductive freedom once and for all. Everyone deserves the autonomy to make decisions about our own bodies no matter what kind of anatomy they were born with, and it is my pledge to stand firm in ensuring that this right is protected and upheld.

Q. What role would you assign yourself as a member of a slim House majority? Would you get behind policies or leaders that 90% of your party supports to advance the preferences of your caucus? Or would you use your dissent as leverage to advance positions most of your caucus didn’t support?

I'm sure your readers can agree that the past several years have been frustrating, and that this has been the most unproductive Congress since the Civil War. We saw seven dissent voters prevent the passing of the vital Farm Bill while calling for continued resolutions that pushed our country to the point of not paying our bills. Frankly, Montana's voters deserve better. Congress needs to work through compromise and use the ability to talk to people across the aisle. It is rare that any member of Congress receives all they ask for without some type of give and take, but many of our current representatives simply lack the emotional maturity to understand this basic fact of life.

While I am sure that I will dissent during moments of significant importance and will not follow the House caucus on bills that would harm Montana, I strongly believe that these moments of dissent ought to stand out as exceptions to the rule used to draw special attention to important issues. On all other days, I will respect the honor of the office I've been elected to and work cooperatively with my colleagues – as long as doing so benefits the people of Montana.

Q. Would you have certified the electors from all 50 states as a member of Congress in 2021? Explain your decision

As a firm believer in questioning authority and demanding clear evidence whenever possible, I understand that it is essential to uphold skepticism and critical thinking in all aspects of life. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that despite any suspicions or doubts, no credible evidence has surfaced to suggest that anyone other than the current sitting president legitimately won the 2020 election. As a responsible citizen, I would have dutifully certified the electors from all 50 states. To refuse to do so, especially when faced with irrefutable evidence of credibility, amounts to nothing short of sacrificing our country's integrity as a democracy solely for political gain and cheap headlines. Upholding the principles of democracy, fairness, and the rule of law should always take precedence over partisan interests or personal agendas, safeguarding the foundation upon which our nation thrives.