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“I’m Suzan DelBene.”

I’m honored to represent Washington’s 1st District in Congress. I’m focused on working to move past the rhetoric in Washington, D.C., and deliver results for the working families and businesses of the 1st District. It’s time we have leaders in Washington, D.C. that put people above politics, and have the experience and determination to help create jobs and build an economy that works for all. I hope you will join me. Please use this website for the latest news and updates from the campaign.

Personal Story

Suzan DelBene has represented Washington’s First Congressional District since 2012, and has been a strong advocate for our region in Washington, D.C. Growing up, Suzan saw her parents struggle financially, constantly moving as they looked for work. With the help of student loans and financial aid, Suzan worked her way through college and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. She later received a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Washington. After college Suzan worked in the lab doing immunology research and later embarked on a 20-year career as a technology entrepreneur and business leader. She worked for over 12 years at Microsoft, most recently as a corporate vice president running worldwide sales, marketing, and product management for the company’s mobile technology business. She also helped start drugstore.com as its original vice president of marketing and store development. She also has served as CEO and president of the startup company Nimble Technology. Beyond her private sector experience, public service and helping others has always been central to Suzan’s story. It is a key reason she decided to seek public office. She was an adviser to Global Partnerships, a microfinance non-profit focused on providing much-needed loans to help create economic opportunities for people living in poverty. She has also worked as a volunteer with the YWCA to build programs that provide transitional housing and job training to women and families struggling to get back on their feet.

In 2010, Suzan was appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire to be the Director of the Washington State Department of Revenue. During one of the most difficult budget challenges in state history, Suzan worked to streamline government, cutting red tape for small businesses. She also implemented an innovative program that helped close a multimillion dollar state budget gap while easing the tax burden on small businesses. In Congress, Suzan is prioritizing building an economy that works for everyone from the bottom up, defending reproductive freedoms for all and lowering housing costs for working families. Suzan is an original co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Reproduction Act, which would enshrine the protections of Roe for everyone, everywhere in the country. As a member of the Ways and Means committee she is a leader on making the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent, which helped cut the nation’s child poverty rate in half, and of a bipartisan proposal to help build 2 million more units of affordable housing. Suzan has fought tirelessly to protect Americans’ privacy by reforming outdated laws that don’t account for the way technology works today and by reining-in government surveillance programs that impact law-abiding Americans. She has also introduced legislation to make college more affordable, address climate change, protect farmers, expand public lands protections, and scrap the income contribution cap on the wealthiest Americans to keep Social Security solvent for more than 40 years. Suzan has served in several key leadership roles for House Democrats over the years, including as a Finance Co-Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in 2018, a year Democrats reclaimed the House Majority and as Chair of the New Democrat Coalition in the 117th Congress. Now, as the Chair of the DCCC, Suzan is building a team to win back the House Majority in 2026 and make Leader Hakeem Jeffries the first Black Speaker of the House. With a lifetime of business experience and community service, Suzan brings a depth and history of achieving results that are essential in today’s divisive political environment. Suzan and her husband Kurt have two children, two granddaughters, and a dog named Reily, and are proud to call the First District home.

We’re at a critical juncture in our country today. Too many issues have gone unaddressed for too long, hurting our economy and working families. We can’t afford to keep the same failed policies and play the same partisan games that caused these problems in the first place. I support expanding economic opportunity, helping working families and small businesses, spurring job growth and being fiscally responsible. I am focused on results, not rhetoric.

In Congress My Priorities Include:

Economic Security and Rising Costs for Families

While our economy has been growing because of Democrats’ economic policies, many families are still struggling with rising costs including housing and child care. I’m committed to creating an economy that works for everyone which includes helping our small businesses and local industries rebuild so they can support good-paying jobs for years to come, including aerospace, manufacturing, high-tech, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and health care. We must support businesses that are creating jobs and invest in the training, education, and skills of our workers to ensure they are prepared for success. This has been a long-term commitment of mine since I secured $200 million to expand job training opportunities during my first term in Congress.

Tax Reform

As a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, I’m focused on modernizing the tax code and creating policies that are fair for all Americans and give businesses the ability to plan for the future. Tax policy should focus on growing the middle class and providing economic opportunity. Through a modernized tax code, we can also invest here in America, encouraging job creation and innovation. Congress should focus on simplifying our tax code by eliminating inefficient and unfair tax breaks and subsidies that don’t make sense in today’s global economy. Any time our federal government offers a tax break or subsidy, we should consider it as an investment and evaluate whether we are getting an adequate return. We must also stop governing retroactively and with short-term policies that Congress must extend each year. Families and businesses need predictability and stability. I continue to champion efforts that provide tax relief for the middle-class including the enhanced Child Tax Credit. The enhanced child tax credit was included in the American Rescue Plan and provided families with monthly checks for 6 months and lifted 3 million kids out of poverty. I am also the lead sponsor of legislation that would create or preserve more than 2 million affordable housing units nationwide in the next decade and address the growing housing crisis. The historic Inflation Reduction Act provided incentives that will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent by 2030. This law is a bold step in the right direction, but more will still need to be done. I will continue working with my colleagues to build a new green economy and find innovative solutions to address climate change that will ensure our energy independence, protect our health, and preserve our planet for the future.

Securing Reproductive Rights

  • Abortion Access

An extreme Republican supermajority on the Supreme Court has now stripped women of their constitutional right to an abortion. This is the culmination of 50 years of Republicans’ assault on women and now millions of women have lost the ability to make their own health care decisions. While Washington protects abortion access in law, Republicans have been clear they want to pass a nationwide abortion ban. We cannot let this happen. We cannot let our daughters have less freedom than we have enjoyed for nearly a half-century. As long as these attacks continue, I will stand against efforts to weaken or subvert access to safe abortion and vital family planning services for women everywhere. I am a leader in the House Pro-Choice Caucus and will continue to fight to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Equal Pay

Women make up 47 percent of the workforce and are the primary or sole income earner for nearly half of America’s families. It’s simple: when women succeed, America succeeds. I’m fighting for strong, commonsense policies that address the economic challenges facing women and families. We can do more by providing paid family leave, expanding access to affordable childcare, ensuring equal pay for equal work, and raising the minimum wage.

Public Safety and Police Accountability I support investing in proven community policing and crime diversion programs to keep our streets, homes, and communities safe. We can both invest in our local police forces and demand accountability from those we count on to protect us. I have been a consistent voice for more resources for local law enforcement to address the rising and evolving crime around the country. For far too long Black Americans have faced systemic racism and injustice. The murder of too many Black Americans at the hands of police, who we entrust to protect everyone in our communities, sheds a painful light on the injustice, discrimination, and bias that marginalized groups face. I was an original cosponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would hold police accountable by addressing qualified immunity, bar chokeholds, create national law enforcement standards and improve transparency into police misconduct and use-of-force. This is one important step, but more needs to be done to address inequalities in other areas such as health care, economic opportunity, education and voting rights. Addressing these issues will not be solved by legislation alone. It is up to all of us to do our part and stand up and speak out so that we see long-term change.

Gun Violence

We must also address the endemic gun violence in America so our families and community are safe. As a mother and grandmother, I am sickened and outraged by the seemingly never-ending incidents of gun violence. While there is no one law or set of laws that will prevent every senseless shooting, we must do more to address this tragic cycle of gun violence. I serve on the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and remain committed to finding sensible solutions to this problem. I support expanding background checks, banning the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons, and implementing extreme risk protection orders also known as red flag laws as the foundation of commonsense gun reforms. Additionally, I supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which will help protect our children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country.

Health Care

We cannot go back to the days when someone could be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition or when you could be charged more for coverage for simply being a woman. That’s why I continue to vote to protect the Affordable Care Act and build on it. I support getting America to universal quality coverage and the best way to incentivize competition is to give people a choice between public and private coverage options. We must make it easier and more affordable for small businesses to provide health coverage for their employees. That’s why I fought for increased health insurance subsidies in the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act and am pushing to extend them beyond 2025. These subsidies made coverage on the Washington Health Benefits Exchange more affordable, allowing a record high enrollment of more than 270,000 Washingtonians to get coverage.

Medicare

Medicare is a cornerstone of our nation’s health care system. I am committed to protecting it and will fight against any efforts to privatize or dismantle Medicare. The focus instead should be on controlling the rising costs of care and improving the quality of care our seniors receive. That’s why I voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which is allowing the Biden administration to negotiate lower prescription drug prices in Medicare, caps insulin prices in Medicare at $35 per month and will cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors at $2,000 annually. These commonsense reforms will make meaningful progress in lowering costs for seniors and improving access to care. Moving forward, I believe we must extend these hard-fought cost savings to all Americans, not just those with Medicare. During my time in Congress, I have focused on making health care work better for patients and providers. That is why I introduced legislation to streamline health insurance red tape. Due to the overwhelming bipartisan support for my legislation, the Biden administration implemented many elements of the bill, and I am now focused on cementing that policy into law so that insurance plans will be held accountable for delaying or denying medically necessary care that seniors are entitled to.

Housing and Homelessness

Hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country lack access to safe, affordable housing. More than 12 million households in America pay more than half of their income in rent, while many others find housing completely out of reach—leaving them without a stable roof over their head, and often forcing them to sleep on the streets. This is unacceptable. To help lift families out of poverty and expand access to opportunity for all, we must take immediate action to address housing instability. Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought to protect and strengthen federal investments in homeless assistance and affordable housing programs. That’s why I champion legislation that would help create 2 million affordable homes nationwide over the next decade. This bill would also boost affordable housing access for veterans, seniors, Native American communities, rural communities, survivors of domestic violence and stalking, and low-income students. Ensuring all families have access to safe, affordable housing remains one of my top priorities in Congress.

Energy, Environment, and Climate Change No one can deny the impact that climate change is having in the Pacific Northwest and across the world. Sea levels are rising, our oceans are becoming more acidic, and we are seeing an increase in insect outbreaks and tree diseases. This endangers not only our local economy, potentially costing us thousands of jobs, but also the health of our families and communities. I support President Biden’s actions to combat climate change and renew American leadership on this issue globally. In Washington, we have an educated workforce, advanced manufacturing, and growing technology industry, which make us poised to be a leader in the emerging green economy. Energy policy is deeply tied to addressing climate change. To make America a green, energy-independent global leader, we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil. This means investing in clean, renewable energy. It’s urgent that we transform our economy into one based on clean and renewable energy sources for the security and health of future generations. The Inflation Reduction Act is delivering the largest federal investment to combat climate change. This law will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent by 2030. Additionally, I introduced legislation that would make American companies more competitive in the global marketplace and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a fee on energy-intensive imports. This critical legislation would help level the playing field for domestic manufacturers who are decarbonizing but being undercut by dirtier goods produced abroad. These are all bold steps in the right direction, but more will still need to be done. I will continue working with my colleagues to build a new green economy and find innovative solutions to address climate change that will ensure our energy independence, protect our health, and preserve our planet for the future. Energy policy is deeply tied to addressing climate change. To make America a green, energy-independent global leader, we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil. This means investing in clean, renewable energy. It’s urgent that we transform our economy into one based on clean and renewable energy sources for the security and health of future generations. I worked with my colleagues to draft the GREEN Act which was included in the Build Back Better Act that passed the House of Representatives in November 2021. This bill is part of a comprehensive approach to combating climate change using the tax code to incentivize renewable energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Immigration

We must fix our nation’s broken immigration system so it works for families, businesses, and our economy. Immigration reform is especially important for Washington state. We have a vibrant agricultural industry, world-leading technology, and advanced manufacturing businesses. Workers, families, students, and entrepreneurs are all hurting because our current system is so dysfunctional. Business, labor, farmers, workers, law enforcement, and faith leaders all agree that it is past time for comprehensive immigration reform. To spur job growth and drive our economy forward, we must pass comprehensive immigration reform. I helped introduce legislation during my first term that would create an earned path to citizenship for those who are here and working. It would make our nation safer, while also eliminating backlogs, and reuniting families and would meet the demands of our nation’s economy today and into tomorrow. I will continue to keep fighting for comprehensive immigration reform.

Infrastructure

Investing in our infrastructure is how we keep our economy moving. Billions of dollars of freight and goods move through our region, as do hundreds of thousands of workers. They all depend on safe roads, reliable bridges, and accessible public transit. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing more than $1.2 trillion in modern, sustainable infrastructure while creating millions of good-paying jobs, combating the climate crisis, and addressing disparities in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Through this law, I helped fund $65 billion in new spending to deliver affordable, high-speed broadband internet access to communities and tribes. These resources are already flowing and this investment will allow us to build the infrastructure for the next 50 years to support our communities and economy. I also secured $69 million from the law for projects including Bothell’s Bothell Way NE Multimodal Improvements, Lynnwood’s Poplar Way Bridge, and Whatcom County’s Lummi Island Ferry Replacement and System Modernization, along with $20 million for Sound Transit, Whatcom Transit, and Lummi Nation Transit. In addition, Group14 Technologies in Woodinville received $100 million to advance battery manufacturing technologies that will help support the growing electric vehicle industry.

Social Security

Social Security has been a building block of our middle class and a secure retirement. It’s created a social safety net and basic financial security for seniors. It’s an investment we’ve all made and a promise I’m committed to protecting and strengthening for all of our seniors. Those who say Social Security is in immediate danger are using scare tactics to dismantle it. The truth is, it’s a good system. But we must protect it. Social Security funds have been used for other purposes, which needs to stop. There are also long-term financial concerns, which is why I support raising the income limits, or ‘scrapping the cap.’ I also oppose raising the retirement age and will fight any attempts to privatize Social Security. I am a cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act which would increase benefits across the board for all Social Security beneficiaries, improve the Cost-of-Living Adjustment so it more accurately reflects the inflation that seniors experience, and increase benefits to lower income seniors.

Education

A well-educated workforce is vital to our economic success and our future. And a quality education system is the key to creating a workforce prepared for the 21st-century economy. I will continue to fight for policies that strengthen our education system focused on closing the achievement gap, raising standards and giving our teachers the support they need to help ensure that every child gets the opportunity to reach their full potential. We also have to rein in the rising costs of college tuition and increase aid to ensure everyone gets a fair chance. The 1st Congressional District is fortunate to be the home of great community and technical colleges and extended campuses of some of our state’s best public universities. The increasing burden of student loans is holding many Americans back from a middle-class life. That’s why I supported the student loan repayment moratorium during the pandemic. Working closely with our local institutions, we can bolster the workforce that manufacturing, technology and agricultural employers in our economy need. It is essential we focus on increasing opportunities for current and future workers to get the skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow. This is why I fought for and secured $200 million in job-training funds to help low-income individuals on nutrition assistance get the support and training they need to become self-sufficient.

Digital Privacy

Our nation’s tech laws are way behind. Policy hasn’t caught up with how our digital world works. That means you don’t have full control over your data. Instead, companies set the rules of the road on their platforms. That’s why we need a national consumer data privacy law to put you back in charge of your personal information. Privacy should be the default when we go online or use apps. While we fall behind, the Europeans are setting global standards for privacy. I authored legislation to create a strong federal privacy standard, require companies to issue their privacy policies in clear language, and establish strong enforcement mechanisms to protect all Americans. I will continue working with my colleagues to pass policy so Americans will be rule makers, not rule takers on the international stage.

Agriculture and Food Security Agriculture and our rural communities are critical for Washington state’s economy, culture, and identity. We must enact federal programs that are responsive to the needs of these communities and ensure programs meant to help them are accessible. I remain a consistent advocate in Congress to ensure children and those in need have access to nutritious meals, and believe we must work to create more resilient supply chains in our food sector by supporting Washington’s producers, food banks, restaurants, and workers. With over 39,000 farms and ranches, Washington state’s agriculture industry produces over $10 billion in revenue and supports 160,000 jobs. Supporting our farms and ensuring communities have access to nutritious produce is critical to a healthy economy in the 1st District. I’ve gone to bat for farmers that have been devastated by natural disasters, including droughts and heat waves. I helped secure $10 billion in emergency funding for farmers, ranchers, and other producers impacted by disasters following the historic heatwave in June 2021, ensuring those impacted by excessive heat could be covered for the first time ever. As a member of the Ways & Means Committee, I have fought to ensure trade agreements benefit Washington’s rural economy and open new markets for our farmers so that they can compete globally.