congress Susan Wild Contact information

Congresswoman Susan Wild is a mother, attorney, public servant, and a dedicated member of the Greater Lehigh Valley community for more than 30 years.

The daughter of a journalist and a career Air Force officer, she was born at Wiesbaden Air Force Base in West Germany, and spent her childhood on Air Force bases across our country and around the world—an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to the families that serve and sacrifice alongside our servicemembers. After years of moving around, she finally found a place to call home when she settled in the Lehigh Valley to start her family. Susan built a successful legal practice in the Valley while raising her two children, Clay and Addie, and later became the first woman to be appointed Allentown’s City Solicitor. In November 2018, she made history again when she was elected as the first woman to represent Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Susan’s legislative priorities include lowering prescription drug prices, expanding Medicare, supporting labor and education, addressing the climate crisis, and supporting PA-07’s thriving manufacturing sector, to continue to grow PA-07’s economy to bring more good-paying jobs to our community. She serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Education and Labor Committee, the House Ethics Committee, and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Susan has shown her commitment to providing bipartisan leadership and working across the aisle by working on legislation with both Republican and Democratic colleagues. In addition to her committee work, she is a Vice Chair of the Labor Caucus and a Co-Chair of the Climate Change Taskforce in the New Democrat Coalition.

She is a respected leader in Congress on lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Susan led a letter of frontline Democrats urging that Medicare finally be allowed to negotiate the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs and that the lower negotiated rates be available to everyone, not just those on Medicare. She fought for and secured crucial changes to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) to address drug costs. She led 27 freshman House Democrats in a letter calling for negotiations to be re-opened so changes could be made to protect consumers from excessive increases in drug prices as well as to strengthen labor standards and environmental terms. With these improvements secured by Susan, the AFL-CIO and United Steelworkers endorsed the USMCA and it was ultimately passed into law by a huge bipartisan majority vote in the House of 385 to 41.

Since the loss of her long-time partner to suicide in May 2019, Susan has become an outspoken advocate for mental health and suicide prevention initiatives both federally and locally. Since joining Congress, she has introduced legislation including the Greater Mental Health Access Act, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, and the Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act – all legislation to expand access to mental health care. Her amendment to the Dignity in Aging Act to provide for mental health screenings for seniors was included in the final legislation signed into law by President Trump.

Susan has been a leading advocate for Pennsylvania workers, retirees, and families. She strongly supported the Butch Lewis Act in the 116th Congress and helped ensure a long-term solution as part of the American Rescue Plan Act to protect the pension benefits that many union workers and retirees earned with a lifetime of work. In the 117th Congress, she led more than 200 Democrats in the House to call for strong labor standards, like paying a prevailing wage, for any federal investment in clean energy and infrastructure.

In addition, she has fought to bring home hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education funding to ensure every child and student in the Lehigh Valley receives a world class education, she has championed efforts to lower the cost of higher education so every person can afford to access a college degree or job training program, she has advanced several pieces of legislation to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect so all our children have a safe childhood, and she has championed efforts to make child care more affordable and available so children and working parents can thrive.

She knows that representing the people of PA-07 is an extraordinary privilege, and Susan is committed to delivering results for our community. As an independent-minded Member of Congress, her focus is on serving all her constituents—regardless of whether they identify as Republicans, Democrats, Independents, or none-of-the-above. Rep. Wild believes that mindless partisanship has no place in a functioning government—and she’s doing her part to put an end the harmful “us vs. them” attitude by working with both Democratic and Republican colleagues to find common ground and get things done. That’s why 77% of the bills she has introduced and cosponsored are bipartisan bills. And over 65% of the votes she has cast during her time in Congress have been bipartisan votes. Susan is proud to be independently rated as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress by the Lugar Center. In fact, she ranked among the top 12% of bipartisan members in either party in the Lugar analysis.

Susan chose the Lehigh Valley as her home more than 30 years ago, after a lifetime of moving all over the country with her military family. Her children were born and raised here and the Valley is truly her home. Susan is a leader driven by her passion for the Lehigh Valley, and her dedication to serving the its people. She is committed to fighting for equality, affordable health care for all, an economy that benefits every member of our community, and reforming our political system to return government to the American people. For her, representing PA-07 in Congress is the honor of a lifetime, and she thanks her constituents every day for entrusting her with this responsibility.

Jobs, Economic Prosperity and Labor Rights

It’s often said that World War II was won right here in the Lehigh Valley — thanks to the fearless work of Pennsylvania’s men and women who produced the steel that transported and protected Allied troops around the world.

Amidst a global pandemic that has impacted all of our local businesses and workers, I am reminded of that same grit, determination, and hard work that helped bring us through crises before. Now is the time to protect our workers, support our small business community, and strengthen our economy to ensure we recover from this crisis together.

I’m 100% dedicated to stabilizing our economy by lowering costs and bringing high-paying jobs to our district. Here’s my plan:

• Lowering costs and fighting inflation. Since day one, my top priority in Congress has been cutting costs for hard working Pennsylvanians. That’s why I successfully fought to make health insurance for the whole family more affordable, and why I was proud to support capping the price of insulin at $35 a month. We also have to bring back manufacturing jobs and secure our supply chains so that we aren’t dependent on foreign nations for our everyday needs. In Congress, I have introduced legislation that will make sure our supply chains are strong, stable, and secure while strengthening the U.S. economy, lowering inflation, and protecting our national security. My bipartisan bill, the Supply Chain Security and Resilience Act, would create a comprehensive federal government approach to analyzing and responding to supply chain vulnerabilities before they become a crisis.

• Defend, strengthen, and support unions When Pennsylvania workers are strong, America is strong. It is critical that workers are guaranteed the right to fight for higher wages, safer working conditions, better benefits, and to collectively organize without fear of intimidation or retribution. The constant attacks on our hard-working labor force and middle class must end, and that’s why I am working to make it easier for public-sector and private workers to exercise their right to organize. We should be protecting unions, not dismantling them. Through my work on the Education and Labor Committee, I was proud to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO) Act and to support it again when it came to a vote on the floor of the House.

• Invest in training, certification, and apprenticeship programs Our economy is rapidly evolving and we need to equip Pennsylvanians — especially those who choose to pursue vocation and trade jobs — with the tools they need to keep pace and succeed in increasingly specialized professions. PA-07 is home to two of the finest community colleges in the country, and I have used my position on the Education and Labor Committee to advocate for increased access to technical schools and apprenticeship programs so everyone can choose whichever path best prepares them for a successful future.

• Build better infrastructure When we invest our tax dollars in infrastructure, it’s an investment in our people, too — promoting economic growth while creating new construction and manufacturing jobs for Pennsylvanians. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I fought to pass into law, is now delivering: it’s estimated to add two million good jobs to our economy each year over the next decade and takes action to boost our climate resilience, and ensures that our businesses have the tools they need to Make It In America.

• Promote rural broadband In an age when activities are increasingly moving online, connectivity is more important than ever. We can only stay on the cutting edge of the 21st century economy if we have the technology to support it, which is why I strongly support expanding broadband access to our rural and urban communities.

• Support small businesses Small businesses are the backbone of our community and I’m proud to stand with small business owners across the Greater Lehigh Valley. In Congress, I have fought to get our businesses the support that they need. From the American Rescue Plan, which provided critical economic relief to millions of small businesses across the country, to increased funding for the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, I will always work to ensure our businesses have what they need to to grow and succeed.

Seniors

For decades, Pennsylvanians have paid into Social Security and Medicare with the expectation that, after years of hard work, they would have built a strong retirement. We have a responsibility to ensure our seniors can live their golden years with dignity, good health, safety, and economic security. That is why I will always oppose any budget cuts or efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and why I have made it one of my top priorities in Congress:

• Fully fund Social Security and Medicare. Every step of the way, I will continue working to protect Social Security and prevent dangerous cuts to Medicare. Each year that I have been in Congress, I have successfully secured increased funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA) so that SSA offices have the resources they need to serve our senior communities, and I have worked tirelessly to lower health care costs and continue to fight to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices. We can use those savings to improve Medicare coverage and improve Medicare’s solvency. These are crucial programs that ensure a good quality of life for older Pennsylvanians, and they must be fully funded and expanded.

• Protect our seniors in crisis. When Coronavirus became a threat to Pennsylvania’s aging population, my bill to ensure better funding for senior meal programs and ensure their continued ability to deliver meals was signed into law as part of the CARES Act. I also passed a bill to make it easier for Medicare recipients to get in-home health care.

• Funding critical senior programs. I am proud to have co-led the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, which passed the House unanimously –– with both Democrats and Republicans –– and funds critical senior programs, like Meals on Wheels. It also included my amendment to empower local organizations to develop solutions to combat social isolation and incorporate mental health screenings into senior care, which is one of my top priorities.

Health Care

Health care is a human right, and every single Pennsylvanian deserves access to quality, affordable health care –– now and always. Since day one, I have been committed to strengthening and expanding the Affordable Care Act to improve coverage for all Americans. One of my first priorities in Congress was to introduce legislation to finally make employer-provided insurance work for families by closing the Family Glitch loophole that kept many families from being able to get affordable coverage for spouses and dependents. I am proud that after leading the fight to close the loophole, the Biden Administration has acted to fix the Family Glitch. Here are my priorities:

• Make life saving prescription drugs affordable I’m proud to be a leading voice in Congress on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and I’ve kept my pledge to never take a cent from Big Pharma. I fought for and won critical changes to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement to ensure that patients were protected from higher prices. During the COVID-19 crisis, I led an initiative to cap the price of prescription drugs designed to treat medical conditions stemming from the virus, and this year, I voted to limit the price of insulin to $35 per month. One of my proudest days in office was voting yes on the Lower Drug Costs Now Act which would finally give Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices, and make those lower prices available to all Americans, not just those on Medicare.

• Take bold action to fight and treat the opioid crisis At every level and from every angle, it is critical that we build a culture of compassion and treatment around the opioid epidemic. I am proud to be an active member of the House Bipartisan Addiction & Mental Health Task Force. Addressing and solving this crisis requires (1) recognizing that drug abuse is a medical problem, not a criminal one; and (2) proactively providing communities with the resources they need to effectively combat it. I am proud that I have worked with my Republican colleagues across the aisle to offer bipartisan support to those suffering from opioid addiction. Our communities have seen firsthand the devastation of the opioid crisis, and we must continue to provide federal support for an epidemic with such widespread effects.

• Bring mental health care out of the shadows When suicide touched my family three years ago, I made advocating for accessible and affordable mental health care one of my top priorities. Since then, I’ve introduced legislation to address suicide on college campuses and make mental health care easier for families to access. My bill to provide mental health screenings for senior citizens was signed into law as part of the Older Americans Act. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of calls and texts to crisis centers has increased, and it is more important than ever to ensure that we remove the stigma around mental health and that everyone who needs quality mental health care can get it. That’s why I worked so hard to get my bill to improve mental health care and support the health care heroes who saw the worst of the pandemic, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, signed into law.

In the wealthiest nation on earth, no citizen should have to risk bankruptcy, take on a second job to cover health care costs, or make the agonizing choice between putting food on the table or getting care for themselves and their families. My work in Congress is guided by that ironclad belief every single day.

LGBTQ+ Issues

It’s this simple members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve the same rights and equality under the law as all other Americans. Period. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell Hodges, which ruled that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry, was a watershed moment in the battle for LGBTQ+ rights; but as we know from the civil rights and women’s movements before it, we can’t rest there.

To achieve and protect true equality for LGBTQ+ Americans, we need to fight all types of institutionalized discrimination, whether in schools, workplaces, housing, or anywhere else in our communities. To start, let’s do the following:

• Pass the Equality Act into law I am proud to be a member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus and an original cosponsor of the Equality Act — landmark legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and ensure that all LGBTQ+ Americans are granted the full protections guaranteed by federal civil rights law. I will never wave in my support for this legislation and, while we have passed it in the House of Representatives, I’ll continue to lead the effort to get it passed through the Senate and signed into law once and for all.

• Keep our military strong Anyone gay, straight, or transgender — who wants to put their life on the line to defend our freedoms should never be denied their own opportunity to serve. I grew up in a military family — my Dad served for decades in the Air Force — so this is personal to me.

• Be a world leader The United States should be a moral leader for the world on LGBTQ+ issues, fighting against bigotry and intolerance. That’s why I am a proud cosponsor of the Global Respect Act, which would block those who persecute LGBTQ+ people around the world from entering the United States. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I will continue to use my platform to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ communities everywhere they come under attack.

Environment

Environmental conservation used to be a bipartisan issue from the days of Teddy Roosevelt’s Antiquities Act right through Richard Nixon creating the Environmental Protection Agency and signing into law the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. But for the past 20 years, Republicans in Congress have unleashed an assault on our environment and attacked the scientific consensus behind climate change. From my first day in Congress, I have been a champion for our environment, co-chairing the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force and working to pass climate protections. Here is what we need to do for our environment:

• Combat climate change Climate change is the existential threat of our time and it must be treated with the urgency it demands. I, along with my colleagues, passed the Climate Action Now Act, which was the first congressional vote in over ten years to address the threats to our climate. This landmark legislation would bring America back in line with the Paris Accord, which aims to reduce worldwide carbon emissions, and it would require the President to detail to Congress his plans to meet emissions reductions.

• Drive a climate-forward economy The future of American energy is in innovative and climate-forward technologies. If smart tax policies incentivize companies to bring low-carbon projects to places like the 7th District, with it will come high-paying, quality jobs that can put us at the forefront of an emerging global energy market.

• Prioritize public health No one should have to worry about whether their water is safe to drink. That’s why I have used my position in Congress to address the urgent threat of PFAS chemicals in water systems and ground soils, as well as limit their introduction into new commerce.

Criminal Justice Reform and Public Safety

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but houses nearly 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Our broken system disproportionately hurts people of color and poor communities while stunting our economic growth by keeping so many people who could be contributing to our economy behind bars

There are common-sense, bipartisan approaches we can take in order to reform our criminal justice system. These approaches will make our communities safer and our laws fairer, they will bolster our economy, and they will save lives:

• Strengthen public safety We rely on our local police departments to respond to a variety of issues every day, and it is important to provide them with the resources and training they need to do their jobs and keep our communities safe. That’s why I have consistently supported robust funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Program and the Community Oriented Policing Services programs. These community safety programs provide local and state law enforcement with the resources, personnel, and training they need to serve our communities. And I have introduced bipartisan legislation, the Safe Interactions Act, which would improve interactions between law enforcement officers and people with disabilities and mental health needs, to help officers protect and serve all members of our community.

• Repair the damage done by racial bias Until everyone can live without fear of being subjected to excessive force by those who are supposed to protect us all, we cannot truly say that we are the land of the free. Black Americans are nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated for drug-related offenses than white Americans, despite similar substance usage rates. It’s time for this kind of unconscionable disparity to end, and we can begin with outlawing racially biased laws such as “stop and frisk.” I have voted in support of the Justice in Policing Act, which would increase trust between police and the communities they serve, expand community-based policing programs, and collect data on police encounters, to work to ensure good outcomes for everyone involved.

• Remove barriers to reentry. Criminal justice reform must offer a redemptive second chance. I was proud to support the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act, which offers meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation and reentry into society. This is helping to ensure that people who were previously incarcerated can work and meaningfully contribute to society instead of returning to prison. I will keep working to ensure all individuals have a real chance to rebuild their lives, provide for their families, and contribute to our country’s success.

• Restore voting rights. Across America, most states make it nearly, if not entirely, impossible for formerly incarcerated individuals to vote. We should make it easier for nonviolent offenders who have served their time and paid their debt to rejoin society, and that means working to ensure there is a fair and expeditious process in place to restore their right to vote.

Bipartisanship, Accountability and Transparency

I’m really proud to be rated by the well-respected and nonpartisan Lugar Center (named after former Republican Senator Richard Lugar) as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress. I’m in the top 12 percent of most bipartisan members of the House according to their evidence-based rankings. If we want to make progress on some of the toughest challenges facing our nation and our world, from health care to climate change, then we must prioritize ending big money in politics and increasing government accountability and transparency. Over the past decade, Big Pharma has invested $2.5 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions, deploying two lobbyists for every member of Congress. Sadly, but not surprisingly, it worked — we continue to see skyrocketing drug prices and a surging opioid epidemic.

That’s why when I decided to run for Congress, I took a pledge to never take a cent of corporate PAC money. I’ve kept that promise, and I am using my platform to fight for a cleaner and more effective government.

Here’s where we can start:

• End dark money’s influence on politics and make voting easier I was proud to support H.R.1, the For the People Act, a historic mandate that addresses many of our top priorities, including my bills to establish 15 days of early voting nationwide and and my bill to strengthen lobbying ethics laws which would increase government accountability and transparency. H.R. 1 would also require Super PACS to disclose their donors, establish a national voter-registration program, make Election Day a federal holiday, and end gerrymandering.

• Overturn Citizens United. The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United was a disaster for democracy. Money is not “free speech” and corporations are not people; we need to overturn this through a constitutional amendment.

• Restore the full Voting Rights Act. As much as we’d like to repair our campaign finance system, even those efforts will be for naught if there is discrimination in our voting process. Since the Supreme Court struck down the core of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, more than a dozen states have passed laws that make voting less accessible. The reemergence of strict voter ID laws — which have historically discriminated against minority voters — is just one example of why the Voting Rights Act is necessary. All voters must be ensured fair access to the ballot box, which is why I have introduced two bills that would help ensure Americans have access to the ballot box — legislation to support a Voters with Disabilities Bill of Rights, which would increase access to the ballot for voters with disabilities, and legislation to ensure voters waiting in long lines outside polling places have access to food and water.

Education

Education is an investment in our future, and the government should treat it that way — by increasing teachers’ pay, equitably funding public education, and helping more students have access to quality, affordable higher education.

Here is how I’d like to see us do that:

• Increase resources for our public schools Our public schools can’t give our children the education they deserve without sufficient funds. That’s why I have advocated for critical funding and support for our local school districts, particularly those like the Allentown School District that have historically received less funding. Through my position on the House Committee on Education and Labor, I secured billions in federal funding for Pennsylvania schools during the COVID-19 crisis to make sure schools could reopen safely, students could catch up, and provide schools with the extra resources needed to address the effects of the pandemic. When I helped pass the American Rescue Plan, the Allentown School District alone received approximately $100 million in federal funding, and schools throughout Pennsylvania received $5 billion. This funding continues to be used today to ensure schools can remain open safely and students continue learning in their classrooms. And that’s why I support the Rebuild America’s Schools Act, which would authorize bold infrastructure investment in public school facilities to create jobs, improve educational equity, and ensure better working conditions for teachers and school employees.

• Make college affordable Congress needs to treat student loan debt as a threat to our country’s future prosperity. The more than $1.5 trillion currently owed by young Americans is hamstringing an entire generation — depressing entrepreneurship, preventing investments like home ownership, and hurting our economy. This has been one of my top priorities in Congress. It’s why we need to pass the College Affordability Act, which will make higher education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

• Inspire young women in STEM Women hold fewer than 35 percent of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics jobs in America. Closing this disparity should be a goal at every level of government, and I will continue working to ensure federal tax dollars devoted to STEM education are used to promote women’s participation in these areas.

• Put us on a path toward universal preschool education Investing in our children even earlier than kindergarten enhances their development and leads to later success, that’s why I have worked to increase funding for Head Start, the most effective early childhood development program ever created. I’m also a cosponsor of the Child Care for Working Families Act, which will make early learning programs and childcare more affordable for working families. And, as we saw clearly during the pandemic, high-quality, affordable child care and preschool are essential to many parents’ ability to remain in the workforce and to businesses’ ability to retain their employees.

Veterans

As the daughter of a career servicemember who retired after more than 40 years in the United States Air Force, I know first-hand that supporting our veterans with world-class health care, strong pension benefits, and the tools to smoothly transition to civilian life are just as important as — and critical to — ensuring that we continue to have the strongest military in the world.

In the United States, those who have put themselves in harm’s way to protect their fellow Americans should never be without the care and support they need. Here’s my plan:

• Provide our veterans with the best possible care. In Congress, I have led efforts to support the VA, increase access to suicide prevention for veterans, invest in PTSD research, and make care for veterans more affordable. In addition, I am a National Ambassador for the PREVENTS task force at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which works to prevent suicide among veterans and all Americans.

• Protect the G.I. Bill Congress must ensure the G.I. Bill — and the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which guarantees that all post-9/11 veterans have an opportunity to earn a college education — is continually appropriated the resources it needs to fund its goals. Support women veterans. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the increasingly large number of women who serve on the front lines of our military. I have been at the forefront of fighting to ensure women veterans have the unique support they need when it comes to legal services, child care, medical care, and access to housing. I am proud that last year my bill, the Improving Legal Services for Female Veterans Act, was signed into law addressing these needs. In addition, I am a proud member of the Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus, which takes a holistic approach to advocating for the interests of women veterans.

• Support military families I intimately know the tremendous sacrifices made by the loved ones of those in uniform. In Congress, I have worked to support military spouses and children in their pursuit of education and jobs. I have voted to protect military families from fraud and to fund programs to get our veterans experiencing homelessness off the streets. My trip to the Middle East during the Christmas week of 2019 was incredibly eye-opening and helped me to understand the struggles that our troops face with child care and other family issues.

Housing

Every American should be able to count on safe, affordable, high-quality housing.

I helped pass the American Rescue Plan Act, legislation which provided a lifeline to struggling renters and homeowners alike, and I took on both parties to ensure that the funding wasn’t being held up in Harrisburg instead of getting to working and middle-class Pennsylvanians. With major investments in emergency rental assistance, the Homeowner Assistance fund, and Housing Choice Vouchers for the neediest families in our community, I’m proud of the vital assistance we delivered

Here what we need to do:

• Use the remaining American Rescue Plan funds for housing I have faith in local stakeholders to hold creative, constructive conversations about this funding, and I believe public-private partnerships hold great promise. Redevelopment programs that address blight, increased training for family-sustaining jobs in the building trades, help for landlords to expand their thriving businesses

• all of these ideas could also help the Greater Lehigh Valley become more accessible and livable for everyone, from working families to young people just starting out

• Provide assistance to homebuyers We must build on the relief provided by the American Rescue Plan to ensure that working and middle-class Americans can once again become homeowners in the communities they work in That’s why I’m fighting to pass the Helper Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure frontline workers can live in the communities they serve.

• Build safe, affordable, high-quality housing We must ensure safe, affordable, high-quality housing is available for tenants in every corner of our community. That’s why I’ve brought national attention to our housing needs, including by hosting Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge in Pennsylvania’s 7th District.

Working together, I know that we can build enough safe, affordable, high-quality housing for every one of our neighbors and finally fulfill President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pledge to honor “the right of every family to a decent home.”

Environment

Environmental conservation used to be a bipartisan issue — from the days of Teddy Roosevelt’s Antiquities Act right through Richard Nixon creating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and signing into law the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. But for the past 20 years, Republicans in Congress have unleashed an assault on our environment and attacked the scientific consensus behind climate change.

From my first day in Congress, I have been a champion for our environment, co-chairing the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force and working to pass climate protections

Here is what we need to do for our environment:

• Combat climate change Climate change is the existential threat of our time and it must be treated with the urgency it demands. I, along with my colleagues, passed the Climate Action Now Act, which was the first congressional vote in over ten years to address the threats to our climate. This landmark legislation would bring America back in line with the Paris Accord, which aims to reduce worldwide carbon emissions, and it would require the President to detail to Congress his plans to meet emissions reductions.

• Protect our natural resources Climate change and the influence of Big Oil are decimating our remaining natural wonders and seashores. I was proud to vote to protect our national resources and lands from offshore drilling, and I will vote against further attempts to ruin our national parks, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and offshore areas

• Drive a climate-forward economy The future of American energy is in innovative and climate-forward technologies. If smart tax policies incentivize companies to bring low-carbon projects to places like the 7th District, with it will come high-paying, quality jobs that can put us at the forefront of an emerging global energy market.

• Prioritize public health No one should have to worry about whether their water is safe to drink. That’s why I have used my position in Congress to address the urgent threat of PFAS chemicals in water systems and ground soils, as well as limit their introduction into new commerce.

Women and Families

I will always advocate for a woman’s right to control her own body, make her own decisions about her own health care, and have equal rights and protection in the workplace When women are supported, our children, workplaces, and communities succeed. Here are my priorities:

Defend a woman’s right to choose

• Roe v. Wade is a legal precedent and a constitutional right, and we must fight back against any attempt to insert the government into a woman’s health care decisions. I am proud to have voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine women’s reproductive freedom into federal law, and I urge state legislatures across our nation to pass laws that protect a woman’s right to choose and the right to bodily autonomy

Ensure equal pay

• It’s unconscionable that in the 21st century women are still paid less than men for the same job. This is even more extreme for women of color. I was very proud the day that the House voted to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, because equal work deserves equal pay. I’ll continue this fight until we achieve true pay parity for men and women

Strengthen workplace protections for women

• From the boardroom to the battlefield, and everywhere in between, women deserve equal representation and equal protection under the law. This includes clear policies and procedures that ensure no woman has to fear retribution for reporting harassment or question whether she works in a safe environment

• Act, which would guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for every worker in America — which they could use to take care of a newborn or help a family member who has fallen ill-