As Oregon’s Labor Commissioner, State Representative and Lane County community leader, Val has made a difference for working families and communities of the 4th Congressional District. And from her time as Oregon House Democratic Leader, she knows how to turn our progressive values into results. As our next Member of Congress, Val will tackle the most important priorities facing our future.
Climate change and environmental degradation isn’t a future threat: it is an immediate emergency that we are experiencing today in the form of wildfires, extreme heat, drought, contaminated water, and more. In the legislature, Val helped expand Oregon’s Clean Fuels program to reduce carbon emissions, worked to move Oregon off of coal power, and increased renewable energy standards for utilities. In Congress, she will work to reestablish the United States as a global leader in addressing climate change, fight for clean air and water, and protect Oregon’s natural treasures. Val’s plan to tackle the climate crisis includes:
Oregon’s housing crisis has many faces, from homeless encampments in our cities, to families trying to reestablish their lives after being displaced by wildfires, to the less visible but no less urgent reality of people living in a vehicle or on the couches of friends and family. In our coastal communities, short stay rentals from corporations like Airbnb make the problems even worse. The high cost of housing across this district prevents businesses from recruiting workers and pinches working families. A huge part of the problem stems from decades of the federal government having completely abandoned its responsibilities on public and affordable housing. As our next member of Congress, Val will:
As a working mom, Val has seen the struggles Oregon families face. In the legislature, she fought for paid sick leave, increasing Oregon’s minimum wage, and for the largest increase in public education funding in Oregon history. In Congress, we can count on her to stand up for women and their families, and fight for:
There is no question that the Affordable Care Act made significant improvements, but the reality is that our health care system is still not affordable for most Americans, with sky-high deductibles and out of control prescription costs meaning that care is still not universal. Val’s health care priorities include:
As the first in her family to graduate from college and someone who struggled with dyslexia in school, Val knows first-hand the power of public education to build opportunity for people and create a strong foundation for a vital economy. As Labor Commissioner, Val has championed paid apprenticeship programs that provide hands-on workforce training throughout Oregon, and expanded apprenticeship opportunities beyond the building and construction trades in partnership with labor unions, employers and community colleges. In the legislature, she was one of the loudest voices in favor of K-12 and higher education funding. Unfortunately, the federal role in education took a giant step backwards during the Donald Trump/Betsy DeVos administration. Val will fight for:
Access to democracy is a more urgent issue than it has been in a generation. Increased attacks on voting rights have surged across the country, undermining access to the ballot and fundamental protections of the Voting Rights Act. In the legislature, Val led the effort to pass Oregon’s automatic voter registration law to expand ballot access. She understands the clear role of the federal government in protecting this fundamental right, and will fight for: