Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi represents the 8th District of Illinois, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs. He serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, the Committee on Oversight and Reform and as Chairman of its Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Vice-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Immigration Task Force, and as an Assistant Whip for the Democratic caucus.
He also is the founder and Chairman of both the bipartisan Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic and the bipartisan Solar Caucus.
One of my top priorities as a Member of Congress is to reach across the aisle in order to find common sense, bipartisan solutions that end Washington gridlock. In particular, two areas that have historically been bipartisan are infrastructure and small business.
There is no question that both large and small businesses are still feeling the effects of the 2008 financial crisis. Small businesses have long been the engine driving the American economy. While the economy has made important strides since the Great Recession, studies have continuously shown that small businesses have been slower to recover. As the president of Chicago-area small businesses, and as the former Deputy Illinois Treasurer, I have a unique perspective on how government can help or hinder small business growth and development. I am committed to working with all Members of Congress to look for ways the federal government can help small business owners by making lending simple and transparent, repealing burdensome regulations, and modernizing our nation's tax policies.
A strong national infrastructure is part of the foundation of our economy, yet we have failed to invest in transportation even though our infrastructure continues to age. That is why we need bipartisan solutions that can address the backlog of transportation projects throughout the country. I support the establishment of a National Infrastructure Bank which can provide low-interest loans to states and cities to help finance crucial projects like roads and transit systems. Finding innovative ways to finance infrastructure projects is a critical step toward renovating our transportation infrastructure while reducing congestion on our roads and highways.
We have a solemn obligation to protect our environment and to take a sustainable approach to managing our natural resources. As the former president of a solar technology company, I know firsthand that the preservation of our air, water, and wildlife for future generations is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity. I’m dedicated to a comprehensive approach to protecting our environment and supporting our economy at every level.
In our region, I’ve consistently supported efforts to remove pollution from the Great Lakes and prevent future degradation to our air and water. I’m opposed to any effort to weaken the Environmental Protection Agency and roll back the protections in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. I’ve also been outspoken in my defense of the Region 5 Environmental Protection Agency office which is based in Chicago and oversees environmental protection in our region.
Education is the key to building a middle-class life and a strong American economy. While we must invest in K-12 education and provide our children with the best possible start, it’s also essential that we expand access to affordable, quality education for those going on to four-year colleges and those pursuing career, technical, and vocational education programs or apprenticeships.
Public schools guarantee that every American child receives a world-class education and can reach their full potential. As a product of the Illinois public school system, I am committed to working across the aisle to invest in training stellar teachers, building high-quality programs for all students with special needs, and bringing technology to every American classroom. That’s why I’m working with my colleagues in Washington to preserve the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bill that was enacted to give state and local governments flexibility to improve public schools.
The costs of college have skyrocketed, and it is essential that our community colleges, post-secondary schools, and graduate programs are accessible and affordable for every qualified student. That’s why I cosponsored legislation that will significantly decrease student loan debt for both college and graduate students. This will allow more working families to realize the dream of a college education for their children, and help more young graduates enter the working world without debt holding them back.
But in addition to K-12 education and four-year college programs, it’s essential that we strengthen career and technical education programs that help students develop the in-demand skills they need to enter the workforce. There are over 6 million unfilled jobs across the United States. In Illinois specifically, we have seen a rapid expansion in industries such as healthcare, cybersecurity, and high-tech manufacturing. As a country, we must do a better job of preparing our students with the skills and training to work these family-sustaining jobs in our evolving economy. In addition, we need to work with local businesses to help them recruit, train, and retain qualified employees. To accomplish this feat, we need to strengthen our career and technical education programs in our communities.
That’s why I introduced the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, also known as the Thompson-Krishnamoorthi Act, which gives states more funding and flexibility to create worker training programs that prepare students for in-demand jobs in our community. In June, this bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives with unanimous bipartisan support. By bringing educators and employers together to develop curricula that focuses on the jobs that need to be filled, this bill will strengthen our economy and help millions of Americans build a middle-class life.
Our ability to compete in a global economy depends on a robust middle class. That is why I am committed to supporting policies that will enable the middle class to expand and grow in a 21st-century economy. It is no secret that the financial crisis of 2008 structurally changed the way our economic system works. Congress needs to act accordingly. Congress must make sure hard work is rewarded and all Americans have a chance to succeed.
Congress needs to help working families achieve economic security by raising the minimum wage, expanding access to overtime pay, guaranteeing maternity and sick leave, and expanding the child tax credit.
As a child of immigrants to this country who struggled to get reach the middle class, I have seen firsthand the importance of a college degree, and what it means to succeed. Unless we act now, student loan debt will continue to climb and make it that much harder for young people to achieve financial independence. College affordability impacts everyone and as your Congressman, I will continue fighting to make sure a college degree is within everyone's means.
America succeeds when women succeed, and we must guarantee that all women are treated fairly in our country. That’s why I am fighting to close the wage gap between men and women, address the challenges faced by women in the workforce, defend women’s access to affordable healthcare, combat the scourge of violence against women, and guarantee that the rights of women to make their own medical decisions will not be abridged.
Even as our country has made major strides toward gender equality, women continue to earn a fraction of what their male coworkers earn for the same jobs. In the 8th Congressional District, which faces a narrower wage gap than much of the country, women still only earn roughly 83 cents for every dollar their male colleagues do. Even beyond the pay gap, women in the workforce disproportionately bear the burden of the lack of access to quality, affordable child care, and paid family leave. Addressing these challenges will demand a range of policies, but I will continue to fight to eliminate the gender wage gap while expanding access to paid leave and quality affordable childcare for every family.
As a Member of Congress, I have fought to preserve and expand women’s access to quality healthcare. I oppose repealing the Affordable Care Act for many reasons, but a significant one is that turning the clock back to the time before the law existed would dramatically reduce women’s access to healthcare while increasing the cost of their premiums. Prior to the ACA, being a woman was effectively at times regarded as its own pre-existing condition, as women were denied insurance for having had breast cancer or a C-section, and even for being a survivor of sexual or domestic abuse. Those women who were able to find coverage on the open market were charged much higher premiums than men simply for being women. The Affordable Care Act eliminated these obstacles for women while also guaranteeing coverage for birth control and preventative care including mammograms and other cancer screenings. I will continue to defend the Affordable Care Act and these vital provisions for women.
Planned Parenthood remains a leading provider of quality, affordable health care for millions of women across our nation, including in underserved communities. I will fight to preserve public funding for Planned Parenthood and with it, access to vital preventative health and family planning services. As a proud member of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, I am dedicated to defending the constitutional right to choose and for women to be able to do so without facing an undue burden.
Domestic and sexual violence are plagues on our society and must be addressed and reduced in every area of American life. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) helps survivors of domestic violence, addresses its root causes, and provides resources to bring its perpetrators to justice. While we must continue to strengthen and adapt the law to address evolving challenges, I am committed to strengthening VAWA and its core mission of keeping women and families safe.
In recent years, public acknowledgment and recognition of the issue of sexual violence on college campuses has grown exponentially. We must increase the support provided to survivors and work to guarantee that abusers face justice, but we must also utilize the unique educational environment of college campuses to build a broader awareness of our shared responsibility as a society to end sexual violence.
Retirement security is a pillar of the American dream. Our seniors have worked hard and deserve to live their golden years in dignity. Now is not the time to turn our backs on them by cutting Social Security and Medicare. I know this, and Congress should too, which is why I will always stand up for the seniors in the 8th congressional district of Illinois and throughout our country by protecting these vital programs.
As your Congressman, I will fight to protect Social Security from privatization attempts and look for ways to extend the solvency of the fund. In addition, access to quality affordable medical care is critical to our nation's health. Medicare was established in 1965 to help elderly Americans receive medical care without exhausting their hard-earned life savings. Now is not the time to shrink from our commitment to those who need this program the most, but rather to strengthen and make sure Medicare exists for the generations yet to come.
Our seniors' best days are ahead of them, not behind them. Let's not renege on our commitment to protect them.
Supporting our veterans, and ensuring they receive the benefits they've earned, will always be one of my top priorities. Our nation prides itself on our sacred obligation to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way, and to care for them when they come home. It is our job in Congress to fulfill this obligation.
While the federal government has recently taken steps to ensure our veterans have access to education, good jobs, and health care, we need to do more. Today, thousands of veterans are homeless and close to 13,000 of these are veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While veterans represent only 7 percent of the U.S. population, they represent 13 percent of homeless Americans. It is simply inexcusable that this problem persists today.
We need to redouble our efforts to help those who are still waiting for the benefits that they have earned, and we must work tirelessly to provide the tools necessary to enable our heroes to thrive in the country they so bravely defended. I will continue fighting to ensure that our veterans and their families get the care and benefits they need, expanding educational and employment opportunities, and ensuring they get the health care they deserve.
The defense and the security of our nation are extremely important to my work in Congress and our country as a whole. America's security impacts every single American and cannot become a partisan issue.
Since the horrendous attacks on September 11, 2001, threats to our nation's security have become more complex and have required America's security forces to adopt new and innovative tactics. From cyber attacks to home-grown terrorism, we need a nimble and strong response to these ever-evolving threats. We must make sure we provide the tools necessary to the federal agencies entrusted with keeping us safe.
While maintaining our military superiority is important to continue our fight in rooting out terrorism, we must also remember to protect and promote our exceptional standing among nations by engaging in active diplomacy. We can respond to emerging threats at home and abroad without sacrificing American values or the rights and liberties that are the bedrock of our democracy.