Oregon — 1st District

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports federal investment and labor protections

Bonamici advocates for economic policies focused on supporting working families and small businesses while building a clean energy economy. She consistently votes against Republican fiscal measures, debt limit legislation, and spending reconciliation packages that reduce funding for federal social programs.

• Support working families and small businesses through targeted federal programs
• Voted against H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act reconciliation) and the Limit, Save, Grow Act
• Promote job creation tied to public investments, consumer protections, and fair labor standards

“As your Congresswoman, my first priority is growing the economy. Congress must work together to inspire certainty and confidence in the private sector, which will be the source of our long-term economic recovery.”

Barbara Kahl

Supports deregulation, timber growth, fiscal discipline

Kahl contends that federal regulations and spending have burdened Oregon small businesses and driven up living costs. She advocates for unlocking local timber supply, expanding Columbia River port trade, lowering business tax burdens, and cutting federal deficit spending.

• Unlock timber supply and revitalize Columbia River and coastal maritime commerce
• Cut regulatory burdens on small businesses and reduce tax burdens on working families
• Enforce federal fiscal discipline to curb national debt and reduce inflation

“Oregonians aren't struggling because they stopped working hard, federal policy made it harder to build, grow, and hire at home.”

“Restoring affordability means unlocking timber supply, revitalizing Columbia River and coastal ports, cutting regulatory burdens on small businesses, and aligning workforce investment with real jobs.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports public school funding, college affordability

Bonamici emphasizes well-funded public education systems spanning pre-kindergarten through higher education. She advocates for smaller class sizes, affordable college tuition, and robust vocational training within public institutions.

• Increase federal investments in public education from pre-K through higher education
• Improve college affordability and expand access to vocational trade programs
• Protect classroom funding to maintain small class sizes

“Even though my children are now grown, I remain committed to fostering a strong public education system - pre-kindergarten through college - that provides all students, regardless of background and ability, with a well-rounded education that helps them meet their full potential and prepares them for the future.”

Barbara Kahl

Supports school choice, phonics, teacher freedom

Kahl criticizes Oregon's low student reading proficiency and attributes academic shortcomings to union seniority systems and opposition to phonics mandates. She supports parental school choice where funding follows the student, evidence-based instruction, and expanding trade pathways.

• Expand parental school choice and ensure education funding follows the student
• Require evidence-based reading, writing, and math instruction, including mandatory phonics
• Empower teachers by restructuring union seniority constraints that reward tenure over performance

“Oregon ranks 50th in reading, dead last in the nation. Only 40% of 3rd graders read proficiently, yet the OEA helped block phonics mandates for years and fights school choice at every turn.”

“I support empowering teachers, expanding school choice, and demanding evidence-based reading, writing, and math instruction.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports clean energy, climate action

Bonamici views climate change as an urgent crisis requiring federal investment in clean energy and fossil fuel reduction. She supports federal wildfire relief funding and voted against Republican bills intended to expand domestic fossil fuel energy production.

• Transition to a clean energy economy to combat climate change
• Voted against H.R. 1 (Lower Energy Costs Act) promoting fossil fuel development
• Support federal emergency assistance for Oregon wildfire response

“Investing in clean and renewable energy has and will continue to create jobs, reduce our impact on climate change, and simultaneously reduce our reliance on foreign fossil fuels.”

“Trump’s denial of federal aid during wildfire season is unacceptable. Thank you to our Senators for demanding answers from this corrupt administration.”

Barbara Kahl

Supports active forest management, timber harvest

Kahl advocates for active federal land management and timber harvesting to prevent catastrophic wildfires and support rural forest economies. Citing former Oregon Governor Tom McCall as a model, she argues environmental protection and economic resource extraction should be practical partners.

• Fix federal land mismanagement and expand responsible timber harvesting to curb wildfire risks
• Support agricultural and timber industries while preserving clean water systems
• Protect farmland and water from poorly planned industrial development

“I want to leave Oregon with healthy, working forests, managed wisely, harvested responsibly, and no longer surrendered to catastrophic wildfire because ideology blocked common sense.”

“Governor Tom McCall, Oregon's 30th governor and a fellow Republican, is the standard I measure leadership against. McCall understood something that too many politicians today have forgotten: that a thriving economy and a protected environment are not enemies, they are partners.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports federal affordable housing subsidies

Bonamici includes creating affordable housing among her top priorities. She supports federal subsidies, affordable housing production programs, and assistance for cost-burdened renters and home buyers.

• Expand federal investments for affordable housing development
• Address housing insecurity and rising costs for middle- and lower-income families

“Creating more affordable housing”

Barbara Kahl

Supports permit streamlining, homebuyer incentives

Kahl addresses housing costs by proposing to streamline regulatory permitting to prevent construction delays. She supports expanding housing supply across all income brackets and using federal incentives to reduce financing hurdles for first-time buyers.

• Streamline permitting processes to accelerate housing project completion
• Expand total housing supply across every price level
• Leverage federal incentives to lower financing barriers for first-time buyers and working families

“I support expanding housing supply at every price point, streamlining permitting so projects don't die in bureaucratic delay, and leveraging federal incentives to reduce financing barriers for first-time buyers and working families—whether they're trying to own or just keep a roof over their heads.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports universal healthcare, Social Security protection

Bonamici advocates for achieving universal healthcare coverage and expanding federal healthcare protections. She actively opposes structural cuts or changes to Social Security and Medicare.

• Work toward a universal healthcare system ensuring broad access and affordability
• Protect Social Security and Medicare benefits against federal budget cuts

“We need to continue to work toward a health care system that is truly accessible so that when people need care, they can get the services they need.”

Barbara Kahl

Supports rural clinic access, veteran healthcare reform

Kahl emphasizes lowering prescription drug costs, preserving rural healthcare clinics, and reforming healthcare delivery for military veterans. She aims to eliminate administrative barriers that prevent veterans from receiving earned benefits.

• Lower prescription costs and prevent rural clinic closures in District 1
• Expand mental health services and healthcare access in rural communities
• Streamline bureaucratic processes within veteran healthcare programs

“Putting Oregon families first—lowering costs, strengthening care for our veterans, and ensuring quality healthcare reaches every corner of the 1st District.”

“I want to leave our veterans whole, not navigating bureaucratic labyrinths to claim what they earned with their service.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports federal voting rights, opposes voter ID mandates

Bonamici opposes restrictive voting requirements and campaigns to safeguard democratic access. She voted against the SAVE Act, characterizing proof-of-citizenship registration requirements as disenfranchising to legitimate voters.

• Voted NAY on H.R. 22 (SAVE Act documentary proof of citizenship requirement)
• Promote federal voting rights protections and anti-corruption measures
• Voted YEA on H.R. 4405 (Epstein Files Transparency Act)

“The real threat to elections is the Trump-backed SAVE Act, which would disenfranchise millions of citizens.”

Barbara Kahl

Supports removing NGO project middlemen, strict oversight

Kahl centers her government accountability stance on strict fiscal oversight and eliminating non-governmental organizations from managing federal project funds. She argues that routing public dollars through non-profits creates unnecessary overhead and conceals spending from taxpayers.

• Remove NGOs from managing federal project funds to stop overhead waste
• Require federal project funding to flow directly to verifiable local results
• Apply fiduciary discipline to federal spending to increase taxpayer transparency

“Your tax dollars shouldn't vanish into NGO overhead and politically connected middlemen. Nearly one-third of nonprofit revenue now comes from government sources, and large nonprofits report almost half their funding from taxpayers.”

“Funneling federal funds through NGOs has become a strategy to hide your dollars from accountability. Federal dollars for Oregon projects must flow directly to results, not to administrators managing administrators.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports reform, opposes mandatory detention/deportation bills

Bonamici supports creating a fair immigration system with legal pathways to citizenship. She consistently votes against Republican border enforcement bills, including mandatory detention for minor criminal offenses and mandatory deportation for DUI convictions.

• Voted NAY on S. 5 (Laken Riley Act mandatory detention for non-citizens arrested for theft)
• Voted NAY on H.R. 875 (making DUI/impaired driving grounds for deportation)
• Advocate for comprehensive immigration reform focused on human rights

“Creating a fair and just immigration system”

Barbara Kahl

Supports border enforcement, national sovereignty

Kahl considers border security and national sovereignty essential duties of the federal government. She advocates for clear enforcement of immigration laws to protect national security and restore shared identity.

• Protect national sovereignty and enforce constitutional order
• Support border security measures to defend national unity

“The path forward requires courage more than cleverness. It requires leaders willing to speak clearly about who we are, what we stand for, and what we will not surrender: our sovereignty, our constitutional order, our fiscal future, and our unity as a people.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports gun violence prevention, community safety

Bonamici approaches public safety through gun violence prevention strategies and systemic community support. She advocates for federal gun control legislation and background checks.

• Pass federal gun safety legislation and expand background checks
• Promote community safety through gun violence prevention programs

“Preventing gun violence in our communities”

Barbara Kahl

Supports law enforcement funding, community policing

Kahl prioritizes public safety by increasing funding for local police departments and supporting community policing initiatives. She aims to ensure street safety while building trust between law enforcement and local communities.

• Provide federal support and direct funding for local law enforcement agencies
• Strengthen community policing and emergency response capacity

“Supporting local law enforcement with funding and accountability — safe streets, real trust.”

Suzanne Bonamici

Supports federal abortion rights, contraception access

Bonamici is an outspoken defender of abortion access and reproductive healthcare freedom. She opposes federal abortion bans and supports legislation guaranteeing nationwide access to contraception and reproductive services.

• Protect a woman's legal right to make reproductive healthcare decisions without government interference
• Fight for federally protected access to contraception and family planning
• Oppose federal abortion restrictions and restrictions on reproductive care

“Politicians should not be making health care decisions for women, period. Oregonians can trust me to vote to protect a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health care decisions and to fight for access to contraception.”