Pennsylvania — 12th District

Summer Lee

Supports union rights and wealth taxes

Lee advocates for centering working-class families in economic policy by raising the federal minimum wage, expanding labor organizing protections, and imposing taxes on extreme wealth. She highlights the region's strong union heritage and supports investments in affordable housing to combat housing insecurity.

• Co-sponsored the PRO Act to strengthen workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively
• Co-sponsored the Raise the Wage Act to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2028
• Co-led the OLIGARCH Act to tax extreme wealth and address widening economic inequality
• Secured a $50 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant to rehabilitate housing at Bedford Dwellings

“Economic growth has left behind marginalized communities and it’s time we center working people in our economic policies.”

James Hayes

Supports deregulation and business growth

Hayes opposes government overregulation that he argues drives manufacturing and union jobs away from Western Pennsylvania. Drawing on his background as an economist and businessman, he advocates for pro-growth economic policies and federal spending restraint.

• Pledges to eliminate regulations that harm local manufacturing plants and family-sustaining jobs
• Emphasizes pro-growth economic strategies to support local small businesses and working families
• Calls for reining in federal spending to curb inflation and restore fiscal accountability

“He will support ending the overregulation that is costing our region valuable jobs and causing industry to flee.”

Summer Lee

Supports justice reform and community safety

Lee advocates shifting federal resources away from punitive mass incarceration and into community safety investments and social services. She supports eliminating cash bail, ending mandatory minimum sentences, and establishing mental-health first responder models.

• Introduced the People's Response Act to invest in community safety and non-carceral mental-health first responders
• Advocates eliminating cash bail, mandatory minimum sentences, and life sentences without parole
• Pushes to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by replacing campus policing with restorative practices

“The existing criminal and juvenile justice systems are among the biggest barriers to social justice and upward mobility and yet taxpayers foot the bill.”

James Hayes

Supports law enforcement and strict sentencing

Hayes prioritizes public safety by supporting law enforcement officers with necessary tools and opposing efforts to defund police departments. His platform advocates keeping repeat violent offenders incarcerated to protect local communities.

• Vows to defeat 'defund the police' policies and oppose restrictions on law enforcement
• Supports tough sentencing to ensure violent offenders serve prison terms
• Focuses on public safety and crime prevention through law enforcement support and youth programming

“Public safety is paramount to the success of any viable community and it must be vigorously safeguarded.”

Summer Lee

Supports Green New Deal and banning fracking

Lee champions a Green New Deal to transition the nation to 100% clean and renewable energy while ending fossil fuel fracking. She prioritizes environmental justice for frontline communities burdened by industrial air and water pollution.

• Passed the Bipartisan Abandoned Well Remediation Act through House committee to address toxic methane emissions
• Secured over $84 million in federal grants to replace lead drinking water service lines across Pittsburgh
• Founded the Congressional People's Environmental Justice Caucus to center impacted communities

“In Congress I will fight for a Green New Deal to transition to a 100% clean and renewable energy economy.”

James Hayes

Supports all-of-the-above energy independence

Hayes supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy that leverages Western Pennsylvania's traditional energy resources to achieve energy independence. He emphasizes that domestic energy production keeps utility costs down and drives regional employment.

• Advocates for domestic oil, natural gas, and coal production alongside alternative energy sources
• Pledges to break U.S. reliance on foreign energy powers
• Highlights Western Pennsylvania's energy sector as vital to national security and local job creation

“I support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that keeps our lights on, creates local jobs, and breaks our dependence on foreign powers.”

Summer Lee

Supports tuition-free college and public funding

Lee advocates for tuition-free public higher education, student loan debt cancellation, and universal pre-K and school meal programs. She fights for equitable public K-12 funding formulas and strongly opposes conservative book bans.

• Co-sponsored the College for All Act to make public colleges tuition-free and cancel student debt
• Co-sponsored the Green New Deal for Public Schools Act and Universal School Meals Program Act
• Co-led the RESEARCHER Act to address financial instability for graduate researchers

“Every child deserves access to a first-rate, free public education - regardless of their zip code or socioeconomic background.”

James Hayes

Supports school choice expansion

Hayes supports school choice policies to allow families to select educational options outside their designated public school district. He believes market incentives and parental empowerment drive better outcomes across all schools.

• Advocates implementing school choice programs so families are not limited by their zip code
• Supports empowering parents as true partners in their children's education
• Pledges to equip classroom teachers with necessary educational tools and resources

“Children should not be condemned to a poor education because of their zip code and we must implement school choice to provide the incentives to improve outcomes across the educational spectrum.”

Summer Lee

Supports campaign finance reform and ethics rules

Lee supports overturning Citizens United, banning congressional stock trading, and eliminating dark money in politics. She also advocates for ending the Senate filibuster and expanding federal courts to counter conservative judicial rulings.

• Co-sponsored the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act
• Co-sponsored the Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act and introduced the Abolish Super PACs Act
• Successfully passed a committee motion to subpoena the Department of Justice for unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files

“Ban members of Congress from trading stocks because lawmakers should not be profiting off access to closed-door information about the companies they’re supposed to be regulating.”

James Hayes

Supports term limits and fiscal accountability

Hayes advocates for congressional term limits, balanced budgets, and increased government transparency. He signed a pledge to support a constitutional amendment limiting the terms of members of Congress.

• Signed the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge
• Advocates balancing the federal budget to curb wasteful government spending
• Pledges to restore accountability, civility, and transparency in Washington

“I have signed the U.S. Term Limits Amendment Pledge of the U.S. Term Limits organization.”

Summer Lee

Supports human rights oversight and defense spending cuts

Lee champions a progressive foreign policy focused on diplomacy, human rights, and oversight of military spending. She has consistently voted against annual defense authorization increases.

• Voted against the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2670)
• Secured $14.2 million in committee appropriations funding for local community projects including combating antisemitism
• Advocates for peaceful diplomatic resolutions and international human rights standards

“Passed Through Committee $14.2M in Community Project Funding By Committee to Help With Food Assistance, Educate on Antisemitism, Build Affordable Housing, Rebuild Infrastructure, and So Much More”

James Hayes

Supports Israel and counter-China strategy

Hayes favors a robust foreign posture centered on strong support for Israel and strategic readiness against China. He contends that displaying military strength abroad protects American safety at home.

• Supports Israel and its right to defend itself against regional security threats
• Identifies great power competition with China as a defining national challenge for the coming decade
• Emphasizes maintaining traditional international alliances and American values

“He supports Israel and its right to defend itself, opposes excessive government spending and will work to restore balance, accountability and civility to our government.”

Summer Lee

Supports pathway to citizenship and humane immigration rules

Lee supports creating pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Dreamers, and TPS holders while dismantling punitive detention systems. She opposes border militarization and private detention facilities.

• Voted against the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) and the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2)
• Conducted oversight visits to Moshannon Valley Detention Center to investigate alleged ICE abuses
• Opposes family separations and advocates restoring full protections for asylum seekers

“No human being is illegal. Our immigration system is a broken web of xenophobic policies that seek to punish brown and Black people instead of building pathways to citizenship.”

James Hayes

Supports border security enforcement

Hayes highlights border security as a core policy passion, emphasizing strict enforcement of immigration laws to maintain national sovereignty and safety.

• Designates border security as a primary policy priority
• Supports strict enforcement of federal border and immigration laws
• Opposes illegal entry and lax border security policies

“Border security”

Summer Lee

Supports Medicare for All

Lee believes healthcare is a human right and advocates for establishing a single-payer Medicare for All system. She supports universal coverage including dental, vision, mental health, and reproductive services while allowing government price negotiation for prescription drugs.

• Introduced the Hazard Pay for Health Care Workers Act to support and protect essential medical staff
• Co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation to eliminate copays, deductibles, and private premiums
• Hosted HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for a community roundtable on reducing healthcare costs for seniors

“I continue to believe that healthcare is a fundamental human right.”

Summer Lee

Supports federal abortion rights codification

Lee supports codifying federal abortion rights and repealing restrictions like the Hyde Amendment. She advocates passing the Women's Health Protection Act to guarantee reproductive access nationwide.

• Co-sponsored the Women's Health Protection Act and the EACH Act
• Supports repealing the Hyde Amendment to enable federal healthcare coverage for abortion care
• Advocates ending the Senate filibuster to pass federal abortion protections

“The right-wing extremists on the Supreme Court have gutted our constitutional right to abortion care, and Congress must do everything in its power to protect this fundamental right.”

Summer Lee

Supports assault weapons ban and gun control

Lee advocates for banning assault weapons, universal background checks, and repealing liability protections for gun manufacturers. She also emphasizes investing in youth programs and community services to address street violence.

• Supports enacting a federal assault weapons ban and universal background check requirements
• Advocates ending federal legal protections for corporate gun manufacturers
• Supports federal funding for community-based violence intervention programs

“We need an assault weapons ban, expanded background checks, end protections for corporate gun manufacturers and bold gun-safety legislation to stop the mass shootings that have become all too common across schools, churches, stores and cities across America.”

Summer Lee

Supports disability rights and subminimum wage ban

Lee advocates for applying a disability justice framework across all policy areas. She supports ending subminimum wage exemptions for disabled workers, expanding Social Security disability benefits, and making public transit fully ADA-compliant.

• Secured $28.4 million for Pittsburgh Regional Transit Red Line station ADA accessibility upgrades
• Co-sponsored the Social Security 2100 Act to expand benefits and improve COLA adjustments
• Supports fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

“All policymaking must be rooted in a disability justice framework, which recognizes it as inextricable from racial, gender, and economic justice, and means we must work in solidarity across 'categories' to build towards collective access.”