Each summary is supported by the candidate's own words from a campaign source, direct candidate response, or official primary record retained with the profile.
Fighting for a Just Economy
Candidate positionAyanna has introduced Federal Job Guarantee legislation that would make good wages, strong benefits, union protections, and safe working conditions a legal right in America. Funded by the federal government and implemented locally, in partnership with communities, federal job guarantee projects would provide public jobs for all adults seeking employment – because the people deserve true economic justice.
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Ayanna has introduced Federal Job Guarantee legislation that would make good wages, strong benefits, union protections, and safe working conditions a legal right in America. Funded by the federal government and implemented locally, in partnership with communities, federal job guarantee projects would provide public jobs for all adults seeking employment – because the people deserve true economic justice.
Addressing the Impact of Violence and Trauma
Candidate positionAs a survivor of sexual violence, Ayanna understands, on a personal level, the lasting challenges associated with trauma. For communities disproportionately impacted by violence – including Black, brown, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, women and girls, the LGBTQIA+ community, and immigrant families – the collective impact of violence-related trauma can lead to severe inequities in health outcomes, educational progress, and economic opportunity. We must be intentional about shining a light on the experiences that lead to trauma and the ongoing challenges it creates, and about pursuing specific policies that address its root causes and create pathways to justice and healing. Ayanna convened the first ever Oversight hearing in Congress about childhood trauma and worked to successfully pass legislation to support trauma survivors – from surviving family members of homicide victims, to those impacted by horrific violent events like the Boston Marathon attack.
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As a survivor of sexual violence, Ayanna understands, on a personal level, the lasting challenges associated with trauma. For communities disproportionately impacted by violence – including Black, brown, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, women and girls, the LGBTQIA+ community, and immigrant families – the collective impact of violence-related trauma can lead to severe inequities in health outcomes, educational progress, and economic opportunity. We must be intentional about shining a light on the experiences that lead to trauma and the ongoing challenges it creates, and about pursuing specific policies that address its root causes and create pathways to justice and healing. Ayanna convened the first ever Oversight hearing in Congress about childhood trauma and worked to successfully pass legislation to support trauma survivors – from surviving family members of homicide victims, to those impacted by horrific violent events like the Boston Marathon attack.
Housing as a Human Right
Candidate positionSafe, affordable housing is a fundamental human right, and a critical determinant of health outcomes, economic opportunity, and social mobility. But as rising housing costs dramatically outpace wages and the federal government systematically disinvests from public housing, safe, stable housing remains out of reach for far too many – and disproportionately low-income communities and communities of color, who bear the brunt of decades of inequitable development practices and discriminatory policies like redlining.
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Safe, affordable housing is a fundamental human right, and a critical determinant of health outcomes, economic opportunity, and social mobility. But as rising housing costs dramatically outpace wages and the federal government systematically disinvests from public housing, safe, stable housing remains out of reach for far too many – and disproportionately low-income communities and communities of color, who bear the brunt of decades of inequitable development practices and discriminatory policies like redlining.
Transforming Our Criminal Legal System
Candidate positionFor years, policymakers, advocates, and community members have known that our criminal legal system disproportionately punishes Black and brown people – from the failed war on drugs to mass incarceration, to cash bail and the perverse incentive of a for-profit prison industry – yet we have seen too little progress made towards addressing these inequities. To meaningfully address the legacy of these destructive policies, Ayanna knows we must completely reimagine our racist, xenophobic, and fundamentally broken criminal legal system, and construct a new system that is centered on the principles of shared power, freedom, safety, equality, and human dignity. Ayanna has introduced the People’s Justice Guarantee, a bold framework and vision for a more just criminal legal system, to move us closer toward the yet unfulfilled promise of justice for all. Ayanna has advocated for an end to the federal death penalty and secured a commitment from President Biden that no one will be executed by the federal government as long as he is President.
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For years, policymakers, advocates, and community members have known that our criminal legal system disproportionately punishes Black and brown people – from the failed war on drugs to mass incarceration, to cash bail and the perverse incentive of a for-profit prison industry – yet we have seen too little progress made towards addressing these inequities. To meaningfully address the legacy of these destructive policies, Ayanna knows we must completely reimagine our racist, xenophobic, and fundamentally broken criminal legal system, and construct a new system that is centered on the principles of shared power, freedom, safety, equality, and human dignity. Ayanna has introduced the People’s Justice Guarantee, a bold framework and vision for a more just criminal legal system, to move us closer toward the yet unfulfilled promise of justice for all. Ayanna has advocated for an end to the federal death penalty and secured a commitment from President Biden that no one will be executed by the federal government as long as he is President.
Standing Up Against Hate and Violence
Candidate positionIn the face of attacks on their most basic rights and freedoms, Ayanna has stood with our neighbors who have been marginalized and targeted. She proudly advocated for the Equality Act and introduced a long overdue bill, the Credit Reporting Accuracy After a Legal Name Change Act, that would prevent deadnaming our trans neighbors on their credit reports, improving accuracy in reporting, and increasing financial access for our trans neighbors.
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In the face of attacks on their most basic rights and freedoms, Ayanna has stood with our neighbors who have been marginalized and targeted. She proudly advocated for the Equality Act and introduced a long overdue bill, the Credit Reporting Accuracy After a Legal Name Change Act, that would prevent deadnaming our trans neighbors on their credit reports, improving accuracy in reporting, and increasing financial access for our trans neighbors.
Education for All
Candidate positionAyanna has worked closely with our community colleges and secured critical resources to expand access to higher education for families in our district.
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Ayanna has worked closely with our community colleges and secured critical resources to expand access to higher education for families in our district.
Foreign Policy Centered on Empathy and the Pursuit of Peace
Candidate positionIn confronting critical, complex challenges in Russia, the Middle East, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and in nations around the world, we must operate from a frame of equity and justice – that prioritizes coalition-building and supporting those on the ground in regions most impacted, and that considers military action to be an absolute last resort. As the Representative of a district that is 40 percent foreign-born, Ayanna knows that the foreign policy decisions we make don’t only affect people abroad, but their families and communities right here in the Massachusetts 7th.
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In confronting critical, complex challenges in Russia, the Middle East, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and in nations around the world, we must operate from a frame of equity and justice – that prioritizes coalition-building and supporting those on the ground in regions most impacted, and that considers military action to be an absolute last resort. As the Representative of a district that is 40 percent foreign-born, Ayanna knows that the foreign policy decisions we make don’t only affect people abroad, but their families and communities right here in the Massachusetts 7th.
Tackling Entrenched Healthcare Disparities
Candidate positionAyanna believes we need Medicare For All to ensure that every person in our country has consistent access to essential care. We need to improve health outcomes for communities that are simultaneously impacted by health disparities and overlooked in our national conversations around healthcare access. We need to continue to invest in community health centers. And we need to keep advocating and legislating for an equitable public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that includes those suffering from Long COVID.
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Ayanna believes we need Medicare For All to ensure that every person in our country has consistent access to essential care. We need to improve health outcomes for communities that are simultaneously impacted by health disparities and overlooked in our national conversations around healthcare access. We need to continue to invest in community health centers. And we need to keep advocating and legislating for an equitable public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, that includes those suffering from Long COVID.
Imagining the Future of Transportation
Candidate positionEnsuring that all residents have access to safe, reliable, and efficient transit options is critical to protecting communities in the Massachusetts 7th and beyond. Our transportation infrastructure connects residents to opportunities and essential services like jobs, school, child care, the grocery store, the hospital, recreational activities, and more. But this opportunity is not equitably distributed across our communities. We have an opportunity to reimagine what the future of our transportation system can and must look like – one that prioritizes community-led innovation, clean energy, sustainability, and multi-modal transportation projects. As co-chair of the Future of Transportation caucus, Ayanna will continue to advocate for federal transit investments and policies that help us meet this moment, and press for safe public transit for everyone who calls this District home.
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Ensuring that all residents have access to safe, reliable, and efficient transit options is critical to protecting communities in the Massachusetts 7th and beyond. Our transportation infrastructure connects residents to opportunities and essential services like jobs, school, child care, the grocery store, the hospital, recreational activities, and more. But this opportunity is not equitably distributed across our communities. We have an opportunity to reimagine what the future of our transportation system can and must look like – one that prioritizes community-led innovation, clean energy, sustainability, and multi-modal transportation projects. As co-chair of the Future of Transportation caucus, Ayanna will continue to advocate for federal transit investments and policies that help us meet this moment, and press for safe public transit for everyone who calls this District home.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionWorking together, we’ve made vital progress on issues of deep consequence to the communities we call home, from abortion access and reproductive freedom, to student loan cancellation and housing justice. And we’ve delivered more than $35 million in funding to build a more just and equitable district by supporting community health centers, vital transit projects, workforce training, climate justice, and more.
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Working together, we’ve made vital progress on issues of deep consequence to the communities we call home, from abortion access and reproductive freedom, to student loan cancellation and housing justice. And we’ve delivered more than $35 million in funding to build a more just and equitable district by supporting community health centers, vital transit projects, workforce training, climate justice, and more.
Fighting for a Just Economy
Candidate positionAyanna has pressed to expand the Child Tax Credit and she has leveraged her Committee roles to confront the corporations that are driving daily costs up for families. Ayanna knows what it is like to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and she is working towards a vision where families in America can not only survive, but thrive.
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Ayanna has pressed to expand the Child Tax Credit and she has leveraged her Committee roles to confront the corporations that are driving daily costs up for families. Ayanna knows what it is like to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and she is working towards a vision where families in America can not only survive, but thrive.
Housing as a Human Right
Candidate positionAyanna has used her position on the Financial Services Committee to press for increased federal investments in our housing stock and taken bad actors to account. She organized and legislated to successfully extend the federal eviction moratorium three times during the pandemic. Ayanna will continue to advocate for sustainable, robust housing investments to end our intergenerational housing crisis and make affordable, high-quality housing more accessible and attainable for people and families across the Massachusetts 7th.
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Ayanna has used her position on the Financial Services Committee to press for increased federal investments in our housing stock and taken bad actors to account. She organized and legislated to successfully extend the federal eviction moratorium three times during the pandemic. Ayanna will continue to advocate for sustainable, robust housing investments to end our intergenerational housing crisis and make affordable, high-quality housing more accessible and attainable for people and families across the Massachusetts 7th.
Standing Up Against Hate and Violence
Candidate positionAyanna has consistently stood up against the rise in violent white supremacy across the nation. One of her first hearings as a member of Congress addressed this head on. She has pressed for accountability and action at the federal level to protect our democracy and to save lives. Ayanna knows that our destinies are tied and the violent rhetoric and actions targeting Black Americans, AAPI folks, the Jewish community, and the Muslim community are rooted in deeply hateful rhetoric that seeks to divide us and undermine the diverse coalition of neighbors working to advance progress for all of us. Following the harrowing events of January 6th, 2021, Ayanna immediately took action to address what unfolded that day, as well as the vast network of organized white supremacy, antisemitism, and islamophobia that threatens all of our communities.
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Ayanna has consistently stood up against the rise in violent white supremacy across the nation. One of her first hearings as a member of Congress addressed this head on. She has pressed for accountability and action at the federal level to protect our democracy and to save lives. Ayanna knows that our destinies are tied and the violent rhetoric and actions targeting Black Americans, AAPI folks, the Jewish community, and the Muslim community are rooted in deeply hateful rhetoric that seeks to divide us and undermine the diverse coalition of neighbors working to advance progress for all of us. Following the harrowing events of January 6th, 2021, Ayanna immediately took action to address what unfolded that day, as well as the vast network of organized white supremacy, antisemitism, and islamophobia that threatens all of our communities.
Foreign Policy Centered on Empathy and the Pursuit of Peace
Candidate positionShe is a founding co-chair of the Haiti Caucus and has spoken out in strong support of human rights, with a focus on women, girls and the most marginalized around the world. She is guided by a vision of true peace and safety for all families. Following the damage to diplomatic relations caused by the Trump Administration, Ayanna will continue to advance people-centered approaches to global affairs, re-establishing America as a compassionate leader in the international community, prioritizing diplomacy, and promoting peace.
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She is a founding co-chair of the Haiti Caucus and has spoken out in strong support of human rights, with a focus on women, girls and the most marginalized around the world. She is guided by a vision of true peace and safety for all families. Following the damage to diplomatic relations caused by the Trump Administration, Ayanna will continue to advance people-centered approaches to global affairs, re-establishing America as a compassionate leader in the international community, prioritizing diplomacy, and promoting peace.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionAyanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and a survivor. On November 6, 2018, Ayanna was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ayanna believes that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, and that a diversity of voices in the political process is essential to crafting more effective public policy.
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Ayanna Pressley is an advocate, a policy-maker, an activist, and a survivor. On November 6, 2018, Ayanna was elected to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, making her the first woman of color to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ayanna believes that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, and that a diversity of voices in the political process is essential to crafting more effective public policy.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionBorn in Cincinnati and raised in Chicago, Ayanna is the only child of a single mother and a father who was in and out of the criminal legal system. Ayanna’s mother, Sandra Pressley, was a tenants’ rights organizer who instilled in her the value of civic engagement. Thanks in large part to her mother’s dedication to activism, Ayanna has always been acutely aware of the role that government can play in lifting up families and communities.
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Born in Cincinnati and raised in Chicago, Ayanna is the only child of a single mother and a father who was in and out of the criminal legal system. Ayanna’s mother, Sandra Pressley, was a tenants’ rights organizer who instilled in her the value of civic engagement. Thanks in large part to her mother’s dedication to activism, Ayanna has always been acutely aware of the role that government can play in lifting up families and communities.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionAyanna moved to Boston, MA in 1992 to attend Boston University. Working as an aide to Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II and later Senator John Kerry, Ayanna’s professional life mirrored her commitment to service and lifting the voices of those in her community.
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Ayanna moved to Boston, MA in 1992 to attend Boston University. Working as an aide to Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II and later Senator John Kerry, Ayanna’s professional life mirrored her commitment to service and lifting the voices of those in her community.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionIn Congress, Ayanna has been dedicated to the kind of bold, activist leadership she emphasized throughout her groundbreaking campaign. She has introduced legislation to ensure fair compensation for low-wage workers, to support survivors of sexual assault and harassment, and to fundamentally reimagine our criminal legal system, among much else. And she has been a vocal advocate on behalf of our immigrant communities, led the creation of the Future of Transportation caucus, fought to protect critical reproductive rights, and to hold the White House accountable.
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In Congress, Ayanna has been dedicated to the kind of bold, activist leadership she emphasized throughout her groundbreaking campaign. She has introduced legislation to ensure fair compensation for low-wage workers, to support survivors of sexual assault and harassment, and to fundamentally reimagine our criminal legal system, among much else. And she has been a vocal advocate on behalf of our immigrant communities, led the creation of the Future of Transportation caucus, fought to protect critical reproductive rights, and to hold the White House accountable.
Ayanna Pressley for Congress – Official Campaign Website of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley – Representing Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District
Candidate positionIn 2018, Ayanna was named one the Boston Globe’s “Bostonians of the Year” and, in 2016, she was one of The New York Times 14 Young Democrats to Watch. She has been honored by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce as one of their Ten Outstanding Young Leaders, and with the Leadership Award from the Victim Rights Law Center. In 2015, she earned the EMILY’s List Rising Star Award and was named one of Boston Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful People. She is also an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, Class of 2012.
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In 2018, Ayanna was named one the Boston Globe’s “Bostonians of the Year” and, in 2016, she was one of The New York Times 14 Young Democrats to Watch. She has been honored by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce as one of their Ten Outstanding Young Leaders, and with the Leadership Award from the Victim Rights Law Center. In 2015, she earned the EMILY’s List Rising Star Award and was named one of Boston Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful People. She is also an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership, Class of 2012.
Energy, technology, and environment
Candidate positionThe climate crisis is here and our environmental justice communities are already, disproportionately, on the frontlines. We must take a comprehensive, justice-centered approach to addressing the challenges posed by climate change – one that recognizes the role entrenched disparities play in creating disproportionate climate risk, outcomes, and resilience. Ayanna knows it’s time for a Green New Deal, developed in partnership with communities most impacted, to fundamentally transform our political and economic systems, prioritize the preservation of our planet, mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, and help our communities adapt, prepare, and build a more resilient future.
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The climate crisis is here and our environmental justice communities are already, disproportionately, on the frontlines. We must take a comprehensive, justice-centered approach to addressing the challenges posed by climate change – one that recognizes the role entrenched disparities play in creating disproportionate climate risk, outcomes, and resilience. Ayanna knows it’s time for a Green New Deal, developed in partnership with communities most impacted, to fundamentally transform our political and economic systems, prioritize the preservation of our planet, mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, and help our communities adapt, prepare, and build a more resilient future.