Issues

AFGHAN AND IRAQI ALLIES

Earl helped create the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in 2009 with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA). In the years since, he’s worked alongside members like Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) to secure tens of thousands of additional visas to help our allies who jeopardized their lives to help the United States mission. For many, these visas were the difference between life or death at the hands of the Taliban or Al Qaeda.

ANIMAL WELFARE

Earl serves as the co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus alongside Reps. Buchanan (R-FL), Quigley (D-IL), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Davids (D-KS), and Malliotakis (R-NY). This Caucus creates a bipartisan framework seeking consensus on animal welfare policy. He’s worked to secure funding for animal protection programs like Animal Welfare Act enforcement, fight against harmful policy riders like the EATS Act, and hold bad actors accountable, like those who own or sell wild primates in the wild pet trade. Earl’s work has coincided with the emergence of a strong network of animal law programs, putting him in the forefront of animal welfare politics and policy.

BIKES

The bicycle is the most efficient form of transportation ever devised. Earl founded the Congressional Bike Caucus to promote bicycles as a tool to build safer, more economically resilient, greener, and better-connected communities. Earl has visiting over 200 cities to promote livable communities. The Bike Caucus continues to advocate for bipartisan bike policies led by Earl and co-chairs Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) has agreed to be the lead Democrat next Congress.

CANNABIS

For over 50 years, Earl has led the effort to end disastrous, unfair, failed War on Drugs. Earl founded the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, now co-chaired with Reps. Joyce (R-OH), Lee (D-CA), and Mast (R-FL), to help end the federal government’s archaic prohibition of cannabis. The Caucus also serves as a forum to educate staff on Capitol Hill and organize with the broad coalition of cannabis advocates around the country.

CIVICS EDUCATION

Amidst the greatest threat to democracy since the Civil War, a commitment to civics education is critical to build and maintain a thriving democracy. Alongside Rep. DeLauro, Earl has worked on legislation to make increased investments in civics education both at the K-12 level and in higher education.

END OF LIFE CARE

The end of life is perhaps the most vulnerable times in a patient’s life and that of their families. Earl fought to protect Orgon’s pioneering Death with Dignity law from federal interference by the Bush Administration. From improving Medicare’s advance care planning services to promoting safe hospice care, Earl continues to advocate for patients and their families so that patients are empowered to make the decision that’s best for them, especially when they are unable to speak for themselves.

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

After years of advocacy at all levels of government, Earl helped enact the largest piece of energy legislation in history to fight the climate crisis. He has worked on a bipartisan basis to protect some of Oregon’s most precious natural wonders while also advancing commonsense policies for disaster prevention and recovery. His leadership fighting illegal logging has had dramatic global impact.

FOOD & FARM

The federal government pays too much to the wrong people to grow the wrong food in the wrong places. Earl has repeatedly challenged Big Agriculture and the sugar lobby while working with people who farm and eat to champion reforming a Farm Bill that no longer subsidizes a diet that makes Americans sick. His Food and Farm Act would completely rewrite the Farm Bill to meet the real needs of farmers.

HEALTH CARE

We spend too much on care that provides little or no benefit, sometimes creating harm. On the Ways and Means Committee, Earl has championed policies that incentivize value over volume, informed by the power of healthy food, sensible land use, and the importance of building healthier communities to enhance quality of life. From promoting innovative delivery models like direct primary care, advocating for reforms like allowing non-physician providers to prescribe diabetic shoes, and furthering simple steps like ending federal subsidies for foods that make Americans sick, Earl has worked on policies that collectively can empower patients and reduce spending.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Earl was one of the first and strongest voices against our misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the volatility we often see, his approach to international affairs is done with the goal of bringing people together, supporting accountability in foreign affairs and fighting for principles like water and climate justice. Earl was a strong supporter of the Iran Nuclear Deal and have not abandoned the hope for a two-state solution in the Middle East. Earl has worked closely with colleagues Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) on ending child starvation through ready to use therapeutic food and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) on cleaning up landmines and unexploded ordnance.

NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY

Earl’s perspective on national defense is that the government must be a partner to those who serve while fighting wasteful defense spending. One of the biggest disappointments during his time in Congress is the federal government’s failure to manage nuclear threats, which are wasteful and dangerous. Earl supports strategically reducing spending, specifically through nuclear disarmament, and has worked closely with Reps. McGovern (D-MA) and Garamendi (D-CA) to champion legislation to rein in Pentagon spending on nuclear weapons. Out of control weapons spending threatens both our national security and our budget. The Pentagon is almost half the federal budget but Congress repeatedly fails to enforce fiscal accountability. Indeed, Congress is the major obstacle for fiscal responsibility in the military. As the largest landlord and consumer of energy, the Pentagon should be a model of environmental stewardship but sadly too often it falls short.

LIVABILITY

Earl came to Congress to help the federal government be a better partner in creating livable communities—communities that are safe, healthy, and economically secure. The elements of a livable community are the essential building blocks for families to thrive. This includes a wide range of initiatives from improving transit options like the streetcar, making sure our tax code doesn’t unduly incentivize cars over active transportation, and making smart land use and environmental sustainability the foundation of our communities.

NEUROSCIENCE

The largest area of opportunity for the health of families may be neuroscience. Earl founded the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus more than a decade ago to move beyond the disease-specific approach to broaden the issue of brain health and research. It was clear that we needed to invest more in brain health when facing challenges like neurological conditions in an aging population and the mental health effects of war. The National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative credits the Caucus’ work on building the support and understanding in Congress that was critical to its continued success. Since its founding, the Caucus has hosted more than 60 high-level congressional briefings for Caucus members and advocates.

PUBLIC BROADCASTING

At a time of great turmoil in the media world, public broadcasting’s work and mission are more important than ever. Public media is the only locally owned and managed media for most of America. Public media aids in education and public safety while providing a high-quality trusted source of news. As the co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus alongside Reps. Mark Amodei (R-NV), Dan Goldman (D-NY), and Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Earl has repeatedly fought for increased funding for this critical service and against any proposals to eliminate or cut funding, all while working to enhance its impact.

PUBLIC LANDS

Earl is dedicated to protecting our public lands from threats to wildlife and the environment while also working with tribal leaders in efforts to make progress on these issues. Earl has played a critical role in protecting, enhancing, and understanding the vital duty. Oregon’s strong public lands legacy has preserved critical sources of water, fought climate change, and created unique partnerships to protect natural treasures. In his time in Congress, Earl worked with colleagues in the Oregon delegation on issues related to the use and management of Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Today, he is focused on opportunities related to removing Snake River Dams and the rightful role of tribes in protecting their interests and repairing two centuries of broken promises.

TAX

As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Earl has been committed to using our tax policies to address the climate crisis, wealth inequality, and renewing our infrastructure. He has been the foremost champion in Congress to finance our critical efforts to rebuild and renew America in a low-carbon, equitable way. Earl led many of the policies ultimately included in the Inflation Reduction Act, but more work must be done to build a tax system that is fairer, simpler, and greener. For a variety of political considerations and partisan realities, we have largely stopped direct appropriations for our priorities and have instead relied on using the tax code to support our priorities indirectly. While it often can help accomplish our objectives, the price is hopeless complexity and contradictions in the tax code. Ultimately, it is time to acknowledge the severe limitations of adding complexity to the tax code to solve our problems. To start, the federal government needs to collect the taxes that people actually owe and close the massive tax gap.

TRADE

As the Democratic leader of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Earl successfully used trade policy to promote pro-worker trade packages that improve human rights. Earl was integral to enacting the May 10th agreement, which put fully enforceable labor and environment standards in our trade agreements. This became a model for future agreements like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Earl is currently working to rebalance the United States’ trading relationship with partners around the globe by stopping the exploitation of the de minimis loophole, ending illegal logging and deforestation, and using trade to fight the climate crisis.

WATER AND SANITATION

Earl believes water and sanitation is central to the United States’ development, environmental, and human rights agenda. In 2009, Earl worked with USAID to secure funding to establish water infrastructure financing mechanisms and championed the creation of the Office of Water. In the years since, Earl founded the Global Water Security Caucus, which he co-chairs alongside Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) to support initiatives for and fully fund WASH programs. Supporting water and sanitation efforts abroad is foundational for the federal government’s efforts to save lives and strengthen our diplomatic ties with poorer governments.