Pramila Jayapal

Pramila Jayapal was born in Chennai, India, in 1965.[7] She earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Georgetown University in 1986 and a master's degree in marketing from Northwestern University in 1990.[8][9] She previously worked as a nonprofit executive, founding the group OneAmerica, serving as a director at the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, and working as a co-chair of the group We Belong Together. Jayapal also worked as a financial analyst for PaineWebber Incorporated.[8] Jayapal is a former Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 37 from 2015 to 2016.[7]

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What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

Health care is a human right and we must make it more affordable and accessible for every American. Nobody should be one health care crisis away from bankruptcy, yet that is the reality many people face. That is why I have founded and currently co-lead the Medicare for All caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives and why I founded the Medicare for All PAC, to support candidates and initiatives that want to expand Medicare to all as soon as possible.

Ensuring equality for every single person. Our country stands at a crossroads, with the Trump administration encouraging, inciting, and promoting hate, racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. I will continue my 25-year track record of fighting for equality at every level, including: racial and social justice equity through criminal justice reform; just and humane immigration reform that creates a clear path to citizenship and stops criminalizing asylum seekers; and LGBTQ advocacy and gender equity, at a time when the rights of transgender and other LGBTQ people are under attack. I will ensure that we bring the most marginalized voices to the table and stand up for those who are being left behind, and I will help to lead the fight for respect, dignity, and human rights for all.

Fighting for workers and economic equality. Workers are the backbone of our country and I will always stand up for the right to organize unions, which have helped us to build the middle class as we know it. I will continue to prioritize increasing the federal minimum wage, strengthening labor protections, ensuring childcare and paid safe & sick leave, and gender pay equity. Part of this includes passing my College For All legislation, which would ensure that our workers who chose to attain a higher education can begin their careers without being crippled by student debt.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a proud immigrant to this country and I have always said that immigration is not just about policy and borders – it is about what we as a nation stand for. I am proudly the first Indian-American woman in Congress, but I do not want to be the last, and I am passionate about ensuring that the opportunities I have had are open to everyone.

In addition to the policy priorities listed above, I am blessed to represent a beautiful part of our Pacific Northwest and I am passionate about protecting our land, air and water. That's why I have co-authored the 100 By '50 Act to take on climate change, move to renewable clean energy, prevent new pipelines, and ensure that workers and families benefit as we transition away from fossil fuels.

The following issues were listed on Jayapal's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

Health Care: Pramila got her start in Seattle more than twenty years ago, working for an international public health nonprofit. There she helped implement health programs that expanded access to health care for women and families with a focus on preventive care through vaccine programs, diagnostics and lowering the costs of drugs to treat diseases.

Racial Justice: Pramila has been fighting for racial justice her whole life. As a woman of color and an immigrant, she knows exactly what it means to be in the minority. She has fought against bigotry and discrimination, working in our public schools to provide education and training around bullying and harassment.

Energy and the Environment: As a leading community activist, Pramila has brought communities together from around our state to combat climate change because she knows that protecting our environment isn’t an isolated issue. It affects all aspects of our progressive movement — from fighting poverty to women’s health to immigration reform.

Immigration: In response to the backlash against immigrant communities after 9/11, Pramila created OneAmerica (formerly called Hate Free Zone) to fight back against the civil liberties abuses of the Bush Administration against Arabs, Muslims and South Asians, and protecting thousands across the country from deportation and detention.

Education: Pramila knows that early education provides a strong start that can have a long lasting and far reaching positive impact in the lives of our children and our community. She was named a Children’s Alliance Champion in the State Senate for her efforts to pass the Early Start Act that put an additional $158 million into early childhood education and she’ll continue to be a strong advocate for early childhood education in Congress.

Jayapal's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[16]

Excerpt: "I’m running for State Senate in the 37th Legislative District to find real solutions to these issues. I am running to win, but this campaign is not just about me. I want to remind people of why government needs us and why we need government. I want to re-engage those that have fallen away from our democracy and remind everyone that each one of us can make a difference. I’ll be walking this district asking not just for what you think are the big issues in our district and state, but also what your ideas are to fix those. I’ll be asking you to give me your vote, yes, but also to give me your energy, your hope, your determination to transform our system so that we lift all voices and work together for positive change. Our campaign will celebrate the diversity that is the hallmark of this district: whether you’re white, black or brown, young or old, there’s a place for you in this campaign if you want to make change with us!"