Almost four years ago, Pramila Jayapal won the seat in Congress vacated by Jim McDermott, who retired from politics. And so she’s spent her time in the House of Representatives entirely in the shadow of a White House run by someone who thinks we should inject ourselves with bleach to protect from COVID. After you, Mister President!
Jayapal hopes when she is reelected in 2020 that Trump will officially become a thing of the past. But even if this happens, which seems likely, she wants the leader of her party, Joe Biden, to stick to a clear leftist agenda. “It’s the only way we can prevent another Trump from happening,” said Jayapal. “I told Biden that it was centrist politics that made Trump possible, and centrist politics will only bring him or someone like him back into power.”
On the political spectrum, Jayapal stands close to Bernie Sanders. And her record in office is pretty consistent with that position. She has fought for the deep reduction of student debt, and for free tuition for working families. She has pushed for legislation that addresses the environmental crisis, which has not taken a break because of the pandemic. She also wrote the damn House version of Medicare for All. But at the moment, her focus has been protecting people from the economic crash caused by the pandemic and Trump’s deranged mismanagement of it.
This is the core of her famous proposal, the Paycheck Recovery Act: to keep people working and insured. The act has received national attention because the US does not have a structurally deep plan to deal with the social consequences of the pandemic.
Interesting detail about her office: In her first term, she has responded to over 300,000 emails and letters from constituents. Jayapal said, “That’s impressive, right?” Yes, it is Congresswoman. Keep up the good work. Vote Jayapal.
