“This story of corporations lining their pockets at the expense of the public good is not new to our region. When globalization and lousy trade deals killed so many factories and gutted the economy in Western Pennsylvania, we learned what it means when huge and powerful corporations could not care less about the people who toiled to make them rich. They wanted to strip us for parts. Never again. We know a thing or two about standing strong against raw corporate power, and we never shy from a righteous fight.”

REP. CHRIS DELUZIO | TRIB LIVE Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023

 

BIOGRAPHY + EXPERIENCE

Chris Deluzio was born and raised in the western part of Pennsylvania. He returned there after graduating from the US Naval Academy, two deployments in Iraq, completion of his law degree at Georgetown Law School + employment with the Brennan Center for Justice, working on voting rights + election security issues. He was appointed a legal + policy scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy + Security.

 

Deluzio holds strong progressive values, beginning his political career as a delegate for Bernie Sanders to the 2020 Democratic Convention. He was elected to the US House of Representatives for District 17 in 2022 by almost seven points against Republican Jeremy Shaffer. Deluzio is married to Zoe Bunnell, whom he met at Georgetown + they have three children.

ISSUES 

• Defends democracy + freedom to vote

• Supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act + the Freedom to Vote Act

• Supports Overturning Citizens United

• Stands with the labor movement.

• Supports the PRO Act

• Supports a woman’s right to choose

• Supports the Women’s Health Protection Act

• Supports antitrust enforcement + corporations paying their fair share of taxes.

• Supports bringing good, well-paying jobs back to America + western Pennsylvania

• Supports health care as a right, not a privilege

• Supports lowering Medicare eligibility age

• Supports including dental, vision + hearing services in Medicare

• Supports negotiation for lower drug prices

• Supports Medicaid expansion

• Supports the goal of universal health coverage

• Supports investments in clean energy + the jobs that come with it

• Supports protection of Social Security

• Will never vote to send Americans to war unless absolutely critical to our national security

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POLITICS IN PENNSYLVANIA

PA-17 is a new district (2020) on the Ohio border, composed of liberal-leaning suburbs around Pittsburgh as well as rural, conservative areas. Although Deluzio won his race by almost seven points against a strong opponent in a Biden +6 district, it is considered to favor more moderate views + Deluzio’s opponents often accuse him of being “too progressive” for the district. 

 

COMMITTEES

• Veteran’s Affairs: Vice Ranking Member Subcommittee on Health, subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial affairs

• Armed Services: Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technology and Innovation.

 

CAUCUSES

• Progressive Caucus

• Dads’ Caucus

• Fentanyl Prevention Caucus

• Labor Caucus

• LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus

• For Country Caucus

• Manufacturing Caucus

• Steel Caucus

• Pro-Choice Caucus

• Voting Rights Caucus