Legislative Questionnaire
Candidate Info
Candidate Name: Adam Smith
Position Sought: U.S. House of Representatives
Are you an incumbent for this position? Incumbent
Home Legislative District: WA-09
Are you a Democrat? Yes
Campaign Info
Campaign Manager or Point of Contact: Chirag Vedullapalli
Website: www.electadamsmith.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamsmithforcongress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/electadamsmith
Part I – Candidate Background
1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience. Beyond your qualifications, what makes you the best candidate for this position or office? Please describe any specific background or unique perspective you offer and how those will help you accomplish your goals for the position sought. If possible, give practical examples.
Elected Experience: United States Representative, 1997-Current; Washington State Senator, 1991-1996
Other Professional Experience: Prosecutor, City of Seattle, 1993-1995; Attorney, Cromwell, Mendoza and Belur
Education: J.D., University of Washington, 1990; B.A., Fordham University, 1987
Community Service: Member: University of Washington Evans School Honorary Advisory Board; Council on Foreign Relations; Borgen Project Board of Directors. Former member: Issaquah Soccer Club, volunteer coach; Issaquah High and Middle School PTAs; Northeast Tacoma Elementary PTA, where my wife, Sara, served as PTA President; Federal Way Kiwanis Club; Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission; St Matthew’s Episcopal Church.
As a lifelong resident of the 9th District, it remains my greatest honor to represent an area where I grew up and where Sara and I have raised our family. This district is a tremendously diverse group of communities that values hard work, and I am very proud to represent it.
2. What prompted you to run for this office?
As our economy continues to recover, I am focused on ensuring that hard working members of our community are provided equal economic opportunities. We must keep up with global competition in all sectors by providing workers with training, retraining, and access to continued education that promotes innovation and job growth in Washington State. We must create broad-based economic opportunities for every American and return our society to a place where every American has an equal chance to succeed.
3. What are your campaign’s most important themes, issues, or priorities (three to five)? Share issues or priorities specific to the office that you’re running for.
I am focused on improving affordability and increasing opportunity in the 9th District.
The top 5 issues I am focused on are:
Affordable Housing and Ending Homelessness:
I introduced legislation to give folks a fair chance at buying or renting a home (HR 6608). I am a co-sponsor of the Housing is Infrastructure Act, to repair public housing and construct new units (H.R.4497). I am proud to have secured $5,116,279 in federal funding for housing projects in CD 9 through FY 2024 Community Project Funding.
Workforce Development
I introduced the Community and Technical College Investment Act to lower tuition costs and increase funding for college and union apprenticeships (HR 3028). I also introduced the Pre-Apprenticeship Wrap-around Support Services Fund Act and Empowering Individuals to Succeed Through Education and Workforce Training Act to strengthening union apprenticeship & workforce development programs (HR 6439, HR 7679). I am proud to have secured $6,200,000 in federal funding for workforce development projects in FY 2024 community project funding.
Defending Democracy
I am fighting to ensure all Americans have access to the ballot box and I am advocate for reforms to campaign finance laws in order to increase transparency and accountability. I am the original co sponsors of the John Lewis’ Voter Empowerment Act, Weekend Voting Act, Voting Rights Advancement Act, America Votes Act, DISCLOSE Act.
Fighting Climate Change
Climate change is an existential threat we face as a country. I am a proud supporter of the Green New Deal and have consistently supported legislation in the House that would reduce our carbon footprint, invest in renewable energy options, and build green infrastructure.I am proud to have voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, IIJA, BIL and Puget SOS Act. I have been a Longtime advocate for communities surrounding airports (Aviation Noise and Emissions Mitigation Act, Sound Insulation Treatment Repair and Replacement Act, Aviation Impacted Communities Act.) And, I am proud to have secured permanent protection of North SeaTac Park through the FAA Reauthorization Act.
Expanding Access to Health Care especially Mental & Behavioral Health Care
I am working to ensure that health care remains affordable and accessible to everyone. The Medicare For All Act represents an important step forward in improving our health care system by establishing a single-payer, health care for all program. I introduced the Behavioral Health Crisis Care Centers Act, to build and expand crisis stabilization services with housing assistance and other wrap around services.
4. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
I firmly believe that representative democracy is about listening to your constituents and advancing their interests. My record on the most pressing issues facing our communities today is strong and I will communicate with voters through voter outreach efforts including hosting town halls, knocking on doors, attending candidate forums, and meeting voters as often as I can.
Part II – Yes or No Questions, please qualify your response if necessary
1. Do you support steps to build a fairer economy through tax reform, including a wealth tax? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #1
2. Do you support the right of public workers, excluding military, to bargain and strike? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #2
3. Do you support legalizing multi-unit homes statewide, as proposed in the #Homes4WA bill, to help alleviate the affordable housing crisis? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #3
4. Do you support legislation to address climate change and protect our environment, including the Keep Washington Evergreen Act? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #4
5. Do you support women’s unrestricted access to reproductive healthcare? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #5
6. Do you support achieving a universal, affordable, quality single payer healthcare program? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #6
7. Do you support laws regulating the purchase, ownership, and carrying of firearms? Yes
Optional: Qualify Your Response to #7
Part III – Free Response (Please answer at least four questions fully, consider the remaining three optional)
1. Why are you running as a Democrat? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?
I am a proud member of the Democratic party and have been my entire life. I will continue to champion our Democratic agenda and deliver results for the residents of the 9th District.
2. What important state and local issues have you worked on (or taken an interest in) that you feel aren’t getting enough attention from elected leaders and the media?
Our nation currently faces a crisis of housing affordability as more American families struggle to become homeowners even as the job market strengthens. Addressing the supply shortage will take years and extensive intergovernmental cooperation to remedy, but I’ve supported several housing projects through Community Project Funding requests in FY24 and will continue to work with community partners to get federal funds so that we can build the housing we need.
Meanwhile, I’m working to address some of the root causes of affordable housing scarcity, including pursuing a strong ban on hedge funds owning and controlling large parts of the American housing market. It’s past time we give every American family a fair chance to become a homeowner without unfair competition from hedge funds and other investors seeking sky high returns for stockholders.
Data from 2021 show the fastest year over year increase in hedge fund home purchases in 16 years. For example, in 2021, large hedge fund investors bought 42.8% of homes for sale in the Atlanta metro area and 38.8% of homes in the Phoenix area. This trend has disproportionately hurt black families, vulnerable single parents and has squeezed American families through high rent increases, inflated fees and diminishing quality of housing over time.
I introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023. This legislation responds directly to the purchasing of single-family homes by hedge funds, especially in the current housing market, has made it more difficult for middle-class Americans to become homeowners and is contributing to America’s twin crises of housing unaffordability and wealth inequality.
This bill seeks to put an end to this harmful practice of hedge funds buying up single-family homes by banning hedge funds from owning these types of homes and requiring them to sell at least 10% of the total number of single-family homes they currently own to families per year over a 10-year period. After a 10-year full phase-out, all hedge funds will be completely banned from owning any single-family homes.
3. What legislative reforms do you support to achieve greater equity and inclusion for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals in our communities?
All Americans, no matter who they are or whom they love, deserve full equality. I’m fighting in Congress to make this a reality. I support legislation that ensures BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks are not being discriminated against in any form. People in the LGBTQ+ community must have complete and unobstructed access to healthcare, have the ability to shop in whatever stores they wish to, regardless of the owner’s personal beliefs, and have the freedom to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the Equality Act which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation.
4. What are some obstacles inherent in proposed legislative solutions to climate change? How would you approach those obstacles in order to best overcome or minimize any negative effects?
Climate change is the greatest existential threat we face as a country. I am a proud supporter of the Green New Deal and have consistently supported legislation in the House that would reduce our carbon footprint, invest in renewable energy options, and build green infrastructure. I firmly believe that we must pass the climate change provisions in the Build Back Better Act to transition away from fossil fuels and decarbonize all sectors of the economy.
Through my role as the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I have been able to push the Department of Defense to address the threat of climate change in both planning to mitigate its impact and reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions. This includes helping lead the passage of legislation to increase the Department’s research and development on clean energy technologies such as battery storage, promote the use of renewable electricity to power DOD installations, and reduce emissions across all of the services.
Reducing carbon emissions, combating the climate crisis, and ensuring clean air, water, and reduced levels of pollution are critical to the health and well-being of us all. Climate change is a major concern and I support measures that reduce climate-impacting emissions in addition to those that protect the quality of our air and water.
I am proud to support the Green New Deal, the 100% Clean Economy Act (H.R. 5221), and the PUGET SOS Act (H.R. 2247), among other bills. I’ve also introduced H.R. 6038, the Aviation-Impacted Communities Act, and H.R. 5737, the Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act.
Even while the science is unambiguous, when I am in Washington DC, Republicans who believe climate change is a hoax are a major obstacle to reducing our greenhouse emissions. Additionally and understandably, there are concerns about how it will impact workers and communities. I have always brought stakeholders to the table and heard their concerns. During our transition to a clean energy economy, I will fight to ensure that the jobs created are good-paying union jobs. For example, when Democrats passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)—a $1.2 trillion investment in rebuilding and modernizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. The investments and programs included in the law have created good-paying, union jobs across the nation while making some important investments to address climate change.
5. What safety, law, or justice reforms are you currently in favor of, and how will you work to implement them?
A functioning justice system must work to protect the innocent, while simultaneously holding accountable and rehabilitating those who commit crimes. We must comprehensively overhaul a criminal justice system that, in its current form, is guided by outdated laws and perpetuates structural failures in society. Our judicial system sets up those who have offended and served their sentences to continued failure, even after they have served their time.
As a nation, we incarcerate more of our own citizens than any other country in the world – often times for non-violent drug offenses. Past reforms meant to keep our communities safer have resulted in disproportionately high incarceration rates among people of color, splitting families apart and helping to continue cycles of poverty. Despite the creation of innovative tools at the local level in King County to institute diversionary “safety valve” mental health, drug rehabilitation, and veterans treatment courts, these resources do not currently exist at the federal level. Communities of color still face disproportionate mandatory minimum sentences, with charges often stacking on top of one another. The vast majority of inmates leaving prison face long-term unemployment, with employers often unwilling to consider them due to their records.
As a former prosecutor, I have had a unique exposure to the intricacies of our judicial system. The men and women who work in law enforcement, as prosecutors, public defenders, judges, and corrections officers shoulder the immense duty of keeping our communities safe. These individuals must uphold this responsibility while at the same time assuring that the system remains fair and balanced, and that individuals are treated and judged equally under the law. The time has come to make important adjustments to the way we handle criminal justice in our country.
I am a co-sponsor of many bills that would reform our justice system:
H.R. 2435, the Justice Safety Valve Act – Federal mandatory minimums must be rolled back. These laws have created massive disparities, with communities of color facing dramatically higher rates of incarceration. This bill would allow judges to break from mandatory minimum penalties, assessing lower sentences where appropriate. I have consistently opposed any legislation that imposes new mandatory minimums – this one size fits all approach cannot continue.
H.R. 3227, the Justice is Not For Sale Act – As a country, we must end the practice of turning the incarceration of citizens into a business transaction. I am an original cosponsor of the Justice is Not For Sale Act. This legislation, also introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders in the U.S. Senate, would end all private prison contracts at the federal, state, and local level – including immigration detention facilities. H.R. 3227 would also reinstate the federal parole system to allow the US Sentencing Commission to make individualized, risk-based determinations regarding each prisoner.
H.R. 1498, the End Racial Profiling Act – legislation prohibiting any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling, and also allows for any individual injured by racial profiling the right to file a lawsuit. H.R. 1498 requires federal law enforcement to develop and maintain policies to eliminate profiling, and require state/local/tribal law enforcement agencies who apply for certain federal grants to develop similar policies.
H.R. 1870, the Police Training and Independent Review Act – To receive federal law enforcement grants under this bill, states must pass laws requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor to review cases where an officer is a defendant, including officer-involved shootings. It also requires training on racial and ethnic bias at law enforcement academies.
H.R. 2899, the Second Chance Act – legislation that would reauthorize the Second Chance Act, which continues funding for reentry programs at the state and local levels that have been proven to reduce recidivism, lead to better outcomes for those released from prison, and lower the amount our nation spends on incarceration. We lock up more of our own people than any other country in the world.
H.R. 1905, the Fair Chance Act -This “ban the box” legislation prohibits federal agencies and primary federal contractors from asking about an applicant’s criminal history on an initial employment application. This legislation allows applicants who have completed their prison sentences to build a strong foundation for a career.
H.R. 1423, the 911 Community Crisis Responders Act – This piece of legislation would create a grant program for states, tribes, and localities to create and expand mobile crisis response programs. The bill includes funding to: hire unarmed professional service providers and 911 dispatchers; build capacity to coordinate health and social services providers and community-based organizations; establish protocols on when mobile crisis responders should act as first responders to a scene; and coordinate response and dispatching between 911 and 988 entities.
6. What steps do you think need to be taken to improve voter turnout and increase voter trust in our election process?
Since first coming to Congress, I have been a strong advocate for voting rights, and remain committed to doing all I can to ensure that no voter experiences discrimination. We need elections where the issues are what matter and campaigns compete on the quality of their ideas. I have taken numerous efforts to protect and expand upon voting rights at the federal level including:
Original cosponsor of Rep. John Lewis’ Voter Empowerment Act of 2017, which requires each state to allow online voter registration, in addition to providing grants and other incentives to encourage states to better promote voter registration. The bill also prevents tactics like voter caging, and looks at the ways ballots and registrations are verified.
Cosponsored the Voting Access Act of 2017, which amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish a set of national standards for the location of polling places during elections to federal office, to ensure that all communities have sufficient access.
Cosponsor on the Automatic Voter Registration Act, which requires that Departments of Motor Vehicle (DMV) around the country automatically register those eligible to vote when they use a DMV’s services unless the person opts out.
I recognize that holding elections on a weekday can make it difficult for working men and women to take time off to exercise their constitutional right. That is why I am a Cosponsor of the Weekend Voting Act. This bill would change the date of Federal Elections from the first Tuesday, to the first weekend of the month of November.
Cosponsor of Rep. Terri Sewell’s Voting Rights Advancement Act which increases access to new voting places on tribal lands, while allowing federal courts to continue protecting voting rights of diverse communities in the face of new and restrictive voting legislation passed by states.
Cosponsor of the America Votes Act of 2017. Introduced by Congressman Larsen, this bill would allow voters to present a sworn written statement, signed under penalty of perjury, as valid identification to vote in federal elections.
Recognizing the importance of a secure and modern voting system, I have Cosponsored the Election Infrastructure and Security Promotion Act of 2017. I also cosponsored the Restoring Confidence in America’s Elections Act, which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate our election infrastructure as critical national infrastructure.
I support efforts to reform the financing of campaigns and reduce the amount of undisclosed funds that pour into candidate PACs.
Cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, a bill to clearly identify what an independent expenditure is in a campaign in order to help the Federal Election Commission (FEC) better oversee campaign funding. It also increases the disclosure requirements for corporations, labor unions, and other entities.
Support the Government By the People Act of 2017, legislation to create a pilot program which would match small dollar donations to federal candidates. This legislation would also prohibit candidates who opt in to the program from establishing or maintaining a PAC. I recognize the destabilizing effect that the Citizens United Supreme Court case has had on the transparency of our elections.
Support H.J.Res 48, a Constitutional amendment which clarifies that the rights of the Constitution apply only to natural born persons and not corporations, limited liability corporations, and other entities created through state, Federal, or international law. This amendment also grants states and the federal government the right to regulate campaign finance while mandating disclosure of donations to candidates.
7. Do you think public schools are adequately funded? If not, what minimum requirements should be met in an adequately funded public school system? What specific forms of taxation would you support to attain that funding?
Printed Name Adam Smith
Date (mm/dd/yy) 10/02/2024
