World News – US – Left turn

Never tell Pramila Jayapal that something cannot be done; she will Jayapal, the Democrat who represents Washington State’s Seventh Congressional District in the House of Representatives, is « one of President Donald Trump’s most fearless opponents » and a « burgeoning Democratic star » She won a third term in the House on November 3, beating her Republican rival by winning over 80% of the total votes cast

Jayapal, 55, is the first Native American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives She came to America as a 16-year-old student from Chennai to attend Georgetown University Her family used all her savings to send her and her sister to study abroad

While completing his MBA at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Jayapal helped develop a course in economic development and was tutored on the South Side of Chicago at Cabrini-Green, one of the most notorious social housing projects in the city

After college she became a financial analyst on Wall Street, where she tried to organize analysts for social good During the summer of graduate school, she did an internship in Thailand with an NGO rural while his friends worked in consulting firms and investment banks She left the private sector in 1991 and joined PATH, a nonprofit health organization, and worked in villages in India for two years.

Back in the United States, the fallout from the 9/11 terrorist attacks gave him first-hand experience of the problems faced by immigrants. “We were told to go back to our own countries, even though we called America at home, planted roots, grew dreams, built families and communities »

Jayapal chose to fight back and called on the government not to racially profile immigrants Five days after the attacks, she received a call from a friend of her, a schoolteacher, after a third Muslim family had withdrawn his children from school for fear of being attacked In response, she launched Hate Free Zone, now known as One America, to tackle hate crimes against Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities.

The group has challenged the government on issues such as the abuse of civil liberties and discrimination, and lobbied for comprehensive immigration reform Jayapal has since worked to get undocumented immigrants out of the country. shadow, keep families together and provide avenues for immigrants to obtain visas and citizenship

In 2012, Jayapal became the first South Asian American and the only woman of color to be elected to the Washington State Legislature Four years later, she was elected to the House of Representatives and was co-chair of the Progressive Congressional Caucus

Jayapal does not accept contributions from the Business Policy Action Committee (PAC) and supports public election financing system She recognizes climate change and health care as America’s main challenges « I support an urgent approach to tackle climate change that focuses on poor communities and communities of color, ”she said She wants to transform the health system by making it a right and not just a privilege for the most rich

Jayapal lives in Seattle with her husband, Steve Williamson, and their two sons, Janak and Michael Her stories and beliefs are explained in her inspiring memoir Use the Power You Have: A Brunette Woman’s Guide to Politics and political change She wants the Native American community to be more active in politics by running for office as much as possible, supporting Indo-American candidates financially and recognizing the importance of engaging with the government “After being elected to the House of Representatives, many Indian Americans, especially women, contacted me with the great hope that new avenues would be opened to them,” she said. « Native American girls can see that they too can take impossible journeys and succeed in becoming one of 11,000 people to ever have the honor of serving in the US Congress »

In 2013, when Ami Bera was elected to California’s Seventh District House of Representatives, he accused career politicians of lining their pockets with special interests « We now have to pay the price for their government’s malpractice, » he said. « That’s why I’m taking a new oath, like the one I took to become a doctor, to put people first »

Bera, the oldest Indian American in Congress, has said he will not take a congressional pension until Medicare and Social Security are provided for all Americans He also proposed a law that would deny lawmakers their salaries if they fail to pass a responsible budget. On November 3, Bera won a landslide, getting 61% of the total votes polled

« When I thought about running for the first time in 2010, a lot of people shook their heads and asked, ‘How are you going to get elected? « said Bera in a recent virtual chat with fellow Indo-American congressmen » I just went over there and ran over immigrant history, which is American history and it really resonates « 

Bera is from a farming family in Rajkot, Gujarat Her father came to the United States for a master’s degree in engineering Her mother was a teacher After completing her medical studies, Bera was the county chief medical officer of Sacramento and Dean of Admissions at the University of California at Davis

Bera lives in Elk Grove, Calif. with his wife, Janine, who is also a doctor, and their daughter Sydra. He said he was lucky in what America gave him and to his family He believes that involvement in political life is the natural progression of the Amerindian community, which now wishes to give back to the country and take a seat at the table He said the Indian heritage was an asset to him « I never run away from who I am I run towards the values ​​my family instilled in me »

The spirit of the Indian independence movement is a source of inspiration for Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents the 17th district of California, located in the middle of Silicon Valley His grandfather was a freedom fighter and a close associate of Lala Lajpat Rai

Khanna, 44, was born into a middle-class family in Philadelphia Her father was a chemical engineer and her mother a substitute teacher After earning an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Yale University, Khanna has taught at Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and San Francisco State University He was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Commerce during the administration of Barack Obama In 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Workforce Investment Board

Campaign finance reform is one of Khanna’s top priorities and he is one of six elected officials in the United States to refuse campaign money from PACs and lobbyists. He wants members of Congress to have a mandate limited to 12 years and supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Citizens United case, which allowed companies and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections

As a member of the House Budget Committee, the Armed Services Committee and the Oversight and Reform Committee, Khanna is also the first vice-chair of the Progressive Congressional Caucus He serves as deputy whip of the Democratic caucus

Khanna, who won on November 3 with 74% of the total vote, is well aware of the political importance of Indian-Americans. « Many of us were not part of the mainstream and this gave us empathy for excluded people, « he said « The greatest service the South Asian community can render is to build on such great traditions, such a great civilization, and to stand up for these principles in the 21st century »

The Subramanian name Raja Krishnamoorthi is a mouthful in America, but the Congressman from the Eighth District of Illinois wore it with aplomb and made his mark with several thoughtful laws for the American people He easily won a third term on November 3, defeating Preston Nelson of the Libertarian Party

Born to Tamil immigrants from New Delhi, Krishnamoorthi grew up in Peoria, Illinois For a time, his family lived in public housing and needed food assistance before his father became teacher and acquire a middle class lifestyle

Krishnamoorthi remembered those difficult days when President Donald Trump decided to cut the food aid program “Food stamps helped my parents out of a difficult period Today my father is a teacher of ‘engineering, my brother is a doctor and I’m a congressman It was our American dream, « he said on television

Krishnamoorthi graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and received his law degree from Harvard Law School He served as Special Assistant Attorney General in Illinois, Deputy State Treasurer and Member from the Illinois Housing Development Authority He then worked in the private sector, leading small research-driven companies in the national security and renewable energy sectors.

Krishnamoorthi, 47, is married to Priya, a doctor, and they live in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago, with their two sons and a daughter

He was first elected to Congress in 2016 He sits on the House Oversight Committee and the Steering and Policy Committee Recognizing the many important issues dealt with by the Native American caucus, he said the only issue that was of great importance to him as an immigrant was comprehensive immigration reform, including improving the H-1B visa program

Krishnamoorthi was a co-sponsor of the Highly Skilled Immigrant Fairness Act, aimed at removing current country quotas for green cards « When I first ran here in Illinois , I said to someone, ‘My name is Raja Krishnamoorthi’ And the person in Chicago looked back at me and said, ‘Roger Christian Murphy’ It’s so nice to be among people who share a common origin story like me! I came here when I was three months old. I am now in the United States Congress, ”he said

He wants Native Americans to stand up for themselves He said, « There’s an old saying in Washington, DC, that if you don’t have a seat, you’re on the menu! » And none of us, our families, our communities, and certainly not our priorities, can be on the menu. We can’t afford this anymore « 

Indian Americans, United States Presidential Election, 2020, Joe Biden, India, Kamala Harris, Republican Party