Hakeem Jeffries

Thanks to a radical, right wing Supreme Court majority, extreme Republicans are closer than ever to their decades-long goal of imposing a nationwide abortion ban and criminalizing abortion care. Hakeem joined with House Democrats to enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law so we can put a stop to this Republican scheme and protect Americans’ freedom to access reproductive health care and contraception. He believes women, their families and their doctors should make these deeply personal decisions about pregnancy, not extreme Republican politicians.

Criminal justice reform is one of Hakeem’s top priorities as a Member of the House Judiciary Committee. In December 2018, he successfully shepherded The First Step Act into law through a Republican-controlled Washington. The bipartisan measure is the nation’s largest criminal justice reform bill in decades, helping thousands of incarcerated Americans by correcting many of the injustices they have faced within the federal prison system and reducing rates of recidivism. Hakeem is currently leading the charge to end the unjust disparities in sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine, recently working with Democrats and Republicans to advance the bipartisan EQUAL Act through the House of Representatives.

Hakeem believes that in America, if you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to provide a comfortable living for yourself and for your family, purchase a home, educate your children and retire with grace and dignity. Everyone, in every zip code, deserves equal access to this opportunity. Following the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn, Hakeem proudly supported a series of bold measures to turn the economy around and create millions of better paying American jobs. The American Rescue Plan rescued our nation from the economic crisis and set us on a path to create over ten million jobs, thousands of which are in New York’s 8th Congressional District. Subsequently, Hakeem helped pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, generating jobs and fixing our country’s crumbling roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, mass transportation systems, along with the CHIPS and Science Act to jumpstart American manufacturing and ensure our global competitiveness.

Hakeem is working to make every neighborhood safer by fighting to get illegal guns off our streets and strengthening the relationship between the police and our community. In Congress, Hakeem has been a leader on gun violence prevention legislation, pushing for commonsense measures like universal background checks for firearm purchases and a ban on assault weapons that belong in war zones, not in our streets. Too many illegal weapons are purchased in the South and make their way up to New York City by way of the Iron Pipeline. Hakeem helped pass the first meaningful gun safety legislation in decades, which makes gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time in U.S. history. Throughout his time in Congress, Hakeem has worked to restore the balance between effective law enforcement and protecting our civil rights, introducing the Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act and advancing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Hakeem has been a champion for affordable housing, dating back to his service in the New York State Assembly. As an Assemblyman, he fought against foreclosures, passed historic rent regulations for New York City and helped transform empty luxury apartments into affordable homes. In Congress, Hakeem is fighting hard to build and protect apartments and homes in our neighborhoods that existing residents can actually afford. Hakeem continues to push for a bold investment in our nation’s public housing infrastructure, so we can build more units and invest in necessary, long-overdue repairs to existing NYCHA developments. Having secured funding to help our community rebuild from Superstorm Sandy, Hakeem also recognizes the importance of preparing our homes for the impact of future severe weather.

Hakeem is working hard to lower child care costs, health care costs, education costs and the skyrocketing price of life-saving prescription drugs. He proudly supported the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, which substantially reduced health care premiums. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare will be able to use its bulk purchasing power to negotiate down the cost of prescription drugs and the cost of insulin will be capped at $35 a month for Medicare recipients. The Inflation Reduction Act will also drive down Americans’ energy costs by helping families make their homes more efficient, cutting heating and cooling expenses, and tackling the climate crisis in a manner that will stem the tide of costly extreme weather events. Too many corporations are raising prices on consumers while padding their bottom lines, which is why Hakeem voted to crack down on price gouging by big oil and gas and agriculture companies. Hakeem will keep fighting to expand the Child Tax Credit to provide direct relief to working families with kids.