Meet Susan

As the daughter of an Air Force officer, I moved frequently throughout my childhood—both around the United States and across the world. I moved to the Lehigh Valley more than three decades ago to raise my family, and it’s the only place I’ve ever truly called home.

The Lehigh Valley is where my two children were born and attended public school. It’s where I built a well-respected and recognized legal practice and became the first female Solicitor of the City of Allentown, a position in which I shepherded in a new era of accountability and transparency. In 2018, I became the first woman ever to represent the Lehigh Valley in Congress, and the only Jewish federally elected Pennsylvania official.

My philosophy is simple: getting things done in Washington takes hard work, it requires listening to my constituents, and it demands working with those on the other side of the aisle. Here are some of the principles that guide me:

• A working-class ethic. My dad grew up poor.  He was one of six children and his father died when he was eight years old.  He and his older brother lived in an orphanage for a couple of years, while their mother was getting back on her feet.  My mother’s family did somewhat better, but her father also died when she was only eight, leaving a young widow with two daughters.  So both of my parents instilled in me the notion that our circumstances can change on a dime, that whatever fortunate circumstances we may enjoy, we must help others around us who are less fortunate. And, having grown up in a military household to parents who lived through the Great Depression, I understand the concerns of working-class families, because I’ve lived them. I am guided by a core set of values, in part instilled by my liberal Democrat mother and conservative Republican father: that regardless of political party, we must all look out for one another; that everyone deserves an equal voice in our civic processes; and that we must be guided by the simple yet urgent principle of leaving our children a better world than we had ourselves.
• Building consensus to take care of business. I am proud to be rated as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress by the independent Lugar Center. In Congress, I look for ways to build unity between Democrats and Republicans, because I believe that the only way forward is by consensus. I have partnered with Republicans to address issues including mental health, fixing the USPS, supporting veterans, and supporting our manufacturing sector. I will always work with anyone to get things done for the people of my district.
• Guaranteeing access to health care. I came to Washington, in part, to uphold and fulfill my belief that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that Pennsylvanians of every background and income level deserve to have high-quality medical care. The fact that we have two outstanding health networks in PA-07 only serves to emphasize that everyone who lives here should be able to get the care that they provide. In Congress, I have led the fight to protect health care for people with pre-existing conditions, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and ensure that hard working families have access to affordable health insurance.  
• Walking in your shoes. To go to college, I — like so many of today’s young Americans — worked and took on student loan debt. Since then, a college education has become exponentially more expensive, and the future of our economy demands smart reforms to help relieve the burden of student debt. I am a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, where I work everyday to address the student loan crisis crippling the next generation of Americans, as well as to make sure that our K-12 public schools have the resources they need.
• Listening to — and fighting for — every voice. I have made it a point to hold regular town halls in every corner of PA-07, from Allentown to Bangor to Jim Thorpe. I believe government works best when it’s driven by what people really care about, and I want to include everyone’s voice in that process. Through my work cutting red tape and fighting government bureaucracy, I have returned hundreds of thousands of dollars to working Pennsylvanians in the form of Social Security payments and VA benefits.

When I am not working for my constituents, I can be found spending time with my family and our dog, Zoey, or cooking up meals with delicious organic ingredients from my home garden, which has been restyled into our 2022 Victory Garden!