Valerie Foushee

Valerie Foushee is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing North Carolina's 4th District since January 2023. Born and raised in Chapel Hill, she attended racially segregated schools until the sixth grade and graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 1974. She worked for the Chapel Hill Police Department for 21 years as an administrator while raising her family and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and African and Afro-American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2008. Foushee's political career began with her service on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education from 1997 to 2004. In 2004, she became the first African American woman elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners, where she served until 2012. She was then elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2012 and subsequently appointed to the North Carolina Senate in 2013, where she served until her election to Congress. In the U.S. House, Foushee serves on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She is the first woman and the first African American to represent North Carolina's 4th District. Her legislative work has consistently focused on social justice, quality education, and environmental protection, reflecting her extensive background in local and state-level governance.

Valerie Foushee views healthcare as a universal right and supports Medicare for All, Medicaid expansion, and the protection of the Affordable Care Act. Her economic platform advocates for a progressive tax system that includes higher rates for large corporations and high-income earners, as well as a minimum tax for households with a net worth exceeding $100 million. Regarding the environment, she supports the Green New Deal and emphasizes the need for a clean energy transition through investments in green transit and electric vehicle infrastructure. On immigration, Foushee supports comprehensive reform, including a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, and has called for significant limitations on the authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In foreign policy, she has advocated for the use of War Powers Resolutions to prevent unauthorized military actions and has consistently opposed unauthorized hostilities abroad.