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A hypocritical member of congress, Chavez-DeRemer opposed the bipartisan infrastructure bill that created good-paying jobs for Americans. However, after being elected, Chavez-DeRemer flip-flopped and began praising the law, including taking credit for the funding of local projects. As a member of Congress, Chavez-DeRemer skipped at least 5 subcommittee hearings where her Republican colleages were bashing labor unions, and Democratic spoke up in unions' favor. Chavez-DeRemer's staff could not answer why she would not show up in support for unions. Chavez-DeRemer also opposed Biden’s student loan forgiveness despite having her family’s own PPP loans worth $1.3 million forgiven. To top it all off, Lori Chavez-DeRemer is an anti-abortion extremist who favored a six-week ban, preventing women from making their own choices about their bodies. |
¶ Absent From Labor-Related Hearings
Chavez-DeRemer Did Not Show Up To Five Subcommittee Hearings Covering Labor Topics. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “But when her fellow Republicans on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee held a series of union-bashing meetings over the past year, Chavez-DeRemer didn’t show up and join Democratic representatives in speaking up for unions. Chavez-DeRemer spokesman Aaron Britt didn’t say why she missed those five meetings but defended her record on labor issues in a statement.” [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 8/8/24]
· HEADLINE: “Oregon Rep. Chavez-DeRemer Continues Courting Union Support, Skipped Hearings On Labor Issues” [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 8/8/24]
¶ Lori Chavez-DeRemer Flip-Flopped On Key Issues When It Benefited Her
¶ Lori Chavez-DeRemer Criticized The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Before Claiming Credit For Local Projects
Lori Chavez-DeRemer Criticized The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Before Flip-Flopping And Claiming Credit For Local Projects. According to Oregon Capital Chronicle, " As a candidate in 2022, Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law was 'not a benefit' and would see 'pennies on the dollar' returned to communities. But as the U.S. representative of Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, Chavez-DeRemer has praised the law and some of the more than $5.2 billion in Oregon-specific investments that have been announced in the past two years. When the Environmental Protection Agency announced earlier in May that Oregon would receive more than $28 million through the bipartisan infrastructure law to help identify and replace lead service lines, Chavez-DeRemer joined Democratic colleagues in the state’s congressional delegation to applaud the announcement. 'This is a welcome announcement that will help countless families and businesses across the state access clean drinking water for generations to come,' she said. 'I’m glad more federal funding is coming to Oregon under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and I’ll keep working to reinvest Oregonians’ hard-earned tax dollars into much-needed infrastructure projects.’ [...] And in March, she took credit for helping secure $1.29 million in funding available because of the infrastructure law so the Bend Municipal Airport could build a permanent air control tower. 'It’s critical that we keep our airport infrastructure up to date to maintain a resilient supply chain and a healthy economy,' she said at the time. 'I’ll continue supporting efforts to utilize funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in Oregon and Oregon’s economy.'" [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 5/29/24]
¶ Lori Chavez-DeRemer Opposed Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Despite Having $1.3 Million In PPP Loans Forgiven
Lori Chavez-DeRemer Opposed Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Despite Having $1.3 Million In PPP Loans Forgiven. According to Willamette Week, "Chavez-DeRemer, the former mayor of Happy Valley, who along with her physician husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, built a thriving anesthesiology and wellness business, has railed against federal spending during the Biden presidency. 'Congress has spent our country into oblivion,' she says on her campaign website. 'The Radical Left’s policies have turned our economy into shambles and pushed inflation to record-breaking numbers.' She says she opposes Biden’s plan to reduce student debt—noting she and and her husband paid back $380,000 of their own student loans. Records show, however, that one of their businesses, Anesthesia Associates NW LLC, got $1.3 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans—subsequently forgiven—in 2020 and 2021. In each of those years, Chavez-DeRemer’s federal disclosure filings show, she and her husband reported income of between $1 million and $5 million from that business. So they were taking home healthy profits while accepting a bailout—something Chavez-DeRemer says shouldn’t be available to people with student debt." [Willamette Week, 10/8/22]
¶ Lori Chavez-DeRemer Supported a Six-Week Abortion Ban
¶ Lori Chavez-DeRemer Supported A Six-Week Abortion Ban
2022: Lori Chavez-DeRemer Supported A Six-Week Abortion Ban. According to a post on Twitter by Lori Chavez-DeRemer, “Thank you @Salem_Statesman. Oregon has passed extreme laws that allow abortion on demand and taxpayer-funded abortions. A vast majority of Americans want restrictions on abortion and I would be in favor of passing legislation like the heartbeat bill. #OR05.” [LChavezDeRemer Twitter Account, 5/3/22]
¶ Since Being Elected To Congress, Chavez-DeRemer Turned Her Back On The LGBTQ+ Community
¶ May 2023: Students Protested Chavez-DeRemer being invited To Speak At Their Commencement Over Her Anti-LGBTQ+ Voting Record
May 2023: Students From An Oregon Community College Protested The Invitation Of Chavez-DeRemer To Speak At Their Commencement Due To Her Anti-LGBTQ+ Votes. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “A group of LGBTQ students has called on Central Oregon Community College to rescind its commencement address invitation to U.S. Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, saying she has ‘a record of transphobia and supports anti-transgender policies.’” [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 5/8/23]
¶ During her first term in congress, Chavez-Deremer Supported Anti-Lgbtq+ Legislation
¶ Chavez-DeRemer Co-Sponsored And Voted For The So-Called “Parents Bill Of Rights,” Which Democrats Argued Could Harm LGBTQ+ Youth
March 2023: Chavez DeRemer Supported A Bill That Would Require Schools To Consult With Parents Before Allowing Students To Change Their Name Or Gender. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “The letter also cited Chavez-DeRemer’s support for H.R. 5, the ‘Parents Bill of Rights,’ which also passed the House and would require schools to consult with parents before a student is allowed to change his or her name or gender.” [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 5/8/23; H.R. 734, House Vote 161, 3/24/23]
- Chavez-DeRemer Co-Sponsored The “Parents Bill Of Rights” Legislation, Which Sought To Limit How Kids Expressed Their Gender Identity In School. According to KGW8, "In March, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed House Resolution 5 — what they're calling the ‘Parents Bill of Rights.’ It would codify into federal education law requirements that districts let parents know that they have the right to inspect school curriculum, budgets, and school library books. It also requires that schools let parents know if a child has changed their gender markers, pronouns or name at school, and whether a child is changing which restroom or locker room they're using. The bill was co-sponsored by Republican freshman Congresswoman Lori Chavez-Deremer, who represents Oregon's 5th District." [KGW8, 5/5/23]
- The Bill Would Require Schools To Notify Parents If Their Child Used A Different Name Or Pronoun During School. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Schools also would have to notify parents if their child uses a different name or pronoun at school.” [Congressional Quarterly, 3/24/23]
- House Democrats Argued The Bill Could Affect LGBTQ+ Students By Requiring Schools To Report Transgender Students Who May Have Not Come Out To Their Families. According to Congressional Quarterly, “House Democrats said the bill could harm LGBTQ youth by requiring schools to report transgender students who may not be ready to disclose their gender identity to their families.” [Congressional Quarterly, 3/24/23]
- Democrats Dubbed The Bill As The “Politics Over Parents Act” And Argued Parents Already Have The Rights That The Bill Supposedly Grants To Parents. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Democrats dismissed the proposal as a gimmick and dubbed it the ‘Politics Over Parents Act.’ They say parents already have many of the rights stipulated by the bill.” [Congressional Quarterly, 3/24/23]
¶ Chavez-DeRemer Voted For A Bill That Would Prevent VA Medical Centers From Performing Gender-Affirming Care And Displaying LGBTQ+ Pride Flags
July 2023: Chavez-DeRemer Voted For A Bill That Would Prevent VA Medical Centers From Performing Gender-Affirming Care. In July 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, Chavez-DeRemer voted for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024, which would “also prohibit the use of the bill's funds to provide abortions, to implement a September 2022 VA rule that allows abortion counseling and establishes exceptions for the prohibition on abortions in the medical benefits package for veterans and civilian beneficiaries, to provide surgical procedures or hormone therapies for gender-affirming care, and to fly or display a flag over a VA facility or national cemetery that is not the U.S. flag, military-related or another government jurisdiction” The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 219 to 211, thus the bill was sent to the Senate. [House Vote 380, 7/27/23; Congressional Quarterly, 7/27/23; Congressional Actions, H.R. 4366]
- The Bill Would Prevent VA Medical Centers From Providing Gender-Affirming Care. According to The Hill, “But the administration did not hold back its criticism of policies in the bill it said would prevent VA medical centers from being able to perform abortions or ‘provide hormone therapies for the purpose of gender-affirming care.’” [The Hill, 7/27/23]
- The Bill Would Prevent The VA From Displaying LGBTQ+ Pride Flags. According to The Hill, “Other measures the White House criticized include sections Democrats say would prevent the VA from displaying LGBTQ pride flags and language that would limit administration efforts to advance equity and diversity.” [The Hill, 7/27/23]
¶ Chavez-DeRemer Voted For A Bill That Would Ban Transgender Women From Participating In Women’s Sports
April 2023: Chavez-DeRemer Supported A Bill That Would Ban Transgender Girls From Participating In Girls’ Sports. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “In a letter to the college leaders on Wednesday, they pointed to her support for House Resolution 734, the ‘Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,’ which passed the Republican-led House and would ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports.” [Oregon Capital Chronicle, 5/8/23; House Vote 192, 4/20/23]
- The Bill Would Modify Title IX, Which Bars Discrimination On The Basis Of Sex In Federally-Funded Educational Institutions, By Preventing Anyone Who Was Born Male At Birth From Participating In Women’s Or Girls’ Sports. According to Congressional Quarterly, “The measure would amend Title IX, a federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational institutions. The changes would prevent anyone whose biological sex at birth was male from participating in high school and college sports programs for women or girls.” [Congressional Quarterly, 4/20/23]
¶ Chavez-deremer’s congressional website has no mention of lgbtq+ issues
Chavez-DeRemer’s Current House Website Did Not Include A Page Or Section For LGTBQ+ Issues. According to Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s official U.S. House website,
[Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Official U.S. House Website, Viewed 6/5/24]
¶ The Only Pro-LGBTQ+ Legislation Chavez-DeRemer Seemed To Be Involved With Was A Bill To Reverse Dishonorable Discharges In The Military Following The Repeal Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Which Democrats Already Had A Bill For That She Could Have Signed Onto
A Search Of LGBTQ On Chavez-DeRemer’s Congressional Website, Shows One Result Of A Press Release Regarding A Bill She Introduced About Reversing Dishonorable Discharges Following The Repeal Of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” According to Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s official U.S. House website,
[Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Official U.S. House Website, Viewed 6/5/24]
- Chavez-DeRemer’s Legislation To Reverse Dishonorable Discharges Following The Repeal Of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Was In Competition With A Bill Democrats Had Been Advocating For On The Same Issue For More Than A Decade. According to the Washington Blade, “Gay U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, has long worked to address the challenges faced by veterans who are in this position with his Restore Honor to Service Members Act, which he first introduced in 2013 and re-introduced several times over the years, most recently in 2023. […] Last week, however, another bill targeting the same issue, the Recover Pride in Service Act, was announced by Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.) in conjunction with Log Cabin Republicans, the conservative LGBT group. […] ‘If Republicans truly cared about helping veterans discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ they would have signed on to the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, which has been around for a decade and has support among the broader LGBTQI+ community,’ Pocan told the Blade in a statement.” [Washington Blade, 2/28/24]
- Log Cabin Republicans Senior Advisor Alex Walton Seemed To Suggest House Republicans Did Not Want To Sign On To The Long-Time Democratic Bill Because There Were Too Many Democrats Compared To Republicans Who Sought To Co-Sponsor It. "Log Cabin Republicans Senior Advisor Alex Walton told the Blade by phone last week that ‘discussions about the Restore Honor to Service Members Act all happened close to eight to nine months ago before we kind of shifted focus when we realized that they weren’t going to cooperate and work with us.’ Walton said that while there was significant interest in joining Pocan’s bill among House Republicans, ‘they were only going to do it assuming that Democrats were going to match the number of Republicans that co-sponsored the legislation, so you didn’t have 150 Democrats and, you know, 12 Republicans.’ A source familiar with the discussions said Pocan was never asked to limit the number of Democratic cosponsors. Additionally, Walton said, the House Republicans ‘also wanted a Republican lead,’ but Pocan ‘was unwilling to let that happen.’" [Washington Blade, 2/28/24]
¶ since entering congress, chavez-deremer had not co-sponsored the equality act to protect lgbtq+ people from discrimination
118th Congress: Chavez-DeRemer Had Not Co-Sponsored The Equality Act. According to Congress.gov, Chavez-DeRemer was not a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, "This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity with respect to businesses, employment, housing, federally funded programs, and other settings. Specifically, the bill expands Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit public accommodations and federally funded programs, respectively, from discriminating based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It also includes stores, transit services, recreational facilities, and establishments that provide health care, accounting, or legal services as public accommodations under Title II. The bill also expands Title IV (desegregation of public schools) and Title VII (employment discrimination) to specifically include sexual orientation and gender identity. (The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that Title VII's prohibition of employment discrimination based on sex also prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.) The bill similarly expands the Fair Housing Act (discrimination in public and private housing) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity by creditors and with respect to jury selection. The bill defines sex for purposes of the aforementioned provisions to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics." [H.R. 15, Introduced 6/21/23]
- Human Rights Campaign Said The Equality Act Would Provide “Consistent And Explicit Anti-Discrimination Protections For LGBTQ+ People Across Key Areas Of Life.” "The Equality Act would provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service." [Human Rights Campaign, Viewed 6/7/24]