How much do you know about where the food sitting on your table comes from? Most Americans don’t give it a second thought. For Rep. Nikki Budzinski, how your food is grown and how it gets from the farm to your table is the raison d’etre for her being in Congress.
She has received tons of kudos from more agricultural themed media, especially for launching her Farm Bill 101 social media campaign. This social media campaign is meant to highlight important agricultural issues and generate interest in them.
It started out with an interesting fact such as the one below:
Lately, it has evolved into interview sessions with people prominent in the Illinois’ agricultural industry.
Today, the spotlight is on a member of Congress that specializes in agriculture — Rep. Nikki Budzinski!
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Rep. Nikki Budzinski (Illinois-13)
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Budzinski the Agricultural Specialist
The committees she is on include the House Agricultural Committee and the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs. Her biggest legislative priority right now is getting the Farm Bill passed, which will benefit Downstate Illinois tremendously. In that capacity, many of the bills she has introduced or co-sponsored in the House involve agriculture or rural matters in some fashion.
The Rebuild Rural America Act is intended to make it easier for rural areas to get funding for infrastructure, high-speed internet, and health care amongst other priorities.
The Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act is meant to help new farmers obtain enough capital to access land and equipment. It is currently too expensive for new farmers to get into the field unless they inherit those items from someone else.
The Rural Energy Savings Act is meant to improve access to clean energy options for rural residents.
Finally, the America GROWS Act is meant to secure funding for agricultural innovation and research.
There are so few Democratic politicians that represent agricultural and rural areas, which means Rep. Nikki Budzinski brings a valuable voice for issues that the party often struggles with. I see her as a future leader in the House Agricultural Committee and perhaps even its chair!
Budzinski the Bipartisan Legislator
Rep. Nikki Budzinski is different from most of the representatives I have profiled so far. She came to Washington, D.C. not to be an ideological warrior but to get things done. Instead, she is more pragmatic (which is why she is in the moderate New Democratic Coalition). This pragmatism shows even in her early interview about her legislative priorities.
Sometimes, in order to get noticed, a representative has to become the media by writing an op-ed. Budzinski did so in April, lauding bipartisanship and advocating for the GOP to focus on bills that can pass Congress instead of performative stunts.
On November 8th, I became the first Democrat elected to represent my area of Illinois in nearly a decade. As I reach 100 days serving in Congress, I've been reflecting on why I ran for office, my mission, and the work that Democratic freshmen have already accomplished so far.
I was able to flip my seat from red to blue because I ran a campaign focused on reaching across the aisle to find common-sense solutions to the issues facing working families. When I came to Congress, I was glad to find like-minded colleagues in the New Democrat Coalition (New Dems), a caucus with nearly 100 center-left members who share a mission to break through the gridlock and get results for the American people.
I hate to link to a Fox News article, but Budzinski did write about her efforts for that news organization. In it, she urged the passage of the Farm Bill ASAP and without any poison pills that have derailed other important bills.
Congress has just over 100 days to pass the 2023 Farm Bill — a massive legislative package renewing programs that farmers and families across the country rely on every day. But with all the noise and nonsense in Washington, one of our nation’s most important bills has become an afterthought to too many beyond the walls of our agriculture committees.
In fact, rumors are already swirling around Congress that this critical bill could be punted to 2024, with temporary program extensions in a future budget deal. This would create incredible uncertainty for folks who need stability most — our country’s hardworking farmers grappling with the unpredictability of weather and climate and families that are barely getting by with record-high food prices.
They deserve better.
On the biggest piece of legislation so far, the Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal, Rep. Budzinski was a YES. She lauded that the deal was done in a bipartisan fashion and although not perfect, it was necessary to avoid a default.
If you came to this article expecting flashy soundbites or desk thumping speeches, I am sorry to disappoint you. That is simply not the style of Rep. Nikki Budzinski, and it actively prevents her from achieving her goals in Congress. Bipartisanship is the strategy she has adopted in order to champion the issues that she is passionate about.
Budzinksi the Labor Leader
Rep. Nikki Budzinski has a life completely intertwined with the labor movement. Her campaign website biography shows that her ties to the labor movement began shortly after college.
Nikki has spent her entire adult life standing up for working families. After college, Nikki traveled the country fighting to get hardworking people the pay and workplace safety conditions they deserve. She worked for the IAFF Firefighters’ union to help look out for our first responders who put their lives on the line for us every day, making sure they have the equipment, training, and health protections they need. Then she stood with UFCW workers, making sure grocery workers and meatpackers got a fair day’s pay and workplace protections at dangerous processing plants. She also fought to protect workers’ rights to collectively bargain for fair pay, safety protections, and benefits in states trying to attack those rights.
Her official House website has some information on her later political endeavors, including working for Gov. JB Pritzker and for the Biden-Harris administration.
That’s why she joined the labor movement, and fought to get firefighters, grocery workers and meatpackers better training, wages and workplace safety protections. It’s why she led negotiations to raise Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 an hour and chaired the Broadband Advisory Board to expand internet access to rural communities. And it’s why she helped the Biden-Harris Administration implement the American Rescue Plan and establish the Made in America Office to create jobs and strengthen our economy.
She is still in tune with labor issues in Congress. For example, she hosted a Labor Caucus roundtable recently to discuss the labor movement and of course the Farm Bill.
Another instance of her being a leader on labor issues is her early support for the striking UAW workers. She didn’t have to take that political risk in a marginal district, but the labor movement clearly is something extra important to her.
While she hasn’t yet introduced any legislation regarding labor issues while in Congress, it is clear from her background and her actions that Rep. Nikki Budzinski is a staunch ally of organized labor. Hopefully this is a second issue that she can be a guiding beacon for the party in the future.
Biography — How Did Budzinski Get to Congress?
Our first pitstop on the way to learning about Rep. Nikki Budzinski is her campaign website, which devotes time to her upbringing and early political activism.
Born in Peoria, Nikki’s parents taught her the importance of family, community, and service to others. From her grandpa, a union painter, she saw how unions built and sustained the middle class. From her grandma, a public school teacher, she learned the value of a good education. Nikki attended the University of Illinois Champaign and was inspired to devote her life to public service after interning for former Congressman Dick Gephardt, former Senator Paul Simon, and Planned Parenthood.
This CSPAN profile interview describes much of the information above, as well as talking about her political views and her legislative priorities.
This member of Congress is the second that I have profiled that was a part of my Majority Savers series last year. She is an alumnus of the Biden-Harris administration and has been active behind the scenes in Illinois politics for a few decades now. This is her first political office, so she is a legislative neophyte.
During the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election, Budzinski led J. B. Pritzker's exploratory committee and was later a senior advisor to his campaign, focusing on political strategy, messaging and outreach. After Pritzker won, she was named transition director.[9]
When Pritzker became governor on January 14, 2019, Budzinski was appointed senior advisor.[10][11] She simultaneously chaired the Broadband Advisory Council (BAC), a state agency "charged with ... expand[ing] broadband access, adoption, and utilization" in Illinois. Budzinski resigned as senior advisor to the governor in March 2020.[12] She worked with John Podesta to advise the National Climate Jobs Resource Center and was Executive Director for Climate Jobs Illinois.[4]
In February 2021, Budzinski, recommended for the post by Podesta, was appointed chief of staff of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[4] During her tenure as chief of staff, she helped set up the OMB's Made in America division. On July 16, 2021, Budzinski resigned to return to Illinois, saying she "felt it was a good time to come back [to Illinois] ... after getting things off the ground here".[5]
In order to get to Congress, the Illinois State Legislature had to draw a masterful gerrymander of Downstate. They combined the remaining Democratic bastions into a district that favored their party. She still had to endure what was thought to be a close election campaign, but the challenge proved to be inconsequential. She easily beat back the GOP opposition in November 2022.
Rep. Nikki Budzinski may not be everyone’s cup of tea here, especially since she is calling for bipartisanship. Her priorities are very different from most of the legislators I have profiled, and this article reflects that. Please commend her for having such a strong focus on the issues of her district, and know that it is districts such as this one that give us a path to the majority.
She currently has 2.4k followers on the social media app Twitter. Farm Bill 101 is worth the follow on her social media accounts in my opinion, as it discusses issues that we often don’t even think about or take for granted. Budzinski isn’t going to be on cable television any time soon, and that suits her just fine. Her staff will continue to write op-eds she endorses and polishes, and local coverage will be sufficient for what she needs in order to be successful. Often, those that are in the spotlight struggle to get their priorities through Congress. Budzinski will not have that struggle.
She takes the positions she does due to the fact that her district isn’t 100% safe for her. While the gerrymander is impressive, a red wave election could spell trouble for her. If she can stay in tune with the pulse of her district (agriculture) and avoid any confrontational stances, she has a chance to have a long and productive tenure in D.C. And that, my friends, is what matters in the end!
New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Glenn Ivey from Maryland’s 4th district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about him!
Next week, I will profile Rep. Jennifer McClellan of Virginia’s 4th district. See you then!
Rep. Nikki Budzinski (Illinois-13)
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