The Progressive Americans for Democracy project is dedicated to electing principled progressive Democrats with the grit and determination to change the direction of our country for the better.

We work with candidates who will fight for:

Quality, affordable health care

PAD PAC is committed to improving the Affordable Care Act and lowering the cost of care and to keep billion-dollar corporations from calling the shots in our health care system. While in Congress, Peter led the fight for our right to affordable health care and consistently voted to protect people with pre-existing conditions so insurance companies cannot kick them off their coverage. In decades of going toe-to-toe with the greedy pharmaceutical industry to lower the cost of prescription drugs, Peter never backed down, and he's not about to start now.

At PAD PAC, we believe that a woman and her doctor – not politicians – should decide what is best for her health. Peter has always defended women's health rights and he consistently voted to expand access to affordable reproductive health care, opposed arbitrary abortion restrictions, stood up to those who’ve tried to defund Planned Parenthood or allow employers deny coverage for birth control.

An economy that works for everyone – not just billionaires and bigwigs

At PAD PAC, we respect the value of work and believe in a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

Peter always says that hardworking, honest people are the backbone of America, whether they work with their hands or in an office. While in Congress, Peter was an original cosponsor of the Raise the Minimum Wage Act, and consistently voted to expand job-training programs and promote technical colleges, so kids who want to go into the trades can get training to find a good-paying job.

Peter also spoke out against every bad trade agreement with China and other countries, and opposed deals that destroyed the U.S. manufacturing industry and sent millions of good-paying jobs overseas to line the pockets of Wall Street traders.

PAD PAC is committed to protecting American jobs and Peter is still leading the fight to protect American industries like transportation and technology from being owned by the Chinese government.

Responding to the climate crisis

At PAD PAC, we are 100% committed to a 100% clean energy future, and we’ll never stop fighting to transition America off of dirty fossil fuels to create a cleaner and more sustainable future for all.

While serving as Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Peter created a bold framework for a five-year, $760 billion investment in infrastructure that served as the blueprint for the historic 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Among other things, the law has created family-wage, clean-energy jobs, made overdue improvements to our failing infrastructure, and reduced our carbon footprint – all while making our systems more efficient to save taxpayer dollars.

When this administration tried to open up our coasts to destructive new drilling by fossil fuel companies, Peter stood up to the White House and the dirty energy lobby, forcing them to back down and keeping our coastlines clear and clean.

In 2020, Oregon had its worst wildfire season in known history. Climate change has turned our forests into tinder boxes and is leading to fires unlike anything we've seen before. While in Congress, he lobbied the White House to release funds both to fight the fires and to make sure Oregon families were immediately taken care of and pushed for more federal resources for wildfire readiness and prevention.

Preserving the integrity of our country's democratic principles

At PAD PAC, we are dedicated to overturning the disastrous Citizens United decision, standing up to special interests, safeguarding our election processes, expanding the right to vote, and leveling the playing field so all voices in our democracy are heard. As a Congressman, Peter had a 100% rating from Common Cause for his work to "help amplify the voices of everyday Americans who have been silenced by big money in politics." As the first candidate in history to ever be targeted by a special interest SuperPAC back in 2010, Peter knows firsthand the impact that dark money can have.

Peter also knows that seniors, veterans, low-income communities, BIPOC, and millions of Americans rely on the US Mail to deliver their medications and essential goods and to keep our elections safe and efficient. He will fight any attempt to undermine or weaken our Postal Service.