Cheri Bustos

Now in her fifth term in Congress, Cheri is a member of Democratic House Leadership and brings a strong Midwestern voice to the table as a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, where she is a relentless advocate for steering the Democratic agenda to address the very real economic challenges millions of Americans struggle with at the kitchen table each night.

 In 2018, Cheri was elected Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee by her colleagues, the political arm of House Democrats. In this leadership position, she successfully secured a House Democratic Majority for the 117th Congress, shattered fundraising records, protected voting rights, recruited a historically diverse class of candidates, strengthened diversity among staff and consultants, created new programs to engage young voters and communities of color and established a new unit to combat the growing threat of disinformation.

Cheri has also remained committed to serving as a watchdog in Washington. At a time when many hardworking families are tightening their belts, she’s relentlessly worked across the aisle to ensure Illinoisans’ hard-earned tax dollars are put to good use. Her efforts have resulted in legislation decreasing improper payments from Federal agencies, strengthening the oversight of government charge cards and ensuring Federal agencies maximize their space and manufacturing capacity before outsourcing work.

In the 116th Congress, Cheri was appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee. On this committee, Cheri works to ensure the needs of our region are being met and properly funded by the federal government – whether that be investments in our region’s defense priorities, infrastructure, schools or rural hospitals. Additionally, since the Appropriations Committee provides funds for the entire federal government, Cheri is well positioned to ensure federal dollars are being spent wisely and do not go to waste.

Cheri also continues to serve on the House Agriculture Committee, where in her first term she played an important role to develop and pass the first long-term Farm Bill in years. Then, in her third term, she continued that work by serving as a member of the Farm Bill Conference Committee where she helped lead efforts to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that provided farmers with the support they need to continue putting food on the plates of Americans across our nation. While working on this key piece of legislation, she conducted a 21st Century Heartland Tour to better understand the needs of our family farmers. This Congress, Cheri was appointed Chair of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, where she oversees work on USDA programs that protect American farmers and crops. Sitting around kitchen tables, in barns and garages across the 17th Congressional District, she asked hundreds of our farmers and agricultural producers what worked for them in the last Farm Bill and what they needed from a new one.