Summer L. LeeSummer L. Lee

Summer views stable housing as a cornerstone of community health. She has secured over $50 million in federal funding to revitalize local affordable housing, including landmark projects like Bedford Dwellings, to bring down housing costs for families.

Summer Lee has been one of the boldest progressive voices in the U.S. House — fighting to end big money in politics, expand healthcare, protect workers, lead on climate justice, and defend voting rights. In Congress, she has stood up to corporate greed and entrenched power, refusing corporate PAC money and consistently putting working families first.

She supports implementing a ban on assault weapons, expanding background checks to all gun sales, ending protections for corporate gun manufacturers, and passing bold legislation to stop the mass shootings that have become all too common in schools, churches, stores, and cities across America.

Congresswoman Summer Lee is an organizer, attorney, and progressive legislator born and raised in the Mon Valley where she attended Woodland Hills public schools before graduating from Penn State and Howard University School of Law.

Lee worked as an organizer and led voter mobilization efforts for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party – including against Trump in 2016. In 2017, after repeated incidents of violence against students from police and administrators, Summer led a successful initiative to transform the Woodland Hills School Board. Then, she ran for State House, defeating a 20-year incumbent with over 67% of the vote and making history as the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania in the legislature. There, she brought home millions for community revitalization and championed workers rights, environmental and racial justice.

In 2019, she co-founded UNITE, a grassroots organization that transformed regional politics by electing progressives at various levels, including Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Ed Gainey.

Incumbent

Congresswoman Summer Lee is not afraid to challenge the Pentagon over its waste and contractors over their price gouging. “In recent years, Congress has authorized $41.6 million of ‘defense’ spending on Viagra, $2.3 million on Alaskan king crab, $32.6 billion for shipbuilding, $1.7 trillion on a program that ‘lost’ $85 million in spare parts they say apparently just vanished. That’s enough to repair crumbling roads and bridges, provide free school lunch for every child in America, combat homelessness, and completely eradicate student debt. The people I represent in Western PA are sick and tired of Congress nickel and diming the programs their lives depend on while we bankroll defense contractors and spend more on our Pentagon budget than the next 10 countries combined. The least we are owed is transparency and accountability for waste, fraud and abuse.”

Summer Lee is a Pennsylvania state legislator and dedicated organizer, activist, and advocate for social justice. Since taking office, Summer has been a voice for people across the district – championing initiatives that support sustainable jobs, environmental responsibility, police accountability, and gender and racial equity. She is a tireless advocate for workers’ rights, union protections, and the fight for a liveable wage.