Congresswoman Janelle Bynum’s First Year in Office

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2025 Video Recap

Congresswoman Bynum took office at a critical point for our country, with the nation preparing to swear-in Donald Trump for the second time, our politics facing a deep partisan divide, and Americans dealing with skyrocketing costs. Through it all, her laser-focus on working across the aisle to deliver real results and to show up for her constituents has shown that she’s the right person to fight for Oregonians in Congress. As Senator Merkley put it: “From working together to lead bipartisan legislation to protect the environment to always putting Oregonians and our communities first, Rep. Bynum has been listening and securing wins during her first year in Congress. I look forward to partnering with her in 2026 and beyond to make sure Oregonians and all Americans have strong foundations to thrive.”

Showing Up and Delivering for Oregon

• Congresswoman Bynum hosted 94,000 Oregonians at 21 town halls across Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District.
  • She made it a top priority to ensure all of her constituents could make their voices heard, so she hosted town halls in Clackamas, Deschutes, Linn, and Marion Counties, as well as over the phone.
  • This summer, Congresswoman Bynum traveled across the district on her 10-stop “Give ‘Em Hell Tour”, which turned out over 42,000 constituents, in response to the Trump Administration’s cruelty and chaos.
    • According to one constituent, “Bynum showed up and made it clear she was committed to employing every tool to fight back during these unprecedented times.”
       
• When the City of Portland became a target for the Trump Administration’s unwanted deployment of the National Guard, Rep. Bynum stood up for Oregon and called out the overreach.
  • Immediately following the announcement, she held a town hall with over 13,000 participants to answer questions and show her support for the community.
  • She also took the fight to national TV and social media, emphasizing that Portland didn’t ask for, need, or want troops in the city, and calling on the president to stop using them as “toy soldiers.”
     
• During Congresswoman Bynum’s first year in office, she helped the district earn over $160 million in federal funding. She also fought for over $34 million to fund investments in clean drinking water, public safety, child care, affordable housing, and more in OR-05.
   
• Congresswoman Bynum hosted 189 district events and meetings, including 35 roundtables. As a leader committed to showing up for her communities, she held over 200 constituent meetings, where she heard Oregonians' concerns and top priorities and consistently made herself available.
  • Visits have been wide-ranging and tailored to the diverse communities she represents, from meeting with constituents at a brewery in Bend to talking with high school seniors about public service in Portland to riding along with a local Fire Chief in Colton.
  • She’s made clear that showing up and hearing her constituents is a top priority for her: “Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, had a promise for the crowd of dozens she faced on a coffee shop patio Saturday afternoon: She would go wherever her constituents wanted her to be.”
     
• Congresswoman Bynum’s office has responded to over 89,000 constituent messages and has successfully casework requests, returning over $806,029 to her constituents’ pockets. Success stories include helping deal with the Social Security issues and getting money back from the IRS.
   
• Congresswoman Bynum was a vocal opponent to Republicans’ cuts to healthcare and has continually stood up to protect her constituents’ access to healthcare.

Legislative Wins

• Congresswoman Bynum was appointed to the powerful Financial Services Committee in her first term, becoming the first Oregon freshman named to the committee in 28 years.
  • As part of her commitment to lowering the cost of housing, she fought to be named to the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, where she has introduced 3 bipartisan bills to address the housing crisis.
  • She made an early impression on the Committee’s Ranking Member, Rep. Maxine Waters, who said, “Congresswoman Bynum has a strong track record of fighting to address the affordable housing crisis… I have no doubt she will draw on her background and expertise to continue this important effort…”.
     
• Congresswoman Bynum has already established herself as a bipartisan, results-driven legislator, passing 3 bipartisan bills through the House to help small businesses during an otherwise historically unproductive Congress.
   
• In total, Congresswoman Bynum has led or co-led 21 pieces of legislation, – 16 of which are bipartisan – including bills to lower costs, protect Oregon’s environment, support students, keep Oregonians healthy, support wildfire response efforts, and more.
   
• She also quickly proved herself as a leader in Congress by leading 32 of her 33 Freshman colleagues in calling on Speaker Johnson to start focusing on lowering costs.
   
• Congresswoman Bynum has notched several local wins by successfully calling on the Trump Administration to change course. She called on the rehiring of laid off federal firefighters, which later happened, and advocated for communities impacted by the Detroit Lake drawdown proposal, by calling on the comment period to be extended, which it was.
   
• Congresswoman Bynum has delivered 25 speeches on the House floor, advocating for Oregonians’ healthcare, reproductive freedom, and lower costs.

Communicating Effectively and Establishing a Herself as a Rising Star

• Congresswoman Bynum quickly established herself as a rising star in the party, speaking at the Democratic Caucus Leadership’s press conference within her first month in Congress.
   
• Congresswoman Bynum has employed an aggressive “go everywhere” media strategy, meeting people where they are, bringing her message from traditional and new media to social media.
  • She has made over 51 local and national television appearances, including on CNN, MSNBC, and NewsNation, and authored 2 op-eds.
  • She has made multiple new media appearances, including on MeidasTouch (5.7M YouTube subscribers), the Don Lemon Show (1M YouTube subscribers), and Hopium (150,000 subscribers on Substack).
  • She has also amassed over 51,000 followers on social media and generated several viral moments, garnering millions of views across platforms and coverage from the Oregonian.
    • Congresswoman Bynum was a recipient of one of the awards in the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee’s (DPCC) Digital All Stars Competition for creatively and effectively communicating to digital audiences.
       
• Congresswoman Bynum also successfully launched a newsletter program with over 72,000 subscribers, the most of any Democratic Freshman and more than most established offices, as part of her effort to inform constituents about results she is delivering at home.
   
• As Democrats nationally have wrestled with how to engage younger Americans, Congresswoman Bynum was elected as a Co-Chair of the Future Forum Caucus, which focuses on prioritizing and giving voices to young Americans on issues important to them.

Looking to the second half of her first term, Congresswoman Bynum will continue showing up and delivering for Oregonians. She’s already established herself as one of the party’s strongest communicators and one of Congress’ most effective bipartisan lawmakers. Her impressive accomplishments during her short time in Congress – and in the current political climate – have Congresswoman Bynum well positioned to emerge as a leader in Congress in the year ahead.

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