Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics: Truth to Power

Speaker: 
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (California)
 
26 Feb 2021
 
7:00 PM
Co-sponsors: 
  • Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics
  • Political Science
  • Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)

Recording Link: https://iastate.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e42277ef-b0d1-4171-9a6e-acde00fcbca9

Congresswoman Katie Porter represents California’s 45th Congressional District and is the 2021 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics at ISU.

As a member of House Financial Services Committee and the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Congresswoman Porter asked tough questions of bank CEOs and administration officials to hold them accountable to the American people. She has also been a key supporter of legislation to reduce the influence of dark money in politics and restore ethics to Washington.

As a single working mom, Rep. Porter knows firsthand about the challenges faced by working families. She’s introduced bipartisan legislation to allow families to set aside more pre-tax income for dependent care. She’s continued to press for a repeal of the limits on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, which has hit California’s middle-class families especially hard.

Before coming to Congress, Porter spent nearly two decades taking on the special interests that dominate American politics and drown out the voices of working families. As California’s independent watchdog against the banks, she made sure the big banks that had cheated Orange County homeowners followed through on their promise to help affected families get back on their feet. As a consumer finance expert, Congresswoman Porter also helped Congress pass the original Credit CARD Act in 2009, which enacted federal protections from abusive credit card fees.

Mary Louis Smith Chair in Women and Politics