As the first South Asian to lead a congressional committee from the House of Representatives, Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) has worked towards policy objectives ranging from health to international affairs. But, does he truly support the interest of his constituents?

Raja Krishnamoorthi is a House Representative from the Eighth District of Illinois. Over his four terms as a representative, Krishnamoorthi has co-sponsored 2,014 bills, yet only sponsored 124 bills - meaning he has only introduced 124 bills. The distinction in sponsored vs. co-sponsored is significant, as it does not take much effort for a representative to place their name on a bill - they could essentially make a phone call or write a singular email - but introducing a bill requires time, research, and expertise/constituent advocacy for subsequent implementation. Furthermore, when evaluating these ideas, it is important to understand that in a relative lens, while representatives as a whole may fail to introduce many bills, it is the desire of the constituency to enact significant change. 

Representative Krishnamoorthi has introduced bills on various issues. Yet, over the past two sessions of Congress, while he has introduced some resolutions that target and attempt to improve key aspects of industries, Krishnamoorthi has often missed key targets from his campaign promises. 

Healthcare: C

Related Bills: H.R. 9105, H.R. 7907

In essence, Krishnamoorthi promised price reduction in healthcare. On the campaign trail, Krishnamoorthi promised to support the Affordable Care Act to aid Americans that lacked adequate health insurance coverage saying, “The courts will ultimately uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, and for the sake of millions, they must.”

Furthermore, Krishnamoorthi promoted universal health insurance to increase competition in the healthcare industry - which would in turn drive down prices for families that couldn’t afford private insurance. In terms of Big Pharma, he advocated for the government to gain the ability to negotiate drug prices for recipients of Medicare and Medicaid.

In sum, Krishnamoorthi has not really pinpointed his legislation on those promises. Since the beginning of the 118th Congress in 2023, he has repeatedly introduced the Baby Food Safety Act of 2023, which would establish restrictions on toxic elements in toddler food. Furthermore, he has promoted subsidies for the healthcare workforce through grants from the Health and Human Services department in congress. 

Overall, these bills definitely show a level of action towards supporting an overburdened healthcare industry with many issues, but in terms of fulfilling his campaign promises, Krishnamoorthi has not addressed the main message towards healthcare: reducing prices, for both prescription and over-the- counter (OTC) drugs. In 2025, according to NPR, many drug companies raised prices by nearly double despite price caps from the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022 which Krishnamoorthi supported. 

Education: B 

Related Bills: H.R. 5307, H.R. 2957, H.R.1682

In the education sector, Krishnamoorthi had big plans towards improving the future workforce and lowering costs of college. Specifically, this plan included tax credits for parents making under 200k/year, Increasing investments in pell grants, creating a 401k-esque plan between employers and employees paying back student debt, and streamlining FAFSA applications and aid. Outside of college, Krishnamoorthi has advocated for investment in alternative education programs (such as career-technical (CTE) and vocational programs) as well as direct workforce programs. In a roundtable about such CTE programs in 2018, Krishnamoorthi said “With many Illinoisans using high-quality CTE programs to build successful careers, it's crucial to leverage federal and state funding in the most effective way possible to continue that trend.”

In Congress, Krishnamoorthi has introduced bills that create databases that track post-secondary education patterns. Additionally, he has improved requirements for colleges that facilitate the college to job process for students. Even stepping outside of his campaign ideals, he introduced a bill analyzing bullying in elementary and secondary schools.

Yet, the contrast between the well outlined plan and Krishnamoorthi’s work over the past two Congresses is astounding. Some parts of Krishnamoorthi's “plan” that were outlined clearly were ignored during his tenure. While subsidizing the workforce is addressed, he needs to do more towards providing up the workforce with the tools needed for the future through student aid relief and preparing the workforce for the AI revolution that will automate many jobs. 

Gun Policy: C

Related Bills: H.R. 667, H.R. 4172

On the campaign trail, Krishnamoorthi promoted ending the gun violence epidemic via expanding background checks, reinstating the federal ban on assault rifles, while also promoting government funding research towards gun violence. 

In congress, Krishnamoorthi has fulfilled parts of those promises through the introduction of the COOL Down Act. Essentially, the bill expanded the time after a background check that a person can obtain a gun - which could potentially prevent gun owners from quickly executing plans that could endanger others. Furthermore, he has introduced legislation to study hate crimes, and factors that cause individuals to commit acts of violence.

In sum, Krishnamoorthi has introduced legislation that have addressed key ideas that he promoted on the campaign, but work on the specific points - like reintroducing the federal assault rifles ban and promoting government funding - has yet to be introduced in legislation by Krishnamoorthi.

Grade on Issues: C

Krishnamoorthi has much room for improvement in various issues like gun policy and healthcare to better represent his constituents in the Eighth District - thus giving him a “C”. He is active, but once again can improve. To do so, Krishnamoorthi can work on more comprehensive gun legislation as he promised on the campaign, and follow up on his plan detailed on the campaign website regarding expanding pell grants, and building up the workforce through subsidies. With constituent advocacy from people like you, from calling his office to talk about legislation to advocating for various policies at events, Krishnamoorthi can more adequately support the interests of constituents - in turn increasing transparency between representative and citizen.