U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell says there’s still work to be done. Voters first sent the Alabama Democrat to Congress from the state’s 7th Congressional District in 2010. It’s a district that stretches from part of Birmingham, across portions of Tuscaloosa County to the state’s western Black Belt. The region has long suffered from high poverty.
“This district has lots of challenges,” Sewell said. “I know because I grew up in this district. I share its concerns. I understand its frustrations and its obstacles. And I know what's possible from this district with resources and opportunities.”
Sewell said the district has endured systemic, generational disinvestment. She added that when the rest of the country gets a cold, “we have the flu.” Sewell often touts federal money she’s brought to the district for projects ranging from sidewalks to storm shelters to wastewater infrastructure. She’s also criticized the Trump administration for cutting Medicare and enacting tariffs, which have raised prices for many goods.
“I have been able to push back against this administration's assault on even trying to take away resources that we've already authorized and have been appropriated for this district,” Sewell said.
Sewell spoke to WBHM’s Andrew Yeager about her pitch to voters as she seeks a ninth term.
Hear the extended conversation.
These excerpts were edited for length and clarity.
On criticism from her Republican opponent, Ammie Akin, that the district has not improved and needs new leadership
It's easy to point fingers. As I said, this district didn't get into the condition that it has overnight. In fact, this district has had systemic and generational disinvestment. And so part of what we have been able to do is to address that. And so if you talk to the folks in the Black Belt or you talk to the people in Birmingham, they will tell you that they've seen in me a partner on the federal level in providing access to quality, affordable health care, in providing access to broadband where needed, to address the needs of wastewater and sewer.
And now the affordability crisis. When I think about what we've been able to do in terms of fighting this administration's efforts, to make everything more affordable, we've been able to provide access to cancer screenings in the middle of all of this chaos. We've been able pass a bill that will provide better access to health care. And push back on the $1 trillion worth of health cuts that this administration has been about. And I know that it's easy to point fingers. It's hard to roll up one's sleeves and do the hard work. And we've been doing the hard work and we will continue to do that hard work if given the opportunity to go back to Washington.
On what Congress can do to reduce prices that have gone up because of President Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran
Congress can actually stop this unauthorized war. I voted not once, but twice, and look forward to going back to Congress and voting again to end this unauthorized war. The last time I checked, Congress was the only institution that could declare war, not the presidency. And what's really clear to me is that we need checks and balances. This president has been running amok when it comes to tariffs.
I presently sit on the subcommittee on Ways and Means on trade, and if the Democrats take back the House, then I will get a gavel on this committee. So directly being able to affect it. I'm also a co-sponsor, a lead sponsor of the Stop Trump Act, which is a tariff act, which is something that would immediately provide him with some checks and balances and keep him in his lane. I mean at the end of the day, it's Congress that has the commerce, the power of the purse. It's Congress that can declare war. And we need to take that responsibility seriously and take it back. If my colleagues across the aisle won't do it, we have to do it.
On addressing Alabama’s rural health care crisis
I think that this is a multi-layered problem that starts with us in the state utilizing every resource that the federal government has to offer. And when the federal government allowed us to expand Medicaid, we should have done that. And we didn't. We're now one of nine states that have not done it. And I have to say that I continue to author and to introduce every congress, a bill that will allow those states like Alabama to still get the same benefits if it actually extends Medicaid. And that's something that I have been able to do and to join in with other legislators whose states have not expanded Medicaid as well.
We have to put people first. The bottom line is that if you look at the expansion of Medicaid from a people perspective, there's no way that we in Alabama should not have done that. But because it was called Obamacare, I think our folks did not want to expand Medicaid. And what we did is hurt the people of Alabama by doing that. You can call it Ivey care. You can call it whatever. At the end of the day, it's about making sure that the folks who need to have access, and all of us do, to quality, affordable health care have that. That also means not trying to make the Affordable Care Act less accessible.
On why voting rights are important
You can't be a daughter of Selma and not understand the importance of the right to vote. And that's under threat. That's under threat by this administration and by the Supreme Court. We're seeing fair representation go out the window in favor of partisan politics. And so one of the things that we will be laser focused on is passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, of which I'm the author and lead sponsor for. We passed it twice under a Democratic House in 2019 and 2021. And I look forward to reintroducing that and this time reintroducing it with a ban on partisan gerrymandering because, frankly, that has been the problem.
I have not heard my opponent talk about voting rights and where she stands on voting rights, but I can tell you that the people of Alabama and of this district in particular are focused on making sure that we protect that sacred right to vote.
Hear an interview with Sewell’s Republican opponent Ammie Akin.