About Val

A lifetime fighting for working people

Oregonians deserve leaders who get the job done.

Val Hoyle’s record of standing up for Oregon’s hardworking families and small businesses stems from a lifetime of experience. Growing up in a family with union roots that go back three generations, Val’s firefighter father taught her that you have to work hard for everything you get — and you also have to hold the ladder so the next person has the opportunity to climb.

Val turned those lessons into action as a waitress working for minimum wage. After 25 years in the private sector working in the bicycle industry, Val knows firsthand what it’s like to sign the front – and back – of a paycheck.

She took that experience and those values with her when she turned to public service.

Before serving in Congress, Val served as Oregon’s Labor Commissioner, elected statewide in 2018. As Labor Commissioner, Val ensured that workers are paid the wages and benefits they are owed under the law, oversaw enforcement of civil rights and housing discrimination protections for Oregonians, and had jurisdiction over apprenticeship programs that provide workforce training across the state.

During the pandemic, she fought to expand the Oregon Family Leave Act and ensure workers could continue to earn money part-time while retaining their unemployment benefits. Val has secured a three-fold increase in settlements for victims of discrimination, and cracked down on employers who exploit their workers and compete unfairly with responsible businesses.

Previously, Val represented the residents of West Eugene and Junction City in the Oregon Legislature. During her tenure in the Legislature, she was elected to serve as Majority Leader.

In Congress, Val fights for the needs of working people every day. She has led successful efforts to:

• Reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act to protect $80 million in annual funding for Oregon schools and roads
• Pass the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, the most significant housing package in decades, to bring down housing costs
• Invest more than $33 million in Southwest Oregon for airport and port improvements, water infrastructure, education, public safety and workforce housing
• Restore benefits for retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants whose Social Security was unfairly cut
• Stabilize our wildfire fighting workforce by securing a permanent pay increase for federal firefighters. She co-sponsored Tim’s Act to improve their housing and mental health benefits
• Secure $1.3 million to expand child care in Douglas County. Val supports the American Family Act, Child Care for Every Community Act, and Child Care for Working Families Act to lower childcare costs

Val has made Lane County her home for more than twenty years. She and her husband Stephen raised their two children here. She and Stephen live in Springfield with their beloved cat.