2024 House Candidate Questionnaire

Democrats Abroad is an all-volunteer organization that aims to help Democratic candidates win up and down the ticket by working tirelessly to maximize turnout among US citizens living outside the country, a critical constituency in recent elections. In 2020, the vote from abroad was the margin of victory that delivered both Georgia and Arizona to President Biden - it was also the margin that pushed the Ossoff Senate race in Georgia to a run-off, enabling Democrats ultimately to take the Senate. 

In addition to driving turnout, Democrats Abroad endeavors to speak for the often-forgotten millions of Americans living outside the country whose lives are impacted by the policies of its government. In order to help inform our members and Americans abroad more generally as to how you would handle issues relating to Americans abroad, we’ve prepared this questionnaire addressing a number of the most pressing issues affecting US citizens abroad (more information on a number of those issues can be found here).

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Your First Name
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Your Last Name
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Campaign You Represent *
Email Address *
Once elected, will you join the Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus?
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Although we number in the millions, US citizens living abroad are often overlooked back home, since we are a minority in our individual congressional districts and our physical absence complicates our ability to conduct activism and raise awareness for our issues. This often results in policies being designed which have a serious and negative impact on Americans abroad.
How do you think access to voting from abroad can be improved?
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The right to vote for Americans abroad is protected under federal law, yet we face many barriers to exercising that right. Many states make it difficult to vote from abroad by requiring ballot return by unreliable international mail, major delays for mail delivery via diplomatic pouch, geoblocking government websites and thus preventing people abroad from being able to register, and preventing Americans who have never resided in the US from voting.
Pending Legislation Addressing Overseas US Citizens
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Several bills have been making their way through the House that are aimed at drawing attention to and/or addressing some of the most critical issues facing US citizens who live outside the country. Would you be willing to co-sign versions of the following bills?  Click here for more info
Yes
No
I am already co-sponsor for this bill
Unsure, and would like further information from Democrats Abroad
H.R.2729 - Commission on Americans Living Abroad Act
H.R.5432 - Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act
H.R.82 - Social Security Fairness Act of 2023
H.R.5299 - Earned Benefits Equality and Family Reunification Act
How do you think US citizen services at consulates and embassies could be improved?
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Given Democrats Abroad's high profile globally, Americans abroad often come to us when they are unable to get through to their local consulate or embassy. The most common problems with which Americans abroad ask for assistance are voting, filing taxes, accessing Social Security benefits, and renewing US passports. How do you think that US citizen services at consulates and embassies could be improved?
What tax, overseas information reporting, and financial access reforms would you support to relieve the undue burden faced by low- and middle-class Americans abroad?
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A majority of Americans abroad are low- and middle-class but are subject to excessively complex filing requirements and tax treatment more punitive than if we lived in the US. Some examples of reforms under consideration: 

  • Creating a higher reporting threshold and indexing to inflation for U.S. citizens living abroad for the Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) which was set to $10,000 and has not been adjusted since 1970.

  • An exemption for small American business owners living abroad from the erroneous filing and double taxation from the GILTI tax and retrospective relief from the repatriation tax.

  • Expanding Direct File to make it available to Americans abroad in the 2025 tax filing season.

Would you support adjustments to the tax code that align tax residency with physical residency, provided that they are resilient against abuse and are beneficial to the Internal Revenue Service? Such a change is commonly known and used in the rest of the world as “residency-based taxation.”
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Americans abroad suffer from unfair and outdated stereotypes that we are moving abroad to evade paying US taxes, when research confirms that most Americans move abroad to marry a non-US spouse or for work. Most other countries levy taxes not on the basis of citizenship, but rather on physical residency.
What more do you believe could be done to keep U.S. citizens abroad in mind when passing legislation in order to avoid unintended consequences for those living outside the United States?
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