The U.S. House of Representatives is one of two chambers of Congress (the other is the Senate). The powers of the House of Representatives are outlined in the Constitution. Here is an explanation of what those powers are. Representatives are elected for two years. There are 435 districts in the House, of which Virginia has 11. 

Virginia’s 5th Congressional District includes Charlottesville, parts of Albemarle County, Louisa County, Fluvanna County, Buckingham County and many others as it reaches all the way down to the North Carolina border. This year, it is the only district in the state holding both Republican and Democratic primaries. 

Three candidates are running in the Democratic primary: Tom Perriello, Rob Tracinski and Suzanne Krzyzanowski.

Charlottesville Tomorrow designed a questionnaire for the candidates based on more than 100 responses we received from our voter survey. They provided answers below. (And there’s still time for you to tell us what we should ask candidates for the general election. Fill out this quick survey so we can ask about the issues that matter to you).

Congress and presidential powers: Multiple 5th District voters who responded to our voter survey expressed concerns about whether Congress is doing enough to hold presidents accountable. Congress can investigate federal agencies, require officials to testify before Congress, and limit how federal money is spent, among other powers. Under what circumstances would you support Congress using those powers to challenge a president’s actions?

Rob Tracinski: Congress should ALWAYS be using its powers, and the fact that they aren’t — and even some Democrats seem to have forgotten how — is the entire reason I’m running. The U.S. Congress is a good idea, and it would be nice if we had one. Congress has the power to decide when we go to war (or not), to set tariffs, to dictate what money gets spent and what agencies exist, and to remove officials who abuse their power. We should get started on doing all of those things.

Tom Perriello: Congress has not just a right but a duty under the Constitution to govern as a co-equal branch with the Executive. Because Rep. McGuire and this Congress have failed to do their job, every family in our district is poorer and our federal debt has exploded.* The incredibly expensive trade war and war on Iran both required Congressional approval that was not given.** When the Imperial Branch blatantly abused its powers to shake down the largest employer at one end of the district and to delay the largest job announcement at the other end, Rep. McGuire bent the knee instead of standing up for his district, even though both involved funding Congress had already approved, not the President.*** We must restore our system of checks and balances, end illegal tax hikes, and direct the immediate disbursement of National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation grants being weaponized by the Executive Branch.

*Editor’s note: According to Virginia’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, employment and wages in the state both grew slightly overall in 2024 and 2025. However, according to several sources tracking typical costs of living, such as MIT’s Living Wage Calculator for Virginia, wage growth has not kept up with rising costs. The federal deficit has grown since 1970 and has grown at a faster rate in recent years, according to data from the Federal Reserve and the Government Accountability Office. According to reports from Investopedia and the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Budget, the national debt increased under President Donald Trump’s first and second terms.

**President Trump authorized strikes on Iran in February, marking the beginning of the Iran war, according to reporting from the Associated Press, NPR and other outlets. He did so without approval from Congress. Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. In April 2025, President Trump declared a state of emergency and imposed sweeping tariffs without the approval of Congress. The Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs, and delegate powers to the President to impose or adjust tariffs. In February 2026, the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority and was not authorized to impose the tariffs, according to reporting from The Guardian and other outlets.

***Charlottesville Tomorrow contacted the campaign seeking clarification about the funding decisions and projects referenced in this statement, but did not receive a response before publication.

Suzanne Krzyzanowski: Congress needs to take back its rightful powers as far as tariffs, military action, and other areas the executive branch has been given too much authority over in the past decades. If anyone in the executive branch oversteps their rightful prerogatives or appears to be participating in corrupt behavior, they should be investigated and/or challenged.

Immigration and ICE: Voters also asked about the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Virginia communities, including whether the agency should be reformed, restricted or even abolished. Congress has the power to fund, oversee and reshape federal agencies like ICE. What changes, if any, would you support making to the agency?

Tracinski: We should dissolve the Department of Homeland Security, which was created in a post-9/11 panic.* DHS took a lot of things that are not about terrorism, like immigration, and put them under an agency that treats everything like it’s terrorism. ICE definitely fits that description — with the added irony that it is the entity actually terrorizing our communities. The DHS should be broken up and its legitimate functions returned to other agencies.

*Editor’s note: After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush established the Office of Homeland Security by executive order. The Department of Homeland Security was officially established by Congress under the Homeland Security Act in November 2002.

Perriello: The urgent, colossal threat to American jobs is from automation, not immigration. But, for the geriatric leaders of both parties, it’s easier to exaggerate threats from immigrants than level with the American people about the potentially catastrophic threats from AI. We can and must protect our borders, our Constitution, and our humanity. If DOGE* had cared about cutting government waste, they could have started with the fact that ICE is a redundant federal agency that bloats the federal bureaucracy and hurts public safety. We cannot afford to waste $80 billion on untrained federal agents** that are undermining the trust local law enforcement has built through community policing.*** That money is better spent on real border security and clearing the backlog of administrative law cases for the millions who have followed the rules but now live in fear.

*Editor’s note: Department of Government Efficiency

**After ICE agents shot and killed Alex Pretti during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, media outlets scrutinized the training of immigration enforcement personnel. In February 2026, MPR News reported allegations from a whistleblower that some officers involved in immigration enforcement operations had received inadequate training. The Department of Homeland Security disputed those claims and said it had expanded training requirements.

***Under legislation dubbed the “One big beautiful bill” by President Trump and enacted July 2025, ICE’s budget expanded to $85 billion compared to less than $6 billion a decade ago, according to reporting from NPR.

Krzyzanowski: ICE needs to be re-focused on pursuing criminals, not people who have been living in the U.S. for decades as good neighbors and hard workers. We need to give the good people who are here long term, often with American children, a chance to pay a fine and then start the process to eventually become citizens. But we also need to continue to keep tight control of the border.

Data centers: Many survey respondents in the 5th District raised concerns about data centers, including their impact on electric bills, water use and the need for new energy infrastructure. Congress is able to shape energy policy, fund infrastructure projects and oversee federal agencies involved in energy and environmental regulation. Do you believe the federal government should do more to encourage data center development, place greater limits on it or maintain the current approach?

Tracinski: We can address real concerns about data centers without embracing pure NIMBYism — a policy that has clearly bad consequences when you apply it to housing or solar farms. There are legitimate concerns about water and energy infrastructure, but this can be addressed not by banning data centers but by making them pay their own way rather than pushing the costs onto taxpayers and ratepayers.

Perriello: One thing uniting the left, right and center is a shared opposition to corporations imposing data centers and transmission lines on our communities. While I support infrastructure upgrades, I am fighting against egregious proposals like Valley Link, an “extreme high voltage” transmission line cutting through nine counties. Our area gets none of the revenue or benefits — we won’t even be allowed to access the transmission line — while being told to accept all the pain, with 150-foot towers slicing through farms, landscapes, and ancestral burial grounds.* In the few situations where communities welcome such projects, I am working with localities to make sure any deal is transparent**, with costs fully covered by the corporations that would profit, and ensuring our environment is protected. I have never taken money from corporate PACs or lobbyists,*** which is why I am standing against wasteful projects, as I did fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline before.

*Editor’s note: Valley Link, a partnership between Dominion Energy, Transource and First Energy Transmission, announced plans in February 2026 for a high-voltage transmission line that would cut through more than 100 miles of mostly agricultural and forested land in central Virginia, from Campbell County to Culpeper County. While the route has not been finalized, historical preservationists have raised concerns about the route potentially crossing battlefields and family burial grounds, The Fluvanna Review reported.

**Charlottesville Tomorrow contacted Tom Perriello’s campaign seeking additional information about the localities he referenced and the work he described, but did not receive a response.

***View details on Perriello’s campaign finance on the Federal Election Commission website.

Krzyzanowski: Congress needs to set water usage efficiency standards for data centers, as well as assure they assume their fair responsibility for the expansion of the electric grid. In general, Congress needs to develop a mandatory review process for new AI technologies before they are allowed to be released to the public/industry. We do this for drugs and medical devices — we can do it for AI.

Housing Affordability: Another concern shared by 5th District voters was housing affordability, including rising rents and home prices. Congress can influence housing costs through tax policy, housing programs and federal funding. What federal policies do you believe would do the most to make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers?

Tracinski: “Blue” states and “blue” cities, from California to Minneapolis, have already shown the way forward by streamlining regulations on housing development and proving that when we can build more housing to meet demand, rents and home prices stay down.* There are already some interesting proposals for Congress to support these reforms by providing models, grants, and incentives for zoning and regulatory reform.

*Editor’s note: Since the 2010s, a significant number of Democrat-leaning states and localities, including California and Minneapolis, have introduced policy changes reducing restrictions on housing development. Some organizations, including the nonpartisan Center for American Progress, argue that the resulting increase in housing supply will lead to lower housing costs across the board. However, a 2023 study from the nonpartisan Urban Institute found that such policies on their own did not lead to an increase in units of housing that were affordable for renters with low to moderate incomes. Instead, they must be paired with other policies, such as subsidies, to ensure affordability.

Perriello: Rent is out of control, and owning a home is just plain out of reach. Stagnating salaries and skyrocketing costs are pushing more and more families out of our community, including the first responders, teachers, healthcare providers, and young professionals we desperately need. Owning a home is not just about building wealth. It is about being able to nail your kid’s picture to the wall without worrying if it will cost you your security deposit. I support reversing Trump’s cuts to HUD and housing voucher programs.* While local and state policy is a huge factor, our region deserves a federal partner committed to expanding affordable housing options. Because this will be one of my top priorities, I am touring the district to gather ideas about how we address the costs and quality of renting and buying a home.

*Editor’s note: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher program provides rental assistance by paying a portion of the recipient’s rent. The Trump administration proposed large cuts to HUD and its voucher program, but Congress ultimately increased funding for both HUD and the voucher program in fiscal year 2026.

Krzyzanowski: A lot of housing policy is on the local level. However, the federal government has some influence via tax policies and home loans. These policies should be most generous towards people buying their first home. Additionally, tax policy could be more generous towards landlords whose tenants fail to make rent, in order to incentivize landlords to take a chance on people who have a prior eviction.

Are there any other pressing issues you would like 5th District voters to know about?

Tracinski: The first question above is really the only question. Asking what I would do in Congress assumes that Congress is capable of doing anything — and capable of getting the president to respect its power. That’s going to require a big, tough showdown. Congress will have to actually use all its power, particularly its control over spending, to make the president respect its will. I’m the only candidate putting that front and center in my campaign.

Perriello: Six area counties lost their last OB-GYN, and Farmville shuttered its labor and delivery unit.* Young people cannot afford to have kids when childcare costs more than their paycheck, and the closest pre-natal care is an hour away. Faith leaders tell me their food pantries now have to serve more people than during COVID, but this crisis is man made — and that man is Rep. John McGuire. He’s supported a trade war we can’t win**, a Middle East war they’ve already lost***, and a war on rural healthcare that has a growing body count****. In my first month in Congress, I delivered economic relief to every Virginia family. In his first year, McGuire delivered higher taxes, higher costs, and a hell of a lot of pain, just to protect his 100% rating with the corporate lobbyists that put him in office.

*Editor’s note: Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville closed its labor and delivery unit in December 2025, citing a variety of reasons including declining birthrates, staffing challenges and reduction in federal healthcare funding. According to a 2024 March of Dimes report, six counties in Virginia’s 5th District are “maternity care deserts,” which are defined as “areas without access to birthing facilities or maternity care providers.”

**McGuire has made several statements in support of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, according to reporting from 29 News, ABC 13 and others. On Feb. 10, 2026, McGuire joined the majority of House Republicans in voting for a procedural measure that would have blocked Congress from voting on resolutions disapproving of Trump’s tariffs through July. The measure ultimately failed, according to reporting from Politico.

***In a statement released after the February 2026 U.S. strikes on Iran, McGuire praised President Trump’s decision to authorize the operation “to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

****McGuire voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid. Medicaid changes have an outsized impact on rural healthcare in Virginia and across the country, according to KFF, an independent health policy research organization, Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, as well as reporting from Virginia Mercury and other outlets. According to reporting from C-VILLE Weekly, those cuts could impact the 5th District more than other parts of the state.

Krzyzanowski: Our healthcare system is entering an affordability and access crisis. We need to fix it!

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