Valerie Anne Hoyle ( Toomey; born February 14, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Previously, she served as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries from 2019 to 2023 and as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017, serving as majority leader from 2013 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Hoyle was first elected to Congress in 2022.
Early life and education Val Toomey was born on Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, in 1964. She grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, where her father Dan Toomey was a firefighter, union official, and later a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. She attended Presentation of Mary Academy in Hudson and graduated from Merrimack High School in 1983. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Emmanuel College in Boston.
Early political career In 1999, Hoyle and her family moved to Lane County, Oregon, where she joined the education advocacy group Stand for Children. Before serving in the Oregon legislature, she worked in sales and marketing for bicycle manufacturers Burley Design and Cane Creek, and served as legislative aide and policy analyst for State Senator Floyd Prozanski. She was also a director of the United Way of Lane County.
Oregon House of Representatives Hoyle was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in August 2009 to replace Chris Edwards, who was appointed to the Oregon State Senate. In 2010, she was reelected to a full term, defeating Republican Dwight Coon and Independent Kevin Prociw. On November 6, 2012, Hoyle again defeated Coon to win a second full term.
Before the 2011 legislative session, Hoyle was elected assistant caucus leader of the Oregon House Democrats. During the 2011 legislative session, she was co-vice chair of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, and served on the House Committees on Health Care and Business & Labor. She also served on the Governor's Health Care Transformation Team.
On November 15, 2012, after House Democrats selected Tina Kotek as speaker of the Oregon House, Hoyle was elected to lead the Oregon House Democrats as House majority leader for the 2013 Legislative Session. During the 2013 legislative session, she co-chaired the House Task Force on O&C Counties and was vice chair of the House Committee on Rules.
Shortly before the 2014 legislative session, former State Representative Chris Garrett received an executive appointment to the Oregon Court of Appeals and Hoyle was named chair of the House Committee on Rules. Hoyle also served as a legislative co-chair of the Oregon Elder Abuse Prevention Workgroup.
After Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber resigned in February 2015, elevating Kate Brown to the governorship, The Oregonian named Hoyle as a possible successor to Brown as Oregon Secretary of State. Hoyle stepped down as majority leader in 2015 to run for Oregon secretary of state. In the 2016 Democratic primary, she came in second place, receiving 33.81% of the vote to Democratic nominee Brad Avakian's 39.06%.
Labor commissioner In 2018, Hoyle ran to become Oregon's 10th labor commissioner, a nonpartisan elected position. She won the race outright in May, receiving 52% of the vote and winning 17 of 36 counties. Former Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden received 36% and Jack Howard, a La Grande attorney and former Union County Commissioner, received 12%. The Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries serves a four-year term, has offices in Portland, Eugene, and Salem, oversees enforcement of wage and hour laws, including prevailing wage and civil rights enforcement, certifies apprenticeship programs, and provides employment law technical assistance for employers.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2022
On December 1, 2021, Hoyle announced her candidacy for Oregon's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in 2022. The seat was held by fellow Democrat and New England native Peter DeFazio, who announced that he was not running for reelection after 18 terms. Polling conducted by Public Policy Polling in March 2022 found Hoyle to be favored in the Democratic primary. She benefited from more than $500,000 in spending by super PACs during the primary. In November 2022 Hoyle was elected to the House.
2026
In April, Hoyle was endorsed by the Oregon Labor Federation. She has also been endorsed by the American Federation of Government Employees, Oregon LiUNA, United Food and Commercial Workers 555 and Oregon Nurses Association. She was endorsed by Leading the Future super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI and went on to win her primary. Hoyle is one of two House candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party, the other being Suzanne Bonamici.
Tenure In the House, Hoyle has generally voted with the majority of other Democratic members, but there are exceptions. On January 31, 2023, Hoyle was among seven Democrats to vote for H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill which would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.
In 2023, Hoyle was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.
Hoyle was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
In January 2026, Hoyle was one of 4 Democrats who voted to block funding for federally driven “kill switch” vehicle technology, which could monitor drivers and intervene in vehicle operation.
Committee assignments
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Subcommittee on Aviation United States House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee for Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs
Caucus memberships
Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional Equality Caucus Labor Caucus New Democrat Coalition Congressional Steel Caucus Congressional Ukraine Caucus Congressional Freethought Caucus
Political positions Immigration Hoyle was one of 46 House Democrats who joined Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act. She then switched to a no vote on final passage. In 2025, she supported the DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act, which addresses various immigration-related issues, including by requiring higher pay for U.S. Border Patrol agents, deferring the removal of eligible individuals without lawful immigration status, and implementing a mandatory electronic employment eligibility verification system patterned off the E-Verify system.
War in Iran She introduced the No WAR Act which prohibits considering reconciliation legislation that provides funding for unauthorized military force against Iran. Hoyle opposed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027.
Vote by Mail Hoyle supports making vote-by-mail available nationally, for example she introduced a bill to expands voting by mail in federal election through automatic registration.
Healthcare Hoyle supports Medicare for All and has introduced legislation addressing the cost of prescription drugs, such as her Patients Over Profits (POP) act. She has criticized pharmaceutical companies and believes Americans are paying too much for medications. Hoyle, alongside Elizabeth Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Suhas Subramanyam, introduced the Stop Corporate Takeovers of Physicians Act to close loopholes private equity firms use to control physician practices, clinics and hospitals.
Wildfires and forest management She has criticized federal staffing cuts at the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, believing these changes have made it harder to address wildfire risk. Hoyle support changes that include tribal nations, like land trusts or co-management agreements for public lands. "We need to invest in keeping our public lands public and we need to make sure that we have all the resouces to fight wildfires when we need it," Hoyle told KVAL13.
Personal life Hoyle lives outside Springfield, Oregon, and is married with two adult children.
She has visual processing disorder, similar to dyslexia. After being told she wasn't college material and struggling in school, Hoyle nearly dropped out. She has stated a resource room teacher and technology helped her overcome any challenges. She has used this experience on floor debates to help pass legislation requiring screening schoolchildren for dyslexia.
Hoyle is Roman Catholic.
Electoral history
References
External links
Congresswoman Val Hoyle official U.S. House website Val Hoyle for Congress campaign website