Rosa DeLauro

Rosa DeLauro
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Bruce Morrison
Personal details
Born	(1943-03-02) March 2, 1943 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Stan Greenberg
Children	3
Alma mater	Fordham University (BA) London School of Economics (MA) Columbia University (MA)

Rosa Luisa DeLauro^[1] (born March 2, 1943) is the U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 3rd congressional district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is based in New Haven, and includes most of that city's suburbs. She is currently the dean of the Connecticut congressional delegation.

Early life, education, and early political career

DeLauro was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of Luisa "Louise" (née Canestri) and Theodore J. "Ted" DeLauro. Her father, and all of her grandparents, were Italian immigrants.^[2] She earned her high school diploma from The Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall in Milford, Connecticut. She earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, as well as separate master's degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia University.

DeLauro worked as an administrative assistant and chief of staff for Senator Chris Dodd and executive director of EMILY's List before entering the House.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1990, four-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Bruce Morrison of Connecticut's 3rd congressional district decided to retire to run for governor of Connecticut. She ran for the open seat and defeated Republican State Senator Thomas Scott 52%-48%.^[3] She has never faced another contest nearly that close, and has been reelected twelve times, never dropping below 63% of the vote.^[4]

2006

In the 2006 election she was re-elected to a ninth term, defeating Republican challenger Joseph Vollano with 76% of the vote.^[5]

2008

She won re-election to her tenth term with 77% of the vote.^[6] The top campaign contribution to DeLauro in 2007-2008 was $14,600 from employees of United Technologies.

2010

DeLauro won re-election to her eleventh term with 65% of the vote against Connecticut Republican Party treasurer Jerry Labriola Jr.^[7][8]

Tenure

DeLauro is one of the most liberal members of the House. She is a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

DeLauro is interested in health policy issues, particularly women's health. She has introduced bills aimed at improving cancer treatment and research and women's health policies. As chair of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Food and Drug Administration, she has been a critic of that agency's failures to protect the public from unsafe foods and medical products.

In May 2006, she was linked in press reports to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd's potential bid for President in 2008. On February 2, 2008, DeLauro endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President.^[9]

On October 3, 2008, DeLauro voted a second time in the House in favor the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.^[10] She worked to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. She has urged politicians to be "big thinkers" on the issue of universal health care.^[11]

The Wall Street Journal reported on December 17, 2008, that DeLauro was "a top contender" for the position of Labor Secretary in the Obama administration.^[12] However, Obama nominated fellow congresswoman Hilda Solis for the position.^[13]

DeLauro was critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Abortion

DeLauro is pro-choice. She supports the availability of abortions in all cases, along with the use of federal subsidies for abortion procedures. In 2006 she voted against HR 6099, a bill that would require abortion providers to follow specific procedures and formalities before performing abortions. In 2006 she also voted against a bill that makes it illegal to transport pregnant women under the age of 18 across state lines in order to obtain an abortion.^[14] DeLauro has faced criticism from the Roman Catholic Church, of which she is a member, over her pro-choice position.

Gun issues

She has voted in support of stronger regulation of firearms in the United States. In 2006 she voted against the Trigger Lock Amendment that ends the use of funds from the Commerce Department FY2007 Appropriation bill to enforce laws requiring guns to be sold with locks.^[15] DeLauro voted in 1999 to increase the amount of time given to perform background checks from 24 hours to 72 hours.^[16] Earlier, in 1998 she voted to increase the minimum gun crime sentence.^[17] On 14 January 2013, she introduced a bill allowing for the voluntary surrender of assault-type weapons with compensation to come in the form of tax credits.^[18]

Campaign finance and government reform

In June 2010 DeLauro voted in favor of a bill for new disclosure requirements for political advertising. She voted against the 527 Reform Act of 2005, an act that put an end to party spending limits for candidates during general elections and again against the 527 Reform Act of 2006. DeLauro also helped to pass the Lobbying and Donation Regulations bill that put in place new regulations about lobbyists and donations for Congress members.

In 2002 DeLauro voted for the Help America Vote Act of 2002. This act provided, from federal funds, $3.9 billion to modernize technology and create new programs to reach a higher standard and to make voting an easier process for disabled citizens, military personnel, citizens living abroad, and first-time voters without valid identification. In 2006 DeLauro voted against the Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006 that required voters to show a government-issued photo identification before voting.^[19]

Sponsored bills

DeLauro sponsored the Birth Defects Prevention, Risk Reduction, and Awareness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5462). This bill allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a birth defects prevention, risk reduction, and awareness program. The program aims to increase awareness about pregnancy and breastfeeding by starting a nationwide media campaign and provides grants for research on certain exposures that affect pregnancy and breastfed infants. In November, 2010, this bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.^[20]

HR 875

DeLauro introduced HR 875,^[21] the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. This legislation is aimed at reforming the food safety responsibilities handled by the FDA. The introduction of this bill represents a potential conflict of interest, because of her husband's, Stanley Greenberg, relation to agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto.^[22]

Hurricane Irene

In August 2011, the 3rd District suffered extreme damage when Hurricane Irene made landfall along the Connecticut coastline. Numerous homes were destroyed in East Haven^[23] and other shore communities and many Connecticut residents lost power for days.^[24] At the time Hurricane Irene hit the state and during the immediate aftermath, DeLauro was vacationing along Italy's Amalfi Coast and was not anticipated to return to the state until five days after the storm had passed.^[25] A Hartford Courant column rated DeLauro's storm response an "F".^[26] DeLauro told the New Haven Register she had "no apology for taking a vacation" and being out of state during the storm.^[27]

Health care

In July 2014, DeLauro introduced the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Act, also known as the "SWEET Act", which would impose a 1 cent excise tax per teaspoon of caloric sweetener in soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, and sweet teas (roughly 9 cents on a 12 oz. soda).^[28] “This act is intended to discourage excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by increasing the price of these products,” according to the text of the legislation. DeLauro and other supporters of the tax argued that it could help address the national epidemics of obesity and diabetes by discouraging consumers from consuming the products and also raise money to fund prevention and treatment programs and with research and dietary education to help reduce the costs of related health problems.^[29] The bill was subsequently co-sponsored by several House members and progressed on to the House Energy and Commerce committee for Health and the House Ways and Means committee, but went no further.^[30]

The bill was opposed by the American Beverage Association and the National Automatic Merchandising Association^[31] (NAMA) stating that "People don’t support taxes and bans on common grocery items, like soft drinks" and that sweetened beverages "are not the main source of added sugars for children and teens and that a tax on sugary drinks unfairly singles out the industry."^[29]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
• House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee (Co-Chair for Steering)

Caucus memberships

• Populist Caucus

Personal life

DeLauro is married to political strategist Stan Greenberg.

DeLauro celebrated 25 years as an ovarian cancer survivor in 2010. She continues to support biomedical research, including efforts to develop a reliable screening test for ovarian cancer. ^[32]

DeLauro is one of the fifty richest members of Congress.^[33]

She is an honorary board member of the National Organization of Italian American Women. She is a leader in the group Catholic Democrats,.^[34]

In May 2010, DeLauro became a brief internet sensation after the popularization of a website highlighting her allegedly Hipster wardrobe choices. Several news services picked up the story, eventually leading DeLauro to admit that while she had visited the site, she disagreed with its premise.^[35][36]

In 2015, comedian and reporter John Oliver ran a story about chicken safety and how many representatives do not care about the chickens which they eat. She was listed as one of the affected members of the House Appropriations Committee, which eventually voted unanimously in favor of protecting chicken farmers.

References

Further reading

• Statement of the Hon. Rosa DeLauro on $10 Billion Accenture Government Contract, June 1, 2004, original link

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Author:Rosa L. DeLauro

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosa DeLauro.

• Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro official U.S. House site
• Rosa DeLauro for Congress
• Rosa DeLauro at DMOZ
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN