Congresswoman Barbara Lee has been representing California’s 13th District since 1998. She is the highest ranking African American woman in Democratic Leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. She also serves on the Budget Committee and the powerful Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal government spending.
Her father was a veteran of two wars and her mother broke many glass ceilings and racial barriers. After grammar school, Congresswoman Lee moved to San Fernando, California and worked with the local NAACP to integrate her high school cheerleading squad.
Our nation’s greatest strength is diversity and our history has been immeasurably enriched by our Caribbean neighbors. Her legislation marking June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month was signed into law in 2005.
Congresswoman Lee has worked for decades to normalize relations with Cuba. She has visited the island more than two dozen times and is working in Congress to lift the trade embargo and end the travel ban.
Protecting civil rights is one of the most important responsibilities for Members of Congress. People have a right to participate in our government and our society without fear, oppression or discrimination.
Unfortunately, some are working to turn back the clock and undo the hard won victories of our nation’s civil rights heroes. Congresswoman Lee is working to preserve and expand protections for all Americans, empower voters and ensure that our nation’s civil rights legacy is protected.
Our economy must empower families with good-paying jobs, stability and security. Unfortunately, a rigged economy has created a growing gap between the super rich and working families. Congresswoman Lee is working to ensure every family has the opportunity to live the American dream. A thriving economy must include good-paying jobs, the right to organize and the ability to provide for a family.
As a member of the powerful federal spending committee, Congresswoman Lee has long advocated for increased federal resources for workforce training, STEM education and infrastructure development. Additionally, Congresswoman Lee is a vocal leader in the fight to end the wage gap, raise the minimum wage, establish a living wage and address growing income inequality. Our economy should work for everyone, not just the rich and well-connected.
Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. This requires ensuring full access to early childhood education, high-quality public schools and debt-free college.
As a member of the education funding subcommittee, Congresswoman Lee is fighting for vital resources for Head Start, public schools, Pell grants, minority-serving institutions, community colleges and after-school programs.
Congresswoman Lee is a leading voice for global peace and security. In Congress, she works to reduce conflict, end wars, advance human rights, promote diplomacy and address the conditions that spark violence. She served as a representative to the 68th and 70th United Nations General Assemblies.
Following the horrific events on September 11th, Congresswoman Lee cast the lone vote against the overly broad authorization for the use of military force (AUMF). In the years since, this AUMF has become a blank check for endless war and has been used to justify military actions in more than 30 countries without Congressional oversight.
As a member of the powerful federal spending committee, Congresswoman Lee is dedicated to increasing effective foreign assistance and reshaping Pentagon spending to meet the our nation’s real and pressing 21st century national security needs.
Gun violence is a national public health crisis that endangers every community in our nation. It’s time for Congress to get off the sidelines and take action to prevent these all too frequent and avoidable tragedies.
To that end, Congresswoman Lee is working in Congress to take a comprehensive approach to addressing this violence, including common-sense gun reforms to ensure thorough background checks, close loopholes, and get weapons of war off the street. No family in America should have to live in fear of gun violence.
Affordable, accessible, high-quality healthcare is a fundamental human right. Congresswoman Lee served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the drafting of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and worked to ensure strong provisions that expand health care access, address health disparities and create incentives for people to live healthy lives.
As a psychiatric social worker, Congresswoman Lee is dedicated to ensuring everyone has access to affordable and high-quality healthcare, especially the most vulnerable.
America is, has been and always will be a nation of immigrants. Our nation’s diversity enriches our culture, grows our economy and spurs innovation. Sadly, our current immigration system is broken and unfairly tears many families apart.
As a pro-family advocate, Congresswoman Lee is working to pass comprehensive immigration reform that keeps families together.
Throughout her career, Congresswoman Lee has fought to ensure equality for all. As a founding member and Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Congresswoman Lee is working to pass legislation that respects the love and dignity of all people.
While marriage equality is now a reality across the U.S., Congresswoman Lee is committed to the unfinished work of advancing equality for all, including preventing employment discrimination and combatting homophobia and transphobia.
Ending poverty is personal for Congresswoman Lee. During a very difficult period as a young single mother, Congresswoman Lee received public assistance while attending college and raising her two sons. As chair of the Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality and Opportunity, she continues fighting to protect bridges over troubled water for struggling families so everyone has the opportunity to live the American dream.
As a member of the powerful federal spending committee, Congresswoman Lee has led the fight to preserve and expand critical safety net programs like unemployment insurance, housing assistance, child care, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She firmly believes that ending poverty in the world’s rich and most powerful nation is a moral and economic imperative. Additionally, Congresswoman Lee has long championed global poverty eradication efforts.
The ability to retire with dignity is fundamental to the American dream. In Congress, Congresswoman Lee is dedicated to preserving and expanding Social Security and Medicare, programs that seniors have invested in over their entire lives.
Additionally, Congresswoman Lee is working to advance legislation that ensures long-term care remains accessible and affordable.
If you are a senior or know a senior in need of assistance accessing earned benefits, please call the Congresswoman’s office at 510.763.0370.
Congresswoman Lee is the daughter of a veteran; her father, Lt. Col. Garvin Tutt, served with distinction in two wars. Congresswoman Lee understands the immense sacrifices made by our brave servicemembers and their families.
As a member of the spending subcommittee that oversees funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congresswoman Lee is committed to ensuring that our veterans and their families receive the benefits that they have earned.
If you are a veteran or know a veteran in need of assistance in accessing benefits, please call the Congresswoman’s office at 510.763.0370.
It is shameful that despite many advances, full and lasting equality for women remains elusive. It is fundamentally wrong to pay women less for the same work and to restrict women’s access to healthcare. Sadly, this structural sexism is even worse for women of color.
In Congress, Congresswoman Lee is working to ensure equal pay for equal work, to expand access to affordable childcare and to ensure access to paid family leave. Additionally, she is the author of the EACH Woman Act which would repeal the discriminatory Hyde Amendment that has restricted many women’s access to reproductive healthcare.
Congresswoman Lee believes that we must demand environmental justice. Congresswoman Lee is committed to protecting endangered animals and preserving and increasing public access to our national parks and public lands.
In Congress, she is working to combat and prevent climate change and she has long opposed taxpayer-funded giveaways to Big Oil and other major polluters. Instead, she has advocated for increased investments in clean, renewable energy technologies. Congresswoman Lee is fighting to ensure that the good-paying jobs created by the growing green energy sector are open to all, especially people of color, women and veterans
Since entering Congress, Congresswoman Lee has authored or co-authored every major piece of HIV/AIDS legislation, both domestic and global. As a member of the powerful federal spending committee, Congresswoman Lee leverages her position on two key subcommittees to support prevention, education, research and access to treatment while combatting stigma.
Congresswoman Lee is dedicated to achieving an AIDS-free generation. As co-chair and co-founder of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, Congresswoman Lee leads the effort to advance legislation that addresses the HIV/AIDS pandemic while educating Members of Congress about the virus, its impact and affected populations.