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.
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