Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives. She made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve in the role.
Now in her third term as Speaker, Pelosi made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency, the first person to do so in more than 60 years.
Pelosi has represented San Francisco, California’s 12th District, in Congress since 1987. She has led House Democrats for 16 years and previously served as House Democratic Whip.
Working in partnership with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi led House passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in early 2009 to create and save millions of American jobs, provide relief for American families, and provide a tax cut to 95 percent of working Americans. With the House Democratic Caucus, Pelosi continues to focus on the need to create jobs in America and prevent them from being shipped overseas.
Speaker Pelosi was the architect of the landmark Affordable Care Act which has guaranteed protections for all Americans with pre-existing medical conditions, ended annual and lifetime limits on health coverage, and provided affordable health coverage for tens of millions more Americans while lowering costs over the long term.
In the 111th Congress, Speaker Pelosi also led the Congress in passing strong Wall Street reforms to rein in big banks and protect consumers as well as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which expands educational opportunities and reforms the financial aid system to save billions of taxpayers’ dollars. Additional key legislation passed into law included the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore the ability of women and all workers to access our judicial system to fight pay discrimination; legislation to provide healthcare for 11 million children; national service legislation; and hate crimes legislation. In late 2010, Pelosi led the Congress in passing child nutrition and food safety legislation as well as repealing the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
Additional key accomplishments signed into law under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi include: an increase in the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years; the largest college aid expansion since the GI bill; a new GI education bill for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; and increased services for veterans, caregivers, and the Veterans Administration.
As House Democratic Leader, Pelosi wrested critical legislative victories out of the GOP majority. In the 114th Congress, she spearheaded a historic bipartisan agreement to strengthen Medicare, ending the cycle of expensive “Doc Fix” patches and transitioning away from a volume-based system toward one that rewards value, ensures the accuracy of payments and improves the quality of care. Following the Iran Nuclear Agreement, Pelosi orchestrated the effort that secured the votes to uphold a possible Presidential veto of Republicans’ effort to disapprove the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
In the face of the all out-Republican onslaught against Americans’ healthcare, Leader Pelosi held House Democrats united through dozens of votes to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act – mobilizing a massive nationwide campaign to block House Republicans’ monstrous “Trumpcare” legislation. Under her leadership, House Democrats also unanimously opposed the GOP tax scam for the rich.
Pelosi comes from a strong family tradition of public service. Her late father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. She graduated from Trinity College in Washington, DC. She and her husband, Paul Pelosi, a native of San Francisco, have five grown children and nine grandchildren.
Ran for:
House of Representatives
Location:
California