Preceded by Jeff Denham Succeeded by Jo Bonner Role U.S. Representative Preceded by Gene Green Name Zoe Lofgren | Succeeded by Jim Costa Political party Democratic Preceded by Don Edwards Full Name Sue Lofgren | |
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Born December 21, 1947 (age 76)
San Mateo, California ( 1947-12-21 ) Office Representative (D-CA 19th District) since 2013 Previous office Representative (CA 16th District) 1995–2013 Spouse John Marshall Collins (m. 1978) Children Sheila Collins, John Collins Education Santa Clara University School of Law (1975), Stanford University (1970), Gunn High School Similar People Anna Eshoo, John Conyers, Mike Honda, Lucille Roybal‑Allard, Jim Costa Profiles | ||
Leadership and justice representative zoe lofgren
Zoe Lofgren (born Susan Ellen "Sue" Lofgren; December 21, 1947), pronounced , is the U.S. Representative for California's 19th congressional district, serving in Congress since 1995. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 16th District from 1995 to 2013, includes most of San Jose.
Contents
- Leadership and justice representative zoe lofgren
- U s rep zoe lofgren discusses immigration reform
- Early life education and early career
- US House of Representatives
- Committee assignments
- Caucuses
- Other leadership positions
- References
She is the ranking member on both the House Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, and on the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
U s rep zoe lofgren discusses immigration reform
Early life, education, and early career
A Bay Area resident, Lofgren attended Gunn High School (1966) in Palo Alto, and while in high school, Lofgren was a member of the Junior State of America, a student-run political debate, activism, and student governance organization. She earned her B.A. at Stanford University (1970) and a J.D. at Santa Clara University School of Law (1975).
In 1978 she married John Marshall Collins.
Returning to San Jose, Lofgren worked in Don Edwards' district office, while at the same time earning her law degree. After two years as partner at an immigration law firm in San Jose, she was elected first to the board of San Jose City College, then to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where she served for 13 years.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1994, Lofgren entered the Democratic primary in what was then the 16th District, after Edwards retired after 32 years in Congress. It was the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. A decided underdog, she managed to defeat the favorite, former San Jose mayor Tom McEnery. Lofgren's victory virtually assured her of becoming only the second person to represent the district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 9th District from 1963 to 1975, as the 10th from 1975 to 1993, the 16th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013). She has been reelected ten times with no substantive opposition.
Lofgren is the chair of the 34-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and is the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. In April 2011, she became the first member of Congress to call for federal investigation into the Secure Communities deportation program.
Beginning in 2009, Lofgren served as chair of the House Ethics Committee. In doing so, she presided over a rare sanction of censure, against long-time member Charles B. Rangel.
In the Stop Online Piracy Act House Judiciary Committee hearings, she defended the current state of the internet in opposition of the bill. She has also opposed the data retention requirements in the H.R. 1981 (the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011).
In February 2013, Lofgren became one of the sponsors of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act to expedite open access to taxpayer-funded research.
In May, 2016, Lofgren was publicly reprimanded during a House Judiciary Committee hearing after calling witness Gail Heriot of the United States Commission on Civil Rights an "ignorant bigot" because of the characterization of transgender individuals Heriot included in written testimony prior to the hearing. Following the verbal warning from acting committee chairman Steve King (R, Iowa), Lofgren responded, "I cannot allow that kind of bigotry to go into the record unchallenged."