Lucille Roybal-Allard
Lucille Elsa Roybal-Allard (born June 12, 1941) is the U.S. Representative for California's 40th congressional district, serving in Congress since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 33rd from 1993 to 2003 and as the 34th from 2003 to 2013, includes much of southern Los Angeles, as well as a number of eastern suburbs such as Downey, Bell and Bell Gardens.
Lucille Roybal-Allard | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 40th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 1993 | |
Preceded by | New Constituency (redistricting) |
Constituency | 33rd district (1993–2003) 34th district (2003–2013) 40th district (2013–present) |
Member of the California State Assembly from the 56th district | |
In office 1986–1992 | |
Preceded by | Gloria Molina |
Succeeded by | Martha Escutia |
Personal details | |
Born | Lucille Elsa Roybal June 12, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Edward Allard |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Edward R. Roybal (father) |
Education | California State University, Los Angeles (BA) |
Website | House website |
Early life, education and career
She was born in Boyle Heights, California, the daughter of Edward R. Roybal, who served in Congress from 1963 to 1993, and Lucille Beserra Roybal. She was educated at Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California, and California State University, Los Angeles.
She was a public relations officer and fund raising executive. She was also a member of the California State Assembly [1] from 1987 to 1992, first elected on May 12, 1987 in a special election to replace Gloria Molina who resigned after being elected to the Los Angeles City Council.
U.S. House of Representatives
The congresswoman is the first Latina to serve as one of the 12 "cardinals," or chairs, of a House Appropriations Subcommittee, as well as the first Latina to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. She is also the first woman to chair the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the first woman to chair the California Democratic congressional delegation; and the founder of the Women's Working Group on Immigration Reform.
Her Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act has been instrumental in reducing underage drinking and its consequences. From her position on the House Appropriations Committee, she has spearheaded many federal projects that have created jobs and improved the lives of her constituents, including the new federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles, the Metro Gold Line Lightrail Eastside Extension, the deepening of the Port of Los Angeles, and the ongoing revitalization of the Los Angeles River.
Committee assignments
Caucuses
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Associate Member)[2]
- Congressional Arts Caucus[3]
She currently sits on the House Appropriations and Standards of Official Conduct committees. She has also served as the chair of the California Democratic congressional delegation (1998–1999) and of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.[4] She has also been active in the Congressional Children's Caucus and on the Democratic Homeland Security and the Livable Communities task forces.
She is the first Democratic Mexican-American woman to serve in Congress. She and Nydia Velazquez of New York City were the second and third Latinas elected to Congress after Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. She and Velazquez are the first Latina Democrats to serve in that body, and the first two elected to a full term.
She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus[5] and the House Baltic Caucus.[6]
Legislation
Roybal-Allard introduced the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1281; 113th Congress) into the House on March 20, 2013. The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize grant programs and other initiatives to promote expanded screening of newborns and children for heritable disorders.[7] Roybal-Allard argued that "newborn screening not only transforms and save lives - it saves money."[8] According to Roybal-Allard, in California "newborns are screened for more than 40 preventable and treatable conditions – and for every one dollar California spends on screening, it yields a benefit of over $9 as we prevent disease in children who are diagnosed with these treatable conditions."[8]
She is the original House author of The Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, a bill designed to ensure that survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can get help without fearing for the loss of their jobs or economic security. Portions of the SAFE Act were included in the House's 2019 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
She authored The Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE) to address abusive and exploitative child labor practices in agriculture.
Political campaigns
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In 1992, she won the Democratic nomination for the newly created 33rd District, which included a sliver of the area her father had represented for 30 years. She won handily in November, and has been reelected 13 times with no substantive opposition in this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. Her district was renumbered as the 34th after the 2000 Census and the 40th after the 2010 Census. As of the 2010 census, it is the most Latino district in the nation, with a Latino majority of 86.5 percent. Until 2013, she represented much of downtown Los Angeles.
Personal life
Roybal-Allard is married to Edward T. Allard III. She has two children, Ricardo Olivarez and Lisa Marie Roybal Elliott[9] (born Olivarez), two stepchildren, Angela Allard and Guy Mark Allard, and four grandchildren. Her husband is a management consultant and a retired Marine Corps captain. She lives in Downey, California.[10] She also holds an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from National Hispanic University.
See also
- NALEO
- Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act) a bill the Congresswoman introduced in 2009 to achieve parity among minor workers in the agricultural industry with that of other industries. See also the related film The Harvest (documentary).
- List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
- Capitol Museum Archived April 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- "Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
- "CBO - H.R. 1281". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
- "Rep. Roybal-Allard and Rep. Simpson introduce the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Authorization Act". House Office of Rep. Roybal-Allard. March 22, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
- "Lisa Roybal Elliott – the congresswoman's daughter – proudly accepted the 2007 Spirit of Courage and Resilience Award from the East Los Angeles Women's Center for the congresswoman". U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard. March 29, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- Genovario, Kevin (October 25, 2012). "Downey, California Shootings UPDATE: Man Detained for Questioning". Heavy.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lucille Roybal-Allard. |
- Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard official U.S. House site
- Lucille Roybal-Allard for Congress
- Lucille Roybal-Allard at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
California Assembly | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Gloria Molina |
Member of the California Assembly from the 56th district 1986–1992 |
Succeeded by Martha Escutia |
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
Preceded by David Dreier |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 33rd congressional district 1993–2003 |
Succeeded by Diane Watson |
Preceded by Grace Napolitano |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 34th congressional district 2003–2013 |
Succeeded by Xavier Becerra |
Preceded by Xavier Becerra |
Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus 1999–2001 |
Succeeded by Silvestre Reyes |
Preceded by Ed Royce |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 40th congressional district 2013–present |
Incumbent |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Carolyn Maloney |
United States Representatives by seniority 30th |
Succeeded by Bobby Rush |