Reference.com

Lynn Woolsey

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Lynn C. Woolsey (born November 3, 1937), American politician, has been a progressive Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing (map). The district takes in all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She gained attention when she became the first Representative to call for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. She is a prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Personal life and early career

She was born in Seattle, Washington, was educated at the University of Washington where she became a member of Alpha Phi sorority and the University of San Francisco, and was a human resources manager and personnel service owner, a teacher at the College of Marin and the Dominican University of California, and a member of the Petaluma, California City Council before entering the House.

Congressional Career

Congresswoman Woolsey, who describes herself as "the first former welfare mother to serve in Congress," is one of two members of the United States House of Representatives to have been on welfare; the other is Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI).

She was one of the 31 who voted in the House to not count the electoral votes from Ohio in the United States presidential election, 2004.

Race for Congress

In the 1992 primary to succeed Congresswoman Barbara Boxer, who successfully ran for the Senate, Woolsey, as the only Sonoma County candidate, defeated J. Bennett Johnston III (the son of the former U.S. Senator from Louisiana, Bennett Johnston Jr.), future Assemblyman Joseph Nation (who unsuccessfully challenged her in the 2006 primary election), Denis Rice, Howell Hurst, David Strand, Anna Nevenic, William Harrison Morrison, and Eric Koenigshofer. In the general elections, she faced Republican Assemblyman Bill Filante, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was unable to campaign much. This essentially ended Filante's campaign. In 2007, she began her eighth term as representative.

Positions on Iraq

Woolsey is an outspoken opponent of the War in Iraq. On October 10, 2002, she was among the 133 members of the House who voted against authorizing the invasion of Iraq. She has taken an active role in calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. She led 15 Members of Congress in writing a letter to President Bush on January 12, 2005, calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. She also was the first Member of Congress to call for a troop withdrawal, when she introduced H.Con. Res. 35 on January 26, 2005. Congresswoman Woolsey gave Cindy Sheehan the guest pass to attend the 2006 State of the Union speech by George W. Bush. Sheehan's attendance at the speech became infamous when she was arrested for wearing a T-shirt with a political message.

Recognition of Ramadan

On December 11, 2007, Woolsey, along with 8 other Democrats, voted ‘nay’ on a resolution to recognize the importance of "Christmas and the Christian faith" but did vote to "recognize the commencement of Ramadan," a Muslim religious observance and Diwali, a Hindu religious holiday earlier in the year. ,

Indian gambling

Representative Woolsey introduced the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act August 6, 1998 (105th CONGRESS, 2d Session, H.R. 4434 ). It was ultimately approved and signed by President Clinton as Title XIV of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act (Public Law No. 106-568) in December of 2000.

Testifying in support of H.R. 946 before the House Resources Committee May 16, 2000, Woolsey said :

“This consensus bill restores Federal rights and privileges to the tribe and to its members. As is typical with restoration legislation, it reinstates political status and makes tribal members eligible for benefits such as Native American health, education, and housing services. These are services, as you know, that are available to all other Federally recognized tribes!

A unique aspect of H.R. 946, however, is that it specifically contains a clause that restricts gaming, gaming on land that is taken into trust for the tribes. This non-gaming clause is at the express request of the tribe, and is the basis for the broad and bipartisan support that this bill enjoys throughout my Congressional District. It is also key to my support for the tribe's restoration.”

Representative Woolsey's original bill (H.R. 4434, later H.R. 946) would not have permitted the FIGR to have an Indian casino. Senator Barbara Boxer removed that prohibition when she included Woolsey's bill in the Omnibus Act.

Now the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, and Station Casinos of Las Vegas, Nevada, propose to build a large hotel/casino complex in Rohnert Park, California. The City Council has strongly supported the highly controversial project.

In response, Representative Woolsey introduced H.R. 2656 (which never left the House Resources Committee) and appeared frequently at local townhall meetings saying that the Miwok Indians double crossed her by seeking to legalize gambling on their Indian gaming reservation.

Scouting for All Act

In September 2000 Woolsey sponsored H.R. 4892, The Scouting for All Act, to revoke the charter held by the Boy Scouts of America, which had been held since 1916. The charter was issued by Congress to the B.S.A. for its efforts to promote "patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred virtues" for young boys. Woolsey said, "We're not saying the Boy Scouts are bad, we're saying that intolerance is bad." The Boy Scouts does not want gays (scouts, former scouts, and troop leaders all included) in their organization, but the Girl Scouts do not have such a policy.

Committee Assignments

  • Committee on Education and Labor

    • Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
    • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Committee on Science and Technology

    • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
  • Committee on Foreign Affairs

    • Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
  • Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair

Congressional scorecards

See also

Project Vote Smart provides the following results from congressional scorecards.

Controversy

On December 2, 2003, Woolsey wrote a letter on behalf of Stewart Pearson, the son of an employee in her office, who had pleaded guilty to rape. In a letter written on her official congressional stationery, she asked the judge to consider mitigating circumstances and show leniency. The judge in the case was not swayed by the letter, and sentenced Pearson to eight years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea bargain. She has since apologized for writing the letter

External links

Articles



Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday March 06, 2008 at 00:30:15 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation