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Portrait of Congressman Kendrick Meek with Capitol in background

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Congressman Kendrick Meek -- 17th District of Florida

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Biography of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (FL-17)

Congressman Kendrick B. Meek, who is in his second term in the U.S. House of Representatives, was first elected to public office at the age of 27.

He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which overseas the largest agency budget in Congress and has responsibility for all U.S. land, sea, air, space defense programs and operations. He has been outspoken in his support for U.S. troops and in making sure those in Iraq and Afghanistan have the equipment they need.

Congressman Meek also serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, where he is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Management, Integration and Oversight. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the administration and operation of the Department of Homeland Security's airport and seaport security programs; customs operations; assistance to state and local governments, and first responders; and immigration inspections, detention and enforcement policies and procedures. Meek is one of the youngest Ranking Members of any committee in the 109th Congress.

Meek is the current Chair of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy, research and educational institute founded by members of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1976.

An experienced legislator who served eight years in the Florida House and Senate, Meek was elected to Congress in 2002 from Florida’s 17th Congressional District, which includes Northern Miami-Dade and Southern Broward Counties.

In 2002, Congressman Meek launched a citizen initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida’s overcrowded public schools. As Chairman of Florida’s Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Congressman Meek spearheaded a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures. He guided the amendment through two opposition efforts in the Florida Supreme Court as well as a well-funded campaign of scare tactics designed to kill it at the ballot box. In the end, the measure was approved when more than 2.5 million Florida citizens voted for it.

Before his service in elected office, Congressman Meek was a captain in the Florida Highway Patrol and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Florida A&M University.

Congressman Meek is a native of Miami, Florida. He is married to the former Leslie Dixon of Brooklyn, New York, and they have two children, Lauren and Kendrick Jr. Congressman Meek is the son of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek.


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