Serving in his 9th term in Congress, Congressman Rob Andrews is a leading voice in the Nation for fiscal restraint, education and national defense. He represents the residents of the First Congressional District of New Jersey, which is comprised of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.
The Philadelphia Inquirer said that Congressman Andrews "is properly focused on fixing the looming fiscal disaster in Washington."
The New York Times has characterized Congressman Andrews as "fiscally conservative...and socially moderate."
In Washington, the Congressman has a reputation as a savvy legislator. He has authored two laws creating the Income Contingent Repayment Plan and Direct Student Loans, making higher education more affordable for millions students since 1993. Rep. Andrews also wrote laws to lower mortgage costs for rural families, to protect the child visitation rights of grandparents, to provide health and pension benefits for employees of religious organizations, cut administrative costs for small businesses and to move more people from welfare to work.
Back home in New Jersey, the Congressman is a leading voice for ethics reform at all levels of government. He is also known for his attention to constituent service. He meets with thousands of constituents each year and has aided over 100,000 constituents since he took office.
Congressman Andrews has worked to secure federal defense funding to help create over 540 new high tech jobs in Camden and protect 4,700 good jobs at Lockheed Martin. He has worked with local fire departments to bring back over $3 million dollars in funding to purchase new equipment and aid in training those who work to keep the region safe. He has worked with local leaders to obtain federal funding to extend the hours of operation of the Veteran's Health Clinic in Turnersville so it is open to serve the regions veterans five full days a week.
Rep. Andrews has served for his entire Congressional career on the Education and the Workforce Committee. He is the Democratic leader and Ranking Member on the subcommittee on Employer-Employee relations, which has responsibility for the health insurance, pension and labor laws of the nation.
Rep. Andrews also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, which maintains jurisdiction over funding for our Nation's military forces.
He is the son and grandson of shipyard workers and was the first in his family to attend college. He graduated summa cum laude from Bucknell University, where he also was Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Cornell University, where he was on the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review. Before coming to Congress, he was an attorney and an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University School of Law. He also served as freeholder director of Camden County, the highest elected office in county government.
Rob Andrews is 47 years old and is married to Camille Spinello Andrews, Associate Dean of Enrollment at the Rutgers University School of Law in Camden. The Andrews have two daughters, Jackie, 12, and Josie, 10.
The Andrews family lives in Haddon Heights. He does not keep an apartment in Washington, D.C. but instead commutes each day by train to be closer to his family and constituents.
