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Congressman Joseph Crowley was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November of 1998 to represent the Bronx and Queens based Seventh Congressional District.
In 2000, Congressman Crowley was re-elected with 71% of the vote and in 2002 he was re-elected with 73% of the vote.
Congressman Crowley has dedicated his life to serving the people of the Bronx and Queens. Following in the footsteps of his uncle, New York City Councilman Walter Crowley, Joe graduated from Queens College and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1986. In Albany, Assemblyman Crowley made his mark as an effective legislator dedicated to improving local education in Queens, passing laws to protect New York's children, improving wages and working conditions and economic development issues. In Albany, Assemblyman Crowley served as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Racing and Wagering as well as a Member of the Ways and Means, Banking, Consumer Affairs and Protection, Election Law, Labor and Housing Committees.
In November of 1998, Joseph Crowley was elected to the 106th Congress to represent the Seventh Congressional District of New York. The Seventh Congressional District includes parts of the Bronx and Queens including the communities of Co-Op City, Soundview, Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Van Nest, Allerton, Parkchester, Throggs Neck, and Silver Beach in the Bronx, as well as Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights, Maspeth, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, and College Point in Queens.
In January 2003, Congressman Crowley was selected to serve in the Democratic Leadership in the prestigious position of Chief Deputy Whip, making him the highest-ranking New York Member in the Democratic Leadership. Crowley will use his seat at the leadership table to promote sound policies to improve public education, make healthcare more affordable and protect Social Security for working families in the Bronx and Queens. Crowley has and will continue to work his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus to promote the Democratic agenda and win back a Democratic House of Representatives in 2004.
In Washington, Congressman Crowley was selected to serve on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on International Relations. Congressman Crowley brings eight years of experience as a member on the Banking Committee in the New York Assembly to the House Committee on Financial Services. Congressman Crowley serves on the prestigious Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Securities, as well as the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. The Committee has become a reflection of the modern state of a dynamic and emerging industry, which employs thousands, and generates billions of dollars for New York City.
The International Relations Committee provides Congressman Crowley with a forum to represent the views of one of the most diverse and multi-ethnic constituencies in the country, on issues of international importance to the United States.
Congressman Crowley was recently elected to be one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India. The seventh district of New York contains 40,000 South Asians, the second highest concentration of any district in the United States. Jackson Heights contains the United States' second largest Indian American community. Congressman Crowley believes that it is of utmost importance that closer ties are forged between the United States, the oldest democracy and India, the largest one. The India Caucus helps to facilitate more Indian American connectedness and involvement in the United State Congress. Congressman Crowley will work hard with members of the India Caucus and the Indian Americans in the seventh district to promote trade, technology and labor.
As the United States Representative of one of the largest Colombian-American communities in the United States, Congressman Joseph Crowley has been an outspoken advocate for strong leadership by the United States to improve human rights and foster democracy throughout all of Latin America.
Congressman Crowley's office has helped over 2000 local New Yorkers pursue their dream of becoming American citizens. He has reunited families devastated by the Colombian earthquake, returned a young Dominican girl who was being held by the government to her grandparents, and made the Cuban government allow the son of a Bronx woman to travel to New York for an organ transplant.
Congressman Crowley has used his position on International Relations and his co-chairmanship of the Congressional Ad-Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs to expand on his past work in Irish affairs. In addition to leadership for justice and equality throughout all of Ireland, Congressman Crowley has been a leader in support of the State of Israel including sponsorship of legislation to guarantee Israel fair and equal treatment at the United Nations.
In the First Session of the 106th Congress, Congressman Crowley won a rare victory for a Freshman Member in passing his amendment to appropriate $25 million to the United Nation's Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve the health of over one million women and children in developing nations. The influential Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call said (Congressman) Crowley has gained respect from his caucus for coalition-building and legislative know-how," and that he "showed off his ability to work across partisan lines to round up votes for an amendment....reinstating United Nations family planning funds." Congressman Crowley was recognized for his leadership on women's health, domestic and international family planning by Population Action International,
Zero Population Growth, and the Global Health Council.
In his first four years in Congress, Congressman Crowley has earned a reputation as a fighter for working families in the Bronx and Queens. He has passed the most pieces of legislation of any second-term Democrat and secured critical funding to lower public school class sizes and expand healthcare programs.
In October 2001, Congressman Crowley authored The Medal of Valor for America's Heroes Act. Both the House and the Senate passed it unanimously. The legislation calls for the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor be awarded to rescue workers who perished while responding to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
In May 2002, Congressman Crowley issued a report to the White House on New York City's Homeland Security requirements. He recommended a wide range of initiatives and funding for the City, which he comprehensively outlined in the report. The report stated that the federal government must make New York City a top priority when it allocates funds for homeland security initiatives. So far, Congressman Crowley has secured over $20 billion in Federal funding to the City of New York to rebuild from 9/11. In July 2002, the House of Representatives passed Congressman Crowley's measure calling on European governments to strongly condemn anti-Semitism. The resolution called on European governments to continue to provide security to their respective Jewish communities and to strongly condemn acts of anti-Semitism. By a vote of 412 to 0, the House passed the Crowley measure, H.Res. 393.
Congressman Crowley's goals for New Yorkers include education funding to allow New York to rebuild and rehabilitate its aging schools, a strong Health Care Bill of Rights to protect New Yorkers in managed care plans and a long-term solution to save Social Security.
Congressman Crowley is married to the former Kasey Nilson of Montana. Congressman and Mrs. Crowley and their children Cullen and Kenzie Louise live in Woodside, New York.
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