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Wm.
Lacy Clay was first elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 2000,
succeeding his father, the Honorable Bill Clay, who served for 32 years
and was a founding Member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Congressman
Clay serves on the Financial Services Committee, which has broad jurisdiction
over banking, insurance, investment firms, pensions, consumer credit and
capital markets. Mr. Clay also serves on the Government Reform Committee,
where he is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Federalism & the
Census. The Government Reform Committee has wide-ranging oversight responsibilities
over the operations and policies of the federal government.
Congressman Clay is a tireless defender of the voting rights of every
citizen. He has been an outspoken advocate for reforming our nation’s
electoral process to ensure that elections are conducted fairly and that
every vote is counted accurately. Mr. Clay is working to make certain
that any new electronic voting system includes a paper trail for the purpose
of verifying the results. He is also working to expand voter registration
and to eliminate procedural obstacles that make it harder for minority
and disabled voters to take part in the democratic process.
In Congress, Mr. Clay has become a recognized leader in helping minority
and low-income families create wealth through home ownership. He has also
co-sponsored legislation that would crack down on predatory lending practices.
Mr. Clay is a strong supporter of including financial literacy as part
of the standard educational curriculum in Kindergarten through High School.
Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Clay served
17 years in both chambers of the Missouri Legislature. Among his many
accomplishments was the establishment of Missouri’s landmark Hate Crimes
Law, which covers crimes committed on the basis of race, gender, religion,
ethnic origin, disabilities and sexual orientation. He also stood up to
threats from the Ku Klux Klan to sponsor and pass a bill that designated
a portion of Interstate 55 in St. Louis County as the Rosa Parks Highway.
Additionally, hundreds of young people are receiving job training through
YouthBuild, a program enacted under his Youth Opportunities and Violence
Prevention Act. Mr. Clay also created a new statute that required the
inclusion of the history of the Civil Rights Movement in all primary and
secondary school curriculums. One of Mr. Clay’s most significant successes
was a bill that led to the settlement of the 27-year-long battle over
desegregating the public schools in the City of St. Louis.
Wm. Lacy Clay is a native St. Louisan. After graduation from Springbrook
High School in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1974, he worked as an Assistant
Doorkeeper in the U. S. House of Representatives while attending the University
of Maryland where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in government
and politics. He also attended Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School
of Government and holds Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degrees from Lincoln
University and Harris-Stowe State University.
Congressman Clay is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Progressive
Caucus and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation and the William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund.
Congressman Clay and his wife, Ivie Lewellen Clay, reside in St. Louis.
They are the proud parents of two children: Carol and William III. The
Clays attend St. Nicholas’ Catholic Church.
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