Congressman Chaka Fattah
Chaka Fattah is an experienced lawmaker serving in his sixth term in
the U.S. House of Representatives. He represents the Second
Congressional District of Pennsylvania, which includes parts of
Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township.
SHAPING EDUCATIONAL POLICY
The nationally funded GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness
for Undergraduate Programs), of which Congressman Fattah was the
architect, began with his desire for all children to have an equal
opportunity to receive the best education possible. Assisting millions
of children, GEAR UP has become the largest pre-college awareness
program in this nation's history and has contributed nearly $2 billion
toward the educational advancement of low-income students.
Since being signed into law in 1998, GEAR UP,
has prepared millions of young students, from inner-cities around the
country, to not only enter college, but to succeed once there.
While working hard to pass GEAR UP into law, Fattah
was sure not to forget about his hometown of Philadelphia. And in 2003
that’s exactly what happened when Fattah created a last-dollar
scholarship program, which is named the CORE Philly Scholarship.
The program, which serves students residing in Philadelphia, became the
first city-wide scholarship designed to provide assistance to every
Philadelphia high school graduate.
CORE Philly –
a one-time scholarship grant - is designed to double the number of high
school graduates as well as the number of children attending college.
Over the past year the program has provided more than 4000 students with
assistance in furthering their education. CORE Philly,
which awards up to $3,000 in scholarships to eligible seniors attending
Pennsylvania state institutions, has contributed more than $7 million
toward advancing the education of Philadelphia's youth.
Another of Fattah’s legislative achievements,
The College Retention Program, has provided more than a million
students with financial assistance in the form of grants, low-interest
loans and college work-study programs, in an attempt to help meet the
cost of attaining a post-secondary education. The program aims to
retain students by offering resources to help them complete school and
be fully prepared for success after graduation.
While educational reform has remained paramount
throughout Fattah’s extensive legislative career, he also has served as
an innovative leader in a variety of other legislative areas including
public housing reform, job training placement and urban tax policy
reforms.
Fattah also showcased his commitment to constituent
concerns through his actions following the controversial Presidential
election of 2000. Fattah was an original co-sponsor of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002, which provided money to States that
replaced controversial punch card voting machines.
During his 12 years of public service to the city
of Philadelphia – where he served six years as a state representative
and another six as a state senator – Fattah led the way to help local
families make the transition from the Federal welfare program to the
workforce with the help of job training and work placement programs. In
1986 Fattah developed the annual Fattah Conference on Higher
Education, which motivated thousands of Philadelphia’s youth to
pursue a college education. Read to Lead – another of Fattah’s
educational initiatives – provides free books and classroom instruction
to more than 5,000 students.
Fattah also serves on the powerful House
Appropriations Committee, which oversees more than $800 billion in
discretionary spending. Fattah has served as a member of the
Pennsylvania State Board of Education and on the Board of Trustees of
Lincoln, Temple and Pennsylvania State Universities, and the Community
College of Philadelphia.
In addition to being named one of the country’s 50
most promising leaders by Time Magazine, Fattah received a
ringing endorsement from The Philadelphia Inquirer when the newspaper
proclaimed Fattah “has been an effective champion for people in need of
affordable housing, young children denied a head start in school, and
low-income students trying to finish college and earn advanced degrees.”
Re-elected to a sixth term in 2004, Fattah is
preparing bold policy initiatives for the 109th Congress.
Included in those proposals is the Transform America Transaction Fee,
which calls on the Department of Treasury to study a proposal to change
America's economy by eliminating all Federal taxes on individuals and
corporations, and instead replace them with a revenue generating system
based on transaction fees. Fattah will also introduce the Student
Bill of Rights, a proposal that requires states to certify, with the
Secretary of Education, that its public school system provides students
with equal access to qualified teachers, the opportunity to learn from
up-to-date textbooks and access to computers, libraries, and qualified
professional personnel.
A life-long resident of Philadelphia,
Congressman Fattah attended city public schools, the Community College
of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and the
University of Pennsylvania's Fels School of State and Local Government
where he earned a Master's Degree in Government Administration. He also
completed the Senior Executive Program for State Officials at Harvard
University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Representative Fattah
is the proud father of four children and is married to Reneé Chenault-Fattah,
who is an attorney and also a news anchorwoman.
 Email Congressman Fattah
Congressman
Fattah's Voting Record
View
Flash Introduction (Flash 5.0 Player)
Congressman
Fattah's Position on Key Issues
Download
Congressman's Media Kit (Adobe PDF)
|
