Representative Joe Baca (43rd District, California) was elected to the United States Congress on November 16, 1999, in a special election. He was elected to a full two-year term on November 7, 2000, to serve in the 107th Congress. Rep. Baca is the first Latino Congressman to serve from the Inland Empire.

He serves on the House Agriculture Committee, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Rural Development, and Research, and the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Rep. Baca also serves on the House Science Committee, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards and the Subcommittee on Research.

Beyond committee work, Rep. Baca also serves as Whip of Region One on the Democratic Steering Committee and as a floor whip. He is an active member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where he serves as Caucus Whip. Rep. Baca also serves on the House Army Caucus; the Native American Caucus; the Congressional Diabetes Caucus; the Education Caucus; the Courthouse Caucus, the Meth Lab Caucus, and the Law Enforcement Caucus. In addition, Rep. Baca is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a consensus-building group of 33 moderate-to-conservative lawmakers dedicated to finding common sense solutions on public policy issues. For the Blue Dogs, he is the co-chair of the Education Task Force.

Joe Baca served in the California Legislature for seven years. His career in Sacramento was one of historic firsts. After his election to the California State Assembly in 1992, Mr. Baca was elected Speaker pro Tempore of the Assembly - the first Latino since California joined the Union in 1850. From January 1997 through December 1998, he was the third ranking leader of the Assembly serving as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore and the Speaker's Federal Government Liaison. He also served as a member of the Rules Committee. He was elected to the California State Senate on November 3, 1998, where he served on the Rules Committee, which is responsible for confirming Governor's appointments. His other committee assignments included the Veterans Affairs Committee; Public Employment and Retirement; Energy, Utilities and Communications; Local Government; and Governmental Organization.

Congressman Baca has been recognized by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda for his legislative achievements. He was the recipient of the Golden Eagle Award from Siempre Adelante and the Migrant Leadership Council for his achievements and accomplishments as a California legislator and a leader in the Latino community. Mr. Baca also has been extremely active in the community. In 1979, he was the first Latino ever elected to the board of Trustees of the San Bernardino Valley College District. He also has given his time and energy to business, veterans, and other civic groups in the district.

Rep. Baca is a Vietnam War-era veteran, serving in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with both the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions from 1966-68, leaving with the rank of specialist E-4. Before coming to Sacramento, Mr. Baca earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from the California State University - Los Angeles. Later, he worked for 15 years in community relations with GTE. In 1989, he and his wife, Barbara, began their own business as partners in Interstate World Travel in San Bernardino. They have four children - Joe Jr., Jeremy, Natalie, and Jennifer.

Rep. Joe Baca's Official Website

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95% of prescription drug plans approved by Medicare have a "donut hole" coverage gap.

Source:Kaiser Family Foundation