Biography
Congressman David Wu (D-OR) was sworn in to a fourth term as a Member of the 109th Congress on January 3, 2005. Congressman Wu represents Oregon's First Congressional District, which stretches from Portland to the Oregon Coast, encompassing all of Washington, Yamhill, Columbia, and Clatsop counties, and part of Multnomah County.
Congressman Wu's priorities include: improving our nation's public education system and making college more affordable; growing Oregon's economy by encouraging new business investment and supporting high tech research; improving our nation's healthcare system by fighting for patients' rights and a Medicare prescription drug benefit; and meeting our obligation to future generations by preserving Social Security and protecting our natural environment.
In the House of Representatives, Congressman Wu serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee, which has sole jurisdiction over education policy. Congressman Wu also serves on the Science Committee, which has jurisdiction over research and technology policy and NASA. He is the Ranking Member on the Environment, Technology and Standards Subcommittee.
Congressman David Wu has lived the American dream. In
October of 1961, at six years of age, he moved with his family to the United States after
President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order updating
unfair immigration quotas. He was educated in public schools, earned a Bachelor of Science from
Stanford University in 1977, attended Harvard Medical School,
and received a law degree from Yale University in 1982.
Congressman Wu's distinguished legal career included a clerkship with a Federal judge in Portland. In 1988, he co-founded the law firm of Cohen & Wu. For a decade, the firm successfully served the high technology industry and numerous small businesses across Northwest Oregon.
Congressman Wu counts among his proudest accomplishments his work to help build scores of new businesses that have thrived and provided well-paying jobs for Oregonians. His fifteen years of experience in the Portland business and high technology communities make him uniquely qualified to represent the "Silicon Forest" district in Congress.
Congressman Wu is the first and only Chinese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently is a member of the Executive Board for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as Chair from January 2001 to January 2004. Congressman Wu is also a member of the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), a group of moderate Democrats in the House.
Congressman Wu and his wife Michelle have two children: a eight-year-old son named Matthew and a six-year-old daughter named Sarah.