In her second term as a
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ginny has built a reputation as a
strong and tenacious leader with the ability and authority to get things done
on behalf of her Florida
constituents. Following her arrival in 2003, Ginny emerged as one of the
most outspoken, hard-working and dynamic members of her freshman class.
An active member of the Financial
Services, Homeland Security and Veterans’ Affairs Committees in the 109th
Congress, Ginny’s arduous work on these panels is a testament to her drive,
tenacity and dedication to the people of the 5th District.
On the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, she serves as Vice Chair of the
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and also sits on the Subcommittee on
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. These positions allow her to
keep a watchful eye on legislation that impacts the health care and services we
offer our nation’s veterans and heroes, many of whom reside right here in the
5th District. In fact, Ginny represents more veterans than any other
Member of Congress!
On the Financial Services Committee, Ginny serves on the Capital Markets,
Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Financial Institutions and
Consumer Credit and Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittees. As the House Committee that oversees our financial
markets, Ginny has worked tirelessly to promote consumer protection rights.
As a new Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, Ginny serves on the
Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment Subcommittee;
the Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology Subcommittee; and the
Investigations Subcommittee. In just the first few months on the
Committee, Ginny has already played an integral role in shaping legislation to
reform our nation's port security, border control measures and the
restructuring of FEMA. She looks forward to playing an active role in
Committee deliberations as they shape America’s domestic preparedness and
security future.
In the 109th Congress, Ginny has jumped feet first into the debate over the
future of the Social Security program. She sponsored H.R. 266,
legislation that would guarantee current retirees their full Social Security
benefits. Ginny feels that we must protect those who have put their trust in the Social Security system and
who have paid into the system over the years, while at the same time
guaranteeing that benefits will be there for future generations as well.
Ginny represents the greatest number of Social Security recipients of any
Member of Congress, and as such has dedicated herself to finding solutions to
the long term challenges facing Social Security.
In the 109th Congress, Ginny has authored legislation to ensure the safety of
prescription drugs at VA facilities, to have medical professionals who provide
prosthetics for our wounded veterans to be certified to provide patient care
and also a bill to allow veterans to use the skills learned in the military to
use them for professional certification licenses in the private sectors.
With the highest number of veterans of any Member of Congress living in her
District, Ginny has a keen interest in ensuring their health care and job
training needs are met.
Other accomplishments on behalf of Florida
veterans included co-sponsoring legislation that allows veterans to fill
prescriptions at non-VA facilities and Ginny's strong support of a measure that
finally ended the concurrent receipt disparity. Ginny was also able to
successfully add $200 million for veterans’ health care to the FY 2005 budget
by offering and successfully fighting for the “Brown-Waite Amendment.”
Ginny has also hosted former-VA Secretary Anthony Principi several times in the
5th District. On his visits, Secretary Principi met with many Florida veterans who
expressed their support for Ginny’s efforts to bring additional services to
the district. Those efforts have paid off. Since January of 2003,
the VA has opened a new clinic in The Villages, expanded and renovated the
clinic in Brooksville, relocated and enlarged the clinic in Leesburg, and
recently dedicated a new and expanded clinic in Citrus County.
Area veterans now have better access to care and more of the resources that
they deserve and need. Ginny has already worked with the new Secretary,
Jim Nicholson, to bring the new outpatient VA clinic to Lecanto and to help
meet the needs of Florida’s
veteran population.
In Washington,
Ginny has continued as an advocate for seniors and elder issues. As a
co-sponsor of H.R. 1 in the 108th Congress, Ginny helped pass the nation’s most
comprehensive and far-reaching Medicare reform legislation in 40 years.
She served as Vice-Chair of the Speaker’s Prescription Drug Action Team,
working alongside Speaker Dennis Hastert and Members of both parties to pass the
best and most far-reaching bill possible. Her direct involvement in
Congress’s vital addition of a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare
program is a testament to her ability to work on a bi-partisan basis for the
welfare of Florida’s
senior population.
Aside from her committee work and hefty legislative schedule, Ginny is the
Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, a bi-partisan group of
women Members of Congress that meets regularly to promote a host of issues
important not only to women, but to families and citizens alike. She also
serves as the Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
where she works toward legislation that encourages parents of all ages to
consider adoption and who helps bring these families and children together.
During her first four years in Congress, Ginny has returned home every weekend
and on all extended breaks from Congress’s normal legislative session.
She has said repeatedly to friends and constituents, “I’ll never fall in love
with the place you sent me to work. I work in Washington,
but my home is here in Florida.”
Ginny is a native of Albany,
New York and an alumna of The
State College System. She received her Master’s Degree in Public
Administration from Russell Sage College
and holds a Labor Studies Program Certification from Cornell University.
She is a mother to three adult daughters and a grandmother of three grandsons
and one granddaughter. Her husband, Harvey, is a retired New York State trooper and together he and Ginny
own an MG and are members of the Nature Coast British Car Club. They reside in
Brooksville with their Bentley - but don’t be impressed; Bentley is their dog!