In November 1998, Tammy Baldwin was elected to Congress — the first woman to serve in the House of Representatives from Wisconsin.

In November 1998, Tammy Baldwin was elected to Congress -- the first woman to serve in the House of Representatives from Wisconsin.  She was re-elected in 2000, 2002, and 2004.  In the 109th Congress, Tammy serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce.  In previous terms, she had served on the House Budget and Judiciary Committees.  She is a leading advocate for universal health care, protecting Social Security from risky privatization schemes, protecting Medicare, and increasing support for public education, including financial aid for higher education.  Tammy Baldwin is a forceful supporter of civil rights and an advocate for those in our society whose voices, too often, are not heard. 

Her driving motivation in politics is to pass legislation that will guarantee health care for all in America.  A pragmatist, she is working with conservative as well as liberal thinkers to craft proposals to meet this goal and has introduced legislation in every session of Congress to create state/federal partnerships toward that end. 

While in Congress, Tammy has advocated successfully to expand programs combating violence against women.  She has stood up for Wisconsin farmers, repeatedly calling for the permanent enactment and expansion of Chapter 12 bankruptcy protections and attempting to ward off the uncontrolled importation of milk protein concentrates.  A champion of civil liberties, Tammy worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Judiciary Committee (1999-2004) to monitor civil rights infringements on citizens and argue for changes in the USA PATRIOT Act to protect those rights. 

Tammy is committed to reducing the high price of prescription drugs for seniors and creating a comprehensive prescription drug benefit under Medicare; providing assistance and support to our nation’s veterans; protecting our environment; creating a balanced national energy plan; and creating and maintaining good-paying jobs in this country.  As working families in Wisconsin and around the country struggle to make ends meet, she has drafted and introduced two bills that would provide targeted tax relief to families with children. 

Besides advancing legislation for the common good, Tammy and her staff assist constituents in solving problems they may have with federal agencies; help individuals, groups, and local governments secure federal grants; and ensure that her district receives a fair share of federal financial assistance.  Since taking office, Tammy has secured more than $75 million in federal funds for worthwhile projects in every county in her district, funds that would not have come to Wisconsin without her strong advocacy. 

Tammy Baldwin began her career in elective office as a member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1986.  In the same year, she served briefly on the Madison, WI City Council, filling an aldermanic vacancy.  Tammy served four terms as a Dane County Supervisor (1986-1994), while also running for, and winning, a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly in November 1992.  She served three terms as a State Representative for the 78th Assembly District (comprising central and south Madison) from January 1993 to January 1999.  Tammy’s congressional campaigns have been lauded for their high voter turnout, especially among young adults and college students on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. 

Tammy frequently reminds young and old, alike, to ignore those she calls “the naysayers, the cynics, and the keepers of the status quo;” something she has done successfully throughout her political career.  At the age of 24, while still a first-year law student, she was deemed too young to run for office; yet she ran for and won a seat on her County Board.  Later, she was told that voters weren’t ready to elect a woman who was an out lesbian.  Nonetheless, Tammy was elected three times to the State Assembly and then, at the age of 37, became the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of Wisconsin and the first non-incumbent, openly gay person to be elected to Congress.  In 2004, her margin of victory was 63 percent.  Tammy also is a firm believer in the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

Tammy Baldwin was born in February 1962 in the area she now represents in Congress and can trace one branch of her family tree back to 1866 in Sauk County (Baraboo).  Raised in Madison jointly by her mother and maternal grandparents, Tammy graduated first in her class of 510 students at Madison West High School in 1980.  She received an A.B. degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1984 with majors in government and mathematics.  In 1989, while an active member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors, Tammy earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School and practiced law from 1989-1992. 

Tammy and her partner, Lauren Azar, live in Madison in a house built in 1894 which they are gradually restoring.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin's Official Website

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Over 70 percent of the uninsured live in a family with at least one full time worker. (Kaiser Family Foundation)