Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who represents Northern Ohio's Ninth
Congressional District , is currently serving her
thirteenth term in the U.S.
House of Representatives. She is the senior-most woman in Congress and is one
of only 90 women out of 535 members of the 110th Congress.
Training & Education
Congresswoman Kaptur, of Polish-American heritage with humble, working class
roots, mirrors the boot-strap nature of her district. Her family operated a
small grocery where her mother worked after serving on the original organizing
committee of an auto trade union at Champion Spark Plug. Congresswoman Kaptur
became the first family member to attend college, receiving a scholarship for
her undergraduate work. Trained as a city and regional planner, she practiced
15 years in Toledo and throughout the United States
before seeking office. Appointed as an urban advisor to the Carter White House,
she helped maneuver 17 housing and neighborhood revitalization bills through
the Congress during those years.
Subsequently, while pursuing a doctorate in urban planning and development
finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, her local Party recruited
her to run for the House seat in 1982. Kaptur had been a well-known party
activist and volunteer since age 13. Though outspent by 3 to 1 in the first
campaign, her deep roots in the blue collar neighborhoods and rural areas of
the district made her race the national upset of 1982.
Congress
Congresswoman Kaptur fought vigorously to win a seat on the House Appropriations Committee . Since elected, she has risen
in seniority and is now the senior Democratic woman on Appropriations. She has
secured subcommittees on Agriculture, the leading industry in her state, Transportation/Housing
and Urban Development (HUD), and Defense. Kaptur is the first
Democratic women to serve on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. In
her legislative career, she has also served on the Budget; Banking, Finance and
Urban Affairs; Veterans Affairs Committees, and on Veterans Affairs-Housing and
Urban Development and Independent Agencies (Environmental Protection, Veterans,
and NASA and the National Science Foundation), Foreign Operations, and Military
Construction Appropriations Subcommittees, which have allowed her to pursue her
strong interests in economic growth and new technology, community rebuilding,
and veterans. Congresswoman Kaptur was also appointed by
Party Leadership to serve on the prestigious House
Budget Committee for the 110th Congress.
Congresswoman Kaptur has focused strong efforts on rebuilding the economic
might of her district such as improvements in bridge, road, rail and port
facilities, including the New Maumee River Crossing - the largest bridge project in
Ohio's history; expansion of Toledo's Farmers' Market; development of the Maumee River Heritage Corridor between Ohio and Indiana,
which includes passage of legislation and funds to acquire Fallen Timbers as a national affiliate of the U.S. Park
Service; clean-up of the waterways adjacent to Lake Erie; development of
initiatives to enhance the earnings potential of Northwest Ohio crops; shipping
of federal cargos on the Great Lakes; acquisition of wildlife refuges and
shoreline recreation; and expansion of university-related research.
Kaptur directed federal support to acquire Quarry Pond as the centerpiece
for a new conservation and lands legacy endowment for northwest Ohio. Lucas County-based
180th Tactical Fighter Squadron underwent a F-16 modernization attributable to
her efforts. Current and former Defense Department and other private-sector
workers who were exposed to and suffer from beryllium were the beneficiaries of
a major piece of legislation Kaptur guided to passage. She was awarded the
Veterans of Foreign Wars Americanism Award, in part for introducing the
legislation authorizing the National World War II Memorial in Washington
in 1987, as well as for her longstanding commitment to America's
veterans. She also received the Prisoner of War "Barbed Wire" Award
for her commitment to veterans' affairs.
The National World War II Memorial was dedicated on May 29, 2004
on the National Mall in Washington,
D.C., capping a 17-year
legislative effort. Hundreds and thousands of veterans and their families have
visited the memorial, the idea that came from the grassroots of Ohio. In 1986, Roger
Durbin, a rural letter carrier from Berkey, Ohio, asked Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur at a fish fry at a
township hall why there was no memorial to World War II in Washington, D.C.
Kaptur helped make Roger Durbin's dream a reality by introducing legislation in
Congress to create the memorial. There were stops and starts, but nothing could
stop this powerful idea that sprang from the grassroots of America.
Dedicated to the principle that fiscal responsibility begins in "one's
own backyard," Congresswoman Kaptur has consistently returned money to the
federal Treasury. She refuses to accept Congressional pay raises and donates
them to offset the federal deficit and charitable causes in her home
community.
International Aid
Demonstrating international leadership through diplomatic contributions to
the Middle East Peace process, Congresswoman Kaptur is responsible for
directing the first surplus farm commodities in 1999 to support the peace
process in the Middle East in Lebanon,
Israel
and the Palestinian Authority. As a result of the intifada, only the war torn
region of Lebanon
has progressed forward with over 200 villages undertaking community
development. She also remains dedicated to democratic institution-building
across the globe and has spearheaded private charitable efforts for peoples' of
underdeveloped nations, including Ukraine
and Vietnam.
As Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, she has lead efforts to
establish a Congressional-Rada exchange program. She is the key sponsor of
regulatory changes that force accountability on Russian food aid relief,
helping to insure one billion dollars of United States resources go to people
in need, not into the black market or pockets of government bureaucrats. As
leader on issues related to international trade and human and labor rights,
Kaptur will continue to assess the impact of NAFTA and actively engage upcoming
trade negotiations on the side of workers.
Awards
Marcy Kaptur is a life-long resident of Toledo,
Ohio, a member of Little Flower Roman Catholic
Church, and a graduate of St. Ursula Academy.
In 1968, Kaptur earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from the University of Wisconsin. She received her Masters'
Degree in urban planning from the University
of Michigan. In 1993,
Congresswoman Kaptur was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Toledo
in recognition of her "effective representation of the community," of
the University and of Northwest Ohio. St. Ursula
Academy named Kaptur Alumna of the Year
in 1995. Last year, the University
of Michigan honored
Congresswoman Kaptur with the Taubman College Distinguished Alumna award.
Kaptur is the first woman so recognized and the first graduate of the Urban and
Regional Planning Program to receive this award.
Kaptur recently received the Director's Award from the Edmund A. Walsh School
of Foreign Service at Georgetown University for her commitment to increased
understanding and appreciation of the peoples and cultures of Eurasia,
Russia and East
Europe.
She was named the National Mental Health Association's "Legislator of
the Year" for her championing mental health and received the 2002 Ellis
Island Medal of Honor.
Kaptur is also the author of a book, Women in Congress that was
published by Congressional Quarterly.
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