ABOUT TAMMY

Biography

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 to her sixth term in 2008.

In the 110th Congress, Tammy serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and its subcommittees on Health; Energy and Air Quality; and the Environment and Hazardous Materials and the Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism Homeland Security. She is a leading advocate for universal health care and a proponent of energy independence and renewable fuels. Tammy is also a forceful supporter of civil rights and an advocate for those in our society whose voices, too often, are not heard.

Tammy's driving motivation in politics is to pass legislation that will guarantee health care for all in America. A pragmatist, she has brought together conservative as well as progressive thinkers to craft the Health Partnership for Creative Federalism Act (H.R. 506)to meet this goal, legislation that creates state/federal partnerships toward that end.

Along with her push for universal care, Tammy is a leader in many other health care areas, such as repealing President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research and creating a comprehensive prescription drug benefit under Medicare. In the 110th Congress, the President signed into law Tammy's legislation reauthorizing the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (H.R. 1132), which provides cancer screening to low-income and uninsured women. The House has also passed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act (H.R. 1727), authored by Tammy, to improve the lives of and hasten better treatments and cures for people living with paralysis and mobility impairments.

Also in this session, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Dr. James Allen Veterans Vision Equity Act, Tammy's legislation to increase benefits for service members who lose their vision. She is a champion of our nation's veterans, working to ensure that they receive all the benefits they are owed and the thanks they deserve.

In addition, Tammy led successful efforts in the House to pass expanded hate crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Tammy is also known as a forceful advocate for family farmers. She has introduced legislation to allow farmers more flexibility in planting without risk of financial penalty (H.R. 1371).

Besides advancing legislation for the common good, Tammy has made it a priority to assist constituents in solving problems they may have with federal agencies; help individuals, groups, and municipalities secure federal grants; and ensure that her district receives a fair share of federal financial assistance. Since taking office, Tammy has secured more than $175 million in federal funds for worthwhile projects throughout 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 Common 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 every turn in her career, she has heard that she was either too young or too liberal, or that voters weren't ready to elect a woman or an out lesbian to office. Nonetheless, at the age of 37, Tammy 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. Tammy also is a firm believer in the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead who said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed 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 traces 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 have restored.

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