Biography

Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette is serving her 6^th term in Congress as the representative for the First District of Colorado. The First Congressional District includes Denver, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Glendale, and Sheridan, and is Colorado’s most diverse and densely populated district. 

A life-long Coloradoan, Rep. DeGette is guided by traditional Western values. Rep. DeGette is one of the leading voices in the health care debate in this country. She played a vital role in the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and is the author of legislation to expand stem cell research. She is also the author of the landmark Colorado Wilderness Act, which protects and preserves 1.6 million acres of pristine land across Colorado for generations to come. She has fought to expand her constituents’ access to affordable quality health care, expand mass transit, improve transportation in the Denver area, clean up environmental waste sites, and improve opportunities for small business. Finally, committed to common-sense fiscal responsibility, she is working with like-minded Members of Congress to reduce the national deficit.

In 2005, Rep. DeGette was promoted to the House Democratic leadership as Chief Deputy Whip. Now in the Majority, she works to assure passage of key pieces of legislation. Steadily rising in the Democratic Whip organization since her first term in Congress, Rep. DeGette previously served six years as Regional Whip and two years as the Democratic Floor Whip.

Appointed in January 2007 as the Vice Chair of the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce, an exclusive congressional committee with vast jurisdiction over health care, trade, business, technology and consumer protection, Rep. DeGette serves as the Acting Chair of the committee in the Chairman’s absence.  She also spearheads projects and assists the Chairman in promoting the Committee’s legislative agenda.

A member of the Committee since her first term in Congress, she has used her position to improve health care, expand medical research, reform corporate business and accounting practices, ensure that our homeland is adequately protected, take on global climate change, and move America toward energy independence. She also serves as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Rep. DeGette has become one of Congress’ leading experts on cutting-edge scientific research and is the author of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. This important legislation would overturn President Bush's draconian ban on embryonic stem cell research and reassert the United States’ worldwide leadership role in medical innovation. It passed both the House and Senate in both the 109^th and 110^th Congresses with broad, bipartisan support, but was vetoed by President Bush both times. 

Rep. DeGette is committed to expanding access to health care and improving public health. She has led efforts to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides health insurance to low-income children up to age 18. Appointed as lead whip by the Democratic Leadership, Rep. DeGette played a central role in passing legislation to reauthorize and enhance SCHIP. As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Diabetes Caucus, Rep. DeGette has also been a long-time advocate for the expansion of diabetes care and research, particularly for lower-income and minority communities. Rep. DeGette is also the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus.

As a member of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, Rep. DeGette has taken the lead on a variety of investigations including the National Institutes of Health ethics guidelines, the safety of the diet supplement Ephedra, and child exploitation over the internet. She established a national reputation as a leader on corporate accountability issues during her committee’s investigations of Enron, Arthur Andersen, Hewlett Packard and other companies embroiled scandal.

Rep. DeGette has taken a lead role in advocating for the protection of our nation’s food supply. In light of the recent food contamination outbreaks, Rep. DeGette believes that the protection of our nation’s food supply should be recognized as a critical component of our national security. She is the author of two key pieces of legislation that go a long way toward securing our nation's food supply. 

The first, The SAFER (Safe And Fair Enforcement & Recall) Act, would give the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration the authority to force a recall of all contaminated foods. Under current law, recalls are completely voluntary--even when public health is at risk. Giving these agencies mandatory recall authority would speed the removal of tainted foods from circulation and significantly reduce the risk of food-borne illness. This bill will promote public safety and improve consumer confidence.

The second, The TRACE (Tracing and Recalling Agricultural Contamination) Act would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a product tracing system to track products from their origins to the grocery store, enabling faster recall in the event of contamination. This proposal will assist consumers and retailers in identifying and removing tainted products from refrigerators and store shelves. 

Rep. DeGette has been featured on a wide spectrum of news outlets, including ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and CNN. Rep. DeGette is also regularly quoted in major newspapers across the nation, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, as well as magazines including Newsweek, and Time.

A fourth-generation Coloradoan, Rep. DeGette graduated from Denver’s South High School, received her B.A. magna cum laude from Colorado College in 1979 and her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1982. She served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives serving as Assistant Minority Leader from 1993-1995.