Biography

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland is a strong advocate of Democrats’ policies to strengthen America’s middle class, its economy, and its national security. As House Majority Leader—a position to which he was elected by his Democratic colleagues in 2006 and 2008—Congressman Hoyer is charged with scheduling and managing the passage of legislation on the House Floor. He also plays a key role in helping House Democrats determine their legislative agenda and in delivering the Democratic message.

In response to the recession, Majority Leader Hoyer helped lead House passage of investments and tax cuts that non-partisan experts say are responsible for 3 million jobs. He is also spearheading the Make It In America agenda, a plan to rebuild American manufacturing and its well-paying jobs. He also made crucial contributions to the passage of legislation to expand access to affordable health care to all Americans, as well as tough, new rules to rein in Wall Street excesses and protect consumers while upholding the free market.

 

A voice for those who have been hit hardest by the economic crisis, Majority Leader Hoyer has fought to help people who have lost jobs through no fault of their own, keep teachers, police officers, and firefighters on the job, and encourage small businesses to grow and create jobs. He has been a longtime proponent of full-service community schools, whose range of services have been shown to improve academic performance and parental involvement in at-risk communities. As a champion of equal opportunity, Congressman Hoyer guided the historic Americans with Disabilities Act to passage in 1990, as well as the ADA Amendments Act in 2008 which strengthened the law. He also was a lead sponsor of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which was hailed as the most important voting rights legislation since the 1960s.

Majority Leader Hoyer believes that fiscal responsibility is critical to ensuring that we have the resources to invest in our future, as well as protect important programs like Social Security and Medicare. To that end, he helped lead the restoration of the pay-as-you-go law, ensuring that our country pays for what it buys.

Majority Leader Hoyer is also a respected voice on foreign policy. As Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, he fought for international human rights and freedom of religion during the last years of the Soviet Union. He led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Darfur in 2007 to call greater attention to the recent genocide and has continued to support a strong American role in defense of human rights.

He and his wife, the late Judith Pickett Hoyer, have three daughters, Susan, Stefany and Anne; son-in-law Loren Taylor; grandchildren Judy, James Cleveland, and Alexa; and one great-granddaughter, Ava.