Full Biography

Brian Bilbray is a life-long San Diegan. He has served the people of San Diego County as a Lifeguard, Council Member, Mayor, County Supervisor and member of Congress.

Brian works to address the many important issues affecting San Diego residents and serve as an effective advocate for the 50th Congressional District. He is a member of the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee with subcommittee appointments to Oversight and Investigations, Communication and Technology, and Energy and Power. He is Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus where he works with members from both sides of the aisle to enact meaningful immigration reform.

His number one priority in the 112th Congress has been to help build an environment that allows the private sector to grow and create jobs. In March, he introduced H.R. 1036, The Job Creation and Innovation Investment Act of 2011. This legislation would establish a tax holiday from the current 35 percent repatriation tax U.S. companies pay when they bring home foreign earned assets. Specifically, it establishes a zero percent tax rate for funds brought back to the U.S. that are invested in research and development, new manufacturing, and facility expansion.

In June, Congressman Bilbray hosted the First Annual Veterans Career and Resource Fair. With a veteran unemployment rate of 11.5 percent in California, Rep. Bilbray believes that more needs to be done to create an environment that helps the private sector hire men and women who have served our country in uniform, more than 250,000 of whom live in San Diego County. That is why Congressman Brian Bilbray introduced H.R. 3340, the Help Inspire and Retrain our Exceptional (HIRE) Veterans Act of 2011, with bipartisan support.

Congressman Bilbray has also introduced legislation to help protect San Diego's vibrant life-sciences community, patients whose lives depend on innovation, and the 24,000 industry jobs in the San Diego region. He introduced H.R. 734 to repeal a costly $20 billion medical device tax contained in the health care reform law passed by Congress in 2010. Rep. Bilbray also sponsored H.R. 3203, the Novel Device Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, to improve the Food and Drug Administration's third party review and inspection process by making it more efficient, transparent, and beneficial to the life science industry.

As Chairman of the bipartisan House Immigration Reform Caucus, Rep. Bilbray has targeted the source of illegal immigration: employers who hire illegal labor. He is a proud sponsor of H.R. 2885, the Legal Workforce Act. This legislation could open up millions of jobs for unemployed American workers by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify.

His other key priorities include the continuation of his past work on clean air and clean water, efforts to bring accountability and transparency to the federal budget process, health care reform and ensuring our nation’s future through alternative energy. Congressman Bilbray has also been on the forefront of the battle to protect the Mt. Soledad Veterans War Memorial.

He and his wife Karen are proud parents of five children and seven grandchildren.