About Elton
U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly has represented his neighbors in Congress for 25 years. On November 2, 2010, voters elected him to his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives with 60 percent of the vote. Even though he returns home virtually every weekend, he has maintained a better than 95 percent voting attendance record during his tenure in Congress.
Rep. Gallegly is Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
He has fought illegal immigration since his early days in Congress. His leadership on the issue landed him the chairmanship of the 1995 Congressional Task Force on Immigration Reform. Rep. Gallegly’s Task Force published a 200-plus page report with more than 80 specific recommendations. Most of those recommendations became law the following year.
He hasn’t let up. Rep. Gallegly’s efforts earned him recognition in 2006 as one of the Top Ten Illegal Immigration Hawks in Congress by Human Events magazine and induction into the U.S. Border Control Hall of Fame.
Rep. Gallegly opposes amnesty because it encourages illegal immigration, making it even more difficult to secure our borders and putting a huge strain on our economy and health care and educational systems.
Most of Rep. Gallegly’s district casework concerns helping legal immigrants. Like our ancestors, immigrants who come here legally want to be American citizens, with all the responsibilities that go with it. It is unfair to those who put in the time and effort to immigrate here legally to allow illegal immigrants to break in through the back door.
In the Forefront of Homeland Security
As a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and now its Vice Chairman, Rep. Gallegly is in the forefront of homeland security and the United States’ war against terrorism. Additionally, for eight years he served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and its Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence Subcommittee.
Rep. Gallegly has worked with our European allies to fight terrorism here and abroad. He has met with more than 50 heads of state, government delegations, or members of foreign legislative bodies here and abroad. He introduced and passed major NATO expansion legislation and represented the House of Representatives at the NATO summit in Prague at the request of President Bush.
During the 108th Congress, Rep. Gallegly chaired the Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights and, as such, chaired one of the first hearings on the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, a hearing that led to more than 10 provisions included in the final bill. In January 2004, he traveled to Libya as part of an historic congressional delegation to meet with Moammar Gadhafi after the Libyan strongman denounced terrorism and agreed to open his country to international arms inspectors.
Six weeks later he chaired a meeting with family members of the victims of Pan Am 103 to discuss progress with Libya.
His assignments build on his experience, acquired knowledge, and understanding to identify and act on threats that we may face in the future.
Crime, taxes, animal rights, and providing for our nation’s veterans are other issues Rep. Gallegly champions. He is a longtime leader on retirement security. Among the bills he authored that were signed into law was his bill to raise the annual contribution limits on Individual Retirement Accounts from $2,000 to $5,000.
On the Home Front
On the home front, Rep. Gallegly has been the primary leader in saving Naval Base Ventura County from closure and in establishing the Port of Hueneme as the only deepwater port between Los Angeles and San Francisco. He meets regularly with leaders at Vandenberg Air Force Base to discuss projects at the base and how he can facilitate continued support for the base.
Rep. Gallegly also has been successful over the years helping citrus growers, nursery growers, and vintners battle the glassy-winged sharpshooter. He has worked hard to protect the health and safety of his constituents through such projects as the Santa Paula Flood Control Project and has pushed relentlessly for a health study of residents near Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
During his tenure, Rep. Gallegly has also compiled a strong record of constituent service. Whether it be a city official seeking federal help, a senior needing assistance in solving a Social Security concern, or a citizen seeking immigration status for a relative, Rep. Gallegly and his staff have consistently won praise for their problem-solving abilities.
Rep. Gallegly was born on March 7, 1944, in the Los Angeles suburb of Huntington Park. After attending what is now California State University, Los Angeles, he became a successful businessman and owner of a real estate brokerage. He settled in the Ventura County community of Simi Valley in 1968.
He entered public life in 1979 with his election to the Simi Valley City Council and, in 1982, became the City’s first directly elected mayor. He held that post until he ran for Congress in 1986 when the incumbent ran for the Senate. Outspent 2-1, Rep. Gallegly’s local ties gave him a landslide victory in the 1986 primary over Tony Hope, son of comedian Bob Hope.
Rep. Gallegly and his wife, Janice, have four children and ten grandchildren. The couple makes their home in Simi Valley.
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