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Jim McDermott

Jim McDermott was born in Chicago on December 28, 1936. He was the first member of his family to attend college and went on to finish medical school. After completing his medical residency and military service, he made his first run for public office in 1970 and was elected a state representative from the 43rd legislative district in Washington. In 1974, he ran for the state Senate, and subsequently was re-elected three times. In 1980, he received the Democratic nomination for governor, defeating the incumbent in the primary.

In 1987, after 15 years of legislative service, Rep. McDermott decided to leave politics and continue in public service as a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire, providing psychiatric services to Foreign Service, AID, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. When the 7th district Congressional seat later became open, he returned from Africa to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected in 1988 to the 101st Congress and is currently serving his 5th term.

A physician, Rep. McDermott is especially interested in health care issues, and, while in the state legislature, he developed the Washington Basic Health Plan, the first state program in the country to provide low-cost health insurance to the unemployed and working poor. In the Congress, he is active in health care reform issues. He founded and chairs the Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS and introduced the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act, a new program enacted into law in 1990 authorizing $156 million in FY 92 for special housing assistance for people with AIDS. Rep. McDermott, the co-author of Single Payer health care legislation, is leading the fight in the House of Representatives to guarantee all Americans comprehensive health care coverage.

Rep. McDermott attends St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle and has two adult children.

Education

• Attended public schools in Downers Grove, Illinois.
• B.S., Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, 1958.
• M.D., University of Illinois Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, 1963.
• Internship, Buffalo General Hospital, Buffalo, New York, 1963-64.
• Residency in Adult Psychiatry, University of Illinois Hospitals, Chicago, Illinois, 1964-66.
• Residency in Child Psychiatry, University of Washington Hospitals, Seattle, Washington, 1966-68.

State Legislative Service

• Washington State House of Representatives, 43rd district, 1971-72.
• Washington State Senate, 43rd district, 1975-1987. Chairman, Senate Ways and Means Committee,
• 1983-87. Chairman, Legislative Budget Committee, 1983-85.
• Major Legislative Accomplishments: Basic Education Act, 1977; Nursing Home Reform Act, 1979;
• Public Works Trust Fund, 1985; Comparable Worth Funding, 1985; Centennial Clean Water Act,
• 1986; Basic Health Care Act, first-in-nation plan providing affordable managed care to unemployed and uninsured, 1987.

Military Service

• U.S. Navy Medical Corps, Lieutenant Commander, Chief Psychiatrist, Long Beach Naval Station, California, 1968-70.

Professional Service

• Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington Hospitals, Seattle, WA, 1970-83.
• Chief Psychiatrist, Seattle/King County Jail, Seattle, WA, 1978.
• Consultant, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Juvenile Rehabilitation, Seattle, WA, 1972-79.
• Consultant, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Seattle, WA, 1972-83.
• Member, Public Health Associates of Seattle, Seattle, WA, 1983-86.
• Regional Medical Officer, U.S. Foreign Service, stationed in Kinshasa, Zaire, 1987-88.

U.S. House Assignments

• Committee on Budget
• Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Trade
• National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare
• Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS, Chair
• Congressional Africa Trade and Investment Caucus, Co-Chair
• Congressional Urban Caucus, Co-Chair

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