Biography

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik proudly represents New York's 21st District in the House of Representatives where she is a Member of both the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. On the House Armed Services Committee, Congresswoman Stefanik serves as Vice-Chair for the Subcommittee on Readiness. On the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congresswoman Stefanik serves on the Subcommittees on Workforce Protections and Higher Education and Workforce Training. She was elected by her freshman peers in the 114th Congress to serve as the Freshman Representative to the Policy Committee where she is the Chair of the Millennial Task Force. Congresswoman Stefanik is proudly the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in United States history.

Among her first term initiatives, Congresswoman Stefanik:

• Successfully led the New York State delegation in saving Fort Drum from up to 16,000 military personnel cuts due to sequestration.
• Helped the House Pass the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act -- bipartisan legislation that would reduce burdensome federal regulations to help our small businesses grow.
• Authored the Be Open Act – legislation that passed the House of Representatives and was signed into law by the President. This is the largest fix to ObamaCare of 2015 and repeals the auto-enrollment mandate that reduces choices in health coverage and has created confusion that can lead to significant tax penalties on both the employer and employee.
• Introduced the Flexible Pell Grant for 21st Century Students Act -- bipartisan legislation developed from her higher education roundtables that will help students complete a postsecondary education quickly and at a lower cost.
• Helped pass the Bipartisan Budget Act – a two year budget agreement that lifted the devastating defense sequester cuts and put an end to crisis-to-crisis governing.
• Was the sole freshman negotiator on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and fought hard to include language to help protect and strengthen Fort Drum.
• Brought a new commitment to transparency to Congress, posting her legislative votes to Facebook and keeping her website updated with her legislative work and public schedule.

Prior to winning her election to Congress overwhelmingly by over 20 points, Congresswoman Stefanik worked at her family's small business called Premium Plywood Products that was founded in Upstate New York over twenty years ago. Growing up in her family's small business, she learned, lived and understands the values of hard work, perseverance, challenges, and risk that go along with building, operating and growing small businesses that provide jobs in today's Upstate economy.

Congresswoman Stefanik’s policy focus includes:

• Creating jobs and economic opportunities for small businesses and hard working families in Upstate New York.
• Reducing the out-of-control tax and regulatory burdens facing small businesses by reforming the tax code to be flatter and fairer and eliminating red tape.
• Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with common sense solutions to lower health care costs and improve quality and access.
• Fighting for fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget and protecting and preserving entitlements.
• Supporting Upstate farmers – the backbone of our North Country communities.
• Protecting Fort Drum and advocating for veterans and military families.
• Pursuing energy policies that help North Country families and businesses.
• Finding solutions for hard working North Country families to help make education higher quality and more affordable.
• Promoting and strengthening U.S.-Canadian trade relations.

Congresswoman Stefanik served as Director of Vice Presidential Debate Prep to Paul Ryan where she oversaw all debate preparations for the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. She served as Director of Communications for the Foreign Policy Initiative, which launched Defending Defense, a coalition of think tanks warning of the dangers of the sequester.

From 2006 - 2009, Congresswoman Stefanik served in the West Wing of the White House as part of President George W. Bush's Domestic Policy Council Staff and in the Chief of Staff's office where she assisted in overseeing the policy development process on all economic and domestic policy issues.

As the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college, Congresswoman Stefanik graduated with Honors from Harvard University. She currently serves on the Senior Advisory Committee of Harvard's Institute of Politics, the largest political undergraduate organization.

Congresswoman Stefanik was born and raised in Upstate New York. She graduated cum laude from Albany Academy for Girls, the oldest continuous all girls' school in the country. She lives in Willsboro, NY where her family has had a home since she was 3.

To download Congresswoman Stefanik's official picture, click here.