Albert Wynn

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Albert Wynn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 5, 1993–
Preceded by	Tom McMillen
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	September 10, 1951 (age 55) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Gaines Wynn
Religion	Baptist

Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10, 1951) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing the 4th district of the State of Maryland (map) since 1992.

[edit] Early life and career

Wynn was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at the University of Pittsburgh, Howard University and Georgetown Law School. While attending the University of Pittsburgh, Wynn was initiated as a member of the Beta Epsilon chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. He was a lawyer, director of Prince George's County, Maryland's consumer protection commission, and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland State Senate before entering the House.

[edit] Congressional career

Wynn was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 from the fourth congressional district of Maryland. Wynn is a known advocate for federal employees and small business development. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Wynn has worked towards protecting the salaries and benefits of federal employees and towards ending discrimination in the federal work force. Wynn has co-sponsored legislation aimed towards increasing the minimum wage, offering more job training and increasing access to child care.

Congressman Wynn pledges his support for the survival of Prince George's Hospital Center and speaks out against Medicaid cuts.

During the 105th Congress, Wynn successfully sponsored legislation passed to improve federal contracting opportunities for small and minority businesses. Recently, during the 107th Congress, Wynn introduced additional contracting legislation. He has twice received the Small Business Administration Administrator's Leadership Award for his efforts on behalf of small businesses.

In the community, Wynn sponsors an annual job fair, federal procurement fair and business expo, a college financial aid workshop, and a student leadership workshop. He also coordinates food distributions for the less fortunate every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Wynn has frequently issued strong statements of support for amnesty for illegal aliens. He spoke at the Washington, D.C. Immigration Rally in April 2006, condemning H. R. 4437 and other bills that aim to curtail illegal immigration. On Wynn's official website, he says "Now that they [illegal aliens] are in this country, we owe them respect and fair treatment." [1]

Wynn was interviewed by Stephen Colbert as Part 19 of Better Know A District, a segment on his show on Comedy Central, The Colbert Report, on April 20, 2006.

Rep. Wynn resides in Mitchellville, Maryland.

[edit] 2006 congressional elections

Main article: Maryland congressional elections, 2006

In 2006, he was challenged in the Democratic primary by community activist Donna Edwards, most recently executive director of the Arca Foundation. Edwards criticized Wynn for his votes to support the Iraq war, repeal of the estate tax, support of the bankruptcy bill of 2005, and of the Bush Administration's energy bill, arguing that he was too conservative and too closely allied with Republicans. While Wynn was initially heavily favored (he'd won over 80% of the vote in each of the past few elections), Edwards showed surprising strength. Two weeks before the primary, the Washington Post endorsed Edwards.

The primary was held on September 12, and when all the votes had been counted, Wynn defeated Edwards, by 49.7 percent to 46.4 percent — by 2,725 votes out of more than 82,000 cast. George McDermott, a little-known candidate, took 3.9 percent. The final tally of the primary was unclear for nearly two weeks because of widespread voting problems on new electronic voting machines in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. [2]

[edit] Committee assignments

As of May 2006, Wynn currently serves on the following House committees:

• Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  • Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
  • Member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
  • Member of the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Waste.

[edit] Election history

[edit] References

• This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Official Congressional biography for Representative Wynn.
• Congressional Quarterly Voting and Elections Collection.

[edit] External links

• Official website for Representative Wynn.
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post