| Adam Schiff | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 29th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Henry Waxman |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 27th district |
|
| In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | James E. Rogan |
| Succeeded by | Brad Sherman |
| California State Senator | |
| In office 1996–2001 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | June 22, 1960 Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Eve Schiff |
| Children | Alexa Schiff Elijah Schiff |
| Residence | Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Stanford University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Judaism |
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for California's 29th congressional district. He has served in Congress since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which was numbered as the 27th District during his first term, includes Alhambra, Altadena, San Gabriel, Burbank, Glendale, South Pasadena, Temple City, Monterey Park, and Pasadena.
In 2007, he became a member of the House Appropriations Committee. He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.[1]
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He was born in Framingham, Massachusetts to a traditional Jewish family. He received a political science degree from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard University. He was a lawyer, working as an assistant prosecutor in the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office. He was a member of the California State Senate, serving as the chair of that body's judiciary committee during his one term.
During his tenure in the California Senate, Schiff authored Senate Bill 1847, Chapter 1021. Signed into law in 1998, this created the Pasadena Blue Line Authority, which continued work on the stalled then-Blue Line light rail extension to Pasadena, which would later be named the Gold Line instead.
Schiff has also been a leading voice in Armenian-American issues; he claims to have over 70,000 Armenian-Americans in his district.[2][3] He has strongly pushed for signing of the US House Resolution 106 recognizing the Armenian Genocide. On October 11, 2007, the resolution sponsored by Schiff was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.[4] Turkey's prime minister said that approval of the resolution would endanger U.S.-Turkey relations.[5] The resolution was again approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 4, 2010 by a 23-22 margin.[6]
Schiff was elected in 2000, defeating Republican incumbent Jim Rogan. The district had once been a Republican stronghold, but had been trending Democratic since the early 1990s. In what was the most expensive House race ever at the time[7] (several elections in 2006[8] and 2008[9] later eclipsed it), Schiff unseated Rogan, taking 53 percent of the vote to Rogan's 44 percent. He became only the second Democrat to represent this district since its creation in 1913 (it was the 9th District from 1913 to 1933, the 11th District from 1933–43, the 20th District from 1943 to 1975, the 22nd District from 1975 to 1993, and the 27th District from 1993 to 2003).
In 2010, Schiff defeated Tea Party backed Republican John Colbert for a 6th term.[10]
Schiff has settled in Burbank, California with his wife Eve and two children, Alexa and Elijah.[11]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James E. Rogan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 27th congressional district 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Brad Sherman |
| Preceded by Henry Waxman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 29th congressional district 2003–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Mike Ross D-Arkansas |
United States Representatives by seniority 187th |
Succeeded by Patrick Tiberi R-Ohio |