Anna Eshoo

Anna Eshoo
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1993
Preceded by Tom Campbell[1]
Personal details
Born December 13, 1942 (1942-12-13) (age 69)
New Britain, Connecticut
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) George Eshoo (divorced)
Children Karen Eshoo
Paul Eshoo
Residence Atherton, California
Alma mater Cañada College
Occupation communications executive, political assistant
Religion Chaldean Catholic

Anna Georges Eshoo (born December 13, 1942) is the U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district, serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, which includes part of Silicon Valley, includes the cities of Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto. She is the only Member of Congress of Assyrian descent.

Contents

Family background

Anna Eshoo was born in New Britain, Connecticut, of Assyrian and Armenian heritage.[2] Her father, Fred Georges, was a jeweler and watchmaker. She is a Chaldean Catholic and is the oldest of three children. She has a brother, Frederick Kenneth Georges, and a sister, Veronica May Georges.

She was married to attorney George Eshoo and is now divorced, with two children, Karen and Paul. She now resides in Atherton, California.

Education

Professional career

Political career

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1988, in the middle of Eshoo's second term on the San Mateo Board of Supervisors, Anna Eshoo ran for Congress in what was then the 12th District, but lost narrowly to Stanford law professor Tom Campbell. However, when Campbell made an unsuccessful run for the Senate in 1992, Eshoo ran for his vacated Congressional seat, which had been renumbered the 14th as a result of redistricting. She won by 17 points, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district since its creation in 1953 (it was the 11th District from 1953 to 1983 and the 12th from 1983 to 1993). She has been reelected nine times, never facing serious opposition. Most recently, she defeated Dave Chapman on November 2, 2010, garnering nearly 70 percent of the vote.

In 2003, Eshoo was elected by her Democratic colleagues in the 108th Congress as an At-Large Democratic Whip, and she has served in that position to the present. She is currently the only Assyrian American member of Congress and one of two Armenian American members of Congress. The other Armenian-American in Congress is Jackie Speier, who represents the rest of San Mateo County.

On January 30, 2008, Rep. Eshoo formally endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President.[3]

Issues and legislation

Anna Eshoo's complete voting record can be viewed at Vote Smart

Energy[4]

In 2005, Eshoo worked with Nancy Pelosi to develop the Democratic Innovation Agenda, which calls for America to achieve independence from Middle East oil over the next ten years. She has led efforts to raise fuel standards for automakers, and pursued reliance on alternative energy sources both in California and nationally. Legislation includes:

Click here [5] to download a copy of Eshoo's floor statement on H.R. 3321, the New Direction for Energy Independence Act.

Human rights

Anna Eshoo is a strong supporter of the gay rights movement. In 1992 when a gay bashing mailer was directed at Supervisor Tom Nolan (the first openly gay supervisor in San Mateo and her opponent for her congressional seat) Anna Eshoo stood fast in defending him, his record and years of service. She opposed the Marriage Protection Amendment and the Marriage Protection Act. Her website says the bill is "discriminatory, singling out for the first time a minority to prevent their interests from being considered by the highest courts in the land."[6]

As one of just two Assyrian members of Congress, Eshoo has worked hard to protect indigenous Assyrian Christians in Iraq from continuing religious persecution and political exclusion. She authored an amendment to H.R. 2601, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, requesting that "special attention should be paid to the welfare of Chaldo-Assyrians and other indigenous Christians in Iraq."[7]

Rep. Eshoo has been a strong supporter of the Congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. She also supports closer ties between Armenia and the U.S.

Rep. Eshoo has fought strongly against certain provisions of the Patriot Act, particularly Section 215 (Access to Business Records), which gives federal investigators the right to obtain any tangible business record without obtaining a subpoena.

Rep. Eshoo also introduced "Kevin's Law," which would have given the U.S. Department of Agriculture the power to close down plants that produce contaminated meat.

As an Assyrian and Armenian American, Rep. Eshoo is co-chair and co-founder of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus. She also serves on the Board of Advisors of THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy, a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated freedom of religion organization.

Immigration

Rep. Eshoo has worked to create a legal "pathway to citizenship" for foreign workers of all kinds, from doctors and computer programmers to migrant farm workers. She has voted to increase the annual cap on H-1B visas to allow more temporary foreign professionals to work in the United States (especially those with Master's Degrees or higher).

In her state of California, where as much as 90% of the agricultural workforce is composed of illegal immigrants,[8] Rep. Eshoo cosponsored H.R. 371, the Agricultural Jobs Act, which would confer blue card status on illegal immigrants who had worked an agricultural job in the United States for 150 days or more. This bill never became law.

Other legislation includes:

Technology

In November 2005, Rep. Eshoo led the House Democratic Caucus in introducing the "Innovation Agenda." Representative Eshoo developed this comprehensive policy in conjunction with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and others after extensive consultation with Silicon Valley and tech leaders around the country, venture capitalists, and scholars.

She authored a bill authorizing electronic signatures and introduced controversial legislation to help alleviate the proliferation of unsolicited email, known as spam. The U.S. House of Representatives passed The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (S. 877), which authorizes a “Do Not Spam” list, regulates commercial email, and imposes fines on spammers. Eshoo authored the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act of 2001 (H.R. 237), created a program to provide discounts to schools and libraries for Internet access, and authored the Computer Donation Incentive Act.

Rep. Eshoo introduced HR 2428, the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009.[9] The bill would require new federal road projects to include plastic conduits buried along the side of the roadway, and enough of them to "accommodate multiple broadband providers."[10] “According to industry experts, more than half of the cost of new broadband deployment is attributable to the expense of tearing up and repaving roads,” said Rep. Eshoo. “By putting the broadband conduit in place while the ground beneath the roadways is exposed, we will enable any authorized communications provider to come in later and install fiber-optic cable at far less cost.”[9] The bill is supported by Google.[11][12]

Together with Rep. Edward Markey Eshoo introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009,[13] which would make Net Neutrality the law.[14]

Rep. Eshoo currently serves as co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, a bipartisan group of over 150 members of the House and Senate working to educate their colleagues about the promise and potential of the Internet.[15]

Youth

Eshoo created student advisory boards in 1993 consisting of youth from her congressional district, who advise her on policies and make recommendations, and are located in Palo Alto, San Mateo and Santa Cruz. The students attend biweekly meetings and choose one topic to focus on each year. Past topics have included health care, the crisis in Darfur, medicine, voter reform, foreign affairs, and the media. Eshoo also hosts a congressional arts competition, which students can apply to win.

Committee assignments

[16]

Caucuses

Electoral history

United States House of Representatives elections, 1988[17]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Republican Tom Campbell 136,384 51.7%
Democratic Anna Eshoo 121,523 46.0%
Libertarian Tom Grey 6,023 2.3%
Totals 263,930 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Republican hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 1992[18]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo 146,873 56.7%
Republican Tom Huening 101,202 39.0%
Libertarian Chuck Olson 7,220 2.8%
Peace and Freedom David Wald 3,912 1.5%
No party Sims (write-in) 12 0.01%
No party Maginnis (write-in) 3 0.003%
Totals 259,232 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic gain from Republican
United States House of Representatives elections, 1994[19]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 130,713 60.60%
Republican Ben Brink 78,475 39.40%
Totals 199,188 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 1996[20]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 149,313 64.9%
Republican Ben Brink 71,573 31.1%
Peace and Freedom Timothy Thompson 3,653 1.6%
Libertarian Joseph Dehn 3,492 1.5%
Natural Law Robert Wells 2,144 0.9%
Totals 230,175 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 1998[21]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 129,663 68.64%
Republican Chris Haugen 53,719 28.44%
Libertarian Joseph W. Dehn III 3,166 1.68%
Natural Law Anna Currivan 2,362 1.25%
Totals 188,910 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2000[22]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 161,720 70.3%
Republican Bill Quraishi 59,338 25.8%
Libertarian Joseph W. Dehn III 4,715 2.0%
Natural Law John Black 4,489 1.9%
Totals 230,262 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2002[23]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 117,055 68.2%
Republican Joe Nixon 48,346 28.2%
Libertarian Andrew B. Carver 6,277 3.6%
Totals 171,678 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2004[24]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 182,712 69.8%
Republican Chris Haugen 69,564 26.6%
Libertarian Brian Holtz 9,588 3.6%
No party Dennis Mitrzyk (write-in) 24 0.01%
Totals 262,088 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2006[25]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 141,153 71.1%
Republican Rob Smith 48,097 24.3%
Libertarian Brian Holtz 4,692 2.3%
Green Carol Brouillet 4,633 2.3%
Totals 198,575 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2008[26]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 190,301 69.8%
Republican Ronny Santana 60,610 22.3%
Libertarian Brian Holtz 11,929 4.3%
Green Carol Brouillet 9,926 3.6%
Totals 272,766 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010[27]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Anna Eshoo (incumbent) 150,542 69.1%
Republican Dave Chapman 60,668 27.9%
Libertarian Paul Lazaga 6,685 3.0%
Totals 217,895 100.0%
Voter turnout  %
Democratic hold

Organizations

Awards and honors

See also

References

  1. ^ Prior to 1993, nearly all of Eshoo's district was the 12th district, represented by Tom Campbell
  2. ^ Kreitman, K. (10/27/2006) "Anna Eshoo has come a long way in Congress," Daily Journal (San Mateo County, Calif.)
  3. ^ Anna Eshoo endorses Obama - Political Blotter - Politics in the Bay Area and beyond
  4. ^ Anna Eshoo's stance on energy
  5. ^ http://eshoo.house.gov/images/documents/Energy/eshoo%20floor%20statement%20on%20energy%20package_8-4-07.doc
  6. ^ Anna Eshoo's stance on civil rights
  7. ^ Amendment 483 to Hr. 2601
  8. ^ Study by the Department of Labor
  9. ^ a b Anna Eshoo. "Rep. Eshoo Introduces Broadband Conduit Legislation". http://eshoo.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=608&Itemid=79. 
  10. ^ Nate Anderson (May 20, 2009). "New bill wants fiber conduit built into every road project". arstechnica. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/new-bill-wants-fiber-conduit-built-into-every-road-project.ars. 
  11. ^ Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel, Google (June 8, 2009). "Google submits initial comments supporting a National Broadband Plan". http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/06/google-submits-initial-comments.html. 
  12. ^ Richard Whitt, Google (June 8, 2009). "Submit your ideas for a National Broadband Plan". http://moderator.appspot.com/#15/e=a4977&t=a60d6. 
  13. ^ Anna Eshoo (?). "Reps. Eshoo and Markey Introduce Bill to Preserve Free and Open Internet". http://eshoo.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=639&Itemid=79. 
  14. ^ [[Free Press (organization)|]] (August 3, 2009). "Two Million for Internet Freedom". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_5Ic5Ic0u4. 
  15. ^ Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (January 11, 2011). "U.S. Congressional Internet Caucus: Membership in the 112th Congress". http://www.netcaucus.org/members/. 
  16. ^ Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo's Committee Assignments
  17. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  18. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1992," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  19. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1994," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  20. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  21. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1998," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  22. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  23. ^ 2002 Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 2002," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  24. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  25. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  26. ^ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," (retrieved on August 8th, 2009).
  27. ^ Secretary of State Debra Bowen "U.S. Congress District 14 - Districtwide Results" (retrieved on November 22nd, 2010).

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Tom Campbell		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 14th congressional district
1993–Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Jim Clyburn
D-South Carolina		 United States Representatives by seniority
73rd		 Succeeded by
Bob Filner
D-California
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