| Niki Tsongas | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 16, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Marty Meehan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 26, 1946 Chico, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Paul Tsongas |
| Residence | Lowell, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Smith College Boston University |
| Occupation | Social worker, attorney |
Nicola Dickson "Niki" Sauvage Tsongas[1] ( /ˈsɒŋɡəs/; born April 26, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, serving since a special election in 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
She is the widow of U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas, who represented the 5th district in the 1970s. She became the first woman from Massachusetts elected to Congress in 25 years.[2]
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Tsongas was born Nicola Dickson Sauvage in Chico, California, the daughter of Marian Susan (née Wyman), an artist and copywriter, and Colonel Russell Elmer Sauvage, an engineer in the United States Air Force who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. She is a 1964 graduate of Narimasu American High School in Japan, where her father was stationed at Fuchu Air Force Base and then spent one year at Michigan State before attending Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. After graduating from Smith in 1968, she moved to New York City, where she took a job as a social worker for the Department of Welfare.[3]
Tsongas earned a law degree from Boston University and started Lowell's first all-female law practice. In 1967, while spending the summer in Arlington, Virginia, she met Paul Tsongas, then an aide to Congressman Brad Morse. In 1969, she married Paul and they had three daughters: Ashley, Katina, and Molly. Paul was a Massachusetts congressman and senator. In 1992, he became a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. He died in 1997 due to complications from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Niki has worked as the Dean of External Affairs at Middlesex Community College,[3] as well as a Board Member of Fallon Community Health Plan[4] and actively serving on the Lowell Civic Stadium and Arena Commission (which oversees the Tsongas Arena, the LeLacheur Ballpark, the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and the Lowell Plan).[3] In 2001, she was appointed by Representative Marty Meehan to head a foundation to provide education funding for the children of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.[5]
When Meehan resigned in 2007 in order to serve as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Niki Tsongas ran for the vacant seat in a special congressional election. She defeated four opponents in the Democratic primary with a 36% plurality of the vote. Her leading opponent in the general election on October 16, 2007 was Republican Jim Ogonowski. In addition, there were two independent candidates and one from the Constitution Party. During her campaign, Tsongas received endorsements from the three major newspapers in the area: the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, and the Lowell Sun.[6][7] Tsongas won the special election with 51 percent of the vote.
Tsongas did not face any opponents in the 2008 election. She was challenged by Republican nominee Jon Golnik, a former Wall Street currency trader and small businessman, in the 2010 election,[8] but kept her seat.
Tsongas is a member of the House Budget Committee,[9] and voted to instate the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act in February 2010.[10] She has supported economic stimulus efforts during the late-2000s recession, including the Economic Stimulus Act (a tax rebate and incentive policy) in February 2008,[11] the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (which established the Troubled Asset Relief Program) in October 2008,[12] and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a $787 billion economic stimulus) in January 2009.[13] In trade agreements for 2011, Tsongas voted against the Free Trade Agreement with Korea,[14]but voted for trade promotion agreements for Panama and Colombia.[15][16]
| Committee assignments 112th Congress (2011-2013) |
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Tsongas serves on the House Armed Services Committee.[17] In her 2007 election, she campaigned on setting a timetable to end the Iraq War.[18] The first bill she introduced in Congress, which died in committee, aimed to implement a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.[19][20] Tsongas believes the War in Afghanistan should be, “not just of a military nature, but also necessitate long term diplomatic, reconstruction and development efforts”[21] and had opposed President Obama’s request for supplemental funds to support the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan. As a member of the Armed Services Committee in the House, Tsongas has also been a long advocate of light-weight armor and the prevention of sexual assault in the military.[22]
Tsongas advocates for universal health care and supports a public health insurance option, as long as it "[is] self-sufficient, relying on the premiums it collects."[23] In January 2009, she voted to re-authorize and expand the Children's Health Insurance Program.[24] She voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act in March 2010.[25] On her website, Tsongas explained her vote in support of the legislation, saying, "The bill preserves what is best in the current system," in regards to Americans' choices in health care, and that it "will reduce our nation's growing deficit over 10 years by $104 billion" but stated that she was "very disappointed" at the restrictions on public funding for abortions built into the bill.[26]
In a press release, Congresswoman Tsongas cited a 9 percent increase in jobs in the clean energy sector, more than twice the rate of growth of traditional jobs, from 1998 to 2007.[27] Tsongas has also voted "yes" on the Energy Act of 2007, Alternative Energy Tax Incentives, and Energy Law Amendments (Cap and Trade), which aim to mandate increased minimum fuel efficiency cars may have in the United States, reduce taxes for the producers of alternative energy, and institute an Emissions Trading system, respectively.[28][29][30]
Tsongas is an advocate of abortion rights.[31] Tsongas received a 100 percent approval rating from Planned Parenthood in 2008.[32] She recently voted against an amendment to the Affordable Health Care for America Act "that would prohibit all federal funds...from being used to pay for abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother."[33] Tsongas also advocates for same-sex marriage and the rights for LGBT. She has cosponsored many proposed legislations, such as the Respect for Marriage Act.[34] She also voted “yea” to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.[35] Due to her views, she receives high scores from LGBT interest groups such as the Human Rights Campaign.[36] Tsongas is also a supporter of stricter gun regulation and voted against the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011[37] and received a 100 percent rating from the Brady Campaign, a non-profit organization that promotes stricter gun regulation laws. Because of her views, pro-gun interest groups, such as the Gun Owners of America, have given her near to failing ratings.[38]
Tsongas believes that Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and President Clinton’s Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 have failed, “to adequately address the primary driver of immigration: employment due to the unmet demands for workers”.[39] On her website she states that in order for immigration to be reformed the government should, “secure the border, fixe the system at its roots, hold employers accountable, and strengthen workforce verification”.[40] Like many of her fellow Democrats, Tsongas was a major supporter of the DREAM Act and receives high ratings from immigration interest groups such as the National Latino Congreso[41] and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.[42]
On taxation and financial/budgetary issues, Tsongas has received low or failing ratings from some right wing groups like the National Taxpayer's Union, FreedomWorks, the National Tax Limitation Committee, and Americans for Tax Reform.[43] On the contrary, Tsongas has a high support from major American worker unions such as the AFL-CIO and the AFSCME[44]
| U.S. House of Representatives — Massachusetts 5th congressional district, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Niki Tsongas (incumbent) | 225,947 | 99% | ||
| Republican | Uncontested | ||||
| U.S. House of Representatives — Massachusetts 5th congressional district, 2010 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Niki Tsongas (incumbent) | 122,676 | 54.9 | ||
| Republican | Jon Golnik | 94,501 | 42.3 | ||
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Marty Meehan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th congressional district October 16, 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Laura Richardson D-California |
United States Representatives by seniority 293rd |
Succeeded by Bob Latta R-Ohio |
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