Biography

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has worked a lifetime for the people of Connecticut . She was first elected to Congress from Connecticut 's Third District in 1990, and is currently serving her ninth term. Congresswoman DeLauro sits on the influential House Appropriations and Budget Committees.  She serves as chairwoman of the Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee and as a member of the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education and Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittees.  In 1999, she was elected Assistant to the Democratic Leader by her colleagues, making her the second highest ranking Democratic woman in the House of Representatives.  She was re-elected to this position in 2000.  She has served as co-chair of the House Steering and Policy Committee since 2002.  

Congresswoman DeLauro was born and raised in New 

Haven's Wooster Square, where for years her grandmother 

owned and operated a pastry shop. Her father, Ted DeLauro, was a New Haven Alderman whose hard work earned him the nickname "Mayor of Wooster Square." DeLauro's mother, Luisa, was the longest-serving member of the New Haven Board of Aldermen, serving from 1965 to 1998. Since coming to Congress, DeLauro has built a solid reputation for constituent service and hard work. In 1998, 2000 and 2002, she was recognized as one of the House of Representative's top "Workhorses" by Washingtonian magazine, and was called a "hero for working families" by nationally syndicated columnist Tom Oliphant.  

DeLauro has helped Connecticut families get ahead by making economic improvement a top priority. The first bill she introduced as a Member of Congress was a middle-class tax cut. More recently, she has fought for targeted tax cuts such as a $500 per child tax credit, a tax cut for children ' s health care, and education tax cuts to give every Connecticut family the chance to send their kids to college.  DeLauro has authored legislation that would guarantee men and women equal pay for equal work.  From her seat on the Appropriations Committee, DeLauro has successfully secured millions in vital funds for Connecticut' s defense industry.  In addition, DeLauro has become a leader in the effort to protect and strengthen Social Security for today's seniors and future generations.

During her tenure in Congress, DeLauro has taken a special interest in health care issues, leading the fight for affordable, quality health care.  She has worked aggressively with a bipartisan group of legislators to lower the rising costs of prescription drugs.  As a result of her efforts, the U.S. House passed legislation allowing the importation of drugs from countries like Canada in the 108^th Congress.  A survivor of ovarian cancer, DeLauro has been a leading voice for increasing critical cancer research.  Her work led to passage of “Johanna’s Law” in the 109^th Congress – a law that will increase awareness of the gynecologic cancers.  From her position on the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, DeLauro has fought to increase funding for breast and cervical cancer screenings and research.  DeLauro has also authored legislation to ensure longer hospital stays for women undergoing breast cancer surgery that enjoys bipartisan support.  She led an effort to enact national legislation to address the public health crisis of underage drinking in our country.  In the 109^th Congress, “The STOP (Sober Truth on Preventing) Underage Drinking Act” became law.

In February 2005, DeLauro was honored to be appointed ranking member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee and charged with overseeing what she considers the core responsibilities of our federal government.  Through the position, DeLauro has worked to provide funding for a safe food supply, a healthy agricultural economy, and for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate thousands of products we use everyday.  DeLauro has made reform of the FDA a top priority to strengthen oversight of food and drugs.  With rising instances of food safety and food-borne illness a concern for many Americans, DeLauro co-founded the Congressional Food Safety Caucus to explore remedies to secure the food supply. 

As chairwoman of the Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee in the 110^th Congress, DeLauro will work to restore the oversight functions of the subcommittee by examining the nation’s food safety system and ensuring that federal agencies such as the FDA and USDA prioritize science and the public interest.  She will work to make bold investments in renewable energy technologies, expand rural development programs and support specialty crop initiatives that are important to Connecticut . 

DeLauro has spearheaded initiatives in Washington and Connecticut to meet the challenges facing parents and children. She has championed legislation that would make child care more affordable, and has worked to improve public education by reducing class size and modernizing public schools. In 1999, DeLauro established “Rosa's Readers,” a program designed to increase interest in reading outside the formal classroom environment.  During the first Rosa's Readers summer program, more than 400 first graders completed the challenge of reading twenty books over the summer and were rewarded at a pizza party with their family and friends.  

Since she first came to Congress in 1990, Rosa DeLauro has put every pay raise she has received toward the Ted DeLauro Scholarship, which she founded in memory of her late father.  To date, $437,000 has helped 437 students further their education.  In 2004, DeLauro also used the Congressional pay raise to initiate the Maria Baez Perez Scholarship, established in the name of a former staff person.  Since that time, 30 area students have received $1,000 scholarships as well. 

Over the course of her career, Congresswoman DeLauro has been recognized by a host of organizations for her dedication and service. Some of them are:

·         Anti-Defamation League

·         Bartels Fellow, University of New Haven

·         Connecticut Council of Family Services

·         Connecticut Hospice

·         Connecticut Humanities Council

·         Connecticut Job Corp Center

·         Coordinating Council for Children in Crisis

·         Corneilius Driscoll Award - New Haven St. Patrick's Day Committee

·         Habitat for Humanity

·         Head Start

·         Latin American Women ' s Association of Connecticut

·         National Breast Cancer Coalition

·         National Organization of Italian American Women

·         New England Association of School Superintendents

·         The Santa Maria Maddelena Society

·         Society of Gynecologic Oncologists

·         United Auto Workers

·         United States Marine Corps

·         Women’s Heath Research at Yale

Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, Rosa DeLauro served as Executive Director of EMILY'S List, a national organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected office. She served as Executive Director of Countdown '87, the national campaign that successfully stopped U.S. military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. From 1981-1987, DeLauro served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd.

DeLauro is a graduate of Marymount College, where she received her B.A. with honors. She earned her Masters in International Politics from Columbia University, and studied at the London School of Economics.

DeLauro is married to Stanley Greenberg, President of Greenberg-Quinlan Research, Inc., a public issues research and polling firm. Their children – Anna, Kathryn and Jonathan Greenberg – are all grown and pursuing careers.  They have three grandchildren, Rigby, Sadie and Teo.

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