Bill Pascrell

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Bill Pascrell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Bill Martini
Born	January 25, 1937 (1937-01-25) (age 72) Paterson, New Jersey
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elsie Pascrell
Residence	Paterson, New Jersey
Alma mater	Fordham University
Occupation	high school teacher
Religion	Roman Catholic
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1961-1967

William J. "Bill" Pascrell, Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American Democratic politician who represents New Jersey's 8th congressional district (map) in the House of Representatives. The district is based in Paterson and includes most of Passaic County and suburban Essex County.

[edit] Early life

[edit] Education

The grandson of Italian immigrants, Pascrell was born in Paterson, New Jersey and attended St. George’s Elementary School, and in 1955 graduated from St. John the Baptist High School, during which he was elected Student Council President. Pascrell later went on to attend Fordham University in New York with Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s degree in Philosophy.

[edit] Academia

Bill spent 12 years as a high school teacher in Paramus, NJ before being hired as a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Previously, Pascrell was appointed to Paterson Board of Education, where he served as President of the Board. Bill also served as Board of Trustees of Passaic County Community College.

[edit] Political career

Pascrell was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988, eventually rising to the position Minority Leader Pro Tempore. ^[1] He was elected as Mayor of Paterson, New Jersey's third largest city, in 1990. He continued to serve in the General Assembly as well, a common practice for New Jersey politicians.

Pascrell won the Democratic nomination for the 8th District in 1996 and defeated one-term Republican Bill Martini. He has been reelected five times, usually by a large margin.

In Congress, Pascrell serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means. He is the first New Jerseyan to serve on this committee in 10 years.

Pascrell was one of the original members of the Homeland Security Committee, eventually rising to the post of ranking Democrat on the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee. He has a particular interest in fire safety, and authored the bill that created the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which gives federal grants directly to all fire departments, including volunteer fire departments, which he calls "the forgotten part of the public safety equation."

Bill was also a member of the House Transportation Committee, where he worked to modernize roads, bridges, airports and mass transit systems. He has secured funding for reconstructing various dangerous roads and bridges throughout New Jersey, including bringing attention to the Route 46 corridor. In addition, he has helped craft legislation to renew federal surface transportation programs, providing funding toward New Jersey Transit. The new legislation tackled projects of rail expansion between Passaic and Bergen counties, bridge construction throughout Route 46, and the establishment of a bike-pedestrian path in South Orange.

Pascrell is an Italian American and has been outspoken about the representation of Italian-Americans in the media regarding what he sees as negative stereotypes in shows such as HBO's The Sopranos. His Italian heritage was famously^{[citation needed]} questioned by comedian Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, who alleged in an interview that Pascrell could not truly be of Italian descent because Italian surnames must end with a vowel. Pressed by Colbert for an example of an Italian surname ending in a consonant, Pascrell responded with "Sole".^[2]

During the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2009 Working on a Dream Tour, Pascrell asked for investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice into the practices of Ticketmaster and TicketsNow in regard to sales of tickets to the tour's New Jersey shows.^[3] Pascrell subsequently introduced proposed federal legislation, titled the "BOSS ACT" (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing), which would require primary ticket sellers to disclose how many tickets were being held back from sale, prohibit ticket brokers from buying tickets during the first 48 hours on sale, and prohibit primary ticket sellers, promoters, and artists from entering the secondary market.^[4]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism
  • Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response
  • Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight
• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Health

[edit] Leadership positions

• Regional Whip

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congressman Bill Pascrell official U.S. House site
• Pascrell for Congress official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com