Xavier Becerra

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Xavier Becerra
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 31st district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Edward R. Roybal
Born	January 26, 1958 (1958-01-26) (age 51) Sacramento, California
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Carolina Reyes
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Stanford Law School (J.D.) Stanford University (B.A.)
Occupation	attorney, politician

Xavier Becerra (born January 26, 1958) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing California's 31st congressional district (map), which is based in Los Angeles.

[edit] Early life and family

Becerra was born in Sacramento, California, the son of working-class immigrants. He graduated in 1976 from C.K. McClatchy High School located in central city Sacramento. He went on to earn his B.A. in economics from Stanford University and his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He was initially a lawyer, working on cases involving individuals with mental impairment. He was also a staff member for California State Senator Art Torres and the Deputy Attorney-General of California. Becerra was a one-term member of the California State Assembly before entering the House.

Becerra is married to physician Carolina Reyes,^[1] and has three children.

[edit] Congressional career

He is the only member of Congress from Southern California on the Committee on Ways and Means. Becerra is also a prominent member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he served as chairman during the 105th Congress.

Rep. Becerra is a frequent guest on Kudlow & Company. He was featured on The Colbert Report's Better Know a District on August 17, 2006.

On September 29, 2008 Becerra voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 because he "wanted to see direct protections for responsible homeowners" in the bill.^[2]

[edit] Democratic House leadership

Becerra considered running for Democratic Caucus Vice Chair for the 110th Congress; however, he deferred to John Larson when DCCC chairman Rahm Emanuel decided to run for Caucus Chair, the position Larson had been running for. Instead, Becerra was assistant to the Speaker for that congressional session.

Before the opening of the 111th Congress, Emanuel accepted a position as White House Chief of Staff in the Obama Administration. Larson succeeded Emanuel as caucus chair, and Becerra won his bid to succeed Larson as Vice-Chair. He defeated Marcy Kaptur of Ohio by a vote of 175-67.^[3]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Social Security
• U.S.-Korea Interparliamentary Exchange (Vice Chair)

[edit] Caucuses

• Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus (Co-Chair)

[edit] Other political information

[edit] 2001 LA Mayor Bid

Becerra ran for mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He finished with 6 percent of the primary vote, finishing behind businessman Steve Soboroff, Councilman Joel Wachs, former California State Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, and the eventual winner, then-City Attorney James Hahn.

[edit] US Trade Representative speculation

On January 27, 2008, Becerra formally endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President.^[4]

Becerra was considered for the position of US Trade Representative in the administration of President-elect Obama. While it was initially reported that he had already accepted,^[5] on December 15, 2008, he announced that he would not accept the position.^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra official House site
• Becerra for Congress official campaign site
• Xavier Becerra at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Xavier Becerra campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Xavier Becerra issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Xavier Becerra campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Xavier Becerra (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Xavier Becerra profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Xavier Becerra voting record

v • d • e Chairs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Roybal • García • Richardson • Martínez • Torres • Bustamante • Fuster • de la Garza • Ortiz • Serrano • Pastor • Becerra • Roybal-Allard • Reyes • Rodriguez • Napolitano • Baca • Velázquez