Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra
Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2009
Preceded by	John B. Larson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 31st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Hilda Solis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 30th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Matthew G. Martínez
Succeeded by	Henry Waxman
Member of the California State Assembly from the 59th district
In office 1990–1992
Preceded by	Charles Calderon
Succeeded by	Dick Mountjoy
Personal details
Born	January 26, 1958 (1958-01-26) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Carolina Reyes
Residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Stanford Law School (J.D.) Stanford University (B.A.)
Occupation	Attorney Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic

Xavier Becerra (English pronunciation: /hɑːviˈɛər bɨˈsɛrə/ "HAH-vee-air"; born January 26, 1958) is the U.S. Representative for California's 31st congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is based in Los Angeles.

Early life, education, and early career

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 served one-term as a member of the California State Assembly before successfully running for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

In 1992, after redistricting, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Matthew Martínez of California's 30th congressional district decided to run in newly redrawn 31st district. Becerra, a Freshman Assemblyman, decided to run for congress in the Los Angeles based district. He won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 32% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Morry Waksberg 58%–24%.

1994–2010

In 1994, he won re-election to a second term with 66%, the lowest re-election winning percentage of his career. After, he never won re-election with less than 72%. After redistricting, he ran for the 31st district.

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2012

After redistricting, he announced in July 2011 that he would run in the newly redrawn California's 34th congressional district which he lives in and contains most of his current district.

Tenure

Becerra is a prominent member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he served as chairman during the 105th Congress. He was featured on The Colbert Reports 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.

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 appointed assistant to the Speaker of the House for the 110th Congress.

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.

In 2011, Becerra successfully ran for a second-term as Vice-Chair to serve during the 112th Congress.

During the 111th Congress and 112th Congress, Becerra served on several high profile committees. On March 24, 2010 Becerra was appointed to serve on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles). On August 11, 2011 Becerra was selected to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the Super Committee). And on December 23, 2011 Becerra was appointed to serve on a bicameral conference committee to find bipartisan solutions on the middle class tax cuts, unemployment insurance, and the Medicare physician payment rate.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Social Security
• Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Caucuses

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus (Former Chair)
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Other political ambitions

2001 run for L.A. Mayor

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.

Obama administration

On January 27, 2008, Becerra formally endorsed U.S. Senator Barack Obama for President.

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, on December 15, 2008, he announced that he would not accept the position.

Personal life

Becerra is married to physician Carolina Reyes and has three children. He owns a home in Chevy Chase, Maryland where his wife and three children reside.

External links

• U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra official U.S. house site
• Becerra for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

California Assembly
Preceded by Charles Calderon	Member of the California State Assembly from the 59th district 1990–1992	Succeeded by Dick Mountjoy
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Matthew G. Martínez	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 30th congressional district 1993–2003	Succeeded by Henry Waxman
Preceded by Hilda Solis	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 31st congressional district 2003–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by John B. Larson	Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman of the United States House of Representatives 2009–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Roscoe Bartlett R-Maryland	United States Representatives by seniority 68th	Succeeded by Sanford Bishop D-Georgia