Diane Watson

Diane Watson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 33rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001–
Preceded by	Julian Dixon
Personal details
Born	Socialist]]
Died	Socialist]]
Resting place	Socialist]]
Political party	Democratic (United States)
Spouse	none
Parent	Socialist]]

Diane Edith Watson PhD (born November 12 1933), American politician, has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 33rd District of California (map). Her district is located entirely in Los Angeles County and includes some wealthy neighborhoods such as Los Feliz. She recently ran unopposed in the 2006 Congressional mid-term elections.

Life before Congress

Born in Los Angeles, California, Watson was educated at Los Angeles City College, the University of California, Los Angeles (BA, 1956), California State University, Los Angeles (MS, 1987), and Claremont Graduate University (PhD, 1987). She also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Watson was a psychologist, a faculty member at California State University, a health occupation specialist with the Bureau of Industrial Education of the California Department of Education, a member of the California State Senate and United States Ambassador to Micronesia before entering the House.

Memberships in Congress

In the 109th Congress, Congresswoman Watson is a member of the House Government Reform Committee, and serves on the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources and Subcommittee on Energy & Resources of which she is the ranking member. She is also a member of the House International Relations Committee and the Subcommittees on Asia and the Pacific and Africa, Global Human Rights & International Operations. Watson is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus, chairs the Congressional Entertainment Caucus [1] and is the Democratic Regional Whip for Southern California.

Views in Congress

Congresswoman Watson supports military withdrawal from Iraq [2], opposes media consolidation [3], supports expanding welfare coverage [4] and opposes President Bush's plans for Social Security [5].

Watson has opposed tax cuts by saying that they are unaffordable.

In 2006, the National Journal ranked Watson as the most liberal member of Congress.

She was one of the 31 who voted in the House to NOT count the electoral votes from Ohio in the United States presidential election, 2004. [6]

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson official House site
• Huffington Post: Rep. Diane Watson blog entries by the congresswoman
• United States Congress. "Diane Watson (id: w000794)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Federal Election Commission — Diane E E Watson campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Diane Watson issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Diane E. Watson campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Diane E. Watson (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Diane Watson profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Diane Watson voting record
• Hundreds attend PLP fundraiser The Royal Gazette, January 15, 2007