Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Biography

Congresswoman Barbara Lee was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on April 7, 1998 with 67% of the vote. She filled the remaining term of retiring Congressman Ron Dellums and was re-elected that November with 82% of the vote.  She represents the 9^th Congressional District, one of the most progressive districts in the nation, which includes Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, Emeryville, Albany, and Alameda.  Prior to her service in the Congress, Congresswoman Lee served three consecutive terms in the California State Assembly (1990-1996) and then one in the State Senate (1996-1998).

Currently, Lee serves on two House Committees, Banking and Financial Services and the Committee on International Relations. She is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Women’s Caucus.

Lee has worked to strengthen economic development in the Bay Area by supporting the conversion of local military bases in Oakland and Alameda.   She worked with the Bank of America, the Economic Development Administration and the Department of Commerce to create the Defense Conversion Revolving Loan Fund.  This $1,000,000 fund provides loans ranging from $5000 to $100,000 to firms that establish themselves on the onetime military facilities.

She worked to expand Bay Area trade with Africa.  In April of 1999, Lee led a Bay Area delegation, which included representatives from businesses, including the Port of Oakland as well as elected officials.

Lee fought for federal funds to improve the quality of education programs.   Her educational accomplishments include securing grants for teacher recruitment in the Oakland Unified School District, working to close the “digital divide” and securing $7.5 million in federal and state funds for math and science education programs at the Chabot Observatory and Science Center in Oakland. Recently she secured the maximum amount of funds for GEAR UP, a program within the Oakland Unified School District that helps at-risk youth prepare for and succeed in college. 

Congresswoman Lee is a voice for peace and a proponent of social justice throughout the world.   Lee is a leader in the effort to increase humanitarian support for the Cuban people and end the trade embargo against Cuba. Likewise, Lee was one of only five U.S. Representatives to vote against a resolution supporting the December 1998 bombing of Iraq and the only Member of Congress to vote against a March 24, 1999 resolution regarding use of military force in Kosovo, votes which have been deemed “courageous” by her constituents and by peace activists nationwide.

She stands at the forefront of the effort to end the HIV/AIDS crisis both in Alameda County and in Africa. Cooperating with community leaders and activists in her district, she helped to bring the spotlight on the impact of HIV/AIDS in Alameda County and to have the Alameda County Board of Supervisors declare a  “State of Emergency”. She secured over five million dollars in funds to combat this crisis in the African American community.  She is the author of HR 2765, the AIDS Marshall Plan for Africa, which seeks one billion dollars for HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Given the high cost and scarcity of affordable housing in the Bay Area, Lee has worked to provide better living conditions for those in the most need.   Lee helped secure over 34 million dollars in federal funds to improve public housing through out the district as well as expand the number of Section 8 certificates available.

Environmental Justice is also a priority for Congresswoman Lee.  Cooperating with other local elected officials as well as community activists, Lee worked with Caltrans and the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the lead, benzene and chromium in Prescott Park.

Congresswoman Lee has also been able to secure resources for Welfare to Work Programs.  Over four million dollars has been allocated in the district to help people become educated, trained and members of the workforce.

Prior to her election to the Congress, Ms. Lee worked as Senior Adviser and Administrative Assistant to Congressman Ron Dellums in Washington, DC and Oakland, CA for 11 years. She has served as a board member of the California State World Trade Commission, the California State Coastal Conservancy, the District Export Council, and as a member of the California Defense Conversion Council. Equally noteworthy, Ms. Lee presided over the California Commission on the Status of African-American Males, the California Legislative Black Caucus, and the National Conference on State Legislatures Women’s Network, and served as a member of the California Commission on the Status of Women.

Congresswoman Lee was born in El Paso Texas; her family moved to San Fernando, California in 1960. Upon her graduation from San Fernando High School, Lee received the Rotary Club Music Award and the Bank of America Achievement Award in the field of music. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1967 and in 1973 she received a Bachelor’s degree from Mills College. She worked as a Cal in the Capital intern for Congressman Ron Dellums in 1974 and one year later, she received a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. While working towards her graduate degree, Lee founded a community mental health center in Berkeley, California. Congresswoman Lee is a resident of Oakland, California.

Barbara Lee in the California Legislature