Allyson Schwartz

Infobox Congressman
name = Allyson Schwartz

---

date of birth = birth date and age|1948|10|03
place of birth = New York City, New York
death_date =
death_place =
state = Pennsylvania
district = 13th
term_start = January 3, 2005
preceded = Joe Hoeffel
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democratic
alma_mater = Simmons College
Bryn Mawr College
committees = Ways and Means, House Budget Committee
spouse = Dr. David Schwartz
religion = Jewish
residence= Philadelphia
website = [http://schwartz.house.gov/index.shtml Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz]

Allyson Young Schwartz (born October 3, 1948) is an American politician and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Thirteenth Congressional District of Pennsylvania since 2005. Her district ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/pa13_109.gifmap] ) includes parts of Montgomery County, and a portion of Philadelphia. Schwartz is the only woman in Pennsylvania's delegation to Congress.

Family and background

Schwartz is married to Dr. David Schwartz, a cardiologist. She has two adult sons, is a resident of Jenkintown, and is a member of the Jewish faith. She is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network.

Born Allyson Young in New York City with a brother Neal, and two sisters Nancy and Dayle, Schwartz received a B.A. from Simmons College in 1970, and a Masters degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1972. From 1975 to 1988, Schwartz was the executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a women's health care center in Philadelphia. From 1988 to 1990, Schwartz was acting Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, appointed by former Mayor Wison W. Goode.

Political career

Early career

In 1990, Schwartz was elected to the Pennsylvania state Senate, representing a district in Northwest and Northeast Philadelphia. She was re-elected in 1994, 1998, and 2002. The district was extended into Montgomery County in the legislative reapportionment of 1991, and Schwartz moved in early 2004 to Jenkintown in Montgomery County, where she still lives. In 2000, she ran in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate seat of freshman Republican Rick Santorum. She finished second behind Pittsburgh-area Congressman Ron Klink, but won Montgomery County and Philadelphia with impressive numbers.

Congressional elections

In 2003, Pennsylvania 13th District Congressman Joe Hoeffel decided not to run for a fourth term in 2004 opting instead to make an ultimately unsuccessful Senate run against Republican Arlen Specter. Schwartz had originally planned to run for Auditor General, but changed her plans after Hoeffel's announcement. She narrowly defeated former Philadelphia deputy mayor and Constitution Center director Joe Torsella in the primary. She then defeated Republican Melissa Brown 56%-41%, the largest margin of victory in decades for a Democrat in Pennsylvania's 13th, once considered the strongest base of the moderate Republicanism that had long prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs.

In 2006, Schwartz retained the seat by defeating opponent Raj Bhakta, who is most famous for his appearance on the television show The Apprentice 2.

Allyson Schwartz is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and the chair of the New Democrat Coalition Taskforce on Health. In this position, she has actively pushed for the greater use of interoperable and secure electronic prescribing systems throughout the country in an attempt to decrease medical errors as well as costs and liability to providers, health systems and patients.

Congressional record

On January 10, 2005, Schwartz was appointed to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure [ [http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa13_schwartz/pr_050110_transportationcmte.html U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz - 13th District of Pennsylvania ] ] . On February 14, 2005, she was appointed to the Budget Committee [ [http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa13_schwartz/pr_050214_budgetcmte.html U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz - 13th District of Pennsylvania ] ] . She was credited with securing $52.5 million in federal funds for local infrastructure priorities as a part of the Transportation Equity Act of 2005 bill.

The following list shows votes by Allyson Schwartz on several bills, nominations and resolutions that have come before the 109th Congress. The list is based on an analysis of the potential impact of the legislation on policy and politics. [Washington Post: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/s001162/key-votes/]

Fundraising

Political scientists noted her talent for fundraising. While most former state legislators raise comparitavely more money through PACs than individual donations, she raised $4,597,032 [ [http://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=PA&year=2004 Pennsylvania Congressional Races in 2008 ] ] from individual donations and comparatively little ($558,376) in PAC donations [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib_newmems.asp?CID=N00001579&cycle=2004] .

References

*Berkman, Michael, and James Eisenstein. “State Legislators as Candidates: The Effects of Prior Experience on Legislative Behavior and Fundraising,” Political Science Quarterly, 52, no. 3 (1999): 481–498.

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/schwartz Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz] official U.S. House website
* [http://www.allysonschwartz.com Allyson Schwartz for Congress] official campaign website