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In Washington, D.C.
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3976 (phone)
(202) 225-4099 (fax)
In Los Angeles
8436 West Third Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 651-1040 (phone) (818) 878-7400 (phone) (310) 652-3095 (phone)
(323) 655-0502 (fax)
Send
a Message to Rep. Waxman
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Representative Henry A. Waxman represents California's 30th Congressional
District, which includes the complete cities of Santa
Monica, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu,
Westlake Village and West Hollywood, as well as such areas of Los Angeles
as Beverly-Fairfax, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Beverlywood, Topanga,
Agoura, Chatsworth, West Hills, Canoga Park, and Westwood.
In 2007, Rep. Waxman became Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, the principal investigative
committee in the House. From 1997 to 2006, Rep. Waxman served as Ranking
Member of the Committee, conducting investigations into a wide range of
topics from the high cost of prescription drugs to waste, fraud, and abuse
in government contracting. He formed a Special Investigations Division that
prepared hundreds of investigative reports on local and national topics for
Members of Congress.
Since 2001, Rep. Waxman has worked to oppose efforts by
the Bush Administration to block congressional oversight and roll back
health and environmental laws. He has launched investigations of White
House ties to Enron, contract abuses in Iraq, and the politicization of
science. He has also fought for disclosure of the names of the energy
industry lobbyists who shaped the White House energy plan and filed suit to
force the Administration to released "adjusted" data from the
2000 Census that corrects for the undercount of minorities. In addition,
Rep. Waxman has repeatedly fought efforts by EPA to relax important air
pollution and drinking water protections and by FDA to weaken enforcement
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
A leader on health and environmental issues, Rep. Waxman
has fought for universal health insurance, comprehensive Medicare and
Medicaid coverage, tobacco regulation, AIDS research and treatment, air and
water quality standards, pesticide regulations, nursing home quality
standards, women's health research and reproductive rights, affordable
prescription drugs, and community rights to know about pollution levels.
Rep. Waxman has been involved in health issues since
1969, when he was appointed to the California State Assembly Health
Committee. In Congress, Rep. Waxman has sponsored a long list of health
bills that have been enacted into law. These measures include the Ryan
White CARE Act, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, the Breast and
Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act, the Safe Medical Devices Act, the
Patent Term Restoration and Drug Competition Act, and the Orphan Drug Act.
Rep. Waxman has also passed legislation that improves the
quality of nursing homes and home health services and that sets policy for
childhood immunization programs, vaccine compensation, tobacco education
programs, communicable disease research, community and migrant health
centers, maternal and child health care, family planning centers, health
maintenance organizations, and drug regulation and reform.
Throughout the 1980s, Rep. Waxman championed national
health care reform and improvements in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
He successfully led the fight for improved prenatal and infant care for
low-income families, for protection against impoverishment for the spouses
of persons in nursing homes, and for more services in the community for
people needing long-term care. He has also been an advocate for
prescription drug coverage in Medicare for people with high drug expenses.
A longtime defender of the environment, Chairman Waxman
most recently introduced the Safe Climate Act of 2006, which would set
emissions targets to avoid dangerous, irreversible global warming. He was
one of the primary authors of the 1990 Clean Air Act, which sets out a
comprehensive program to combat smog, acid rain, toxic air emissions, and
ozone depletions. Rep. Waxman also sponsored the 1986 and 1996 Safe
Drinking Water Act Amendments, the 1996 Food Quality Act (which regulates
pesticides), the Radon Abatement Act, and the Lead Contamination Control
Act.
Chairman Waxman is a leader in efforts to assist the
elderly by providing them with opportunities for better health care through
such programs as improved long-term nursing care and better housing and
nutrition. A strong defender of the Social Security System, he fought moves
to reduce benefits and to increase the retirement age. He was a co-author
of legislation that abolished mandatory retirement for Federal employees
and raised the retirement age in the private sector from 65 to 70.
From 1979 to 1994, Rep. Waxman chaired the Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. He served as the
Subcommittee's Ranking Member in 1995 and 1996. Rep. Waxman has also served
on the Energy and Commerce Committee and sat on the Subcommittee on Health,
the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, and the Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations.
Chairman Waxman has been a leading supporter of the right
of women to have freedom of choice with respect to safe and legal
abortions, including the full extension of this right to lower-income women
who depend on the Medicaid program for health care. He has been at the
forefront of efforts to stop any limitations on this right and strongly
opposes the prohibition of federally funded clinics from offering abortion
information and counseling.
Since coming to Congress, Chairman Waxman has earned the
reputation of being an expert on Middle East policy and an effective
proponent of American aid to guarantee Israel's security and survival.
Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Waxman served
three terms in the California State Assembly, where he was chairman of the
Health Committee, the Committee on Elections and Reapportionment, and the
Select Committee on Medical Malpractice. He was the author of such major
legislation as the Fair Campaign Practices Act, the Fair Credit for Women
Law, and the legislation establishing standards for Health Maintenance
Organizations in California.
Henry Waxman was born September 12, 1939, in Los Angeles,
and holds a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA and a J.D.
from the UCLA Law School. He and his wife, the former Janet Kessler, have a
daughter and son-in-law, a son and daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.
Learn more about Rep. Waxman by visiting the Profiles
section of this website.
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