Carolyn B. Maloney (born February 19,
1946) is a New
York
Democrat who has served in
the United States
House of Representatives as the Congresswoman for since
1993. This district, popularly known as the "silk
stocking district", includes most of Manhattan
's East Side; Astoria and Long Island City in
Queens
; and Roosevelt Island
.
Early life
Maloney
was born as Carolyn Bosher in Greensboro,
North Carolina
and graduated from Greensboro College. In 1970, she visited
New York
City
and decided to stay.
Political career
Maloney was elected to the
New
York City Council in 1982, defeating incumbent Robert Rodriguez
in a heavily Spanish-speaking district based in the El Barrio
neighborhood of East Harlem. She served as a Councilmember for 10
years. On the Council, she served as the first Chair of the
Committee on Contracts, investigating contracts issued by New York
City in sludge and other areas. She authored legislation creating
the City's Vendex program, which established computerized systems
tracking information on City contracts and vendors doing business
with the City . Maloney also introduced the first measure in New
York to recognize domestic partnerships, including those of
same-sex couples. She was the first person to give birth while
serving as a City Councilmember.
In 1992, Maloney was elected to the House of Representatives,
narrowly defeating a 15-year incumbent, liberal
Republican Bill Green, in a victory considered an
upset. She is the first woman to ever represent the district, and
has been re-elected eight times. She faced significant opposition
from Republican City Councilman
Charles Millard in 1994, the year of a
Republican tidal wave in the midterm congressional elections.
Maloney defeated Millard handily and hasn't faced serious
opposition since. The 14th and its predecessors had been one of the
few districts in the city where Republicans usually did well; in
fact, they held the seat for all but eight of the 56 years between
1937 and Maloney's victory. Following Maloney's win, Republicans
continued to hold most of the State Senate, Assembly, and City
Council seats on Manhattan's East Side for nearly another decade.
Since 2002, the Democrats have dominated the area, and now hold all
of the area's seats in the state legislature and City
Council.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Maloney
worked to ensure that the Bush administration maintained its
commitment to New York's recovery and security efforts, prompting
Wayne Barrett of the
Village Voice to write that Maloney was "like
a tiger in the House on every dollar due New York." After the 9/11
Commission published its findings, Maloney co-founded the
bipartisan House 9/11 Commission Caucus and helped write and secure
the enactment into law of many of its recommendations to reform the
nation's intelligence agencies Congressional Quarterly wrote in its
annual guide, 2006 Politics in America:
"In the 108th Congress,
Maloney reached out beyond her usual roles as a liberal gadfly and
persistent Bush administration critic, helping win enactment of a
sweeping bill to reorganize U.S. intelligence operations."
Following the
Dubai Ports
World controversy, Maloney helped secured the enactment into
law of her bill to reform the system for vetting foreign
investments in the United States.
In 2004, Maloney faced a potential Democratic primary challenge
from Bob Jereski. Jereski opposed the Iraq War while Maloney had
initially voted for the resolution to authorize force; she later
forcefully renounced the war, including most memorably at a town
hall meeting in her district with antiwar Congressman
John Murtha. However, Jereski didn't qualify
because his petition was found to have invalid signatures, leaving
him 4 short of the 1250 required. After reports of corruption among
military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Maloney later secured
passage through the House of her bill to create a database to
better monitor all federal contracts.
Maloney received an A on the
Drum
Major Institute's 2005
Congressional Scorecard on
middle-class issues. The Drum Major Institute
is a non-profit 503(c)(3) non-partisan liberal public policy
institute which calls itself progressive.
Maloney has taken several actions on health care issues. Her
measure to provide Medicare coverage for annual mammograms was
included in the Fiscal Year 1998 federal budget. Maloney also
advocated for the cause of providing federal support for medical
monitoring and health care for rescue and recovery workers who were
at the Ground Zero site after the 9/11 attacks, many of whom later
developed serious respiratory and other ailments. In the 111th
Congress, Maloney introduced "The Breastfeeding Promotion Act" to
protect breastfeeding in the workplace under civil rights law and
make it illegal for women to lose their jobs or otherwise be
discriminated against for expressing milk during lunchtime or on
breaks. Maloney has advocated for international women's health and
family planning programs supported by the United Nations Population
Fund.
A co-founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Working Group on
Parkinson's Disease, she serves on the boards of the
Michael Stern Parkinson's Research Foundation and
the
Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research
Foundation, both in New York City. Maloney introduced the
“Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated
Populations Act of 2007” (H.R.
2832), legislation that would require the
National
Institute of Health
(NIH) to conduct a comprehensive comparative study
of vaccinated and unvaccinated
populations, which may resolve the heated controversy over the possible link
between autism and vaccine components,
including thimerosal and aluminum. The original bill did not pass,
but Maloney re-introduced the legislation in 2008.
In Congress, Maloney serves on the
Committee on Financial
Services, the
Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, and the
Joint Economic Committee, and was
previously the Chair of the Democratic Task Force on Homeland
Security. On January 21, 2009, Maloney was named Chair of the
Joint
Economic Committee for the
111th Congress. Previously,
while serving as Chair of the Subcommittee on Financial
Institutions and Consumer Credit, Maloney first introduced the
"Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights" in the 110th Congress, a
measure that drew praise from some editorial boards and consumer
advocates . It was passed as the Credit Card Accountability
Responsibility and Disclosure Act by both houses of the 111th
Congress, prompting Money magazine to dub Maloney the
"best
friend a credit card user ever had". President
Barack Obama signed the Credit Card Bill of
Rights into law in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House
attended by Maloney on May 22, 2009.
Days after voting against cancellation of a $1 billion, 10-year
subsidy plan for U.S. sugar farmers within the
2007 U.S. Farm Bill, Maloney hosted a
fundraising event that netted $9,500
in contributions from sugar growers and refiners, according to
Federal Election
Commission records. Maloney's election attorney, Andrew
Tulloch, called the timing of the 31 July fundraiser a
"pure
coincidence". The bill passed the House by a 282-144 vote. The
Sunlight Foundation pointed out
that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives,
Maloney has the ninth-highest amount of investment in oil
stocks.
Maloney has been active on issues involving women, children and
families since the beginning of her career. A former Co-Chair of
the House Caucus on Women's Issues, she authored and helped secure
the enactment into law of a measure to provide federal funding to
clear the backlog of rape kits for which evidence had been
collected, but never entered into law enforcement DNA databases. It
was called "the most important anti-rape legislation ever
considered by Congress" by the Rape Abuse and Incest National
Network. Maloney's bill, included in the "Justice for All Act of
2005", was named in honor of Debbie Smith, a rape survivor; the
effort to enact it was later the subject of a
Lifetime Television movie,
A
Life Interrupted: The Debbie Smith Story.. Maloney
was played by
Lynne Adams. Maloney also
co-authored and helped secure passage of bipartisan legislation to
curb the demand for sex trafficking. She introduced the Child Care
Affordability Act of 2007 to increase access to child care by
providing tax credits Maloney's amendment to a foreign aid bill
succeeded in securing $60 million in funding for programs for
Afghani women and girls and to help establish an Afghan commission
on human rights. She is the chief House sponsor of the
Equal Rights Amendment. In 2008 and
again in 2009, Maloney authored, and secured House passage of, a
bill to provide four weeks of paid parental leave to federal
employees. She has also authored and introduced the Family and
Medical Leave Inclusion Act that would expand the 1993 Family and
Medical Leave Act to include couples in domestic partnerships,
civil unions, and same-sex marriages. Legislation to create a
National Women's History
Museum that was jointly introduced by Maloney and her colleague
Eleanor Holmes Norton was
passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in October, 2009.
In 2008,
Rodale Press published
Maloney's book on women's issues,
Rumors of Our Progress Have
Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's Lives Aren't Getting Any
Easier—and How We Can Make Real Progress for Ourselves and Our
Daughters . In the book, Maloney argues that progress for
women has stalled and offers recommendations for resuming their
advance toward full equality .
Maloney appeared on
The Colbert
Report in the
Better
Know a District segment on July 29, 2008, speaking about
women's issues.
In Congress, Maloney has helped secure funding for major mass
transit projects, resulting in the commitment of billions of
federal dollars for New York State. Early in her tenure, she joined
with colleagues to secure $306.1 million in federal funds for the
63rd Street Connector, a $645 million project that significantly
expanded transit capacity between Queens and Manhattan Maloney has
been hailed as a champion of the Second Avenue Subway, a project
first conceived in the 1920s. In November 2007, the federal
government signed a full funding grant agreement with New York
State committing to providing $1.3 billion in federal funds for the
subway's first phase on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
Maloney has also
advocated for the East Side Access project, which will bring Long
Island Railroad (LIRR) trains directly to Grand Central Terminal
and create a new LIRR stop in Sunnyside,
Queens
. In December 2006, the federal government
signed a full funding grant agreement promising $2.63 billion to
New York to complete East Side Access.
In December 2008, Maloney hired a public relations firm to help
bolster her efforts to be named by Governor
David Paterson as
Hillary Clinton's successor as a New York
Senator. Maloney toured parts of the state, but was overshadowed by
Caroline Kennedy's promotional tour
for the same seat. Maloney interviewed with the governor for 55
minutes. Public opinion polls placed Maloney's support for the
Senate seat in the single digits, trailing the front-runner, state
Attorney General
Andrew Cuomo, although
her bid was endorsed by the
National Organization for
Women Political Action, the Feminist Majority Political Action
Committee, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and other
columnists and editorial boards.
On January 23, 2009, Paterson named Congresswoman
Kirsten Gillibrand to the post. Many
urged Maloney to run against Gillibrand in 2010.
On July 20, 2009, Maloney apologized after using the word "
nigger" in repeating a comment made by a third party
about Gillibrand.
I got a call from someone from Puerto Rico, [who] said
Gillibrand went to Puerto Rico and came out for English-only
(education).
And he said, 'it was like saying nigger to a Puerto
Rican'.
Maloney was quoted by the City Hall News. Although she had been
leading Gillibrand in both the Rasmussen and the Quinnipiac polls,
Maloney ruled out a run for the U.S. Senate and instead retained
her congressional seat.
Committee assignments
Family and personal life
She married
Clifton Maloney, an
investment banker, in 1976. The couple had two daughters, Christina
and Virginia. Her husband died on September 25, 2009 while on a
climbing expedition in
Tibet.
References
- Janofsky, Michael, "For Maloney, A New Arena But the Same
Style," New York Times, December 26, 1992 [1]
- Our Campaigns website as viewed on 9/29/2009
- Janofsky, op. cit
- Lyall, Sarah, "Two Run on Record in Silk Stocking District",
New York Times, October 25, 1992[2]
- Lee, Felicia R., "Bill Would Give Unwed Couples Equal
Benefits", New York Times, November 21, 1990 [3]
- National Women's Political Caucus
- "The 1994 Election: New York State; New York Congressional
Results", New York Times, November 9, 1994[4]
- [5] Sargent, Greg and Benson, Josh, "Here's One
Place GOP Curled Up: Our Fair Island," New York Observer, November
17, 2002
- Barrett, Wayne, "The Ten Ways that Bush Screwed New York,"
Village Voice, October 18, 2005 [6]
- "Action Alert", Families of September 11th website
as seen on 9/21/09
- "Relatives of 9/11 Victims Disband", Associated Press, January
11, 2005 [7]
- "H.R. 1 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act
of 2007, Govtrack.us [8]
- Nutting, B. (ed.), CQ's Politics in America 2006, Washington:
Congressional Quarterly Publications, 2006.
- [9] "Treasury Gets New CFIUS Authority,"
Washington Times, January 24, 2008
- "Dodd, Christopher Dodd Frank, Barney Frank Bachus,
Spencer
Bachus, and Maloney Laud Passage of CFIUS Reform Legislation",
press release issued by U.S. Senator
Christopher Dodd, July 11, 2007
- Smith, Chad, "After Supporting War, Maloney Calls for Pullout",
The Villager, April 12-18, 2006[10]
- "Tracking the Spoils of the Private Sector", New York
Times editorial, April 27, 2008[11]
- Newell, Elizabeth, "House Passes Three Contracting Bills",
Governmentexecutive.com, April 23, 2008[12]
- "Profile: Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Playground website
of the Child-Friendly Initiative, [13]
- DePalma, Anthony, "Representatives Join Forces to Push New 9/11
Medical Bill", New York Times, September 8, 2007 [14]
- "Mom: Breast-Feeding Cost Me My Job", Cable News
Network, September 17, 2009
- "Americans for the UNFPA"
- "Bicameral Caucus on Parkinson's Disease",
Parkinson's Action Network
- "Board of Trustees", The Michael Stern Parkinson's
Research Foundation
- "Board of Trustees", Fisher Center for Alzheimer's
Research Foundation
- "Legislation Aims to Resolve Thimerosal
Controversy, Maloney Introduces Bill to Require Comprehensive Study
to Resolve the Question of a Possible Link between Mercury and
Autism"
- "Plastic Card Tricks", New York Times editorial,
March 29, 2008
- "The Fed Aims at Credit Cards", New York Times
editorial, May 3, 2008
- Rosato, Donna, "Best Friend A Credit Card User Ever Had",
Money magazine, May 2009 [15]
- White House website
- Morgan, Dan, "Sugar Industry Expands Influence", Washington
Post, November 2, 2007 [16]
- Retrieved on Aug. 8, 2008
- Janofsky, op. cit
- "Fighting Sexual Violence with DNA", Rape Abuse and Incest
National Network[17]
- "A Life Interrupted", Lifetime Television
- Blumenfeld, Laura, "In A Shift, Anti-Prostitution Efforts
Target Pimps and Johns". The Washington Post, December 15,
2005 [18]
- "H.R. 4164 Child Care Affordability Act of 2007", Open
Congress.org, www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h4164/show]
- Maloney's Letter to the Editor, New York Times,
November 9, 2003 [19]
- Bergland, Jim, "Uphill Fight Forecast for Equal Rights
Amendment," Associated Press, April 4, 2007 [20]
- Baribeau, Simone, "Paid Parental Leave Passes House, But Faces
Veto Threat", The Washington Post, June 20, 2008[21]
- Miller, Jason, "House Passes Paid Parental Leave Bill," Federal
News Radio, June 5, 2009 [22]
- Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act, H.R. 2792,
110th Congress
- "House Passes Bill to Create Women's Museum," WJLA-TV website,
October 14, 2009 [23]
- Maloney, Carolyn B., Rumors of Our Progress Have Been
Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's Lives Aren't Getting Any Easier --
And How We Can Make Real Progress for Ourselves and Our
Daughters (New York: Rodale, 2008)[24]
- Rodrigues, Vivianne, "U.S. Women Far From Equality,
Lawmaker's Book Says", Reuters, June 25, 2008
- "Maloney, Gillibrand Applauded for Records", Queens
Gazette editorial, August 19, 2009 [25]
- "New York City Transit 63rd Street-Queens Boulevard Connection
- New York City", U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway
Administration [26]
- Newman, Philip, "MTA's East Side Tunnels Will Creat Jobs:
Maloney", Astoria Times (NYC), February 4, 2009[27]
- "Second Avenue Subway Gets Guaranteed Federal Funding", Transit
Blogger, November 20, 2007 [28]
- "East Side Acess Full Funding Grant Agreement, December 18,
2006", U.S. Department of Transportation [29]
- "Women's Groups Endorse Carolyn Maloney for Clinton's Senate
Seat," National Organization for Women [30]
- Kristof, Nicholas, "For Senate, Caroline or Carolyn?", New
York Times, December 17, 2008 [31]
- Baldwin, Alec, "Paterson Must Appoint A Woman", Huffington
Post, December 11, 2008 [32]
- "Maloney Is Best Choice for U.S. Senate", Queens
Gazette editorial, December 3, 2008[33]
- "Sources: Gillibrand to get Clinton's Senate seat", MSNBC.com,
January 23, 2008 [34]
- "It's Called Democracy: Democrats Should Welcome All Comers
Intro Primary for U.S. Senate," New York Daily News editorial, June
17, 2008[35]
- "Run, Carolyn, Run", New York Post
editorial, July 3, 2009
- Maloney apologizes for use of word
"nigger"
- Dovere, Edward-Isaac, "Oncoming Traffic: Carolyn Maloney
Swerves into the Senate Race", City Hall News (NYC), July
17, 2009 [36]
- "Election 2010: New York Democratic Senate
Primary," Rasmussen Reports
- Quinnipiac University Polling Institute
- Hernandez, Raymond, "Recognizing Long Odds, Maloney Drops Her
Senate Bid", New York Times, August 7, 2009 "Maloney Drops Out"
- Thrush, Glenn. "Rep. Maloney's husband dies in Tibet",
Politico, September 2009[37]
External links