Martha Roby (R-AL-02)i

Alabama District 02

House: Martha Roby (R-AL-2)i

Martha Roby

Congressman Martha Roby, Biography from House.gov

In November 2010, the people of Alabama’s Second Congressional District elected Martha Roby to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she now sits on the prestigious House Armed Services Committee, the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

Prior to her swearing in, Republican leaders selected Roby as one of only four freshman members to serve on the GOP Transition Team, a 22-member panel tasked with reforming House rules to provide greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the 112th Congress. On the Committee, Roby was a strong advocate for commonsense reforms. Among other changes, she supported a mandatory 72-hour public review period for legislation prior to House votes, and a restructured House calendar that increases the amount of time members spend in their home districts, where they are accessible by—and accountable to—the people they represent. Many of the Transition Team’s proposed reforms were enacted in recently approved changes to the rules of the House of Representatives.

A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Roby served on the Montgomery City Council representing Council District Seven, the most socially and economically diverse council district in Montgomery. During her tenure on the Montgomery City Council, she routinely opposed tax increases, fought hard in 2008 alone to vote against five proposed tax increases and offered solutions to reduce government spending. Chairing a committee on immigration, she led the efforts for the Montgomery City Council to adopt an ordinance to comply with federal law and prohibit businesses from harboring illegal aliens. Her work has resulted in a local sales tax holiday and tougher measures in Alabama’s landlord-tenant laws.

Roby obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from New York University in 1998 and her law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 2001. Prior to her entry into public service, she practiced law at Copeland, Franco, Screws & Gill, P.A. and remains a member in good standing with the Alabama and Mississippi bar associations.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of Sav-A-Life Montgomery, the Cleveland Avenue YMCA, the Britton YMCA, the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts and the Montgomery Weed and Seed Executive Board. She recently participated in the Southern Women Leadership Conference and also the National Security Forum at Maxwell Air Force Base.

Roby is married to Riley Roby and they have two children, Margaret and George. They are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church, where they are involved in various ministries.

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