Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-29)

Adam B. Schiff California District 29

Adam B. Schiff, Biography from House.gov

Biography of Congressman Adam B. Schiff

Congressman Adam B. Schiff represents California’s 29th Congressional District, including the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, Glendale, Griffith Park, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, and Temple City.

During his tenure in Congress, Schiff has focused on bolstering national security, strengthening our communities, and introducing a “Kids First” agenda of initiatives to improve education, safety, and health care for our kids.  Rep. Schiff has been a leader on national security efforts and has pushed for a broader strategy that emphasizes diplomacy, intelligence reform, and efforts to improve our nation’s ability to stabilize countries to prevent future failed states from becoming havens for terrorists.  He has pressed for the adoption of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations, cosponsoring a measure that implements the recommendations, which passed the House in 2007.

In 2007, Schiff was appointed to be a member of the House Appropriations Committee and was named to three subcommittees – the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee.  The Appropriations Committee is responsible for setting all funding expenditures for the federal government.  Prior to working on the Appropriations Committee, Schiff served on the House International Relations Committee for six years.

In 2008, Schiff was appointed to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  The Committee has authorization and oversight authority over the nation’s intelligence services.  As a member of the committee, Schiff serves on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Schiff is a leader on efforts to combat intellectual property theft and the piracy of copyrighted materials.  He is a co-chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers dedicated to working with America’s international trade partners to secure the enactment of strong copyright laws and the vigilant enforcement of those laws.

In March 2003, Schiff co-founded the Democratic Study Group on National Security in an effort to explore emerging national security issues with other Members of Congress.  The group has hosted a wide range of speakers on topics such as international terrorism, postwar planning, defense, military transformation, shifting alliances, Afghanistan, Iraq, homeland security, non-proliferation, Iran, Korea, the United Nations, and missile defense.

Schiff also co-founded the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press in May 2006.  The bipartisan bicameral caucus is co-chaired by Representatives Schiff and Mike Pence (R-IN) and Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN).  It aims to advance press freedom around the world by creating a forum to combat and condemn media censorship and the persecution of journalists around the world.  Additionally, Schiff serves on the House Democracy Assistance Commission, which he was appointed to in 2005 by the current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL).  This important body works with emerging democracies to strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Prior to serving in the House of Representatives, Congressman Schiff completed a four-year term as State Senator for California’s 21st State Senate District, chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Select Committee on Juvenile Justice and the Joint Committee on the Arts.  He led legislative efforts to guarantee up-to-date textbooks in the classroom, overhaul child support, and pass a patient’s bill of rights.  Before serving in the Legislature, Schiff served with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles for six years, most notably prosecuting the first FBI agent ever to be indicted for espionage.

Adam Schiff, born June 22, 1960, is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School.  Adam and his wife, Eve (yes, it’s true), have two children, a daughter, Alexa Marion, born in July 1998, and a son, Elijah Harris, born in July 2002.

Biography from Adam Schiff for Congress

Congressman Adam B. Schiff was born June 22, 1960 in Framingham, Massachusetts. A 1982 graduate of Stanford University and a 1985 graduate of Harvard Law School, Adam went on to distinguish himself in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, CA, for six years before winning election to the California State Senate where he served a four year term. While a State Senator, he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Joint Committee on the Arts and the Senate Select Committee on Juvenile Justice, making a name for himself as a champion of our public schools and child safety, as well as leading the effort to pass a patient’s bill of rights for all Californians.

Elected to the U. S. House of Representatives nine years ago, Adam Schiff has continued to focus his energies on strengthening our communities, fighting for improvements in our national security and making sure that the safety, health and education of our nation’s children remains one of Congress’ top priorities. A staunch believer in a foreign policy makes judicious use of shrewd diplomacy and farsighted planning in addition to conventional military strength, Schiff has been an outspoken advocate for a wiser, more visionary approach to our nation’s security. In fact, one of his earliest Committee appointments was to the House International Relations Committee, upon which he served for six years. In March 2003, he co-founded the insightful Democratic Study Group on National Security and in 2005 was appointed to the House Democracy Assistance Commission, which works with emerging democracies to bolster democratic institutions and the rule of law.

Adam Schiff has also acted as co-founder of the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press. Established in 2006, this bipartisan caucus works, in both the House and the Senate, to fight media censorship and the persecution of journalists around the globe. The following year, he went on to become an appointed member of the exclusive House Appropriations Committee, and now sits on three of its subcommittees. Furthermore, Adam was granted a special concession allowing him to sit on both this committee and the the House Judiciary Committee simultaneously, due to his valuable experience and perspective in dealing with matters of the courts and the Department of Justice.

In early 2008, Schiff was appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he serves on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. As a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, he also sits on the important Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, a body formed after the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations, the adoption of which he championed and helped pass in 2007.

Above all, Adam Schiff remains focused on the needs of the people the communities of the 29th Congressional District. He is the recipient of the 2005 Lizarraga Founder’s Award by La Casa de San Gabriel Community Center for outstanding service to the community and the 2009 President’s Award from the Child Educational Center (CEC) pre-school in La Canada for his work on his “Kids First” agenda. He has also been honored with the 1st Annual Versie Mae Richardson Founder’s Award by the Alkebu-lan Cultural Center for outstanding community and public service and Day One’s Community Champion Award for his efforts to protect youth through support of after-school programs, drug prevention programs, and children’s health care initiatives.

Other awards include the Business Software Alliance’s Cyber Champion Award in 2006 for his leadership and commitment to policies that promote a safe and legal digital world, the Distinguished Civic Award of the Western Diocese, Armenian Church of North America in 2005, and also in 2005 he was honored by the California Air Force Association.

Adam Schiff continues to work in Congress for America and the people of the 29th District, with a focus on our communities, our country and our kids. Settled in Burbank, CA, Adam and his wife Eve are the proud parents of daughter Alexa, age 11, and son Elijah, age 7.

Do you know where you still on the political spectrum? See “Political Beliefs, Where Are You” to find out where you stand.