Linda Sánchez (D-CA-39)

Linda Sánchez California District 39

Linda Sánchez, Biography from House.gov

Biography of Congresswoman Linda Sánchez

Recognized by her colleagues and the national media as a leading voice for working families, judiciary, and trade matters, Linda Sánchez has represented California’s 39th Congressional district since 2003. The 39th district includes the communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Florence, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Long Beach, Lynwood, Paramount, South Gate, Watts, Whittier, and Willowbrook.

Congresswoman Sánchez is the first Latina in history to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee where she concentrates on pocketbook issues that affect working families. She has broken many barriers by becoming the first Latina to serve on the Judiciary Committee and the first woman to serve as the Chair of its Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.

Legislative Record

Congresswoman Linda Sánchez serves on the influential Ways and Means Committee, which plays a key role in federal legislation on taxes and health care, and where Sánchez is a member of the Trade and Social Security Subcommittees. A former labor lawyer, she has been a central leader in recent Congressional efforts to reshape this country’s trade model.

Sánchez also serves on the Judiciary Committee where her work to bring oversight and transparency back to Congress has received national recognition. In her previous service as Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law (CAL), Sánchez helped lead the Congressional investigation into the Bush Administration’s firing of nine United States Attorneys in 2006.

Sánchez’ role as a leader in the investigation of the politicization of the Department of Justice was highlighted in 2008 when she recommended that Karl Rove be held in contempt of Congress after failing to abide by a congressional subpoena and appear in front of the CAL subcommittee. Sánchez has also brought greater scrutiny to the misuse of arbitration and has worked to address the mortgage crisis through existing bankruptcy law that would help keep families in their homes.

A co-founder of the Labor and Working Families Caucus, Sánchez has worked tirelessly to ensure that workers are safe on the job, from industrial accidents as well as from employer intimidation and retaliation. Keeping children safe online has also been a priority for Sánchez, who has introduced legislation to criminalize cyber-bullying and to reduce bullying, harassment, and gang activity in our schools. While in Congress, Sánchez has helped to expand Head Start and modernize the Higher Education Act.

Sánchez is a strong advocate for California’s families. She is committed to reducing crime, making schools safe, providing quality education and affordable health care, improving our economy by creating new opportunities, and cleaning up the air and water in Southern California. Her life-long commitment to progressive issues is reflected in her record to protect a woman’s right to choose, to protect and expand civil rights and voting rights, to promote clean energy and green jobs, and to reform the country’s broken immigration laws.

Personal Story

The sixth of seven children, Sánchez was born in the City of Orange to immigrant parents from Mexico. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature with an emphasis in Bilingual Education. After working her way through school as a bilingual aide and ESL instructor, she earned her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

After law school, she worked in a private practice before going to work for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 441 and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Prior to coming to Congress, Sánchez served as the Executive Secretary-Treasurer for the Orange County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Congresswoman Sánchez is still an active and card-carrying member of IBEW Local 441.

Sánchez’ service in the U.S. House of Representatives is historic as she proudly works with her sister Loretta, Congresswoman from the 47th District of California. They are the first sisters and the first women of any relation to ever serve in Congress. Congresswoman Sánchez continued to make history in 2009 when she became the eighth member of Congress to give birth while serving in office. She and her husband, James Sullivan, are the proud parents of Joaquín Sánchez Sullivan, who joins his new Sullivan brothers: Brendan, Jack, and Seamus.

Biography from Committee to Re-Elect Linda Sánchez

Personal

Congresswoman Linda Sánchez has dedicated her life to improving the community where she grew up and making Southern California a better place to live and work for generations to come. She is married to Jim Sullivan and is a proud mother to their son, Joaquín Sánchez Sullivan, born in May 2009. Joaquín and his three Sullivan brothers Brendan, Jack, and Seamus, can often be found chasing and playing with Chavo and Pip, the family dogs.

The sixth of seven children, Sánchez was born in the City of Orange to immigrant parents from Mexico. Her father was a mechanic and her mother an educator. From her parents, Linda learned dedication, gratitude, hard work, and commitment to community. One of Linda’s favorite memories was doing homework with her mother while she was in high school and her mother was studying to advance from a teacher’s aide to a classroom teacher. Seeing this busy mother of seven pursue her college dreams while taking care of her family made a big impression on Linda and made her believe that she could accomplish anything if she just kept trying.

After graduating from Valencia High School, Linda attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature with an emphasis in

Bilingual Education. Linda worked her way through college as a bilingual aide and ESL instructor, so she understands how difficult and costly it is to receive a quality education. She went on to eventually earn her law degree from U.C.L.A.

After law school, Linda worked in a private practice before going to work for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 441 and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Sánchez also served as the first female Executive Secretary-Treasurer for the Orange County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Linda was a leader in Orange County’s Justice for Janitors campaign, helping to ensure that those who put in a hard day’s work earn a fair day’s pay, a principle that she continues to advance in her Congressional work.

Linda brings a unique blend of experiences to her role as a Representative. As a child of immigrants, she understands how important immigration is to this country, but also how

inefficient our current system has become. As a mother, she believes that children should be nurtured and helped to reach their highest potential. Becoming a mother caused Linda to redouble her commitment to leaving her community better for the next generation than how she found it. As a Southern California resident, Linda understands our community’s greatest resource is not our beautiful beaches or vast infrastructure—it is the creativity, ambition, and potential of Southern Californians themselves.

Professional

Congresswoman Linda Sánchez was sworn into Congress on January 7, 2003. She represents the 39th Congressional District of California, which includes all or parts the communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Florence, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Long Beach, Lynwood, Paramount, South Gate, Watts, Whittier, and Willowbrook.

Linda is a strong advocate for California’s working families. She is committed to making schools safer, providing quality education, ensuring high quality, affordable health care, improving our economy by creating new opportunities, and protecting our environment.

A Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Labor and Working Families Caucus, Linda is a strong advocate for policies that benefit hard-working middle class Americans. She works tirelessly to ensure that workers are safe on the job, from both industrial accidents and employer intimidation and retaliation. Linda has also been a vocal leader for the Democrats’ “Make it in America” agenda that seeks to revitalize our manufacturing sector and bring well-paying jobs back to America.

In the 111th Congress, which began in January 2009, Congresswoman Sánchez joined the House Committee on Ways and Means where she works on taxes, trade, retirement security, and healthcare. As a member of the Trade and Social Security Subcommittees, Congresswoman Sánchez is working to reshape the U.S. trade model to benefit American businesses and strengthen America’s Medicare and Social Security programs for generations to come.

Congresswoman Sánchez is also a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, where she has served since her first term in Congress. She was the first Latina in history to serve on the Judiciary Committee and the first woman to Chair of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. Congresswoman Sánchez restored strong oversight responsibilities to the Subcommittee and led the investigation into the inappropriate firings of federal prosecutors under the Bush Administration. The Judiciary Committee considers civil and criminal judicial reform, civil liberties, constitutional amendments, and immigration and naturalization. Since coming to Congress, she has brought back more than $25 million in federal investments in her district.

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