Honorable Michael Honda
Member of
Congress
Fifteenth District,
California
Congressman Mike Honda represents the 15th Congressional District
of California in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district
encompasses the area known throughout the world as Silicon
Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and the leading
region for the development of the technologies of tomorrow.
Congressman Honda has been a public servant for decades during
which he has been lauded for his work on education,
transportation, civil rights, the environment, and the high-tech
community.
Congressman Honda was born in
California,
but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment
camp in Colorado during World War II. His family returned to
California
in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in Blossom Valley in
San Jose.
In
1965, Mr. Honda interrupted his college studies to answer
President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served
in the Peace Corps for two years, where he built schools and
health clinics in El Salvador. Mr. Honda returned from the Peace
Corps with a passion for teaching, and fluent in Spanish.
He
earned bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Spanish, and
a master's degree in Education from San Jose State University. In
his career as an educator, Mr. Honda was a science teacher,
served as a principal at two public schools and conducted
educational research at Stanford University.
In
1971, he was appointed by San Jose Mayor Norm Mineta to San
Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, he won his first election,
gaining a seat on the San Jose Unified School Board.
In
1990, Mr. Honda was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors. As a Supervisor, he led efforts to establish the
Open Space Authority, whose mission is the preservation of open
space. He also took the lead in women's health care issues such
as raising awareness of breast cancer, and convening a women's
health conference. He passed landmark welfare reforms that have
saved millions of dollars for the county.
Mr.
Honda was elected to the California Assembly in 1996 and was
re-elected in 1998. As an Assembly member, he worked with
Governor Gray Davis to draft landmark education reforms -
including smaller class size and increases in teachers' benefits.
As Chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, he worked to
pass sensible gun safety legislation to keep guns out of the
hands of juveniles and voted to ban assault weapons. Mr. Honda
was awarded "High-Tech Legislator of the Year" by the American
Electronics Association for his strong advocacy for the high-tech
economy. He fought for legislation to augment the research and
development tax credit and worked to eliminate taxes on graduate
school tuition paid by employers.
In
2000, Mr. Honda was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
He serves on the House Budget Committee, the House Committee on
Science, including its subcommittee on Research, and on the
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, including its
subcommittees on Aviation, Highways & Transit, and Water
Resources & Environment.
As
a member of the prestigious Budget Committee, Congressman Honda
is dedicated to passing a responsible budget that pays down our
national debt, while protecting top priorities such as Social
Security, Medicare, and public education. As a member of the
influential Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, he is
working hard to make sure the
Silicon Valley
gets its fair share of federal transportation funding to make the
daily commute safer and more efficient for the residents of that
fast-growing region.
As
a Congressman for
Silicon Valley,
Congressman Honda is taking a leading role in bringing Democrats
and Republicans together to better understand technology issues.
In this vein, he has formed a bi-partisan Wireless Task Force to
enable Congress to better understand and support innovative
technologies for next generation wireless deployment.
Congressman Honda has been selected by his Democratic colleagues
to serve as the Regional Whip for Northern California, Hawaii,
American Samoa and Guam. As Regional Whip, he works with the
Democratic Leadership by communicating legislative priorities and
strategies to members within his region. He also serves as Vice
Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and
continues to be a strong voice for the cause of social justice,
tolerance and civil rights.
Congressman Honda is married and has two grown children. His
wife, Jeanne, is a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San
Jose. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer and Michelle, his
daughter, recently earned a master's degree in Public Health.
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