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Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.)

U.S. Representative (since January 1993)

(Mark Finkenstaedt / WP Style)

Why She Matters

As the representative of California's 6th Congressional District - which includes some of the most liberal counties in America - Woolsey has always been on the left-most wing of the Democratic party.

Woolsey currently co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of more than 80 Democrats in the House and Senate. Perhaps because of her liberal voting record and her recurrent disagreements with party leadership, she has been passed over for prominent committee assignments and other leadership positions within the party.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Petaluma City Council Member (1985-1992); Owner of Woolsey Personnel Service (1980-1992); Harris Digital Telephone Human Resources Manager (1969-1980)
Birthday: November 3, 1937
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Alma Mater: University of San Francisco, B.S., 1981
Spouse: Divorced
Religion: Presbyterian
Committees: Education and Labor (Chair, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections), Foreign Affairs , Science and Technology
DC Office: 2263 Rayburn House Office Building, 202-225-5161

District Offices: Sonoma, 707-542-7181; Marin, 415-507-9554
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Path to Power

Born in Seattle, Wash., Woolsey was a housewife in Marin County when her first marriage ended in 1968. With three children under the age of six, she struggled to support her single-parent family with welfare payments and low-paying jobs until she caught a break at a high-tech startup firm.

Woolsey rose through the ranks at the firm and eventually became human resources manager. At the same time, she completed a bachelor's degree at the University of San Francisco at night, and in 1980 opened her own HR consulting and employment agency, Woolsey Personnel Service. She remarried and moved to Petaluma where she continues to live.

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The Issues

Appropriately, given the political makeup of her district, Woolsey has one of the most liberal voting records in the House. As the first former welfare mother in Congress, Woolsey opposed welfare reform in 1996 and supports easing work requirements and providing more child care. Supported by her gay son, she has been a vocal proponent of gay rights and opposed banning gays from the military. (She also proposed revoking the federal charter for the Boy Scouts since the group excludes gays, firmly positioning her on the left-most wing of the Democratic Party).) In the 111th Congress, Woolsey has voted with her Democratic colleagues 96 percent of the time.

Health Care

In the 2009 debate over health-care reform, Woolsey has been a vocal proponent of a public insurance option, putting her sharply at odds with more conservative wings of her party. She criticized compromises crafted in July 2009 that included a moderated public insurance option and exemptions for small businesses. "We can compromise no more," she said at a news conference after the deal was announced.

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Along with Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz), her co-leader of the Progressive Caucus in the House, Woolsey signed a letter to President Barack Obama declaring that the caucus would not support a bill that did not include a public option. "A health reform bill without a robust public option will not achieve the health reform this country so desperately needs," they said, a position Woolsey has adamantly repeated. The letter has been signed by 55 other representatives.

In an effort to produce a compromise, Obama conducted negotiated in September 2009 with key Democratic lawmakers, including Woolsey. But Woolsey has said that she will not support the "trigger" plan being floated by the Obama administration as a potential compromise. Under the plan, proposed by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the government would set goals for the health-insurance industry, and if they are not met, a public option would take effect. This plan "is putting off what we should be doing in the first place," Woolsey said. "We need a robust public health care plan immediately."

Iraq and International Affairs

Along with other members of the Progressive Caucus, Woolsey has also been a spirited opponent of the war in Iraq. She voted against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002 and against every subsequent bill allocating funding to the war. She cofounded the Out of Iraq Caucus and sponsored legislation in 2005 calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops. (The bill was defeated, 128 to 300.)

In 2007, after Democrats regained the House majority and public opinion had shifted against the war, Woolsey and other anti-war lawmakers suddenly held more sway on the issue. Woolsey wanted the troops out by the end of the year, as opposed to the August 2008 deadline that Speaker Pelosi was pushing for, but she and other liberal Democrats were credited with pressing the party leadership to demand a withdrawal timeline.

From her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Woolsey has also been outspoken on several other international issues. In April 2009, she was arrested along with four other members of Congress and three activists in a Darfur protest in Washington, D.C. "I hope that is very clear to our administration and to international communities that violence in Darfur must end," she said.

The Economy

In 2008, along with a few other ultra-liberal lawmakers, Woolsey voted against the $700 billion financial bailout measure because she objected to bailing out Wall Street while providing no help to homeowners and working families. Along with the rest of her party, Woolsey voted for the $787 billion federal stimulus package in February 2009.

The Network

Woolsey co-founded the Out of Iraq Caucus with fellow California Democrats Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters, all of whom fought hard for troop withdrawal deadlines. She is also close to Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz), co-chair of the Progressive Caucus.

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