People in the news

Susan Davis (D-Calif.)

U.S. Representative (since January 2001)

(House web site)

Why She Matters

Davis commands the attention of commanders. As the representative of California's 53rd district, she works for half of San Diego and its 30,000 active duty Navy officers and Marines.

Davis, a former military spouse (she lived with her Air Force husband in Japan during the Vietnam War), has naturally made military families a priority. From the House Armed Services Committee, she has worked to increase military pay and increase home loans for veterans. She opposed the use of force in Iraq in 2002 and the troop surge in 2007, but supports using women in combat units. She also was among the key legislators leading a push to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: California Assembly, (1994-2000); Executive Director, Aaron Price Fellows (1990-1994); San Diego School Board (1983-1992)
Birthday: April 13, 1944
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
Alma Mater: University of California-Berkeley, B.A., 1964; University of North Carolina, M.A., 1968
Spouse: Steven
Religion: Jewish

Committees: Education and Labor ; Armed Services ; House Administration
DC Office: 1526 Longworth House Office Building, 202-225-2040
District Office: San Diego, 619-280-5353
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1994, Davis is the daughter of Jewish Lithuanian immigrants. Her father worked as a pediatrician who made house calls.

Davis attended the University of California at Berkeley, later earning a master's in social work from the University of North Carolina. After marrying Steven Davis, a surgeon she met in Berkeley, the two lived in Japan while he served a two-year Air Force commitment. The family later settled in San Diego's conservative neighborhood of Kensington. After returning to California, she was a social worker specializing in medical issues.

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The Issues

During the 111th Congress, Davis voted with the majority of House Democrats 99 percent of the time.

One of California's border representatives, Davis says she supports controlling illegal immigration through a combination of "securing the border, enforcing the law in the workplace, creating legal channels for workers to enter the country, and a way to earn legal status."

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She says she doesn't support amnesty and that undocumented immigrants must "pass various hurdles to earn the privilege of being allowed to stay."She does support DREAM Act legislation, giving young undocumented immigrants a path toward citizenship if they meet certain military service or educational requirements.

Defense Issues

Since taking office, Davis has actively focused on defense issues by both pushing for the interests of military installations in her district and seeking to expand the role of women and homosexuals in the armed services.

Davis has actively lobbied the Navy to ensure that San Diego would remain the home of multiple carriers after the U.S.S. Nimitz left the region permanently in 2010 and the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan left its shores at least temporarily in 2011.

A supporter of giving women the right to fight in active combat, Davis protested in 2005 against proposed legislation that codified restrictions for female servicemembers. Davis supported Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) in her 2010 efforts to pass an amendment reversing the policy.

A supporter of repealing the ban, Davis led efforts on the House Armed Services Committee to review the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning openly gay people to serve in the military. In 2008, she led the first formal congressional hearing on the issue since it was enacted in 1993. In December 2010, Davis attended the signing ceremony for a bill revoking the policy.

From her perch as the top Democrat on the subcommittee overseeing military personnel, Davis has backed several military pay raises.

Education

Davis has called for changes to the No Child Left Behind Act, criticizing the law for relying "too heavily on punitive measures." She supports reforming the act by introducing new funding for early childhood education, professional development and new teacher and principal training.

Davis has also worked extensively on education issues related to military families.

In 2010, she pushed for provisions that would give children of servicemembers access to free school lunches.

She has supported student-loan reform, including reducing federal subsidies to private lenders and granting loan forgiveness to those whose education is interrupted by active duty.

In 2008, she authored a provision in a higher-education bill that bans the accrual of student loan interest for those on active duty.

Health-Care Reform

Davis supported the 2010 health-care reform bill, saying the March 2010 vote was "reminiscent of the vote on civil rights, women's suffrage, and the creation of Social Security and Medicare. Those were also tough votes of conscience."

Among the provisions she supported were banning insurance companies from denying coverage based on preexisting conditions, covering the Medicare prescription drug "donut hole" and requiring insurance companies to provide free preventative care.

Before the final bill was conceived, Davis promoted a public option for coverage, though recognized a single, government-run system wasn't likely to pass Congress.

The Network

Both Davis and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) have worked to maintain the Navy's presence in the San Diego-area.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez and Davis have been vocal about expanding the role of women in the military.

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