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Linda and Loretta Sanchez on Election Night 2002.
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Home > About Linda
Congresswoman Linda Sánchez was sworn into Congress on January 7th, 2003, and is currently serving her third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She represents the 39th Congressional District of California, which includes the communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Florence, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada, Long Beach, Lynwood, Paramount, South Gate, Watts, Whittier, and Willowbrook.
In the 110th Congress, which began in January 2007, Congresswoman Sánchez joined the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Education and Labor. Within the Judiciary Committee, on which she has served since starting her service in Congress, she became Chair of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. Congresswoman Sánchez restored strong oversight responsibilities to the subcommittee and led the investigation into the suspicious firings of at least nine federal prosecutors. Over ten high level Justice Department and White House officials resigned since the investigation was launched, including the Attorney General.
Congresswoman Sánchez is the first Latina in history to serve on the Judiciary Committee and the first woman to serve as Chair of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. She is also a member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. The Judiciary Committee considers civil and criminal judicial reform, civil liberties, constitutional amendments, and immigration and naturalization. It also has jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Justice as well as federal aid to local law enforcement.
A co-founder of the Labor and Working Families Caucus, it was a natural fit for Congresswoman Sánchez to join the House Committee on Education and Labor. She is currently the only Democrat from Greater Los Angeles to serve on the committee. She is a member of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, which led efforts in 2007 to renew and enhance the Head Start program. This year, the subcommittee will continue its work to improve public schools by revising the No Child Left Behind Act. As a member of the Subcommittee on Health, Labor, Employment and Pensions, she has participated in efforts to improve worker safety and organizing rights. The subcommittee is also charged with addressing the nation's retirement security crisis.
Congresswoman Sánchez also serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. She is a member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, which focuses on rebuilding international relationships in Central and South America, a region that has seen a recent surge in anti-U.S. sentiment. She also sits on the Subcommittee on Europe, which is focused on restoring strong strategic relationships with allies across Europe.
Sánchez is a strong advocate for California's working families. She is committed to reducing crime, making schools safer, providing quality education and affordable health care, improving our economy by creating new opportunities, and protecting our environment. Since coming to Congress, she has brought back more than $25 million in federal investments in her district. In the 109th Congress, the House of Representatives passed her bill to develop systems that will improve the local water quality supply and prevent ocean pollution.
,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 U.C.L.A.
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. Sánchez resides in Lakewood with her dogs Baloo, Pip and Chavo.
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