Congresswoman
Nydia M. Velázquez
(D-NY7)
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez is currently serving her 14th
term as Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District.
In the 116th Congress, she is the Chairwoman of the House Small
Business Committee, a senior member of the Financial Services
Committee and a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
She has made history several times during her tenure in Congress.
In 1992, she was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives. In February 1998, she was named Ranking
Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee, making her
the first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Member of a full House
committee. In 2006, she was named Chairwoman of the House
Small Business Committee, making her the first Latina to chair a full
Congressional committee.
Congresswoman
Grace F. Napolitano
(D-CA32)
First elected to Congress in
1998, Congresswoman Grace
F. Napolitano is currently
serving her 11th term. Her Los
Angeles County-based district covers
several cities and communities in the
San Gabriel Valley.
Twenty-one years ago, LATINA
Style had the honor to meet
Congresswoman Napolitano and
since then she has been a champion
for the community and Latinas. “You
have provided a great service for
business in women,” states the
Congresswoman about LATINA Style.
“We have been able to show that
increasing Latinas in Congress is
going to make a difference.”
With seniority comes great responsibility and Congresswoman
Napolitano also paves the way for the next Latina in Congress by
supporting them and providing advice.
“In the beginning it was a little hard for members of Congress to
accept you, not that they discriminated, they ignored you,” she states.
When asked about the new Latinas in Congress, she describes them
as wonderful. “Each and every one of them is worth an ingot of gold,” she
Born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico - a
small town of sugar-cane fields - in
1953, Congresswoman Velázquez is
one of nine children. In 1983,
Velázquez was appointed Special
Assistant to Congressman Edolphus
Towns (D-Brooklyn). One year later,
she became the first Latina
appointed to serve on the New York
City Council. By 1986, Velázquez
served as the Director of the
Department of Puerto Rican
Community Affairs in the United
States.
As the top Democrat on the
House Small Business Committee,
which oversees federal programs
and contracts totaling $200 billion annually, Congresswoman Velázquez
has been a vocal advocate of American small business and
entrepreneurship.
says. “They have new ideas, new energy and they are ambitious in the
sense that they are looking out for their own area. What is more salient
and needed in your district, that is what you should worry about. We keep
fighting.”
Congresswoman Napolitano serves on the House Committee
of Transportation & Infrastructure and is the Chairwoman on the
Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. She continues to
advance projects and policies that relieve congestion, improve transit, and
reduce the negative impacts her district takes on as a primary shipping
corridor from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Congresswoman
Napolitano also serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources
and is a long-time promoter of conservation, water recycling,
desalination, and groundwater management as solutions to Southern
California’s water needs.
She is the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Mental Health
Caucus. She is also the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Youth
Challenge Caucus. The Congresswoman is a member and former
Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which addresses the
impact of national issues on the Hispanic community.
18 LATINAStyle www.latinastyle.com Vol. 25, No. 5, 2019
/www.latinastyle.com
