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Congressman Pete Stark
represents the 13th Congressional District of California. Before his first election to Congress, Pete founded and managed an independent bank in the East Bay which became a national icon for corporate responsibility and social action.
In Congress, Pete is a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee. This Committee addresses issues of taxes, Medicare, Social Security, trade and public assistance. He serves as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee which oversees the operation of the Medicare program as well as other important health priorities. He is also an active member of the Income Support and Family Services Subcommittee whose jurisdiction includes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and other family support programs.
Under Pete's chairmanship of the Health Subcommittee, the Medicare program has undergone significant reforms making the program more efficient. For example, Pete saved billions of dollars by prohibiting under-the-table kickbacks by providers while at the same time expanding benefits for beneficiaries. He was also able to pass legislation to create the COBRA health insurance continuation program that has provided extended health benefits to over 45 million people who are between jobs. And in the early days of the Clinton Administration, Pete was the only leader in Congress who was able to write and pass out of committee a universal health plan. The White House supported Pete's plan recognizing it as the best for ensuring all Americans would have the health care they needed.
Most recently, Pete authored the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act with Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell. Passed by the House, but still pending in the Senate, this bill would make vital new federal investments in the SCHIP and Medicare programs. Much of the bill’s financing came from ending massive overpayments to private plans in Medicare and reinvesting that money into Medicare improvements like mental health parity, broader preventive coverage, and increased low income support programs. In short, its goal was to reverse the undermining of the Medicare and SCHIP programs which occurred over the last decade of Republican Control of government.
Pete provides a consistent voice for tax fairness. He opposed directing the Bush tax cuts exclusively to the wealthiest Americans and is working to defeat continued attempts by Republicans to make those tax cuts permanent.
While issues related to health care, taxes and the economy are important, equally vital to Pete and to the citizens of the 13th Congressional district, are the issues of world peace, freedom of choice, education, and the environment. Pete has been a tireless advocate for children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. He stands up for workers by voting against policies like CAFTA and NPTR that hurt Bay Area workers and compromise his values regarding human rights and nonproliferation. He has been an outspoken critic of the Bush Administrations' war with Iraq since its inception and continues to call for an immediate withdrawal of our troops.
Stark is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a bachelors degree in engineering and the University of California, Berkeley with a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA). A veteran, Stark served in the Air Force. Stark's community, church, and civic activities have included: Director, Common Cause; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Starr King School of Ministry; Board Member, Housing Development Corporation; Board Member, Council for Civic Unity, and many others.
Pete has four daughters, three sons, and eight grandchildren. He is married to Deborah Roderick Stark of San Lorenzo.
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