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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.
This year, Pete helped lead the effort to enact health reform. This new law will finally guarantee that all Americans have a right to quality, affordable health care. Some of the reforms begin immediately while others will take several years to go into effect, but this historic legislation over 100 years in the making has changed the health care landscape in America.
Health reform is vital for senior citizens as well. Stark helped enact key reforms that will phase out the Republican Medicare prescription drug donut hole, eliminate cost sharing for Medicare preventive benefits, and extend Medicare’s solvency by more than a decade.
To compensate for the economic recession left us by President Bush, Stark also worked to create a temporary COBRA health insurance continuation program subsidy that pays 65% of the monthly health insurance premium for workers who have been involuntarily terminated.
Pete provides a consistent voice for tax fairness. He opposed the Bush tax cuts 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 important 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 is a tireless advocate for children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. He stands up for workers by voting against policies like trade agreements that hurt Bay Area workers and compromise his values regarding human rights and nonproliferation. He has been an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration's war with Iraq since its inception and continues to call for an immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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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