Lynn Woolsey

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Lynn Woolsey

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 6th district
Term of office: 1993 - present
Political party:	Democratic
Preceded by:	Barbara Boxer
Succeeded by:	Incumbent
Religion:	Presbyterian
Born:	November 3, 1937 Seattle, Washington
Spouse:	Divorced

Lynn C. Woolsey (born November 3, 1937), American politician, has been a progressive Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the 6th District of California. The district takes in all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County.

1 Personal life and early career
2 Race for Congress
3 Positions on Iraq
4 Indian Gaming
5 Scouting for All Act
6 Controversy
7 External links

[edit] Personal life and early career

She was born in Seattle, Washington, was educated at the University of Washington where she became a member of Alpha Phi sorority and the University of San Francisco, and was a human resources manager and personnel service owner, a teacher at the College of Marin and the Dominican University of California, and a member of the Petaluma, California City Council before entering the House.

Congresswoman Woolsey, who describes herself as "the first former welfare mother to serve in Congress,"[1] is one of two members of the House of Representatives to have been on welfare; the other is Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D, WI).

[edit] Race for Congress

In the 1992 primary to succeed Congresswoman Barbara Boxer who successfully ran for the Senate, Woolsey, as the only Sonoma County candidate, defeated J. Bennett Johnston III (the son of the former U.S. Senator from Louisiana, Bennett Johnston Jr.), future Assemblyman Joseph Nation (who unsuccessfully challenged her in the 2006 primary election), Denis Rice, Howell Hurst, David Strand, Anna Nevenic, William Harrison Morrison, and Eric Koenigshofer. In the general elections, she faced Republican Assemblyman Bill Filante, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was unable to campaign much. This essentially ended Filante's campaign. She is in her seventh term as representative.

[edit] Positions on Iraq

Woolsey is an outspoken opponent of the War in Iraq. She has take an active role in calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. She led 15 Members of Congress in writing a letter to President Bush on January 12, 2005, calling for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. She also was the first Member of Congress to call for a troop withdrawal, when she introduced H.Con. Res. 35 on January 26, 2005. Congresswoman Woolsey gave Cindy Sheehan the guest pass to attend the 2006 State of the Union speech by George W. Bush. Sheehan's attendance at the speech became infamous when she was arrested for wearing a T-shirt with a political message.[2]

[edit] Indian Gaming

Representative Woolsey introduced the Graton Rancheria Restoration Act August 6, 1998 (105th CONGRESS, 2d Session, H.R. 4434 [3]). It was ultimately approved and signed by President Clinton as Title XIV of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act (Public Law No. 106-568) in December of 2000.

Testifying in support of H.R. 946 before the House Resources Committee May 16, 2000, Woolsey said [4]:

“This consensus bill restores Federal rights and privileges to the tribe and to its members. As is typical with restoration legislation, it reinstates political status and makes tribal members eligible for benefits such as Native American health, education, and housing services. These are services, as you know, that are available to all other Federally recognized tribes.

A unique aspect of H.R. 946, however, is that it specifically contains a clause that restricts gaming, gaming on land that is taken into trust for the tribes. This non-gaming clause is at the express request of the tribe, and is the basis for the broad and bipartisan support that this bill enjoys throughout my Congressional District. It is also key to my support for the tribe's restoration.”

Representative Woolsey's original bill (H.R. 4434, later H.R. 946) would not have permitted the FIGR to have an Indian casino. Senator Barbara Boxer removed that prohibition when she included Woolsey's bill in the Omnibus Act.

Now the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, and Station Casinos, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nevada, propose to build a large hotel/casino complex in Rohnert Park, California. The City Council has strongly supported the highly controversial project.

In response, Representative Woolsey introduced HR2656 (which never left the House Resources Committee) and appeared frequently at local townhall meetings saying that the Miwok Indians double crossed her by seeking to legalize gambling on their Indian gaming reservation. [5]

[edit] Scouting for All Act

In September 2000 Woolsey sponsored H.R. 4892, The Scouting for All Act, to revoke the charter held by the Boy Scouts of America which had been held since 1916. The charter was issued by Congress to the B.S.A. for its efforts to promote "patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred virtues" for young boys. Woolsey said, "We're not saying the Boy Scouts are bad, we're saying that intolerance is bad." She said that because the organization will not accept homosexuals as leaders for young boys, those boys are being taught to be intolerant.

[edit] Controversy

On December 2, 2003, Woolsey wrote a letter on behalf of Stewart Pearson, the son of an employee in her office, who pleaded guilty to rape. In a letter written on her official congressional stationery, she asked the judge to consider mitigating circumstances and show leniency. The judge in the case ignored the letter, and sentenced Pearson to eight years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea bargain. She has since apologized for writing the letter [6].