Jackie Speier served 18 years in the California State Legislature before she was sworn into Congress on April 10, 2008 to fill the unexpired term of the late Congressman Tom Lantos. Jackie, born in San Francisco's Sunset District, is a life-long resident of the Bay Area. She attended public schools in South San Francisco and Burlingame's Mercy High School. While studying at University of Californi
a, Davis, she interned for State Assemblyman Leo J. Ryan in his Sacramento office. After graduating, she joined Ryan's Washington, DC staff upon his election to Congress. She returned to San Francisco to earn a JD degree from UC's Hastings College of the Law before rejoining Congressman Ryan as his legal advisor. In November, 1978 Jackie and the Congressman led a group to Jonestown, Guyana to investigate claims that constituents were being held against their will by the Rev. Speier and Congressman Ryan were escorting defecting cult members to their plane when Jones’ gunmen attacked them. Ryan and four others were killed--Jackie was shot five times and left for dead. This near-death experience has followed Jackie closely throughout her life and helped shaped her vow: “not to waste another minute of my life.” She has authored more than 300 state laws supported by Democratic and Republican Governors. Her four-year crusade to protect consumers' financial privacy from the invasive practices of banking and insurance companies led to the California Financial Privacy Act, hailed by Consumers Union as "The strongest financial privacy legislation in the nation." She also led hearings that identified waste, abuse and corruption within California’s prison system. Unfortunately, her attempt in 2005 to pass a law regulating sub-prime loans did not succeed. She saw the danger signs early on that contributed to a global economic meltdown. Who's to say how California's real estate landscape would look today if her legislation had succeeded? Fortunately, Jackie sits on two crucial committees in Congress: the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC). She is also a member of her party’s leadership team as Senior Whip where she promotes policies that will create jobs and strengthen the middle class. After a 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion struck a San Bruno neighbourhood, killing eight and destroying 38 homes, Jackie took a lead role in helping to determine what caused the accident and who was responsible along with ensuring that affected residents were made whole. Her work on this pipeline issue continues today as she advocates for stronger safety laws, improved regulation by the CPUC and higher accountability from PG&E which has adopted all of her safety recommendations. She often speaks about her “A,B,C,D” plan which stands for accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan, the need for bipartisan problem-solving in Congress, competitiveness in education and reduction of the national debt. When asked for her philosophy of life, Jackie often quotes Winston Churchill: "Success is never final and failure is never fatal." Jackie is married to Barry Dennis and has two adult children.
