Allyson Schwartz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's13th district | |
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Hoeffel |
| Succeeded by | Brendan Boyle |
| Member of thePennsylvania Senate from the4th district | |
| In office January 1, 1991 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Rocks |
| Succeeded by | LeAnna Washington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Allyson Young (1948-10-03)October 3, 1948 (age 77) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | David Schwartz |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Simmons University (BA) Bryn Mawr College (MSW) |
Allyson Schwartz (néeYoung; born October 3, 1948) is an AmericanDemocratic Party politician who represented parts ofMontgomery County andNortheast Philadelphia in theUnited States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015 and Northeast andNorthwest Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2005.[1] She has finished second in a statewide Democratic Party primary twice: forUnited States Senate in 2000 and forGovernor in 2014.
Schwartz was also National Chair for Recruitment and Candidate Services for theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Schwartz was born Allyson Young inQueens,New York, to Everett and Renee (née Perl) Young.[2][3] Her mother leftVienna in 1938 afterGermany annexedAustria, and came to theUnited States, where she settled at aJewishfoster home inPhiladelphia. Her father was adentist inFlushing, Queens, and a veteran of theKorean War.[3] She has a brother, Neal, and two sisters, Nancy and Dale.[4] Schwartz graduated from theCalhoun School, on theUpper West Side ofNew York City, in 1966 and then enrolled atSimmons College inBoston,Massachusetts.[3] She earned aBachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Simmons in 1970, as well as aMaster of Social Work degree fromBryn Mawr College in 1972.[2][3]
She worked as assistant director of the Philadelphia Health Services Department from 1972 to 1975, and executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a reproductive health clinic in Philadelphia, from 1975 to 1988.[5]
In 1990, Schwartz ran for Pennsylvania's 4th senate seat, based in Northwest andNortheast Philadelphia. She won the Democratic primary with 50% of the vote, defeating Jeff Blum (28%) and Robert Blasi (22%).[6] In the general election, Schwartz defeated incumbentRepublican State SenatorJoe Rocks 58%–42%.[7]
Redistricting pushed Schwartz's seat into Montgomery County. In 1994, she won re-election to a second term by defeating Republican Tom Scott 82%–18%.[8] In 1998, she won re-election to a third term unopposed.[9] In2002, she won re-election to a fourth term defeating Republican Ron Holt, the Montgomery County Register of Wills, 82%–18%.[10]
During her first term, Schwartz was instrumental in Pennsylvania's legislative efforts to provide health care coverage to the children of middle-class families, leading to the creation of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1992. CHIP served as the model for the federal plan that now provides health insurance to millions of children.[11]
In a 2002PoliticsPA feature story designating politicians with yearbook superlatives, she was named the "Best Dressed," to which she responded "I appreciate the honor...it must be the scarves."[12]
In2000, she decided to challengeRepublican U.S. SenatorRick Santorum.Pittsburgh-area U.S. CongressmanRon Klink won the crowded, six-candidate Democratic primary with a plurality of 41% of the vote. Schwartz ranked second with 27% of the vote, dominating the southeastern part of the state, most notably Philadelphia (60%) and Montgomery (62%) counties. She also won two counties outside of the region: Centre (33%) and Union (38%). However, this was not enough to overcome Klink's dominance in the western part of the state.[13] Schwartz did not have to give up her state senate seat to run in the Democratic primary for the U. S. Senate; Pennsylvania state senators serve staggered four-year terms, and Schwartz was not up for reelection until 2002.
In 2003, Democratic U.S. CongressmanJoe Hoeffel, ofPennsylvania's 13th congressional district decided not to run for a fourth term, in order to challenge Republican U.S. SenatorArlen Specter. Schwartz had originally planned to run forAuditor General, but changed her plans after Hoeffel's announcement. In early 2004, she moved from Philadelphia toJenkintown, Pennsylvania in Montgomery County, where she still lives today. She won the Democratic primary, narrowly defeating formerPhiladelphia deputy mayor andNational Constitution Center directorJoe Torsella 52% to 48%. She won 62% of Montgomery while Torsella won 57% of Philadelphia.[14] While most former state legislators raise comparatively more money throughPACs than individual donations, she raised $4,597,032[15] from individual donations and comparatively little ($558,376) in PAC donations. The 13th had historically been a classic Northeastern "Yankee Republican" district, but had become increasingly Democratic in recent years, especially after it was pushed into Philadelphia after the 2000 census. A Republican presidential candidate has not carried it since 1988, and it has been in Democratic hands for all but four years since 1993. In the general election, she defeated RepublicanMelissa Brown 56% to 41%, winning both counties.[16]
In2006, Schwartz was re-elected to a second term, defeatingRaj Bhakta, a contestant onThe Apprentice 2, 66% to 34%.[17] In2008, she was re-elected to a third term, defeating Republican attorney Marina Kats, 63% to 35%.[18] In2010, she was reelected a fourth time, defeating businessmanDee Adcock 56% to 44%. The 12-point winning margin was the smallest in her congressional career.[19] In2012, after redistricting, Schwartz's district was given a larger Democratic majority when it was pushed further into Philadelphia, with 52% of the district's vote cast in Philadelphia. She won re-election to a fifth term, defeating Republican Joe Rooney 69% to 31%.[20][21]
Schwartz was a member of theNew Democrat Coalition and was the chair of the New Democrat Coalition Taskforce on Health. In this position, she had actively pushed for the greater use of interoperable and secureelectronic prescribing systems throughout the country in an attempt to decrease medical errors as well as costs and liability to providers, health systems and patients. In January 2014, Schwartz resigned from the taskforce chairmanship in the New Democratic Coalition.[citation needed]
The first piece of legislation Schwartz introduced after being elected to Congress focused on providing tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed veterans. The bill was signed into law in 2007. In 2011, Schwartz introduced the Hiring Our Veterans Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in November of that year.[22] The Hiring Our Veterans Act increased the tax credit for employers that hire veterans with a service connected disability who have been unemployed for six months or more, veterans who have been unemployed for at least four weeks, and veterans, not necessarily with disability, who have been unemployed for at least six months. In 2012, Schwartz introduced the Servicemembers' Access to Justice Act to improve the enforcement of Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.[23] Schwartz was backed by Senator Bob Casey, who introduced this legislation in the Senate on May 23, 2012 (Schwartz, 2012).
Schwartz was the first Democratic member of the House of Representatives to call for Rep.Anthony Weiner to resign following hisphoto scandal.[24]
Schwartz was known as one of the leading health care experts in government.[25] She authored several key provisions of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including increasing access to primary care, banning pre-existing conditions exclusions and allowing young adults to remain on their parent's health coverage.[4][25] She is pro-choice and received a 100% rating fromNARAL in 2011.[26] She voted twice against Republican-led efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and supported legislation requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortion care to women who could die without it.
Schwartz announced her intention to give up her House seat to challenge incumbent Republican Pennsylvania GovernorTom Corbett, who was up for re-election in 2014.[27] On April 8, 2013, Schwartz officially launched her campaign.[28] In February 2013, Schwartz stated that she would not run for re-election for the United States House of Representatives.[29] Ultimately, she was defeated byTom Wolf in the Democratic primary.[30]
After losing the Democratic primary for governor of Pennsylvania, Schwartz became the president and CEO of theBetter Medicare Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group funded by health insurance companies.[5] The organization has been criticized as afront group for the health insurance industry.[31][32] She left the group in January 2021 after 6 years at the helm.[33]
Schwartz is married to David Schwartz, a cardiologist, and they live inJenkintown, Pennsylvania. They have two sons.[4]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 13th congressional district 2005–2015 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| People | |
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| Other | |
