Anna Eshoo | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2013 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Campbell (redistricted) |
| Succeeded by | Sam Liccardo |
| Constituency | 14th district (1993–2013) 18th district (2013–2023) 16th district (2023–2025) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anna Georges (1942-12-13)December 13, 1942 (age 82) New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | George Eshoo (divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Cañada College (AA) |
Anna A. Eshoo (/ˈɛʃuː/EH-shoo; néeGeorges; born December 13, 1942)[1] is an American politician who served as theU.S. representative forCalifornia's 16th congressional district from 1993 to 2025. She is a member of theDemocratic Party.
The district, numbered as the 14th district from 1993 to 2013 and the 18th district from 2013 to 2023, is based inSilicon Valley, including the cities ofRedwood City,Sunnyvale,Mountain View, andPalo Alto, as well as a sliver ofSan Jose. Eshoo was the onlyAssyrian-American in Congress and the onlyArmenian American woman in Congress during her tenure in office. On November 21, 2023, she announced she would not seek re-election in 2024.[2]
Anna Eshoo was born inNew Britain, Connecticut, ofAssyrian andArmenian heritage.[3] Her mother had fled from Armenia to Iraq, and subsequently to the United States. Her father, Fred Georges, ajeweler andwatchmaker, was aChaldean Christian.[4]
Eshoo graduated fromNew Britain High School in 1960, and later moved to California.[citation needed] She received anAssociate of Arts degree in English fromCañada College in 1975.[5]
Eshoo wasChair of theSan Mateo Democratic Party from 1978 to 1982. She was also a member of theDemocratic National Committee in the 1980s. She was chief of staff to Speakerpro temporeLeo McCarthy of theCalifornia State Assembly in 1981–82. Eshoo was elected to theSan Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1982 and served until 1992. She was president of the board in 1986.
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In the middle of Eshoo's second term on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, she ran for Congress inCalifornia's 12th congressional district. She won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 43%,[6] but lost the general election to RepublicanStanford law professorTom Campbell, 51–46%.[7]
Campbell gave up his congressional seat to make an unsuccessful bid for theUnited States Senate, and Eshoo entered the Democratic primary for the open seat, which had been renumbered as the14th district. She won the seven-way primary with a plurality of 40%.[8]
In the general election, she defeated the Republican nominee,San Mateo County SupervisorTom Huening, 57%–39%.[9]
She survived theRepublican Revolution, winning reelection with 61% of the vote.[10]
She won reelection against Republican Ronny Santana, 70–22%.[11]
She won reelection against Republican Dave Chapman, 69–28%.[12]
After redistricting, Eshoo ran for and won reelection inCalifornia's 18th congressional district based in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.[13]
After a bitter race that brought to the fore some dissatisfaction over party leadership, regarded as a proxy battle betweenSteny Hoyer andNancy Pelosi, Eshoo lost a party vote toFrank Pallone for ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.[14]Nancy Pelosi had said Eshoo's elevation to the top Democratic spot on that committee would be important for the Democrats, allowing Eshoo "to tap into lucrative fundraising interests in Silicon Valley and elsewhere that the committee has jurisdiction."[15]
Eshoo beat challenger Rishi Kumar in the Democratic primary and was reelected in the general election.
Eshoo beat challenger Rishi Kumar in a rematch.
In 2003, Eshoo was elected by herDemocratic colleagues in the 108th Congress as an At-Large DemocraticWhip, and she has served in that position to the present.
On January 30, 2008, Eshoo formally endorsed U.S. SenatorBarack Obama for president.[16]
Eshoo voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis. This results in a Biden Plus/Minus score of +0.4.[17]
Eshoo opposed theoverturning ofRoe v. Wade.[18] In 2024, she signed anamicus brief to the consolidated cases ofMoyle v. United States andIdaho v. United States urging the Supreme Court to uphold the right to medical abortions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).
On July 16, 2018, Eshoo introduced H.R. 6378, the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPA), along with RepresentativeSusan Brooks, Energy and Commerce Committee ChairmanGreg Walden, and Ranking MemberFrank Pallone. The September 11 attacks and the deadly anthrax attacks that followed motivated Eshoo and former RepresentativeRichard Burr to create the original PAHPA law, which coordinated responses to public health emergencies and developed medical countermeasures.[19]
H.R. 6378 improves preparedness nationwide and response for public health emergencies by speeding up research and development on medical countermeasures. The bill also focuses on the needs of special populations such as seniors, the disabled, and children.[19]
In March 2018, Eshoo and Brooks launched theCongressional Biodefense Caucus. Within a week, 21 members of Congress had joined. The caucus is "dedicated to strengthening our nation's biodefense enterprise and national security." It will focus on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats and pandemic outbreaks.[20]
Eshoo's bill to require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to publicly disclose their last 10 federal tax returns was included in theFor the People Act. She has said, "The For the People Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore the faith and function of American democracy".[21]
Eshoo has voted in favor of bills that expand the creation of jobs in renewable energy.[22] She has also supported energy tax credits for companies that use alternative, non-carbon fuel sources.[23] More recently, she has expressed support for the continued funding of research intofusion power.[24] She is also a supporter ofGreen New Deal policies[25] and is a co-sponsor of theHouse resolutions calling for Green New Deal legislation as an effort to combat climate change.[26][27]
In February 2023, Eshoo, along with RepresentativesRandy Weber (R‑TX 14th),Lizzie Fletcher (D‑TX 07th),Nancy Mace (R‑SC 01st),Abigail Spanberger (D‑VA 07th), andDon Davis (D‑NC 01st), introduced theReinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act, which aims to share federal offshore wind power revenue with states for coastal protection and restoration work. The bill was also introduced in the Senate.[28][29]
Eshoo worked on theAffordable Care Act and was present during its signing.[30] She believes in adding apublic option to the Act to achieve universal health insurance.[31]
Eshoo is a strong supporter of thegay rights movement. In 1992, when agay-bashing mailer was directed at Supervisor Tom Nolan (the first openly gay supervisor in San Mateo and her opponent for her congressional seat), Eshoo stood fast in defending him, his record and years of service. She opposed theMarriage Protection Amendment and theMarriage Protection Act. Her website called the bill "discriminatory, singling out for the first time a minority to prevent their interests from being considered by the highest courts in the land."[32]
As one of just twoAssyrian members of Congress, Eshoo has worked hard to protect indigenousAssyrianChristians inIraq from continuingreligious persecution and political exclusion. She authored an amendment to H.R. 2601, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, stating that "special attention should be paid to the welfare of Chaldo-Assyrians and other indigenous Christians in Iraq."[33]
Eshoo has been a strong supporter of the congressional resolution recognizing theArmenian genocide. She also supports closer ties between Armenia and the U.S.
Eshoo has fought strongly against certain provisions of thePatriot Act, particularly Section 215 (Access to Business Records), which gives federal investigators the right to obtain any tangible business record without a subpoena.[34]
Eshoo also introduced "Kevin's law," which would have given the U.S. Department of Agriculture the power to close down plants that produce contaminated meat.
As an Assyrian and Armenian American, Eshoo is co-chair and co-founder of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus. She also serves on the Board of Advisors of The Institute on Religion and Public Policy, a freedom of religion organization.
In August 2024, Eshoo called on theFood and Drug Administration to scrutinize clinical trials conducted in thePeople's Republic of China forthreats to intellectual property and forced participation using theUyghur people.[35]
Eshoo has worked to create a legal "pathway to citizenship" forforeign workers of all kinds, from doctors and computer programmers to migrant farm workers. She has voted to increase the annual cap onH-1B visas to allow more temporary foreign professionals to work in the United States (especially those withMaster's Degrees or higher).
In California, where as much as 90% of the agricultural workforce is composed of undocumented immigrants,[36] Eshoo cosponsored H.R. 371, the Agricultural Jobs Act, which would confer blue-card status on undocumented immigrants who had worked an agricultural job in the United States for 150 days or more. This bill never became law.
Eshoo has expressed support for President Biden'sAmerican Jobs Plan, calling it "a visionary proposal to create millions of good-paying jobs while revitalizing America's infrastructure" that "will bring the U.S. into the 21st century."[37]
On May 24, 2023, Eshoo expressed support for thewave of peaceful pro-democracy activism in Israel against thejudicial overhaul legislation proposed by Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu's government.[38]
In November 2023, amid theGaza War, Eshoo declined to sign theCeasefire Now Resolution where she contended that it allowed impunity forHamas. Later that month, inPalo Alto, demonstrators aiming the congressional offices in theBay Area demanded Eshoo to order aceasefire inGaza, to which she responded, "...While I have consistently pressed theIDF to take precautions to protect civilians, I have not called for a permanentceasefire because I believe Hamas must be removedfrom power in Gaza...because they haveno regard for the welfare of the Palestinians they claim to represent."[39] Furthermore, Eshoo had called on Israel to implement ahumanitarian pause in Gaza and for Israel to show some restraint.[40]
Eshoo voted against theTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and has expressed support for repealing the SALT deduction cap, which she views as an unfair burden on the middle class.[41]
On July 29, 2015, Eshoo co-introduced H.R. 3299, theStrengthening Public Health Emergency Response Act of 2015, which would streamline government decisions and provide incentives for vaccines and treatment of dangerous pathogens and diseases.[42] Eshoo co-sponsored the legislation with lead sponsor Rep.Susan Brooks in response to an October 2015 report by theBlue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.[43]
Other legislation includes:
Eshoo authored two bills authorizing electronic signatures that became law, TheGovernment Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 (GPEA) andESIGN.[44] She also introduced controversial legislation to alleviate the proliferation of unsolicited email, known asspam. The U.S. House of Representatives passed TheCAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (S. 877), which authorizes a "Do Not Spam" list, regulates commercial email, and imposes fines on spammers. Eshoo authored the Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement Act of 2001 (H.R. 237), created a program to provide discounts to schools and libraries for Internet access, and authored the Computer Donation Incentive Act.[citation needed]
Eshoo introduced HR 2428, theBroadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2009.[45] The bill would require new federal road projects to include plastic conduits buried along the side of the roadway, and enough of them to "accommodate multiple broadband providers."[46] "According to industry experts, more than half of the cost of new broadband deployment is attributable to the expense of tearing up and repaving roads," Eshoo said. "By putting the broadband conduit in place while the ground beneath the roadways is exposed, we will enable any authorized communications provider to come in later and install fiber-optic cable at far less cost."[45] The bill is supported byGoogle.[47][48]
Together with Rep.Ed Markey, Eshoo introduced theInternet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009,[49] which would makeNet Neutrality the law.[50]
Eshoo is co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, a bipartisan group of over 150 members of the House and Senate working to educate their colleagues about the promise and potential of the Internet.[51]
Eshoo supported theFederal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 3675; 113th Congress), a bill that would make a number of changes to procedures that theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) follows in its rulemaking processes.[52] The FCC would have to act more transparently as a result of this bill, forced to accept public input about regulations.[53] Eshoo expected Senate support for the bill, saying that they "shouldn't find it menacing" and arguing that the bill was "about the functioning of the FCC in the 21st century."[54]
In 2022, Eshoo, RepresentativeJan Schakowsky, and SenatorCory Booker[55] introduced the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act (BSAA).[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] Frank Maggio, CEO and founder of ReactLLC, called the BSAA "rife with loopholes".[67] The act wastabled.[67] According toPC Magazine, some browsers with some extensions can block some surveillance and some advertising.[68]
For the118th Congress:[69]
Eshoo was married to attorney George Eshoo, with whom she has two children, Karen and Paul. Anna Eshoo and George Eshoo are divorced.[80] She resides inMenlo Park, California.[81] She is aChaldean Catholic. She attends Sacred Heart-Oakwood Catholic Church.[82]
In 2010, Eshoo was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" on Capitol Hill byThe Hill.[82]
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Cañada College, class of '75, now represents the area where she lives and attended college. She earned an Associate of Arts in English from Cañada College within a decade of the college's official opening. Later she served as a San Mateo County Supervisor for ten years.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 14th congressional district 1993–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 18th congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 16th congressional district 2023–2025 | 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 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
