Lucille Roybal-Allard
Official portrait, 2013
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	David Dreier
Succeeded by	Robert Garcia (redistricted)
Constituency	33rd district (1993–2003) 34th district (2003–2013) 40th district (2013–2023)
Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the56th district
In office May 18, 1987 – November 30, 1992
Preceded by	Gloria Molina
Succeeded by	Bob Epple
Personal details
Born	Lucille Elsa Roybal (1941-06-12)June 12, 1941 (age 84) Boyle Heights, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Edward Allard
Children	2
Relatives	Edward R. Roybal (father)
Education	California State University, Los Angeles (BA)
Roybal-Allard's voice Roybal-Allard on theChildren's Act for Responsible Employment. Recorded September 15, 2009

Lucille Elsa Roybal-Allard (born June 12, 1941) is an American politician who served as aU.S. representative from California from 1993 to 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, she first entered Congress in 1993. Her district, numbered as the33rd until 2003, the34th from 2003 to 2013, and the40th from 2013 to 2023, included much of southernLos Angeles, as well as several eastern suburbs, such asDowney,Bell andBell Gardens. On December 20, 2021, Roybal-Allard announced her retirement at the end of the117th Congress.^[1]

Roybal-Allard was born inBoyle Heights, California, the daughter ofEdward R. Roybal, who served in Congress from 1963 to 1993, and Lucille Beserra Roybal.^[2][3] She attendedRamona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California, graduating in 1959.^[4] She also attendedCalifornia State University, Los Angeles.^[2]

Roybal-Allard was a public relations officer and fund-raising executive. She was also a member of theCalifornia State Assembly^[5] from 1987 to 1992, first elected on May 12, 1987, in a special election to replaceGloria Molina, who resigned after being elected to theLos Angeles City Council.

In 1992, Roybal-Allard won the Democratic nomination for the newly created 33rd district, which included a sliver of the area her father had represented for 30 years. She won the general election handily and was re-elected 14 times with no substantial opposition in this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. Her district was renumbered the 34th after the 2000 census and the 40th after the 2010 census. As of the 2010 census, it is the most Latino district in the nation, with a Latino majority of 86.5%. Until 2013, she represented much ofdowntown Los Angeles.

Roybal-Allard was the first Latina to serve as one of the 12 "cardinals", or chairs, of a House Appropriations Subcommittee, as well as the first Latina to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. She is also the first woman to chair the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the first woman to chair the California Democratic congressional delegation; and the founder of the Women's Working Group on Immigration Reform.

Her Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act has been instrumental in reducing underage drinking and its consequences. From her position on the House Appropriations Committee, she has spearheaded many federal projects that have created jobs and improved her constituents' lives, including the new federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles, the Metro Gold Line Lightrail Eastside Extension, the deepening of the Port of Los Angeles, and the ongoing revitalization of the Los Angeles River.

Roybal-Allard chaired the California Democratic congressional delegation in 1998–1999. She has also been active in the Congressional Children's Caucus and on the Democratic Homeland Security and the Livable Communities task forces.

Roybal-Allard was the first Democratic Mexican-American woman to serve in Congress. She andNydia Velazquez were the third and fourth Latinas elected to Congress, afterBarbara Vucanovich andIleana Ros-Lehtinen. She and Velazquez are the first Latina Democrats to serve in that body, and the first two elected to a full term.

Roybal-Allard introduced theNewborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1281; 113th Congress) into the House on March 20, 2013. The bill would amend thePublic Health Service Act toreauthorize grant programs and other initiatives to promote expandedscreening of newborns and children for heritable disorders.^[6] Roybal-Allard argued that "newborn screening not only transforms and save lives – it saves money."^[7] According to her, in California "newborns are screened for more than 40 preventable and treatable conditions – and for every one dollar California spends on screening, it yields a benefit of over $9 as we prevent disease in children who are diagnosed with these treatable conditions."^[7]

Roybal-Allard is the original House author of The Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, a bill designed to ensure that survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can get help without fearing the loss of their jobs or economic security. Parts of the SAFE Act were included in the House's 2019 reauthorization of theViolence Against Women Act (VAWA). She also authored The Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE) to address abusive and exploitative child labor practices in agriculture.

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security (chair)
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (associate member)^[8]
• Congressional Arts Caucus^[9]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus^[10]
• House Baltic Caucus^[11]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus^[12]

As of 2020, Roybal-Allard has a 100% rating fromNARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from theSusan B. Anthony List for her abortion-related voting record.^[13][14] She opposed theoverturning ofRoe v. Wade, calling it an infringement on a woman's right to choose.^[15]

Roybal-Allard is married to Edward Allard III.^[16] They have four children, two of whom are Roybal-Allard's stepchildren.^[16][17] She isRoman Catholic.^[17]

Roybal-Allard's archives are in the collection of theCalifornia State Archives.^[16]

• NALEO
• Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act), a bill Roybal-Allard introduced to achieve parity between minor workers in the agricultural industry and those in other industries. See also the related filmThe Harvest.
• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLucille Roybal-Allard.

• Appearances onC-SPAN

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart
• Join California Lucille Roybal-Allard

• 1941 births
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