Nydia Velázquez | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Small Business Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Blaine Luetkemeyer |
| In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Sam Graves |
| Succeeded by | Steve Chabot |
| In office February 28, 1998 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | John LaFalce |
| Succeeded by | Steve Chabot |
| Chair of theHouse Small Business Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Chabot |
| Succeeded by | Roger Williams |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Don Manzullo |
| Succeeded by | Sam Graves |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Solarz (redistricted) |
| Constituency | 12th district (1993–2013) 7th district (2013–present) |
| Member of theNew York City Council from the27th district | |
| In office 1984–1985 | |
| Preceded by | Luis Olmedo |
| Succeeded by | Victor L. Robles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nydia Margarita Velázquez (1953-03-28)March 28, 1953 (age 72) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Velázquez supporting the Encouraging Small Business Innovation Act of 2019. Recorded January 14, 2019 | |
Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (/ˈnɪdiə/NID-ee-ə,Spanish:[ˈniðjaβeˈlaskes]; born March 28, 1953) is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative forNew York's 7th congressional district since 2013. A member of theDemocratic Party, she previously representedNew York's 12th congressional district from 1993 to 2013, prior to redistricting. She chaired theCongressional Hispanic Caucus from 2009 to 2011. Velázquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress.[1]
On November 20, 2025, Velázquez announced she would not run for re-election in2026.[2]
Velázquez was born in the town ofLimones in themunicipality ofYabucoa, Puerto Rico, on March 28, 1953.[3] She grew up in a small house on theRío Limones with eight other siblings.[4][1][5] Her mother was Carmen Luisa Serrano Medina,[1] and her father, Benito Velázquez Rodríguez, was a low-income worker in thesugarcane fields who became a self-taught political activist and the founder of a local political party; he was also listed as "Black" on the 1940 U.S. census.[1][6] Political conversations at the Velázquez dinner table focused onworkers' rights.
Velázquez attended public schools[3] and skipped three grades as a child.[1] She became the first person in her family to graduate from high school.[3][5] At age 16, she became a student atUniversity of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras.[1] In 1974,[3] she received aB.A. degree in political science,magna cum laude, and became a teacher.[1][5] In college, Velázquez supportedPuerto Rican independence; by the time she ran for Congress in 1992, Velázquez no longer addressed the issue, saying that it must be left up to the Puerto Rican people.[1]
In 1976, Velázquez received anM.A. degree inpolitical science fromNew York University.[3] She served as an instructor of political science at theUniversity of Puerto Rico at Humacao from 1976 to 1981.[3] After returning to New York City, Velázquez was anadjunct professor ofPuerto Rican studies atHunter College from 1981 to 1983.[3][1]
In 1983, Velázquez was special assistant to RepresentativeEdolphus Towns, a Democrat representingNew York's 10th congressional district inBrooklyn.[3][1]
In 1984,Howard Golden (then the BrooklynBorough president and chairman of theBrooklyn Democratic Party)[7] named Velázquez to fill a vacant seat on theNew York City Council, making her the first Hispanic woman to serve on the council.[3][1] Velázquez ran for election to the council in 1986, but lost to a challenger.[1]
From May 1986 to July 1989, Velázquez was national director of thePuerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources' Migration Division Office.[3] In 1989 thegovernor of Puerto Rico named her the director of the Department of Puerto Rican Community Affairs in the United States.[3][1] In this role, according to a 1992The New York Times profile, "Velazquez solidified her reputation that night as a street-smart and politically savvy woman who understood the value of solidarity and loyalty to other politicians, community leaders and organized labor."[5]
Velázquez pioneeredAtrévete Con Tu Voto, a program that aims to politically empower Latinos in the United States through voter registration and other projects. TheAtrévete project spread from New York toHartford, Connecticut; New Jersey; Chicago; and Boston, helping Hispanic candidates secure electoral wins.[8]
Velázquez has been an advocate for human and civil rights of thePuerto Rican people. In the late 1990s and the 2000s, she was a leader in theVieques movement, which sought to stop theUnited States military from using the inhabited island as a bomb testing ground. In May 2000, Velázquez was one of nearly 200 people arrested (including fellow RepresentativeLuis Gutiérrez) for refusing to leave the natural habitat the US military wished to continue using as a bombing range.[9] Velázquez was ultimately successful: in May 2003, the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility on Vieques Island was closed, and in May 2004, the U.S. Navy's last remaining base on Puerto Rico, theRoosevelt Roads Naval Station – which employed 1,000 local contractors and contributed $300 million to the local economy – was closed.[10][11]
Velázquez ran for Congress in the1992 election, seeking a seat in the New York's newly drawn12th congressional district, which was drawn as amajority-Hispanic district.[5] She won the Democraticprimary, defeating nine-term incumbentStephen J. Solarz, who was heavily damaged by theHouse banking scandal, and four Hispanic candidates.[4]
Velázquez's 2010 campaign income was $759,359. She came out of this campaign about $7,736 in debt. Her top contributors includedGoldman Sachs, theAmerican Bankers Association, theNational Roofing Contractors Association and the National Telephone Cooperative Association.[12]
Velázquez, who was redistricted into the7th congressional district, defeated her challengers to win the Democratic nomination.[13] Her top contributors included Goldman Sachs, the American Bankers Association and theIndependent Community Bankers of America.[14]
On September 29, 2008, Velázquez voted for theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. On November 19, 2008, she was elected by her peers in theCongressional Hispanic Caucus to lead the group in the111th Congress.[3]
Before removing her name from consideration, she was considered a possible candidate to be appointed to theUnited States Senate by GovernorDavid Paterson after SenatorHillary Clinton resigned to become secretary of state.[15]
Among Velázquez's firsts are: the first Hispanic woman to serve on the New York City Council; the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress; and the first woman Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee in 1998. She became the first woman to chair theUnited States House Committee on Small Business in January 2007 as well as the first Hispanic woman to chair a House standing committee.[3]
Valazquez voted with PresidentJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[16]
In September 2024, Nydia M. Velázquez presented a federal bill called the "Mel Law," which guarantees posthumous degrees to students who die before completing their mandatory studies.[17]
In April 2024, Velázquez and nearly 20 other congresspeople voted against military aid to Israel.[18]
Velázquez was formerly a member of the CongressionalOut of Iraq Caucus.[35]
Velázquez, also known as "la luchadora",[36] married Brooklyn-based printer Paul Bader in 2000.[37] It was her second marriage.[37] In November 2002,New York City ComptrollerBill Thompson controversially hired Bader as an administrative manager in the Bureau of Law and Adjudications, joining Joyce Miller, wife of RepresentativeJerry Nadler, andChirlane McCray, wife of City CouncilmanBill de Blasio.[38] In 2010, Velázquez and Bader were in the process of divorce.[39]
In October 1992, during her first campaign for the House, an unknown person atSaint Clare's Hospital inManhattan anonymously faxed to the press Velázquez's hospital records pertaining to asuicide attempt in 1991.[40] At a subsequent press conference, Velázquez acknowledged that she had attempted suicide that year while suffering fromclinical depression.[40] She said that she underwent counseling and "emerged stronger and more committed to public service."[40] She expressed outrage at the leak of personal health records and asked theManhattan district attorney and thestate attorney general to investigate.[40] Velázquez sued the hospital in 1994, alleging that the hospital had failed to protect her privacy.[41] The lawsuit was settled in 1997.[42][43]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 12th congressional district 1993–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Small Business Committee 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 7th congressional district 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Small Business Committee 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 15th | Succeeded by |
| Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded by | |
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Chairs of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus | ||
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| National | |
| People | |
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