Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren (/ˈzoʊˈlɒfɡrɪn/ZOHLOF-grin;^[1][2] born December 21, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as aU.S. representative fromCalifornia. A member of theDemocratic Party, Lofgren is in her 15th term in Congress, having been first elected in 1994. Lofgren has long served on theHouse Judiciary Committee, and chaired theHouse Administration Committee in the 116th and 117th Congresses.

Zoe Lofgren
Official portrait, 2024
Ranking Member of theHouse Science Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Frank Lucas
Chair of theU.S. House Administration Committee
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Gregg Harper
Succeeded by	Bryan Steil
Chair of theHouse Ethics Committee
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Gene Green (acting)
Succeeded by	Jo Bonner
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Don Edwards
Constituency	16th district (1995–2013) 19th district (2013–2023) 18th district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born	Susan Ellen Lofgren (1947-12-21)December 21, 1947 (age 77) San Mateo, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	John Collins ​ (m. 1978)​
Children	2
Education	Stanford University (BA) Santa Clara University (JD)
Website	House website
Zoe Lofgren's voice Zoe Lofgren voices her support for theDISCLOSE Act of 2010, a campaign finance reform bill Recorded June 24, 2010

Lofgren was the16th district's first female U.S. representative, before part of the district was redistricted into the19th congressional district. She currently represents the18th district, which covers much ofSanta Clara County, includingGilroy,Morgan Hill, and most ofSan Jose. Representing a district covering much ofSilicon Valley, Lofgren has been noted for her activity intech-related policy areas such asnet neutrality anddigital surveillance.^[3]

Lofgren was born inSan Mateo, California, the daughter of Mary Violet, a school cafeteria employee, and Milton R. Lofgren, a beer truck driver.^[4][5][6] Her grandfather was Swedish.^[7] Lofgren attendedGunn High School (1966) inPalo Alto,^[8] and while in high school, Lofgren was a member of theJunior State of America, a student-run political debate, activism, and student governance organization.^[9] She earned her B.A. degree in political science fromStanford University in 1970 and herJuris Doctor degree fromSanta Clara University School of Law in 1975.^[2]

After graduating from Stanford, Lofgren worked as a staffer for CongressmanDon Edwards. She served on theHouse Judiciary Committee when the committeeprepared articles of impeachment against PresidentRichard Nixon in 1973.^[10]

In 1978, Lofgren married John Marshall Collins.^[8] Returning to San Jose, she worked in Don Edwards's district office while earning herJ.D. degree. After two years as partner at a San Jose immigration law firm, she was elected to the board ofSan Jose City College. In 1981, she was elected to theSanta Clara CountyBoard of Supervisors, representing downtown San Jose and nearby communities, where she served for 13 years.^[11]

In 1994, Lofgren entered a six-way Democratic primary in what was then the 16th district, when Edwards retired after 32 years in Congress. The district, then as now, is a Democratic stronghold, and it was understood that whoever won the Democratic primary would be only the second person to represent this district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 9th district from 1963 to 1975, as the 10th from 1975 to 1993, the 16th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013). A decided underdog, she managed to defeat the favorite, former San Jose mayorTom McEnery, by just over 1,100 votes. She breezed to victory in November, and has been reelected every two years since with no substantive opposition.

During the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections, Lofgren's campaign paid approximately $350,000 to two businesses her husband operates: Collins and Day and John Marshall Collins P.C. over a six-year period to support campaign efforts.^[12]

Lofgren chairs the 46-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. In 2007, she co-sponsored^[13] theViolent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, which the ACLU characterized as "legislating against thought".^[14] In April 2011, she became the first member of Congress to call for federal investigation into theSecure Communities deportation program.^[15]

Beginning in 2009, Lofgren served as chair of theHouse Ethics Committee. In doing so, she presided over a raresanction of censure, against longtime memberCharles B. Rangel.^[16] In 2009, Lofgren was appointed and served as animpeachment manager in theimpeachment trial of JudgeSamuel B. Kent.^[17] In 2010, Lofgren was appointed and served as an impeachment manager (prosecutor) in the impeachment trial of JudgeThomas Porteous.^[18]

In theStop Online Piracy ActHouse Judiciary Committee hearings, she defended the current state of the internet in opposition of the bill. She has also opposed thedata retention requirements in the H.R. 1981 (theProtecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011).^[19]

In February 2013, Lofgren became one of the sponsors of theFair Access to Science and Technology Research Act to expedite open access to taxpayer-funded research.^[20]

In May 2016, Lofgren was publicly reprimanded during a House Judiciary Committee hearing after calling witnessGail Heriot of theUnited States Commission on Civil Rights an "ignorant bigot" because Heriot's written testimony before the hearing had suggested that calling oneself a female does not cause one to be a female.^[21] Following the oral warning from acting committee chairmanSteve King, Lofgren responded, "I cannot allow that kind of bigotry to go into the record unchallenged".^[22]

In January 2020, Lofgrenwas selected as one of seven impeachment managers who presented the impeachment case against PresidentDonald Trump duringhis first trial before theUnited States Senate.^[23] This marked her third time serving as an impeachment manager.^[17]

As of October 2021, Lofgren had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.^[24]

For the118th Congress:^[25]

• Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (Ranking Member)
  • As Ranking Member of the committee, Rep. Lofgren is entitled to sit as anex officio member in all subcommittee meetings, per the committee's rules.
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement
  • Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (Associate member, former)^[26]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus^[27] (former)
• Congressional Arts Caucus^[28]
• Afterschool Caucuses^[29]
• Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus^[30]
• Congressional Solar Caucus^[31]
• Congressional Freethought Caucus^[32]
• Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus^[33]
• Medicare for All Caucus^[34]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[35]
• Rare Disease Caucus^[36]

Lofgren ispro-choice^[37] and has a 100% rating fromNARAL Pro-Choice America, an organization that advocates for abortion rights and tracks congressional records on the topic.^[38] In 2013, she was chosen as the lead House Democrat to argue against thePain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would have banned abortions after the mother was 20 weeks pregnant. Lofgren said, "Passage of the bill is wrong. It's the wrong policy for the freedom of American women."^[37] She opposed theoverturning ofRoe v. Wade, calling it "a bleak day" and vowing to keep abortion safe and accessible in California.^[39]

Lofgren, whose district covers much ofSilicon Valley, has been noted for her activity intech industry regulation andprivacy policy.^[3] In 2012, she was one of two Democrats in Congress to oppose theFederal Trade Commission's (FTC) then-ongoing antitrust probe ofGoogle.^[40] Lofgren criticized theEuropean Commission's decision to fine Google $2.7 billion in 2017 over allegedanti-competitive behavior, arguing that the fine was "unfair to the U.S. companies participating in European markets".

In 2013, in the wake of the prosecution and subsequent suicide of Internet activistAaron Swartz (who used a script to download scholarly research articles in excess of whatJSTOR terms of service allowed), Lofgren introduced a bill,Aaron's Law (H.R. 2454,S. 1196^[41]) to excludeterms of service violations from the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and from the wire fraud statute.^[42] By May 2014, Aaron's Law had stalled in committee.Brian Knappenberger, author of a documentary on Swartz, alleges this occurred due toOracle Corporation's financial interest in maintaining the status quo.^[43]

In 2021, Lofgren opposed a series of bipartisan proposals aiming to "break up"Big Tech companies through antitrust enforcement.^[44] Alongside a group of other members of theCalifornia congressional delegation, she criticized the "antitrust package" due to concerns about its impact on the U.S. tech industry.^[45] Following allegations that Lofgren's opposition to antitrust measures were potentially influenced by her daughter's employment as a corporate counsel forGoogle, Lofgren was defended by colleaguesRo Khanna andAnna Eshoo, who called these criticisms "ad hominem attacks".^[46]

In 2022, Lofgren was one of 16 Democrats to vote against theMerger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.^[47][48]

Lofgren has routinely voted for bills that would expand renewable energy investments. She believes that aclean energy infrastructure is required to curb the effects of climate change.^[49][50][51] In 2018, Lofgren co-sponsored the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act.^[52] In February 2019, she co-sponsored theGreen New Deal resolution (H.Res. 109).^[53]

Lofgren is a member of theMedicare for All Caucus and co-sponsored thelegislation introduced by RepresentativeJohn Conyers in 2017. She rescinded her sponsorship of a similar bill introduced by RepresentativePramila Jayapal in 2019, arguing that the bill's two-year timeline was not feasible.^[34] Lofgren continues to support a public option for health insurance,^[54] and 2021 co-sponsored Jayapal's bill to lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 60.^[55]

Lofgren is a supporter ofnet neutrality policies to preventinternet service providers (ISPs) from engaging indata discrimination.^[3] In 2018, she signed a discharge petition to force a vote on net neutrality protections in Congress.^[56]

On July 19, 2024, Lofgren called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the2024 United States presidential election.^[57]

• Congress hands China another win,The Hill, March 22, 2024^[79]

In 1978, Lofgren married John Marshall Collins, an attorney.^[8][80] The couple met at an election party.^[81] They have two children and twin grandsons.^[82] Lofgren's daughter, Sheila Collins, is a corporate counsel atGoogle.^[83][84]

• PROTECT IP Act
• Aaron's Law
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

• Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren official U.S. House website
• Zoe Lofgren for Congress
• 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