The 113th Congress: Meet the Democrats on the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property

It is the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet that has primary jurisdiction over matters relating to intellectual property matters. The Subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes copyright, patent, trademark law, information technology, antitrust matters and other appropriate matters as referred by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Thus, the House Subcommittee on IP that will be one of the primary focal points for any new legislation that deals with intellectual property over the next two years.

Two weeks ago House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-6) announced the House Judiciary Committee’s Republican subcommittee assignments for the 113th Congress. See Republicans of the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property. Today we meet the Democrats on the Subcommittee.

Mel Watt (NC-12), Ranking Member

Representative Mel Watt was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on August 26, 1945. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 with a BS degree in Business Administration and in 1970 he received a JD degree from Yale University Law School. From 1970-1992, specializing in minority business and economic development law. In 1992, Representative Watt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He is member of the House Judiciary Committee, House Financial Services Committee and served as the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (2005-2006).

John Conyers (MI-13)

Representative John Conyers born May 16, 1929. Early in his career he served in the Michigan National Guard, the U.S. Army and then in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served in Korea as an office in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was award combat and merit citations. Representative Conyers was elected to Congress in November 1964 and has continuously won reelection ever since. In fact, Conyers is the second most senior member in the House of Representatives. He was also one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Additionally, he is a previous Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a previous Chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations.

Jerrold Nadler (NY-10)

Representative Jerrold “Jerry” Nadler was born June 13, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. Nadler is a graduate of Columbia University and Fordham University School of Law. He began his political career in 1976 in the New York State Assembly, where he served for 16 years. In 1992, following the death of Congressman Ted Weiss, Nadler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election and has served in Congress ever since.  Nadler was re-elected to his eleventh full term in 2012, receiving over 80 percent of the vote. Nadler represents one of the nation’s most dynamic and diverse districts, includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Theater District and Times Square, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Wall Street, and several Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Zoe Lofgren (CA-16)

Representative Zoe Lofgren was born December 21, 1947, in San Mateo, California. She is a graduate of Stanford University, with a B.A. in political science (1970), and a holds a law degree from the University of Santa Clara School of Law (1975). Prior to running for Congress, she served as Staff Assistant to her predecessor, Congressman Don Edwards, 1970-1978.  Lofgren also practiced immigration law as a partner in the firm of Webber & Lofgren, 1978-1980. She served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from 1981-1994. Lofgren was elected to Congress in 1994. She represents the District I have sometimes called “the District of Silicon Valley,” and is believed to have been instrumental in bringing a Satellite Patent Office to San Jose, California.

Shelia Jackson Lee (TX-18)

Representative Shelia Jackson Lee was born January 12, 1950.  She earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University with honors, followed by a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School. Jackson Lee was appointed a municipal judge by the Mayor of Houston in 1987. She subsequently ran for an at-large position on the Houston City Council, which she won in 1989. She served on the Houston City Council until 1994.  In 1994, Jackson Lee ran for Congress, winning her District which is comprised largely of inner-city Houston. During her time in Congress she has served on Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Homeland Security, and the Judiciary Committee. In the 110th and 111th Congress, she served as Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection.

Hank Johnson (GA-4)

Representative Henry “Hank” Johnson, Jr., born October 2, 1954. He grew up in Washington, DC. Johnson graduated from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1976 and received his law degree from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in 1979. Prior to his election to Congress, Representative Johnson served twelve (12) years as a DeKalb County magistrate judge, five (5) years as a county commissioner and three (3) years as chair of the DeKalb County Budget Committee. Johnson also practiced civil and criminal law in DeKalb County for twenty-seven (27) years. Johnson was elected to Congress in November 2006, and sworn in on January 3, 2007.

Judy Chu (CA-32)

Representative Judy Chu born July 7, 1953, in Los Angeles, California.  Chu earned a B.A. in mathematics from UCLA and a Ph.D. in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Chu began her career as an educator and taught psychology at Los Angeles City College and East Los Angeles College for 20 years. She was first elected to the Garvey School District Board of Education in 1985, was subsequently elected to the Monterey Park City Council, where she also served as Mayor. Chu was then elected to the California State Assembly, where she was Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Chu was elected to Congress in July 2009 in a special election to fill the vacant seat left by Hilda Solis, who had just been confirmed as President Obama’s Secretary of Labor.

Ted Deutch (FL-19)

Representative Ted Deutch was born May 7, 1966, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Deutch graduated from the University of Michigan and then from the University of Michigan School of Law. Prior to running for Congress, Deutch worked as a commercial development attorney in Florida, and served in the Florida Senate from 2007-2010. In late 2009, Deutch announced he would be a candidate in the special election to fill the vacated seat of Representative Robert Wexler. On April 13, 2010, Deutch prevailed in the special election and was sworn in as a Member of Congress on April 15, 2010.  Although a relatively new face at the Capitol, Deutch is already an Assistant Whip to Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. Deutch he has been highlighted by Roll Call as a young, rising voice in the House Democratic Caucus. He was also named one of America’s top Jewish politicians to watch by the Forward newspaper.

Cedric Richmond (LA-2)

Representative Cedric Richmond was born September 13, 1973, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Richmond is a graduate of Morehouse College, Tulane School of Law and the Harvard University executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Prior to being elected to Congress, Richmond was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2000 at the age of 26, making him one of the youngest legislators in the state’s history.  In the Louisiana House of Representatives, he served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, and he also served on the Ways and Means, House Executive, and Legislative Audit Advisory Committees. Richmond was elected to Congress on November 2, 2010.  He currently serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on the Judiciary.  He also serves on the House Democratic Steering & Policy Committee and as a Senior Whip to the House Democratic Whip.

Suzan DelBene (WA-1)

Representative Suzan DelBene was born February 17, 1962, in Selma, Alabama. Her family moved to Washington State while she was in the fourth grade. DelBene is a graduate of Reed College and earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Washington.  Prior to entering public office, DelBene spent 12 years at Microsoft, most recently as corporate vice president of the company’s mobile communications business. DelBene first ran for Congress in 2010, losing to Representative Reihert in the general election. Subsequently, also in 2010, she was appointed by Governor Gregoire to be the Director of the Washington State Department of Revenue. DelBene again ran for Congress in 2012, this time running in the newly redrawn 1st District. She defeated her Republican opponent in the general election and was sworn in immediately because this general election was also a special election to fill the remainder of the term of then Representative Jay Inslee, who stepped down and ultimately was elected Governor of the State of Washington.

Karen Bass (CA-33)

Representative Karen Bass was born October 3, 1953, in Los Angeles, California. She attended San Diego State University, but graduated from California State University in 1990 with a B.S. in health sciences. Thereafter she worked for nearly a decade as a Physician Assistant and served as a clinical instructor at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program. She was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004, and served as Speaker of the House from 2008 to 2010, the first African American woman to be Speaker in the U.S. She is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. She was elected to Congress in November 2012, and sworn in on January 3, 2013.

Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8)

Representative Hakeem Jeffries was born August 4, 1970, in Brooklyn Hospital and raised in Crown Heights. He is a graduate of Binghamton University, holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a law degree from New York University School of Law. Following the completion of law school, Hakeem clerked for the Honorable Harold Baer Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Thereafter he practiced law for several years at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and also at Godosky and Gentile. Prior to his election to the Congress, Jeffries served for six years in the New York State Assembly, winning re-election in 2008 and 2010 with 98% of the vote. He was elected to Congress in November 2012 to replace the retiring Representative Edolphus Towns with over 90% of the vote from his Brooklyn and Queens District. Representative Jeffries serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Budget Committee.