Congresswoman Elise Stefanik proudly represents New York’s 21st District in the House of Representatives in her second term in office. She is a Member of the Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. On the Armed Services Committee, Congresswoman Stefanik serves as Chair for the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities and is a Member of the Subcommittee on Readiness. On the Committee on Education and the Workforce, she serves on the Subcommittees on Higher Education and Workforce Development and Workforce Protections. Additionally, she serves as Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee’s Millennial Task Force.
Congresswoman Stefanik is proudly the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in United States history.
Among Congresswoman Stefanik’s accomplishments and initiatives, she:
- Successfully led the New York State delegation in saving Fort Drum from up to 16,000 military personnel cuts due to sequestration.
- Authored the Be Open Act – legislation that passed the House of Representatives and was signed into law by the President. This was the largest fix to Obamacare of the 114th Congress and repealed the auto-enrollment mandate that reduces choices in health coverage and has created confusion that can lead to significant tax penalties on both the employer and employee.
- Authored the Flexible Pell Grant for 21st Century Students Act — bipartisan legislation developed from her higher education roundtables that will help students complete a postsecondary education quickly and at a lower cost.
- Helped pass the Bipartisan Budget Act – a two year budget agreement that lifted the devastating defense sequester cuts and put an end to crisis-to-crisis governing.
- Was the sole freshman negotiator for two consecutive years on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and fought hard to include language to help protect and strengthen Fort Drum.
- Co-authored U.S./Canadian pre-clearance legislation that passed the House of Representatives in 2016 and will help grow North Country commerce, tourism and border security.
- Brought a new commitment to transparency to Congress, posting her legislative votes to Facebook and keeping her website updated with her legislative work and public schedule.
- Has worked hard on behalf of North Country veterans, helping to recover hard earned benefits from the VA and helping pass critical legislation to support our North Country heroes, including the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act.
- Helped pass the 21st Century Cures Act — critical, bipartisan legislation designed to help accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments and cures for patients with diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to Lyme.
Prior to winning her election to Congress, Congresswoman Stefanik worked at her family’s small business called Premium Plywood Products that was founded in Upstate New York over twenty years ago. Growing up in her family’s small business, she learned, lived and understands the values of hard work, perseverance, challenges, and risk that go along with building, operating and growing small businesses that provide jobs in today’s Upstate economy.
Congresswoman Stefanik’s policy focus includes:
- Creating jobs and economic opportunities for small businesses and hard working families in Upstate New York.
- Reducing the out-of-control tax and regulatory burdens facing small businesses by reforming the tax code to be flatter and fairer and eliminating red tape.
- Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with common sense solutions to lower health care costs and improve quality and access.
- Fighting for fiscal responsibility by balancing the budget and protecting and preserving entitlements.
- Expanding access to broadband throughout the district.
- Supporting Upstate farmers – the backbone of our North Country communities.
- Protecting Fort Drum and advocating for veterans and military families.
- Pursuing energy policies that help North Country families and businesses.
- Finding solutions for hard working North Country families to help make education higher quality and more affordable.
- Promoting and strengthening U.S.-Canadian trade relations.
Congresswoman Stefanik served as Director of Vice Presidential Debate Prep to Paul Ryan where she oversaw all debate preparations for the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. She served as Director of Communications for the Foreign Policy Initiative, which launched Defending Defense, a coalition of think tanks warning of the dangers of the sequester.
From 2006 – 2009, Congresswoman Stefanik served in the West Wing of the White House as part of President George W. Bush’s Domestic Policy Council Staff and in the Chief of Staff’s office where she assisted in overseeing the policy development process on all economic and domestic policy issues.
As the first member of her immediate family to graduate from college, Congresswoman Stefanik graduated with Honors from Harvard University. She currently serves on the Senior Advisory Committee of Harvard’s Institute of Politics, the largest political undergraduate organization.
Congresswoman Stefanik was born and raised in Upstate New York. She graduated cum laude from Albany Academy for Girls, the oldest continuous all girls’ school in the country. She lives in Willsboro, NY where her family has had a home since she was 3.
Her ground-breaking election in 2014 as the youngest women ever elected to congress (from either political party) positioned Republican Elise Stefanik as a fresh face and unique voice in an institution not typically known for such things. Congresswoman Stefanik readily embraces opportunities to work across the political aisle to achieve results for her constituents in New York’s 21 Congressional District, but she also is keenly aware of her status as role model for other young, female candidates for political office. Our conversation is a great reflection of her authenticity, leadership, and the impact she is having on others.