About

U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng is serving her first term in the United States House of Representatives. Grace represents the Sixth Congressional District of New York encompassing the New York City borough of Queens, including west, central and northeast Queens.

 

Grace is the first Asian-American Member of Congress from New York, and the only Representative of Asian descent on the entire east coast. She is also the first female Member of Congress from Queens since former Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro.

 

She is dedicated to fighting for the hardworking families of Queens by protecting Medicare and Social Security, spurring economic growth, creating jobs, ensuring access to a quality education, and increasing funding for transportation and infrastructure projects.

 

Grace is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. The Foreign Affairs Committee oversees United States foreign policy towards all nations around the world, and has jurisdiction over foreign aid, the State Department and key international organizations such as the United Nations.

 

Grace also serves on the House Small Business Committee, where she sits on two subcommittees: Contracting and Workforce – of which she is the Ranking Member – and Agriculture, Energy and Trade. The Small Business Committee, which was established to protect and assist small-business owners, has oversight of financial aid, regulatory matters and the Small Business Administration (SBA), issues critical to Queens and New York City, since small businesses are the economic engine of the region.

 

In addition, Grace is a founder and Co-Chair of the Kids’ Safety Caucus, the first bipartisan coalition in the House that promotes child-safety issues.

 

During her first term in the House, Grace scored several legislative victories, an unusual accomplishment for a new Member of Congress. Her first major legislative effort, to allow federal disaster funds to be used for rebuilding houses of worship damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, passed the House just six weeks after she was sworn in to Congress. She also secured passage of her bill to reduce the massive backlog of veterans’ disability claims, as well as legislation that better protects American diplomats serving overseas, in the wake of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. In addition, the House approved her measure to make the desecration of cemeteries a violation of religious freedom.

 

Prior to serving in Congress, Grace was a member of the New York State Assembly, where she was a dedicated bridge builder and a fighter for equality. She passed laws to extend unemployment coverage during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, fought human trafficking, cracked down on those who abuse women and children, and protected seniors from rising property taxes.

 

Born in Corona, Queens, and raised in the Bayside section of the borough, Grace graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Michigan. She then earned a law degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Prior to entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer.

 

Grace resides in Queens with her husband, Wayne, two sons – Tyler and Brandon – and her dog, Bounce.