Mobile Menu - OpenMobile Menu - Closed

Congressman Diane Black

Representing the 6th District of Tennessee

Connect

About

As a registered nurse, small businesswoman and former educator, Congressman Diane Black brings a unique and dynamic perspective to her work in Congress. Diane’s faith in America’s promise was shaped from an early age. The middle daughter of Great Depression era parents, Diane spent the earliest years of her life in public housing and, upon the encouragement of a high school guidance counselor, would go on to become the first person in her family to attain a college education.

 

Named among the 25 most influential women in Congress by Roll Call, Black was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and represents Tennessee’s 6th district, comprised of 19 counties across middle Tennessee. Prior to that, Black served in the Tennessee state legislature, where she built her legacy on fighting back against a state income tax proposal and successfully passing legislation to make home healthcare more accessible for Tennessee seniors.

In Congress, Black served as Chairman of the House Budget Committee from January 2017 to January 2018,  where she worked alongside her colleagues to draft budget resolutions that root out wasteful spending and confront the drivers of our crippling $20 trillion debt burden in Washington. Black is a firm believer that getting America’s fiscal house in order also requires serious reforms of the broken Congressional budget process. That is why she has cosponsored legislation proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution and has cosponsored the No Budget, No Pay Act, which withholds pay from Congress if an annual budget is not passed by the legal deadline.

Through her over 40 years of experience working in the health care field, Black learned first-hand about the importance of high-quality care and the obstacles faced by patients, health care providers and employers. Black’s real world experiences as a nurse have uniquely positioned her as a credible and effective leader on health care policy in Congress. She is focused on fully repealing the president’s disastrous health care law and advancing true market-based, patient-centered reforms that will bring down the rising cost of care by increasing private sector competition and consumer choice.

In 2011, Black was the first member of Congress to have legislation signed into law that repeals a health care provision in Obamacare, which saved taxpayers $13 billion dollars. Through her work as House Budget Committee Chair, Black is leading the effort to fully repeal the President’s healthcare law and offer a conservative, patient-centered replacement.

Black also serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and has quickly established herself as a leader in the efforts to overhaul the U.S. tax code for the first time in 30 years, which was signed into law by President Trump in December 2017. The bill instituted a flatter, fairer and simpler tax code to help create the conditions for economic growth, job creation, and higher wages for American workers.

A former Tennessee Right to Life legislator of the year, Black is a steadfast champion for the rights of the unborn. The first bill that she introduced as a member of Congress would have defunded Planned Parenthood in a short-term spending bill. Since that time Black also authored and fought for the House passage of the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, a more comprehensive bill to block all federal funding for the nation’s largest abortion provider. Black additionally sponsored the Conscience Protection Act, legislation that would protect the religious freedom of entities that refuse to perform, pay for, or refer abortions.

Black’s staunch fiscal conservatism earned her the prestigious “Award for Conservative Excellence” from the American Conservative Union and the “Freedom Fighter” award from FreedomWorks, among other honors.  She and her husband of over 35 years, Dr. David Black, have three grown children and six grandchildren. They live in Gallatin and attend Community Church in Hendersonville. 

Download high resolution photo of Congressman Black.