Donald M. Payne, a native of Newark, New Jersey, was
elected to represent the 10th Congressional District of New
Jersey in 1988 as New Jersey's first African American
Congressman by an overwhelming majority and has been returned
by a wide margin of the vote in each subsequent election. In
2002, he won election to his eighth term to represent the
10th District in the 108th Congress.
Congressman Payne was chosen by newly elected House Democratic
Leader Nancy Pelosi to serve on the powerful Democratic
Steering Committee, whose membership determines each
individual committee assignment for Democratic members and
plays an active role in shaping the legislative agenda.
Congressman Payne is a member of the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce, where he serves on three
subcommittees - the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee
Relations, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and the
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, which
has jurisdiction over higher education issues. He is also a
member of the International Relations Committee and its
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and Subcommittee on
Africa, where he holds the position of Ranking Member. A past
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, he is a member of
the Democratic Whip Organization and has served as a member of
the House Democratic Leadership Advisory Group. As a leading
advocate of education, he has been instrumental in the passage
of key legislation, including the Goals 2000 initiative to
improve elementary and secondary schools; the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act; the National Service Act and the Student
Loan Bill.
In the 107th Congress, during consideration of
welfare reform legislation, Congressman Payne introduced an
amendment which was approved on a bipartisan basis by his
colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce to
add poverty reduction as a basic purpose of the work
participation requirements. His amendment promotes long-term
income security to reduce the extent and severity of poverty.
During organizational meetings for the 108th
Congress, an amendment offered by Congressman Payne reaffirmed
that the issue of affirmative action will remain under the
jurisdiction of the Committee.
Congressman Payne led an effort during consideration of the
Education Flexibility Partnership Act to ensure that Title I
funds continue to benefit students in school districts with
the highest poverty levels; he was appointed to serve on the
House/Senate Conference Committee on the bill. Congressman
Payne successfully worked to establish a National Literacy
Institute and fought to restore funding for Head Start, Summer
Jobs for Youth, Pell Grants, Legal Services and the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program, which benefits seniors. He was
a key sponsor of the minimum wage increase, the Family and
Medical Leave Act, and the law to improve the Abandoned
Infants Assistance Act to help "boarder babies." His record on
environmental issues has been rated one of the best in
Congress by conservationist groups, and he has received top
ratings for his excellent record in support of social
security, Medicare and other programs to benefit retirees.
The Congressman has convened a number of Congressional
hearings in his district to call attention to issues including
the AIDS epidemic, the rising incidence of tuberculosis, and
the impact of incineration on public health. In response to
the rash of church burnings which swept the country, he
convened a hearing in Washington which brought together
national leaders of civil rights groups, businesses, labor and
religious organizations and led to the passage of legislation
to protect churches and other places of worship.
Through his efforts in Washington, several million dollars
for economic development and other key programs have been
allocated to Essex, Hudson and Union Counties in the Tenth
Congressional District.
On the international front, Congressman Payne has been at
the forefront of efforts to restore democracy and human rights
in nations throughout the globe, including South Africa,
Namibia, Haiti, Zaire, Nigeria, China, Eastern Europe and
Northern Ireland. He was one of five members of Congress
chosen to accompany President Clinton and Hillary Rodham
Clinton on their historic six-nation tour of Africa.
In 2003, President Bush appointed Payne as one of two
members of Congress to serve as a Congressional delegate
to the United Nations. In this role, he meets with the U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations and regularly attends sessions
of the U.N. General Assembly and other high level meetings.
A member of the Balkans Caucus, he was also named by the
Speaker of the House to a delegation which met with NATO
officials in Brussels and visited refugee camps in Macedonia
to assess the crisis in Kosovo. Congressman Payne's support of
humanitarian assistance in war-torn Somalia led him to
spearhead an effort among pharmaceutical companies to donate
over $2 million worth of medicine and supplies. He also headed
a Presidential mission to war-torn Rwanda to help find
solutions to that country's political and humanitarian
crises.
Congressman Payne joined with his colleagues on the
International Relations Committee to introduce a measure which
was subsequently approved by Congress to strengthen the
Microenterprise Act, providing small business loans to people
in developing nations. The new law contains language that
directs at least half of the loans towards the poorest people
- those who subsist on less than $1 a day.
The Tenth District Congressman also introduced a version of
the Sudan Peace Act, a measure to facilitate famine relief
efforts and a comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan.
Subsequently passed in the House and the Senate, this version
of the Peace Act was the culmination of more than two years'
work by many churches, religious organizations, anti-slavery
groups, and resettled Sudanese through broad grass-roots
support. The Sudan Peace Act was signed into law by President
Bush.
Congressman Payne gained national recognition when he was
selected to manage the debate on the floor of the House of
Representatives in opposition to the use of force in Iraq
before fully exploring a diplomatic solution.
Before being elected to serve as New Jersey's first African
American Congressman, his career included service on the
Newark Municipal Council; the Essex County Board of Chosen
Freeholders; an executive of the Prudential Insurance Company;
Vice President of Urban Data Systems, Inc. and an educator in
the Newark public school system. A former national President
of the YMCA, he served as Chairman of the World Refugee and
Rehabilitation Committee.
He has served on the board of directors of the National
Endowment for Democracy, TransAfrica, Discovery Channel Global
Education Fund, the Congressional Award Foundation, the Boys
and Girls Clubs of Newark, the Newark Day Center, the Fighting
Back Initiative and the Newark YMCA. He has received numerous
awards and honors from national, international and
community-based organizations.
A graduate of Seton Hall University, he pursued graduate
studies at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He holds
honorary doctorates from Chicago State University, Drew
University, Essex County College and William Paterson
University. Congressman Payne, a widower, is the father of 3
and grandfather of 4.