John Garamendi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Garamendi
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
Incumbent
Assumed office November 5, 2009
Preceded by	Ellen Tauscher
Constituency	10th district (2009–2013) 3rd district (2013–2023) 8th district (2023–present)
46th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office January 8, 2007 – November 3, 2009
Governor	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Cruz Bustamante
Succeeded by	Mona Pasquil (acting)
1st and 5th Insurance Commissioner of California
In office January 6, 2003 – January 8, 2007
Governor	Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Harry Low
Succeeded by	Steve Poizner
In office January 7, 1991 – January 2, 1995
Governor	Pete Wilson
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chuck Quackenbush
1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
In office August 15, 1995 – April 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	David J. Hayes
Member of the California Senate
In office December 3, 1976 – November 30, 1990
Preceded by	Al Alquist
Succeeded by	Patrick Johnston
Constituency	13th district (1976–1984) 5th district (1984–1990)
Member of the California State Assembly from the 7th district
In office December 7, 1974 – November 30, 1976
Preceded by	Bill Bagley
Succeeded by	Norman S. Waters
Personal details
Born	John Raymond Garamendi (1945-01-24) January 24, 1945 (age 79) Camp Blanding, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Patricia Wilkinson ​ (m. 1965)​
Children	6
Residences	Walnut Grove, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) Harvard University (MBA)

John Raymond Garamendi ( GARR-ə-MEN-dee; born January 24, 1945) is an American businessman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who has represented areas of Northern California between San Francisco and Sacramento, including the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville, in the United States House of Representatives since 2009. Garamendi was the California insurance commissioner from 1991 to 1995 and 2003 to 2007, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the 46th lieutenant governor of California from 2007 until his election to Congress in late 2009.

Early life and education

Garamendi was born in Camp Blanding, Florida, and was raised in Mokelumne Hill, California, the son of Mary Jane (née McSorley) and Raymond V. Garamendi. His paternal grandparents were Basque immigrants from Spain and his mother was of half Irish and half Italian ancestry. Both his paternal grandfather and his grandfather ultimately moved back to the Basque Country in the 1960s.

Garamendi received a Bachelor of Arts in business from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a football player and wrestler, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. He served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 1966 to 1968. Garamendi is an Eagle Scout and a member of Sigma Chi, as a brother of the Alpha Beta Chapter at Berkeley.

Career

Garamendi was elected to the California State Assembly in 1974, serving a single term before being elected in 1976 to the California State Senate, where he served four terms until 1990. During this time he had a spell as Majority Leader and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nominations for governor of California in 1982 and California State Controller in 1986.

In 1990, Garamendi became the first elected California insurance commissioner, serving from 1991 to 1995. He ran for governor in the 1994 election, losing in the Democratic primary. He left public office and served as President Bill Clinton's deputy secretary of the interior from 1995 to 1998, then worked for the Peace Corps again. He was elected insurance commissioner again in 2002 and briefly ran for governor again in the 2003 recall, before dropping out to support Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. In 2006, he was elected lieutenant governor to succeed the term-limited Bustamante.

Garamendi had planned to run for governor a fourth time in 2010, but after U.S. Representative Ellen Tauscher of CA's 10th congressional district resigned to become under secretary of state for arms control and international security, Garamendi won the November 2009 special election to succeed her.

Political positions

On February 24, 2019, Garamendi announced on Facebook that he had become a co-sponsor of H.Res.109, also known as the Green New Deal. This decision came after pressure from community members. The post read, "I welcome the energy and commitment of the supporters of H.Res.109, and I join with them as I continue my decades-long effort to stop Climate Change and save our planet."

On December 9, 2021, Garamendi became a cosponsor of H.R.1976, the Medicare for All Act of 2021.

In January 2018, Garamendi expressed the desire to "make sure every person is identified" and charged that E-Verify, a system intended to curtail undocumented employment, had "not really been enforced". He said that it was possible to compromise on the issue between conservative and progressive House members, and expressed concern about the fate of "undocumented immigrants."

After Mark Zuckerberg's April 2018 testimony before a joint Senate committee, Garamendi called for a privacy law that would cover social media.

Garamendi speaks with generals during the District Commanders Course, 2015.

In May 2011, by a vote of 60–1, the House Armed Services Committee approved a $553 billion military funding bill that would increase pay and fund new aircraft, ships, and submarines. Garamendi cast the sole "no" vote. The same month, he introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would withdraw 90% of troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. Along with eight other members of Congress he wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to end the war.

With Dianne Feinstein and Martin Heinrich, Garamendi sponsored the Due Process Guarantee Act, a 2012 bill that would bar the military from indefinitely detaining U.S. citizens or residents within the country without charge or trial.

He voted against extending the Patriot Act.

In April 2018, he expressed opposition to building a border wall and said, "If you want to go where the problem is, fund the Coast Guard."

In the fall of 2017, Garamendi and Brian Fitzpatrick co-introduced H.R. 4001, the Student Loan Refinancing and Recalculating Act. "For many Americans, the price of a college education is too high," he said.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government

Caucus memberships

• House Democratic Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• American Sikh Caucus (co-chair)
• Air Force Caucus
• Alzheimer's Task Force
• Blue Collar Caucus
• Military Families Caucus
• Peace Corps Caucus (co-chair)
• Shipbuilding Caucus
• Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
• Veterinary Medicine Caucus
• Wine Caucus

Personal life

Garamendi is married to Patricia Wilkinson, who has worked as agriculture specialist for the California Exposition and State Fair and as deputy secretary of California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. President Clinton appointed her to serve as associate director of the Peace Corps in 1993 and as deputy administrator in the Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service in 1998. Garamendi and Wilkinson live in Walnut Grove and have six children and 13 grandchildren.

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States