Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee has represented California districts in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1998 when she joined Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Ronald Dellums (105th Congress-Present). Before her tenure in Congress, Lee served as chief of staff for Congressman Ron Dellums. She also served in both the California State Assembly and California State Senate. Currently, Lee serves on the Budget Committee and the powerful Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal government spending. On the Appropriations Committee, Lee is the ranking member on the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs and a member of both the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. In January 2021, she became the first African American to chair the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Lee is the highest-ranking African American woman in Democratic leadership, serving as co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. Lee has played a significant role in the antiwar movement, notably in her vocal criticism of the Iraq War and, following the September 11 attacks, for being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization of the use of force. Lee received a bachelor’s degree from Mills College and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley.