HDI Bulletin
HDI Announces New Congressional Advisory Board Members
July 18, 2013 - For Immediate ReleaseNew York, NY: The Humpty Dumpty Institute is pleased to announce that Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) and Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) have recently joined its Congressional Advisory Board. With these additional members, HDI's Congressional Advisory Board now consists of 31 Members of Congress. The commitment of Congressman Payne Jr. and Congressman Lowenthal to international dialogue, homeland security and education will enhance HDI’s program planning in these important areas.
As a Newark native, the Honorable Donald M. Payne, Jr. has worked as a tireless advocate for New Jersey’s working families for over two decades, fighting to create jobs, increase health and economic security, and invest in education. Congressman Payne, Jr. was first elected to Congress in November 2012 in both a special election and general election following the untimely death of his father, respected former Congressman Donald M. Payne, Sr., who represented New Jersey’s 10th District for twenty-three years and who also served on HDI’s Congressional Advisory Board. Congressman Payne, Jr. served out the remainder of his father’s term in the 112th Congress, fighting to provide the people of New Jersey with much needed Hurricane Sandy Relief and negotiating to prevent the country from going over the fiscal cliff.
In the 113th Congress, job creation and security are at the forefront of Congressman Payne’s agenda. Congressman Payne, Jr. was asked to sit on the Committee on Homeland Security where he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications. In representing New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, which is home to Newark Liberty International Airport, the New Jersey Transit Authority, and Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, Congressman Payne, Jr. works to increase transportation security, water security, chemical hazard prevention, and emergency preparedness to ensure that the people of New Jersey are protected and that businesses that conduct trade at our ports have the security and efficiency they need to effectively engage in commerce.
In addition, Payne serves on the Committee on Small Business where he fights to expand access to capital for small business owners and boost jobs training so that our workers have the skills to compete in an advancing global economy. Further, as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), where his father once proudly served as chairman, Payne works to stabilize our housing market, reduce racial and ethnic health and educational disparities, reduce gun violence, and create a fair and just immigration system so that our communities are a better place to work and live.
During his two-decade tenure as a city council member and California legislator, Congressman Alan Lowenthal's dedication to common-sense bipartisan solutions earned him a reputation among his colleagues and constituents as one of the most respected and effective legislators in both Long Beach and Sacramento.
Born March 8, 1941, Congressman Alan Lowenthal was raised in the Queens Borough of New York City. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University, he moved to Long Beach, California in 1969 where he taught Community Psychology at California State University, Long Beach until 1998.
Congressman Lowenthal successfully ran for Long Beach City Council in 1992, where he served for six years. He then continued his leadership in Sacramento, first serving three terms as a State Assembly member, then two terms as a State Senator.
As a city council member, and then as a state legislator, the Congressman fought against the then-commonplace private and public sector belief that environmental protections and economic success at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles were mutually exclusive. His landmark environmental legislative efforts helped lead the two adjacent ports becoming the cleanest and greenest ports in the world, while remaining the busiest and most successful container ports in the Western Hemisphere. The green business model advocated by the Congressman instituted by the two ports has become a role model for ports throughout the world.
Congressman Lowenthal is currently the U.S. House Representative of California's newly-created 47th Congressional District, which includes portions of Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Garden Grove, Westminster, Stanton, and Buena Park.