House, Minnesota , District #4

Contact Information

McCollum
202-225-6631
202-225-1968 (fax)
http://www.mccollum.house.gov


Home Town: Minneapolis, MN
Committees: Education and the Workforce, International Relations

Bio

A native of South St. Paul, Betty McCollum is a Democrat serving her third term in Congress representing Minnesota's Fourth District. When she came to Washington in 2000, McCollum became only the second Minnesota woman to serve in Congress since statehood in 1858. The district she represents includes Minnesota's capital city, St. Paul, Ramsey County, northern Dakota County as well as western Washington County.

Throughout her public life, Betty McCollum has championed excellence in education, protecting the environment, and expanding health care access. In Congress, she has been an outspoken leader for fully funding special education, protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and promoting women's health care.

McCollum is a member of the Education and Workforce Committee and a fierce advocate for equal opportunity in higher education. She represents thousands of students, faculty and staff from the more than ten colleges and universities located in the Fourth District. Rep. McCollum's committee assignment also provides her with a platform to fight for pension protections, as well as defend workers' rights and collective bargaining guarantees.

In the 108th Congress, McCollum has taken a seat on the International Relations Committee, bringing a Minnesota perspective to U.S. foreign policy. Here she will continue her work to promote U.S. leadership in confronting the HIV/AIDS pandemic and global climate change, while emphasizing human rights and the peaceful resolution of regional conflicts.

Presently, McCollum holds three prestigious positions within the House Democratic Caucus. In 2002, McCollum was elected to serve as regional whip and was selected by the House Democratic Whip for the senior whip team for the 108th Congress. McCollum was also appointed last year by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to serve as a member of the Democratic Steering Committee. In 2001, Congresswoman McCollum was appointed to represent House Democrats on the National Council on the Arts, the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Arts. McCollum was reappointed the National Council on the Arts in 2003.

Prior to Congress, Betty McCollum served from 1992 to 2000 in the Minnesota House of Representatives and was elected Assistant Leader three times by her Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party colleagues. McCollum also was elected to serve her neighbors on the North St. Paul City Council from 1987 to 1992.

In addition to public life, Betty McCollum's career has included teaching high school social science as well as 25 years retail sales and management. Her retail career began in 1973 where she worked to pay for tuition to earn her teaching degree. McCollum is 50 years old, a graduate of the College of St. Catherine, and the mother of an adult son and daughter. Betty McCollum lives in St. Paul, MN.