Van Hollen Tapped to Chair DCCC
By Greg Giroux
Published: December 19, 2006
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen will head the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in the upcoming 2007-08 election cycle, as it defends the House majority the party won in last month’s elections.
Rep. Van Hollen was elected to Congress in 2002 in a high profile election that received national attention and has quickly earned a reputation as an active, engaged and effective member of Congress. The Washington Post described Rep. Van Hollen as “an astute lawmaker” who has “distinguished himself as a shrewd legislative player in Congress.” The Baltimore Sun and Roll Call newspapers called him a “rising star” in Congress and the Democratic Party. He is the Vice Chairman of the bipartisan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, Co-Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force and Vice Chairman of the Democratic Task Force on Budget and Tax Policy. He serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and the House Government Reform Committee.
Rep. Van Hollen has been recognized for his leadership in the areas of education, foreign policy, the environment, healthcare, energy policy, protecting the rights of federal employees and civil rights. He has received numerous leadership awards including the "Outstanding New Member of the Year" award from the non-partisan Committee for Education Funding (CEF); the “Community Health Superhero Award” from the National Association of Community Health Centers for his efforts on behalf of the uninsured and medically underserved Americans; the “Outstanding Leadership Award” from the American Lung Association for efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act and discourage youth smoking; and the “Outstanding Service Award” from the Blinded Americans Veterans Foundation for his legislative efforts on behalf of veterans.
Before his election to the U.S. Congress, Rep. Van Hollen served 12 years in the Maryland General Assembly. Prior to his election to the Maryland legislature, Rep. Van Hollen served as a Senior Legislative Advisor for Federal Affairs to Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer. Before that, he was a Professional Staff Member on the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee specializing in national security and a range of foreign policy issues. Earlier, Rep. Van Hollen served as the Legislative Assistant for Defense and Foreign Policy to former Maryland Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.
Rep. Van Hollen received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Rep. Van Hollen lives in Kensington, Maryland with his wife, Katherine, and their three children, Anna, Nicholas and Alexander.
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The choice of Van Hollen — who easily won election to a third House term Nov. 7 — was announced Tuesday morning by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who has been designated by her Democratic colleagues to serve as Speaker after the 110th Congress is sworn in Jan. 4.
Van Hollen represents Maryland’s 8th District in the Montgomery County suburbs of Washington, and already is intimately familiar with DCCC operations. He played a key role in the Democrats’ success this year as head of candidate recruitment strategy under DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is moving on to become chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
“Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s depth of legislative experience and political savvy will make him an exceptional DCCC chairman,” Pelosi said in a statement. “I am confident he will build upon the success of our outstanding Chairman Rahm Emanuel and lead our efforts to strengthen our Democratic majority in the House and enable us to continue to address the priorities of all Americans.”
Van Hollen has been regarded as a Democratic rising star since his first election to Congress in 2002, in which he accomplished the party’s long-sought goal of ousting GOP Rep. Constance A. Morella from the seat in Maryland’s strongly Democratic-leaning 8th District.
To do so, he first had to upset fellow state legislator Mark K. Shriver, a member of the legendary Kennedy political family, in the September primary.
Though Van Hollen benefited in the general election from a Democratic-drawn redistricting map, he still had to overcome the longstanding personal popularity of Morella, consistently the most liberal-leaning Republican in the House. He did so, by a 4 percentage-point margin, and has not looked back since; he took 75 percent of the vote in 2004 and 77 percent last month.
“Coming in the same class as Congressman Van Hollen, it was clear to me from his hard-fought primary victory and even tougher general election win that he had an acute political capacity rarely found in Washington,” Emanuel said Tuesday in a statement, in which he also noted that as head of the 2006 candidate recruitment team, Van Hollen “helped create the field that became the Democratic majority.”
While Van Hollen will be searching for potentially vulnerable Republican-held seats for the 2008 elections, his most immediate priority is shoring up the party’s hold on the 233 seats it will occupy when the 110th Congress is sworn in — a 30-seat gain over the number the Democrats’ held going into the elections. The total is 15 more than a bare majority of 218 in the 435-seat House.
Van Hollen will not only be attempting to imitate the successes enjoyed by Emanuel as DCCC chairman in this recent cycle, but also of another Washington-area congressman of the other party: Virginia Republican Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, who had a successful run as National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman in the 2000 and 2002 election cycles.
Parrying Van Hollen’s 2008 DCCC efforts at the NRCC will be Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a veteran political strategist who also was recently elected to his third term. House Republicans elected Cole to the NRCC chairmanship last month.
© 2006 Congressional Quarterly
Life after Rahm: Pelosi taps new DCCC chair
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who was elected to Congress only four years ago, will lead House Democrats' fundraising and recruiting efforts heading into the 2008 election, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday.
Van Hollen, 47, takes over the position of chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, who was credited with leading the Democrats to victory in the midterm election and restoring the party to power in the House after 12 years in the minority.
Emanuel will assume the post of Democratic Caucus chairman when the new Congress convenes in January.
"Congressman Chris Van Hollen's depth of legislative experience and political savvy will make him an exceptional DCCC chairman," Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement.
Van Hollen, in an interview, said he had worked closely with Emanuel on recruiting and as co-leader of a program to promote strong Democratic candidates.
He said his focus was "going to be on making sure that we continue to be in a position to carry out the mandate for a change in direction. ... The main thing we've got to do is follow through on the commitments we made."
During the last election cycle, the DCCC raised more than $100 million, allowing the party to expand into districts where it usually is not competitive and helping win more than 30 GOP-held seats.
Van Hollen was born in Pakistan and lived in Turkey and Sri Lanka, where his father was the U.S. ambassador. He earned a masters degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and held a staff position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before entering Maryland state politics. He was elected to Congress in 2002.
Pelosi last week named Van Hollen to a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for tax and trade legislation.
By Greg Giroux
Published: December 19, 2006
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen will head the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in the upcoming 2007-08 election cycle, as it defends the House majority the party won in last month’s elections.
Rep. Van Hollen was elected to Congress in 2002 in a high profile election that received national attention and has quickly earned a reputation as an active, engaged and effective member of Congress. The Washington Post described Rep. Van Hollen as “an astute lawmaker” who has “distinguished himself as a shrewd legislative player in Congress.” The Baltimore Sun and Roll Call newspapers called him a “rising star” in Congress and the Democratic Party. He is the Vice Chairman of the bipartisan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, Co-Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Task Force and Vice Chairman of the Democratic Task Force on Budget and Tax Policy. He serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and the House Government Reform Committee.
Rep. Van Hollen has been recognized for his leadership in the areas of education, foreign policy, the environment, healthcare, energy policy, protecting the rights of federal employees and civil rights. He has received numerous leadership awards including the "Outstanding New Member of the Year" award from the non-partisan Committee for Education Funding (CEF); the “Community Health Superhero Award” from the National Association of Community Health Centers for his efforts on behalf of the uninsured and medically underserved Americans; the “Outstanding Leadership Award” from the American Lung Association for efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act and discourage youth smoking; and the “Outstanding Service Award” from the Blinded Americans Veterans Foundation for his legislative efforts on behalf of veterans.
Before his election to the U.S. Congress, Rep. Van Hollen served 12 years in the Maryland General Assembly. Prior to his election to the Maryland legislature, Rep. Van Hollen served as a Senior Legislative Advisor for Federal Affairs to Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer. Before that, he was a Professional Staff Member on the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee specializing in national security and a range of foreign policy issues. Earlier, Rep. Van Hollen served as the Legislative Assistant for Defense and Foreign Policy to former Maryland Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.
Rep. Van Hollen received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Rep. Van Hollen lives in Kensington, Maryland with his wife, Katherine, and their three children, Anna, Nicholas and Alexander.
Skip to next paragraph
Go to complete 2006 election coverage at CQPolitics.com
CQPolitics.com Daily E-mail
CQ’s 2006 Election Forecast Map
CQ Midday Update from Capitol Hill
The choice of Van Hollen — who easily won election to a third House term Nov. 7 — was announced Tuesday morning by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who has been designated by her Democratic colleagues to serve as Speaker after the 110th Congress is sworn in Jan. 4.
Van Hollen represents Maryland’s 8th District in the Montgomery County suburbs of Washington, and already is intimately familiar with DCCC operations. He played a key role in the Democrats’ success this year as head of candidate recruitment strategy under DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is moving on to become chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
“Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s depth of legislative experience and political savvy will make him an exceptional DCCC chairman,” Pelosi said in a statement. “I am confident he will build upon the success of our outstanding Chairman Rahm Emanuel and lead our efforts to strengthen our Democratic majority in the House and enable us to continue to address the priorities of all Americans.”
Van Hollen has been regarded as a Democratic rising star since his first election to Congress in 2002, in which he accomplished the party’s long-sought goal of ousting GOP Rep. Constance A. Morella from the seat in Maryland’s strongly Democratic-leaning 8th District.
To do so, he first had to upset fellow state legislator Mark K. Shriver, a member of the legendary Kennedy political family, in the September primary.
Though Van Hollen benefited in the general election from a Democratic-drawn redistricting map, he still had to overcome the longstanding personal popularity of Morella, consistently the most liberal-leaning Republican in the House. He did so, by a 4 percentage-point margin, and has not looked back since; he took 75 percent of the vote in 2004 and 77 percent last month.
“Coming in the same class as Congressman Van Hollen, it was clear to me from his hard-fought primary victory and even tougher general election win that he had an acute political capacity rarely found in Washington,” Emanuel said Tuesday in a statement, in which he also noted that as head of the 2006 candidate recruitment team, Van Hollen “helped create the field that became the Democratic majority.”
While Van Hollen will be searching for potentially vulnerable Republican-held seats for the 2008 elections, his most immediate priority is shoring up the party’s hold on the 233 seats it will occupy when the 110th Congress is sworn in — a 30-seat gain over the number the Democrats’ held going into the elections. The total is 15 more than a bare majority of 218 in the 435-seat House.
Van Hollen will not only be attempting to imitate the successes enjoyed by Emanuel as DCCC chairman in this recent cycle, but also of another Washington-area congressman of the other party: Virginia Republican Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, who had a successful run as National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman in the 2000 and 2002 election cycles.
Parrying Van Hollen’s 2008 DCCC efforts at the NRCC will be Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a veteran political strategist who also was recently elected to his third term. House Republicans elected Cole to the NRCC chairmanship last month.
© 2006 Congressional Quarterly
Life after Rahm: Pelosi taps new DCCC chair
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who was elected to Congress only four years ago, will lead House Democrats' fundraising and recruiting efforts heading into the 2008 election, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday.
Van Hollen, 47, takes over the position of chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, who was credited with leading the Democrats to victory in the midterm election and restoring the party to power in the House after 12 years in the minority.
Emanuel will assume the post of Democratic Caucus chairman when the new Congress convenes in January.
"Congressman Chris Van Hollen's depth of legislative experience and political savvy will make him an exceptional DCCC chairman," Pelosi, D-California, said in a statement.
Van Hollen, in an interview, said he had worked closely with Emanuel on recruiting and as co-leader of a program to promote strong Democratic candidates.
He said his focus was "going to be on making sure that we continue to be in a position to carry out the mandate for a change in direction. ... The main thing we've got to do is follow through on the commitments we made."
During the last election cycle, the DCCC raised more than $100 million, allowing the party to expand into districts where it usually is not competitive and helping win more than 30 GOP-held seats.
Van Hollen was born in Pakistan and lived in Turkey and Sri Lanka, where his father was the U.S. ambassador. He earned a masters degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and held a staff position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before entering Maryland state politics. He was elected to Congress in 2002.
Pelosi last week named Van Hollen to a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for tax and trade legislation.
Pelosi also said that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, would take over next year as chairwoman of the ethics committee, officially called the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
Tubbs Jones has been a member of the panel, made up of five Republicans and five Democrats, that has been in the spotlight recently for its investigation of the improper electronic messages former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Florida, sent to teenagers who had been House pages.
The Associated Press
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Van_Hollen
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chris_Van_Hollen
http://www.answers.com/topic/chris-van-hollen
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