Portuguese-American Caucus in the House of Representatives

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The Portuguese-American Caucus was established in 1995 with 38 congressmen.  It was founded by Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D,RI-1) and co-chaired with Congressman Richard Pombo (R,CA-11) until Pombo left office in 2007.

 

The Caucus has been continuously active since 1995 shown by the numerous initiatives it has championed; for example, the Dual Taxation Agreement (1996), the Visa Waiver Program (1999), sanctions against Indonesia regarding the violence in East Timor (1999), numerous Portuguese language initiatives including the attempt to add Portuguese to the College Board’s SAT-II and Advanced Placement Curriculum (2005), the Portuguese Village at the Concordia Language Village in Minnesota (2008), the fight on the House floor for the congressional grant supporting the new Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rhode Island College (2007) and the ongoing struggle to maintain the U.S. Airbase at Lajes, Terceira. 

 

With Congressman Kennedy’s retirement from office in January, 2011, PALCUS worked to renew the registration of the Caucus under the leadership of Congressmen Dennis Cardoza and Congressman Jim Costa of California as well as with Congressional representation from East Coast districts.

Through its research efforts, PALCUS continues to work to identify congressmen serving districts with high Portuguese-American populations

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PORTUGUESE-AMERICAN CAUCUS IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of the 117th Congress 

Co-Chairs: Congressmen Jim Costa (D,CA-16), David Cicilline (D,RI-1), Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) and David Valadao (R, CA-21)

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Arkansas       

Rep. Steve Womack, (R, AR-3)

California        

Rep. Jim Costa*, Co-Chair, (D, CA-16)
Rep. Doug LaMalfa, (R, CA-1)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, (D, CA-15)        
Rep. Ro Khanna (D, CA-17)
Rep. Jerry McNerney (D, CA-9)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (D, CA-19)

Rep. David Valadao*, (R, CA-21)
Rep. Devin Nunes*, (R, CA-22)
Rep. Linda Sanchez, (D, CA-38)

Rep. Juan Vargas, (D, CA -51) 
Rep. Scott Peters (D, CA-52)

Colorado        

Rep. Doug Lamborn, (R, CO-5)

Connecticut        

Rep. John Larson, (D, CT-1)

Massachusetts    

Rep. Richard E. Neal, (D, MA-1)
Rep. Jim McGovern, (D, MA-2)

Rep. Lori Loureiro Trahan*, (D, MA-3)

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, (D, MA-4)
Rep. Stephen Lynch, (D, MA-8)
Rep. William Keating, (D, MA-9)

New Jersey        

Rep. Albio Sires, (D, NJ-8)

New York        

Rep. Lee Zeldin, Co-Chair, (R, NY-1)

North Carolina    

Rep. David Rouzer, (R, NC-7)

Rhode Island    

Rep. David Cicilline , Co-Chair, (D,RI-1)
Rep. Jim Langevin, (D, RI-2)

Texas    

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D, TX-18)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, (D, TX-35)

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* Portuguese descent
 

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