Eliot L. Engel

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Eliot Engel
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Ted Weiss
Born	February 18, 1947 (1947-02-18) (age 61) New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Patricia Ennis
Religion	Jewish

Eliot Lance Engel (born February 18, 1947) is an American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of New York who currently represents the New York State 17th Congressional District (map). The district encompasses portions of the Bronx, Westchester County, and Rockland County. It includes such neighborhoods as Riverdale, Woodlawn, Norwood and Wakefield in the Bronx, Mount Vernon and parts of Yonkers in Westchester, and the towns of Ramapo, Orangetown, and the southern half of Clarkstown in Rockland County.

[edit] Early life and career

Engel was born in The Bronx and he graduated from Hunter-Lehman College. He received his Masters Degree in 1973 from Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY) and his Law Degree from New York Law School in 1987. Engel was elected to the New York general assembly as a Democrat in 1977.

He is married to Patricia Ennis Engel. They have three children, Julia, Jonathan and Philip.

[edit] Election to Congress

In 1988, Engel was elected to the House of Representatives, after defeating Congressman Mario Biaggi in the Democratic primary. Biaggi had been charged with racketeering in the Wedtech scandal; he was eventually jailed by Rudolph W. Giuliani. Biaggi ran against and lost to Engel in 1992.

Engel ran for, and won, re-election in 2006 for his tenth term.

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Energy and Commerce Committee
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
• Foreign Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Europe
  • Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
  • Subcommitte on the Western Hemisphere (Chairman)
• Vice Chair of the Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security
• Founder and Co-Chair of the House Oil and National Security Caucus

[edit] Political positions

Engel is a supporter of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and has also been an advocate for the causes of Albanian-Americans and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In 2003, he authored the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on December 12, 2003.[1] In this Law, Congress authorized penalties and restrictions on US relations with Syria for its occupation of Lebanon and for its relationship with terrorist groups.

Eliot Engel is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and the Democratic Leadership Council.

Engel received an "A" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues.

Eliot Engel was a strong supporter of a massive military campaign against Iraq in 2002. On October 10, 2002, he was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq. As the war dragged on, his position changed. He now responds to questions about his support for the war by saying that had he known then what he now knows, he would have acted differently.

Congressman Engel has struck up an alliance the controversial Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which was founded by the Reverend John Hagee and has spoken at their Washington-Israel Summit in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Engel's scheduled participation at the CUFI Summit on July 22 was questioned by members of his constiuency. Hagee had reportedly made anti-Catholic, anti-gay, and anti-semitic remarks in his books, speeches, and sermons that upset some voters in Engel's congressional district.

[edit] Primary challenges

Since his election to Congress in 1988 Engel has faced a series of contentious primary challenges from within the Democratic Party. In 2000, Engel defeated a high-profile challenge from then Bronx State Senator Larry Seabrook, who had received the support of Bronx County Democratic Party Chairman Roberto Ramirez, among others.

In 2006, Engel faced a primary challenge from Jessica Flagg, who based her campaign on the opposition to the Iraq War, and criticism of Engel's refusal to publicly support an immediate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. In a previous challenge to Engel in 2004, Flagg got 11% of the Democratic primary vote. In her 2006 run she got 18 percent.

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel official House site
• Eliot L. Engel at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Eliot Engel campaign finance reports and data
• Biographical Information: NNDB
• On the Issues — Eliot Engel issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Eliot L. Engel campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Eliot L. Engel (NY) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Eliot Engel profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Eliot Engel voting record
• [http://www.opencongress.org/people/show/400122_eliot_engel — Open Congress: Eliot L. Engel

• Eliot Engel Quotes
• Engel’s War Record Draws Red Flagg
• Congressional incumbent Engel and challenger Flagg clash over Engel's record
• State Senator Will Challenge Congressman
• Engel taking heat
• Pastor Hagee: The Antichrist Is Gay, "Partially Jewish, As Was Adolph Hitler" (Paging Joe Lieberman!)
• Lieberman Lite: Eliot Engel's alliance with Rev. Hagee
• Bipartisan Pandering to John Hagee and the Religious Right
• Lieberman to share the stage with Hagee