Nydia Velázquez

Early life, education and career

Velázquez was born in Limones in the municipality of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, on March 28, 1953. She grew up in a small house on the Río Limones with eight other siblings. Her mother was Carmen Luisa Serrano Medina, and her father, Benito Velázquez Rodríguez, was a low-income worker in the sugarcane fields who became a self-taught political activist and the founder of a local political party; he was also listed as "Black" on the 1940 U.S. census. Political conversations at the Velázquez dinner table focused on workers' rights.

Velázquez attended public schools and skipped three grades as a child. She became the first person in her family to graduate from high school. At age 16, she became a student at University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. In 1974, she received a B.A. degree in political science, magna cum laude, and became a teacher. In college, Velázquez supported Puerto Rican independence; by the time she ran for Congress in 1992, Velázquez no longer addressed the issue, saying that it must be left up to the Puerto Rican people. In the 2024 gubernatorial elections of Puerto Rico, Velázquez was among many prominent figures including representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who endorsed Juan Dalmau Ramírez of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) for the governership as part of the Alianza de País.

In 1976, Velázquez received an M.A. degree in political science from New York University. She served as an instructor of political science at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao from 1976 to 1981. After returning to New York City, Velázquez was an adjunct professor of Puerto Rican studies at Hunter College from 1981 to 1983.

Political career

In 1983, Velázquez was special assistant to Representative Edolphus Towns, a Democrat representing New York's 10th congressional district in Brooklyn.

In 1984, Howard Golden (then the Brooklyn Borough president and chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party) named Velázquez to fill a vacant seat on the New York City Council, making her the first Hispanic woman to serve on the council. Velázquez ran for election to the council in 1986, but lost to a challenger.

From May 1986 to July 1989, Velázquez was national director of the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources' Migration Division Office. In 1989 the governor of Puerto Rico named her the director of the Department of Puerto Rican Community Affairs in the United States. In this role, according to a 1992 The New York Times profile, "Velazquez solidified her reputation that night as a street-smart and politically savvy woman who understood the value of solidarity and loyalty to other politicians, community leaders and organized labor."

Velázquez pioneered Atrévete Con Tu Voto, a program that aims to politically empower Latinos in the United States through voter registration and other projects. The Atrévete project spread from New York to Hartford, Connecticut; New Jersey; Chicago; and Boston, helping Hispanic candidates secure electoral wins.

Puerto Rico

Velázquez has been an advocate for human and civil rights of the Puerto Rican people. In the late 1990s and the 2000s, she was a leader in the Vieques movement, which sought to stop the United States military from using the inhabited island as a bomb testing ground. In May 2000, Velázquez was one of nearly 200 people arrested (including fellow Representative Luis Gutiérrez) for refusing to leave the natural habitat the US military wished to continue using as a bombing range. Velázquez was ultimately successful: in May 2003, the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility on Vieques Island was closed, and in May 2004, the U.S. Navy's last remaining base on Puerto Rico, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station – which employed 1,000 local contractors and contributed $300 million to the local economy – was closed.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

Velázquez ran for Congress in the 1992 election, seeking a seat in the New York's newly drawn 12th congressional district, which was drawn as a majority-Hispanic district. She won the Democratic primary, defeating nine-term incumbent Stephen J. Solarz, who was heavily damaged by the House banking scandal, and four Hispanic candidates.

2010

Velázquez's 2010 campaign income was $759,359. She came out of this campaign about $7,736 in debt. Her top contributors included Goldman Sachs, the American Bankers Association, the National Roofing Contractors Association and the National Telephone Cooperative Association.

2012

Velázquez, who was redistricted into the 7th congressional district, defeated her challengers to win the Democratic nomination. Her top contributors included Goldman Sachs, the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America.

Tenure

On September 29, 2008, Velázquez voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. On November 19, 2008, she was elected by her peers in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to lead the group in the 111th Congress.

Before removing her name from consideration, she was considered a possible candidate to be appointed to the United States Senate by Governor David Paterson after Senator Hillary Clinton resigned to become secretary of state.

Among Velázquez's firsts are: the first Hispanic woman to serve on the New York City Council; the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress; and the first woman Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee in 1998. She became the first woman to chair the United States House Committee on Small Business in January 2007 as well as the first Hispanic woman to chair a House standing committee.

Valazquez voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

In September 2024, Nydia M. Velázquez presented a federal bill called the "Mel Law," which guarantees posthumous degrees to students who die before completing their mandatory studies.

In April 2024, Velázquez and nearly 20 other congresspeople voted against military aid to Israel.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit;
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity;
• Committee on Small Business (chair)
• Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis

Caucus memberships

• Black Maternal Health Caucus{{cite web|title=Caucus Members
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Women's Issues Caucus
• Urban CaucusAbout Nydia Velázquez: Committees and Caucus Memberships
• Office of Nydia Velázquez (official website) (accessed April 10, 2016)
• House Baltic Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Climate Solutions Caucus
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Blue Collar Caucus
• Rare Disease Caucus
• United States–China Working Group

Velázquez was formerly a member of the Congressional Out of Iraq Caucus.

Personal life

Velázquez, also known as "la luchadora", married Brooklyn-based printer Paul Bader in 2000. It was her second marriage. In November 2002, New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson controversially hired Bader as an administrative manager in the Bureau of Law and Adjudications, joining Joyce Miller, wife of Representative Jerry Nadler, and Chirlane McCray, wife of City Councilman Bill de Blasio. In 2010, Velázquez and Bader were in the process of divorce.

In October 1992, during her first campaign for the House, an unknown person at Saint Clare's Hospital in Manhattan anonymously faxed to the press Velázquez's hospital records pertaining to a suicide attempt in 1991. At a subsequent press conference, Velázquez acknowledged that she had attempted suicide that year while suffering from clinical depression. She said that she underwent counseling and "emerged stronger and more committed to public service." She expressed outrage at the leak of personal health records and asked the Manhattan district attorney and the state attorney general to investigate. Velázquez sued the hospital in 1994, alleging that the hospital had failed to protect her privacy. The lawsuit was settled in 1997.

Velázquez is Catholic.

References

References

1. King, Maya. (2025-11-20). "Nydia Velázquez, a New York Trailblazer in Congress, to Retire Next Year". The New York Times.
2. "Hispanic Americans in Congress -- Velázquez".
3. Deborah Sontag, [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/02/nyregion/puerto-rican-born-favorite-treated-like-outsider.html?pagewanted=all Puerto Rican-Born Favorite Treated Like Outsider], ''New York Times'' (November 2, 1992).
4. Newman, Maria. (1992-09-27). "From Puerto Rico to Congress, a Determined Path". The New York Times.
5. Mary B. W. Tabor, [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/17/nyregion/1992-campaign-12th-district-woman-loyalty-labor-nydia-m-velazquez.html The 1992 Campaign: 12th District Woman in the News; Loyalty and Labor; Nydia M. Velazquez], ''New York Times'' (September 17, 1992).
6. "Benito Velázquez Y Rodríguez in the 1940 Census {{!}} Ancestry".
7. Noticias, Por Valeria María Torres NievesPeriodista de. (2024-10-16). "Nydia Velázquez y Alexandria Ocasio Cortez endosan a candidatos de la alianza entre el PIP y Victoria Ciudadana".
8. Frank Lynn, [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/16/nyregion/democrats-in-brooklyn-face-hispanic-demand.html Democrats in Brooklyn Face Hispanic Demand], ''New York Times'' (August 16, 1984).
9. Carol Hardy-Fanta, with Jaime Rodríguez, Latino Voter Registration Efforts in Massachusetts: ''Un Pasito Más''" in ''Latino Politics in Massachusetts: Struggles, Strategies, and Prospects'' (eds: Carol Hardy-Fanta & Jeffrey N. Gerson: Routledge, 2002), pp. 253-54.
10. Morales, Ed. (May 11, 2000). "The Battle of Vieques". The Nation.
11. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/national/after-closing-of-navy-base-hard-times-in-puerto-rico.html New York Times: "After Closing of Navy Base, Hard Times in Puerto Rico"] April 3, 2005
12. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-12-na-vieques12-story.html Los Angeles Times: "Navy Makes Plans Without Vieques – Use of bombing ranges in Florida and other U.S. mainland areas will increase after Puerto Rican island training ground is abandoned"] January 12, 2003 ''Admiral [[Robert J. Natter]], commander of the Atlantic Fleet, is on record as saying: "Without Vieques there is no way I need the Navy facilities at Roosevelt Roads — none. It's a drain on Defense Department and taxpayer dollars."''
13. "Representative Nydia M. Velázquez". Vote Smart.
14. (June 26, 2012). "Rangel, Long, Meng, Jeffries, Velazquez Declared Winners In Primaries". NY 1.
15. "Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez – Campaign Finance Summary". [[OpenSecrets]].
16. Cadei, Emily. (December 12, 2008). "New York Rep. Velázquez Out of Clinton Senate Seat Derby". [[CQPolitics.com]].
17. Bycoffe, Aaron. (2021-04-22). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?".
18. Juanita Carillo, Karen. (September 26, 2024). "Rep. Velazquez introduces Mel’s Law at the federal level". [[Amsterdam News]].
19. "Statement from Velázquez, Castro, Doggett, Jayapal, Khanna, Ocasio-Cortez, Balint, Casar, Takano, McGovern, Barbara Lee, Blumenauer, Chu, Johnson, Carson, Watson Coleman, Jesús “Chuy” García, Jonathan Jackson, & Tokuda on the Israel Security Supplemental". Congresswoman Nadia Velázquez.
20. "Committee Members".
21. "Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy".
22. "Membership".
23. (2020-04-29). "Pelosi Names Select Members to Bipartisan House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis".
24. "About the CEC". CEC.
25. "Members". Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
26. "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus.
27. "The Women's Caucus".
28. "Members". House Baltic Caucus.
29. "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus.
30. "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
31. "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen's Climate Lobby.
32. "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus". Every Life Foundation for Rare Diseases.
33. "Our Mission". U.S.-China Working Group.
34. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160420101201/http://velazquez.house.gov/issues/iraq.shtml Issues: Alternatives to War], Office of Nydia Velázquez (official website) (accessed April 10, 2016).
35. [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/nyregion/congresswoman-nydia-m-velazquezs-biggest-foe-isnt-on-the-ballot.html New York Times: "The Biggest Rival for a Congresswoman From Brooklyn Isn't Even on the Ballot" by Sarah Wheaton] June 20, 2012
36. Bob Liff, [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/boroughs/rep-velazquez-marry-printer-article-1.881629 Rep. Velazquez to Marry Printer], ''New York Daily News'' (November 17, 2000).
37. [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/nydia-husband-hired-joins-controller-staff-article-1.511321 New York Daily News: "Nydia's Husband Gets Hired – He joins controller staff" by Celeste Katz] November 22, 2002
38. Maite Junco, [http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/dancing-avenue-q-puerto-rican-parade-grand-marshal-nydia-velazquez-article-1.181823 Dancing in the avenue: Q&A with Puerto Rican parade grand marshal Nydia Velázquez], ''New York Daily News'' (June 8, 2010).
39. Maria Newman, [https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/10/nyregion/candidate-faces-issue-of-suicide.html Candidate Faces Issue Of Suicide], ''New York Times'' (October 10, 1992).
40. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/14/nyregion/rep-velazquez-sues-st-clare-s-hospital.html Rep. Velazquez Sues St. Clare's Hospital], ''[[New York Times]]'' (May 14, 1994). Retrieved November 13, 2016.
41. Cavinato, Joseph L.. (2000). "YYYY". Springer US.
42. Online court records for ''Nydia Velazquez v. St. Clare's Hospital'', Index No. 015736/1994, Kings County Supreme Court, accessible in the WebCivil Supreme section of New York's [https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/ecourtsMain eCourts] website.
43. (2022-11-27). "Nydia Velázquez, Representative for New York – The Presidential Prayer Team".