Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito Rep. Shelley Moore Capito proudly serves the people of West Virginia's Second Congressional District in the 113h Congress, where she represents a diverse constituency stretching from the Ohio River Valley through the state's eastern panhandle. Capito is a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and a committed public servant who prides herself on being approachable and accessible to her constituents. She is currently the only woman in West Virginia's congressional delegation. Capito serves on the House Financial Services Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. She also sits on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure - the panel which will direct important highway legislation during the 113th Congress. With her record of bipartisan cooperation, she strongly believes that the challenges of our day demand bipartisan solutions. With that spirit in mind, she has been an advocate for a range of policies that directly impact her constituents, including energy independence, quality healthcare and the safety and security of our service men and women. In her push for energy independence she has argued that West Virginia's coal reserves must play a part in an all-of-the-above solution to our nation's energy needs. She's introduced legislation to jump-start investment in clean coal technology and joined with a bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats to introduce a comprehensive energy plan to expand domestic energy exploration and invest billions in alternative energy resources, clean coal technology, and environmental restoration. Capito has also been a strong voice for healthcare accessibility and affordability, particularly in rural areas. Throughout her career she has been a strong supporter of the State Children's Health Insurance Program and played an integral role in creating the Medicare prescription drug program which benefits thousands of West Virginians. She has previously served as the Vice Co-Chairwoman of the House Prescription Drug Taskforce and of the Long-Term Care Caucus where she continues her work to support healthcare issues important to West Virginia seniors. With such a large population of veterans in West Virginia, Capito is committed to improving the support structure for our service men and women. She strongly supported the new GI Bill that will provide enhanced educational benefits to our nation's younger veterans, and she has been a consistent voice in the push for improved healthcare accessibility for veterans in rural states. When not in Washington, Rep. Capito regularly travels her 17-county district to meet with her constituents and local leaders. Capito lives in Charleston with her husband Charles L. Capito. They have three children: sons Charles (and his wife Laura) and Moore (and his wife Katie), and one daughter, Shelley. The family recently grew with the birth of Capito's first grandchild, Celia Vivienne Capito, who was born to Charles and Laura on April 15, 2010. Capito graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Zoology and she holds a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. Senator Bob Corker Last November, Tennesseans overwhelmingly re‐elected Bob Corker to his second term in the U.S. Senate, where he is ranking member of the foreign relations committee. An active member of the banking committee, Senator Corker has gained a reputation as a pragmatic thought leader in the Senate, particularly on fiscal and financial issues. Earlier this year, Senator Corker, Senator Mark Warner, D‐Va., and a bipartisan coalition of banking committee members introduced the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act, S. 1217, to strengthen America’s housing finance system by replacing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that preserves market liquidity and protects taxpayers from future economic downturns. Corker was a successful businessman before serving as Tennessee’s commissioner of finance and as mayor of Chattanooga. He and his wife of 26 years, Elizabeth, live in Chattanooga. Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY) A native of Woodside, Queens and lifelong New Yorker, Joe has served the people of the Bronx and Queens in Congress since 1998. Before being elected to Congress, Joe received a bachelor’s degree from Queens College, ran a successful small business for nearly a decade and represented the 30th Assembly District in the New York State legislature. Throughout his career in public service, Joe has been driven by a desire to protect New York’s middle class. As Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, the fifth-highest ranking position in House Democratic Leadership, Joe’s efforts in Congress are focused on building strong communities, creating jobs, increasing access to health care and housing, protecting seniors’ hard-earned benefits, and opening up educational opportunities for working families. His seat on the prestigious Committee on Ways and Means allows Joe to work directly on issues of importance to the residents of the 14th District – keeping Medicare and Social Security strong, improving health care for all Americans and creating a fair and equitable tax code for American families and small businesses. Joe is dedicated to making the Bronx-Queens community more prosperous and secure. He established the Crime Stoppers program in 2002 to support local organizations that are working to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and it has delivered more than $1 million in federal funding to the Bronx-Queens community for graffiti clean-up, after-school programming, and civic patrol efforts. He is focused on further strengthening and expanding urban hospitals and specialty health centers, such as the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Westchester Square. These are not only world-class medical facilities, but large and reputable employers in the area. Joe is also firmly committed to preparing all young Americans for work in the 21st century by advocating for public education, championing increased federal support for Head Start and other pre-kindergarten programs and fighting to maintain critical financial aid, such as Pell Grants, so more students can afford a college education. The 14th Congressional District is one of the most diverse areas in the country. Through his work with a range of local organizations, Joe has enriched his understanding of international affairs and become a leading voice in efforts to promote democracy and human rights around the world. He successfully introduced and passed legislation to honor Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi with the Congressional Gold Medal for her tireless efforts to bring peace and democracy to Burma. He has also fought for women’s rights both in the U.S. and overseas by introducing and spearheading the passage of the Girls Protection Act, legislation that prohibits the transport of minors abroad for the purpose of female genital mutilation. Like most New Yorkers, Joe’s life was profoundly changed on September 11, 2001. Tragically, his cousin, Fire Department Battalion Chief John Moran, was among the brave first responders who died that day in World Trade Center Tower 2. To make sure we never forget the sacrifices made that day, Joe spearheaded an initiative to honor the first responders who lost their lives trying to help their fellow New Yorkers with a Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor. And, to ensure that New York and the nation are better prepared for future threats, Joe led efforts to create the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) which targets homeland security funding to at-risk urban centers, such as New York City. To date, New York City has received over $950 million in funding to make our airports, train stations and ports safer and more secure. Joe was also instrumental in passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide 9/11 first responders and workers with health monitoring and care. Both local and national media have recognized Joe for his effective and impressive record of leadership in Congress. In 2010, National Journal magazine named Joe “a rising star” in the Democratic Caucus and The New York Times has noted that his peers consider him to be a “hard working representative” who is “an impassioned advocate for his district.” Joe has been married to his wife, Kasey Crowley, for over a decade and they have three young children. Carol Galante Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Senate confirmed Carol J. Galante to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner on December 30, 2012. Prior to her confirmation, Ms. Galante served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing/FHA Commissioner, having first joined HUD in May 2009 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing programs. As FHA Commissioner, Ms. Galante has direct responsibility for oversight and administration of the FHA’s trillion dollar insurance portfolio, which includes single family and multifamily housing as well as insured health care facilities. She is also responsible for several of HUD’s rental assistance programs, including 1.2 million units of Project Based Rental Assistance, and over 400,000 apartments for elderly and the disabled under the Section 202 and 811 programs. Under her leadership, the Office of Housing has developed a comprehensive risk management infrastructure through the Office of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs and organized the formation of a new Office of Housing Counseling. Ms. Galante has also played an important role in key Administration initiatives, including Choice Neighborhoods, the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and other interagency alignment efforts. Prior to her appointment at HUD, Ms. Galante was President and Chief Executive of BRIDGE Housing Corporation, the largest non-profit developer of affordable, mixed-income and mixed-use developments in California. BRIDGE is a hybrid organization blending the best of business practices and entrepreneurial ideas with a mission to create affordable homes and apartments.