Carolyn McCarthy

Carolyn McCarthy is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing New York's Fourth Congressional District  since 1997. The district is located in central Long Island and includes Hempstead, Uniondale and Valley Stream.

Iraq War
McCarthy voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Support for gun control
McCarthy sponsored H.R. 1312 (Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005) on March 15, 2005. She reintroduced the bill (H.R. 1022) on February 13, 2007.

The NICS Improvement Act of 2007
The NICS Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R.297) is a gun control measure which was introduced in the House on January 5, 2007 by Rep. McCarthy with co-sponsor John Dingell (D-Mich.). It would amend the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 to require the head of each federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate federal or state law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). In addition, it would require the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General and the the Secretary of Homeland Security. It would also have to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate.

The bill would also direct the Attorney General to make grants to states and Indian tribal governments to :


 * Establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations
 * Improve the automation and transmittal to federal and state record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments.

The bill would require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified states regarding best practices; and the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.

Bio
McCarthy was born January 5, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York. She worked as a Licensed Practical Nurse before her election to Congress.

Congressional career
On December 7, 1993, her husband was killed, and her son injured, on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train when gunman Colin Ferguson opened fire on random passengers. McCarthy responded to the tragedy by launching a campaign against gun violence that eventually propelled her to Congress. She defeated Republican incumbent Dan Frisa, who had repeatedly voted against gun-control legislation, by 15 points.

She is one of the most vocal supporters in the House for reinstating a Federal ban on semi-automatic firearms, commonly referred to as assault weapons. In addition to her efforts to reduce gun violence, McCarthy is especially active in issues relating to education and public health.

Even though McCarthy has always served in the House as a Democrat, she was registered as a Republican until 2003.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Republicans nominated Martin W. Blessinger to face McCarthy in her November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) McCarthy retained her seat.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Education and Labor
 * Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities -Chair
 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Education and the Workforce
 * Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness
 * Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations
 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * 2004 election profile, from CNN
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * Gur, "The Phattest Bubble You've Ever Seen?", Room Eight, May 12, 2006.
 * Gur, "What Part Of "You Will Pimp My Pay to $168K" Did You Not Understand?", Room Eight, June 30, 2006.
 * Congressional Wire, "Earth to Congress - Come In!", Room Eight, July 11, 2006.
 * Gur, "Why Bother?", Room Eight, July 12, 2006.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Simply Left Behind