Melissa Bean

Melissa Luburi Bean, a Democrat, has represented the Eighth Congressional District of Illinois in the U. S. House of Representatives since 2005. Her district is located in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago.

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

Transparency legislation
On May 4, 2006, Rep. Bean introduced House Resolution 797, which was referred to the Committee on House Administration where no action was taken. The resolution contained the following:
 * Instruct the Clerk of the House to create a record organized by member name of all recorded votes including the roll, date, issue, question, result, and title or description of the vote, and any cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office related to the vote.
 * Require all members to have a link to their voting record in this database on their official webpage.

Bean's voting record has been a matter of controversy to some Democrats, particularly her being one of only fifteen Democrats to vote for passage of CAFTA. Before the final vote, some labor unions sent a letter to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warning they would not offer any support to Bean if she supported CAFTA. Organized labor had played an important role in her 2004 victory so without their support her seat is put in further jeopardy for the Democrats.

Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007
On March 6, 2007, Bean introduced the Small Business Lending Improvements Act of 2007, aimed at improving small business access to capital programs of the Small Business Administration. Specifically, the bill would :


 * Carry forward a program aimed at increasing medical professionals in shortage areas
 * Increase veterans’ access to small business startup funding
 * Authorize loan projects that reduce energy consumption by at least ten-percent
 * Modify certification requirements for participating developer organizations.

The House passed the bill, 380 to 45, on April 25, 2007.

Bio
Bean was born January 22, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois and is of Serbian descent. She earned her BA in Political Science from Roosevelt University. She is president of a consulting firm whose clients include several high-tech Fortune 1000 companies.

In Congress, she is "working to increase access to affordable health insurance, provide meaningful tax relief, improve the climate for small businesses, and demand greater fiscal responsibility and accountability from Congress and the federal government."

In 2002, Bean ran for Congress against 33-year Republican incumbent Phil Crane, losing with 43%--a stunning total since she received almost no funding from the national party. In the 2004 campaign cycle, the Bean campaign raised almost as much money as the Crane campaign, mostly from individual donors, as opposed to Crane, most of whose money came from political action committees. Bean's campaign gained traction with charges that Crane, once a leader of conservative forces in the House, had become a "do-nothing" Congressman, and by focusing attention on lobbyist-funded trips that he had taken. On November 2, 2004, Bean defeated Crane with 52% of the vote.

2006 elections
Her seat has been targeted by Republicans as vulnerable due to Bean's freshman status and the fact that her district went heavily for George W. Bush in the presidential election; if she is reelected in 2006, her position will be in much less jeopardy. The Republicans nominated David McSweeney to face Bean in her November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Bean retained her seat.

Money in politics
cid=N00024875&cycle=2008

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommitee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * Subcommitee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
 * House Committee on Small Business
 * Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare, and Trade
 * Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, Chair

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

 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy Trade and Technology
 * House Committee on Small Business
 * Subcommittee on Tax Finance and Exports
 * Subcommittee on Workforce Empowerment and Government Programs

External resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Campaign finance reports and data from the Federal Election Commission
 * Issue positions and quotes from On the Issues
 * Campaign contributions from OpenSecrets.org
 * Travel information from Power Trips
 * Profile from Project Vote Smart
 * Voting record from The Washington Post's Congress Votes Database
 * Technorati Search: Melissa Bean
 * Google News Search: Melissa Bean
 * Yahoo! News Search: Melissa Bean

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Philosophe Forum
 * Prairie State Blue - Statewide Illinois Progressive Politics Blog

External articles

 * Bean Loses 'Person of the Year' Title After CAFTA Vote Associated Press, 8/4/05.
 * Melissa's New Backers by Robert Novak, Townhall, 8/6/05.
 * House Republicans target Bean but K Street backs Dem by Josephine Hearn, The Hill, 3/28/06.