Lucille Roybal-Allard

Lucille Elsa Roybal-Allard (born June 12, 1941) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1993 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she first entered Congress in 1993. Her district, numbered as the 33rd until 2003, the 34th from 2003 to 2013, and the 40th from 2013 to 2023, included much of southern Los Angeles, as well as several eastern suburbs, such as Downey, Bell and Bell Gardens. On December 20, 2021, Roybal-Allard announced her retirement at the end of the 117th Congress.

Early life, education, and career
Roybal-Allard was born in Boyle Heights, California, the daughter of Edward R. Roybal, who served in Congress from 1963 to 1993, and Lucille Beserra Roybal. She attended Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California, graduating in 1959. She also attended California State University, Los Angeles.

Roybal-Allard was a public relations officer and fund-raising executive. She was also a member of the California State Assembly from 1987 to 1992, first elected on May 12, 1987, in a special election to replace Gloria Molina, who resigned after being elected to the Los Angeles City Council.

Elections
In 1992, Roybal-Allard won the Democratic nomination for the newly created 33rd district, which included a sliver of the area her father had represented for 30 years. She won the general election handily and has been reelected 13 times with no substantial opposition in this heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district. Her district was renumbered the 34th after the 2000 census and the 40th after the 2010 census. As of the 2010 census, it is the most Latino district in the nation, with a Latino majority of 86.5%. Until 2013, she represented much of downtown Los Angeles.

Tenure
Roybal-Allard was the first Latina to serve as one of the 12 "cardinals", or chairs, of a House Appropriations Subcommittee, as well as the first Latina to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. She is also the first woman to chair the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the first woman to chair the California Democratic congressional delegation; and the founder of the Women's Working Group on Immigration Reform.

Her Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act has been instrumental in reducing underage drinking and its consequences. From her position on the House Appropriations Committee, she has spearheaded many federal projects that have created jobs and improved her constituents' lives, including the new federal courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles, the Metro Gold Line Lightrail Eastside Extension, the deepening of the Port of Los Angeles, and the ongoing revitalization of the Los Angeles River.

Roybal-Allard chaired the California Democratic congressional delegation in 1998–1999. She has also been active in the Congressional Children's Caucus and on the Democratic Homeland Security and the Livable Communities task forces.

Roybal-Allard was the first Democratic Mexican-American woman to serve in Congress. She and Nydia Velazquez were the third and fourth Latinas elected to Congress, after Barbara Vucanovich and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. She and Velazquez are the first Latina Democrats to serve in that body, and the first two elected to a full term.

Roybal-Allard introduced the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1281; 113th Congress) into the House on March 20, 2013. The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize grant programs and other initiatives to promote expanded screening of newborns and children for heritable disorders. Roybal-Allard argued that "newborn screening not only transforms and save lives – it saves money." According to her, in California "newborns are screened for more than 40 preventable and treatable conditions – and for every one dollar California spends on screening, it yields a benefit of over $9 as we prevent disease in children who are diagnosed with these treatable conditions."

Roybal-Allard is the original House author of The Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act, a bill designed to ensure that survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can get help without fearing the loss of their jobs or economic security. Parts of the SAFE Act were included in the House's 2019 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). She also authored The Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE) to address abusive and exploitative child labor practices in agriculture.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security (chair)
 * Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

Caucus memberships

 * Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (associate member)
 * Congressional Arts Caucus
 * Congressional Progressive Caucus
 * House Baltic Caucus
 * Medicare for All Caucus
 * Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Abortion
As of 2020, Roybal-Allard has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and an F rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for her abortion-related voting record. She opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it an infringement on a woman's right to choose.

Personal life
Roybal-Allard is married to Edward Allard III. They have four children, two of whom are Roybal-Allard's stepchildren. She is Roman Catholic.

Roybal-Allard's archives are in the collection of the California State Archives.