PR-2216
August 14, 2022
Senator Markey Leads Congressional Delegation to Taiwan
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Representative John Garamendi (D-CA), Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), and Representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS) will visit Taiwan from August 14-15, 2022, as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region. The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change, and other significant issues of mutual interest.
For the delegation’s bios, please refer to the page below.
Senator Ed Markey
For more than 40 years, Senator Markey has served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Congressman and U.S. Senator. He has been a national leader and author of some of the most important laws in the areas of energy, the environment, and telecommunications policy. On a bipartisan basis, he has passed more than 500 pieces of legislation into law. He has been a powerful and effective voice for enhancing energy efficiency, transitioning our economy to clean and sustainable energy resources and mitigating the consequences of climate change; bolstering U.S. and global security by staunching nuclear proliferation and promoting arms control; defending human rights; enacting financial reforms to protect consumers and investors against the types of abuses that directly triggered the global recession; ensuring the continued openness of the internet; and advancing the interests of consumers by injecting competitiveness into electric, telecommunications and telephone markets, and protecting the privacy of personal information.
Senator Markey currently serves as Chair of the East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Chair of the Clean Air, Climate and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Committee; as well as a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the Small Business Committee.
Senator Markey received his B.A. from Boston College and his J.D. from Boston College Law School. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve and two terms in the Massachusetts State House before being elected to Congress.
Representative John Garamendi
John Garamendi was raised on his family’s ranch in Mokelumne Hill, California. He received his B.A. in business from UC Berkeley where he was a Wheeler Scholar, second team All America offensive guard, two-time all Pacific Coast Conference team, and the 1964 West Coast heavy weight wrestling champion. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He and his wife Patti served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia before returning to the U.S and settling down in Walnut Grove, where they raised six children. They now have 14 grandchildren and continue to raise Angus cattle on their ranch and grow pears in their Delta orchard in Walnut Grove.
Elected to the state legislature in 1974, Garamendi authored the first solar, wind and energy conservation tax credit in the nation. He also authored the Rural Health Act of California to ensure that underserved residents in rural communities had access to quality health care. As a state senator, he established a work-oriented welfare program, developed a state agenda for economic competitiveness and scientific advancement, and authored legislation to fund the construction of research facilities across the UC system.
Building on his Washington experience and 30 years of experience in California water issues, Garamendi has become the leading advocate for a comprehensive water plan for all California. A plan that calls for water recycling, aquifer replenishment, Ag and urban water conservation, forest management, and off stream storage.
As California’s elected Insurance Commissioner in 1991-95 and again in 2003-6 Garamendi earned a reputation among state and national consumer organizations as the most effective protector of consumer interests in the nation. He successfully forced insurance companies to pay claims to policyholders, reduced homeowner, auto, and worker’s compensation rates, and significantly curtailed insurance fraud.
Elected Lieutenant Governor in 2007, he became Chairman of the State Land Commission where he successfully protected California coastal beaches and stopped further offshore oil and gas development. As Chairman of the California Commission for Economic Development, he led successful efforts to expand workforce development and vocational education. He became a University of California Regent, and CSU Trustee where he fought for increased funding for higher education and research. He voted against every proposal to raise undergraduate tuition.
Congressman Garamendi is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness where has enacted legislation to direct the military to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, to prepare all bases to withstand the effects of climate change, improve military family housing, and remove toxic substances from drinking water in and around military installations. The Readiness Committee oversees over one-third of the Department of Defense’s annual budget, has jurisdiction over 1,100 military installations and bases worldwide, and oversees all U.S. military training, logistics, and equipment maintenance.
On the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Garamendi has helped author a much-needed five-year bill to improve highways, a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild American infrastructure, and four water resource development bills. Garamendi is also a member of four Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittees: Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Water Resources and Environment, Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, Economic Development, and Public Buildings and Emergency Management. In these capacities, he advances his “Make It In America” agenda to create new middle-class jobs and rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure using American materials and workers.
As the former Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Garamendi became a leader in shaping America’s maritime and port policy to grow the America domestic fleet and improve ports to reduce air and water pollution and to accommodate larger ships.
Representative Alan Lowenthal
Congressman Alan Lowenthal is serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California’s 47th District, which encompasses portions of eastern Los Angeles County and western Orange County. He was first elected in 2012 and reelected in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020.
Prior to joining Congress, he served a two-decade tenure as, first, a Long Beach, California city council member, then, as a California legislator. In Washington, D.C., Congressman Lowenthal has continued his dedication to common-sense bipartisan solutions that earned him a reputation among his colleagues and constituents as one of the most respected and effective legislators in both Long Beach and Sacramento.
Born March 8, 1941, Congressman Alan Lowenthal was raised in the Queens Borough of New York City. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University, he moved to Long Beach, California in 1969 where he taught Community Psychology at California State University, Long Beach until 1998.
Congressman Lowenthal successfully ran for Long Beach City Council in 1992, where he served for six years. He then continued his leadership in Sacramento, first serving three terms as a State Assembly member, then two terms as a State Senator.
As a city council member, and then as a state legislator, the Congressman fought against the then-commonplace private and public sector belief that environmental protections and economic success at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles were mutually exclusive. His landmark environmental legislative efforts helped lead the two adjacent ports toward becoming the cleanest and greenest ports in the world, while also remaining the busiest and most successful container port complex in the Western Hemisphere. The green business model advocated by the Congressman and instituted by the two ports has become a role model for ports throughout the world.
While a State Assembly member, and as a founding member of the Assembly’s Bipartisan Caucus, he paved the way for creation of California’s first ever independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which took the power of redistricting out of the hands of politicians and gave it back to the people. In addition, the Congressman led legislative efforts to revamp the state’s K-12 and higher education systems. He championed the College Promise Partnership Act to help K-12 students better transition to college. The passage of his Student Success Act also helped higher education students by introducing significant reforms to the state community college system that focused on increasing graduation and transfer rates.
In Congress, he serves on both the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I). He is the Chair of the HNRC’s Energy and Mineral Resources subcommittee. He also serves on the HNRC’s National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands and the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife subcommittees. As a member of the T&I Committee, he serves on the Highways and Transit, the Water Resources and Environment, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, and the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials subcommittees.
Representing one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the nation, Congressman Lowenthal has championed human rights in Congress, not just at home, but throughout the world. He has also brought his strong support for LGBT rights to Washington, where he became the first Congress member to permanently fly the Pride flag outside his office. In addition, he has continued his long history of fighting for environmental protections, with a new mission to bring the issue of climate change to the front in Congress as chair of the more than 60-member Safe Climate Caucus.
Representative Don Beyer
Congressman Don Beyer is serving his fourth term as the U.S. Representative from Virginia’s 8th District, representing Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County. He serves as the Chairman of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, and also serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, and on the House Committee on Science Space and Technology, where he chairs the Space Subcommittee. He is a Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force.
He was the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1998, and was Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama. Rep. Beyer’s signature work as lieutenant governor included advocacy for Virginians with disabilities and ensuring protections for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations as the Commonwealth reformed its welfare system in the mid-1990s. Rep. Beyer was Virginia’s Democratic nominee for governor in 1997.
After leaving office, Rep. Beyer spent fourteen years as Chair of Jobs for Virginia Graduates, a highly successful high school dropout prevention program, and was active for a decade on the board of the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. As Chair of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, he helped pass permanent pro-business reforms and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.
President Obama nominated Rep. Beyer to serve as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein in 2009. He used his position to advocate for stricter sanctions to compel Iran to begin nuclear disarmament discussions. As Ambassador, Rep. Beyer was integral to US Department of Justice efforts to halt the abuses of Swiss bank secrecy by wealthy Americans.
Rep. Beyer has spent four decades building his family business in Northern Virginia after a summer job at a car dealership in 1974. He is a graduate of Williams College and Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. He was named a Presidential Scholar by President Lyndon Johnson.
Rep. Beyer has four children and two grandchildren. He and his wife Megan live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Representative Amata Coleman Radewagen
Amata Coleman Radewagen (Aumua Amata), Republican, was elected as American Samoa’s third Member of Congress on November 4, 2014. She is the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from American Samoa, the first Republican woman of Samoan descent in Congress and the most senior Republican elected federal office holder of Asian Pacific heritage.
Committee Assignments
Congresswoman Amata serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee in a senior role as Vice Ranking Member of the full Committee, as well as two of its Subcommittees: The Subcommittee on Health, her top choice of assignments for the Veterans of American Samoa, along with the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Aumua Amata also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and two of its Subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, her top choice for the islands of American Samoa, along with the Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
In her capacity on these committees, she legislates, conducts oversight of laws and Departments in the Administration, and proposes policies and programs. She is active on issues of health, education, welfare, political status, and all economic and social programs concerning the U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), along with the Freely Associated States (FAS) of Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Federated States of Micronesia (RMI), in addition to overseeing policies affecting the 562 Federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States.
Aumua Amata Background
Prior to being a Member of Congress, the Congresswoman served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leadership Staff for eight years, including Conference scheduling director, and supervised the database created to reach out to Asian Pacific and other minority aspirants for congressional staff positions. She also served as scheduling director to U.S. Rep. Philip Crane (R-IL), the dean of the House Republican Conference at the time of his retirement. Earlier in her career, she served at the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. She also was the first executive assistant to the first delegate-at-large to Washington from American Samoa.
Aumua Amata also has been involved in promoting democracy and fighting for women’s and minorities’ rights since the beginning of her career and helping build democratic institutions abroad. As a trainer since 1992, she has participated in missions to Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and Morocco for the International Republican Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. She has conducted training in Washington for Iraqi, Congolese, and Uyghur women leaders. Other international work has included participation in several Pacific regional conferences.
In 2003 she became the first and only Pacific Islander ever chosen as “Outstanding Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Professional Asian American Women (NAPAW). In 2008, she received the International Leadership Foundation’s Visionary Award and in 2013 was presented the “Inspirational Speaker” Award at the Ninth Annual Samoan Athletes Heart of Champions Ceremony in La Mesa, California.
A founding member of the American Samoa Society, other affiliations over the years have included the Guam Society of America and the Hawaii State Society as well as the Women’s Foreign Policy Group in Washington and the Independent Women’s Forum. She also belongs to the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association.
A 25-year cancer survivor, Amata has served as spokesperson for the Samoan Women’s Health Project to promote cancer awareness and bring mammography to the territory, has been liaison to the National Breast Cancer Coalition since 1993, and has volunteered with the hospital Women’s Auxiliary. She also is a member of the board of Field House 100 American Samoa, a non-profit organization devoted to finding athletic scholarship opportunities in the states for talented high school athletes in American Samoa.
Education and Personal
The Congresswoman holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guam, with additional studies at Loyola-Marymount and George Mason Universities. In 2018, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by her alma mater, the University of Guam, and in 2017, named among the University’s Distinguished Alumni. In 2018, she also was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Virginia University of Science and Technology.
She is married to Fred Radewagen, and they have three grown children and two grandchildren.