Allyson Schwartz

Allyson Y. Schwartz (born October 3, 1948) is a Democratic U.S. politician from the state of Pennsylvania, currently representing the state's 13th Congressional district (map) in the U.S. House. The district includes parts of Montgomery County, and a portion of Philadelphia. In the 110th Congress she is the only woman from Pennsylvania's delegation.

Family and background
Schwartz is married to Dr. David Schwartz, a cardiologist. She has two adult sons, is a resident of Jenkintown, and is a member of the Jewish faith. She is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network.

Born in New York City, Schwartz received a B.A. from Simmons College in 1970, and a Masters degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1972. From 1975 to 1988, Schwartz was the executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Center, a women's health care center in Philadelphia. From 1988 to 1990, Schwartz was acting Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, appointed by former Mayor Wison W. Goode.

Early Career
In 1990, Schwartz was elected to the Pennsylvania state Senate, representing a district in Northwest and Northeast Philadelphia. She was re-elected in 1994, 1998, and 2002. The district was extended into Montgomery County in the legislative reapportionment of 1991, and Schwartz moved in early 2004 to Jenkintown in Montgomery County, where she still lives. In 2000, she ran in the Democratic primary for the United States Senate seat of freshman Republican Rick Santorum. She finished second behind Pittsburgh-area Congressman Ron Klink, but won Montgomery County and Philadelphia with impressive numbers.

Congressional elections
In 2003, Pennsylvania 13th District Congressman Joe Hoeffel decided not to run for a fourth term in 2004 opting instead to make an ultimately unsuccessful Senate run against Republican Arlen Specter. Schwartz had originally planned to run for Auditor General, but changed her plans after Hoeffel's announcement. She narrowly defeated former Philadelphia deputy mayor and Constitution Center director Joe Torsella in the primary. She then defeated Republican Melissa Brown 56%-41%, the largest margin of victory in decades for a Democrat in Pennsylvania's 13th, once considered the strongest base of the moderate Republicanism that had long prevailed in the Philadelphia suburbs.

In 2006, Schwartz retained the seat by defeating opponent Raj Bhakta, who is most famous for his appearance on the television show The Apprentice 2.

Allyson Schwartz is a member of the New Democrat Coalition.

Congressional record
On January 10, 2005, Schwartz was appointed to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. On February 14, 2005, she was appointed to the Budget Committee. She was credited with securing $52.5 million in federal funds for local infrastructure priorities as a part of the Transportation Equity Act of 2005 bill.

The following list shows votes by Allyson Schwartz on several bills, nominations and resolutions that have come before the 109th Congress. The list is based on an analysis of the potential impact of the legislation on policy and politics.

Fundraising
Political scientists noted her talent for fundraising. While most former state legislators raise comparitavely more money through PACs than individual donations, she raised $4,597,032 from individual donations and comparatively little ($558,376) in PAC donations.