Paul Tonko
DemocratU.S. Representative, NY-20| Age | 77 (b. 1949-06-18) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 2009-01-06 (~17 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | White (of primarily Polish descent) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Education | Graduated from Wilbur H. Lynch High School in Amsterdam, NY (1967); B.S. in mechanical and industrial engineering from Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY (1971). |
| Prior occupation | Engineer (New York State Department of Transportation / New York Public Service Commission); President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA, 2007-2008) |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Amsterdam, New York |
| Marital status | Single (never married) |
| Children | 0 |
| Residence | Amsterdam, New York |
Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2008 |
| Previous offices | Montgomery County (NY) Board of Supervisors (1976-1983); chairman (1981-1983) · New York State Assembly, 105th district (1983-2007); Chair of Assembly Energy Committee (1992-2007) · President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority / NYSERDA (2007-2008) |
| Committees | House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Environment) · House Committee on the Budget |
| Caucuses | Congressional Progressive Caucus · Congressional Equality Caucus · Congressional Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery (ATR) Caucus (Co-Chair) |
| Leadership | Democratic Deputy Whip for Policy (119th Congress) · Ranking Member, Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment · Co-Chair, Congressional Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery (ATR) Caucus |
| Ideology | Reliably liberal/progressive Democrat; member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; cited by National Journal among the most liberal House members and voted with President Biden's position about 100% of the time in the 117th Congress (FiveThirtyEight). |
| Signature legislation | Timothy's Law (NY State, 2006) - mental health insurance parity (as Assemblyman) · SAFE Bet Act - federal sports gambling consumer protection standards · CHIPS and Science Act (2022) provisions |
Financial
Net worth: estimate
No holdings recorded yet (from official Financial Disclosure filings).
Scandals & crimes ledger
No recorded incidents. Under the adjudicated-only methodology, an entry appears only when a court or official body has formally acted and the record is cited.