Suzanne Bonamici
DemocratU.S. Representative, OR-1| Age | 71 (b. 1954-10-14) |
| Gender | Female |
| In office since | 2012-02-07 (~14 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | White |
| Religion | Judaism (practices; raised Episcopalian and Unitarian) |
| Education | A.A., Lane Community College (1978); B.A. in Journalism, University of Oregon (1980); J.D., University of Oregon School of Law (1983) |
| Prior occupation | Attorney; consumer protection lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission (Credit Practices Division); private practice attorney representing small businesses in Portland, OR; legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | Detroit, Michigan |
| Marital status | Married — Michael H. Simon |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Beaverton area, Oregon (Oregon's 1st Congressional District) |
| Notable relatives | Michael H. Simon (husband), U.S. District Judge for the District of Oregon; Neil Simon (playwright, husband's uncle, died 2018) |
Pending research: languages · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 2012 |
| Previous offices | Oregon House of Representatives, 34th District (2007–2008) · Oregon State Senate, 17th District (2008–2012) |
| Committees | Committee on Education and the Workforce (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education) · Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (Subcommittee on Environment) |
| Caucuses | Congressional Progressive Caucus · Congressional Equality Caucus · Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus · Climate Solutions Caucus · Medicare for All Caucus · Congressional Freethought Caucus · Black Maternal Health Caucus · Congressional Taiwan Caucus · Congressional Arts Caucus · Congressional STEAM Caucus · Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment · Congressional Coalition on Adoption · Rare Disease Caucus |
| Leadership | Founder and Co-Chair, Congressional STEAM Caucus · Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (119th Congress, from January 2025) |
| Ideology | Consistently liberal/progressive voting record; voted with Biden's position 99.1% of the time in the 117th Congress (FiveThirtyEight); Heritage Action lifetime score 7% (strongly opposes conservative agenda); GovTrack rates her among most politically left of Oregon delegation (2024) |
| Signature legislation | Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 (enacted as part of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017) · Building STEAM Education Act (provisions enacted as part of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022) · STEAM amendment to Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (enacted 2018) · Every Student Succeeds Act (supported, enacted 2015) |
Financial
Net worth: estimate
| Vanguard Intermediate Term Corporate Bond Index | fund · $1,000,001–$5,000,000 · 2018 |
| US Bank NA (checking & savings accounts) | other · $250,001–$500,000 · 2018 |
Top donors: Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ($20,000)
Top industries: Lawyers/Law Firms · Public Sector Unions · Education · Health
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.