Bill (Bill) Pascrell, Jr. (D-USH09)
Web Site - Twitter

Capitol: 202.225.5751
FAX: 202.225.5782
District: 973.472.4510
District FAX: 973.523.0637
Representative
Room 2409 RHOB- Rayburn House Office Building 50 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20515-3009

Residence: Paterson, NJ
Elected: 1996    Next Election: 2024
Spouse: Elsie Marie Botto   DOB: 1/25/1937
Committee Assignments
RM MemberHouse Subcommittee on Oversight
Co-ChairLaw Enforcement Caucus (House)
Co-ChairCongressional Italian American Caucus
Co-ChairBrain Injury Task Force
Co-ChairCongressional Fire Services Caucus
MemberHouse Subcommittee on Social Security
FC MemberCongressional Former Mayors Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Post-911 Veterans Caucus
FC MemberNortheast-Midwest Congressional Coalition (NEMW)
FC MemberCongressional Bangladesh Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Caucus on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Americans
FC MemberSudan and South Sudan Caucus
MemberHouse Committee on Ways and Means
FC MemberCongressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health
FC MemberCongressional Recycling Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Pakistan Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Family Business Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Caucus on Macedonia and Macedonian-Americans
FC MemberVision Caucus
FC MemberInternational Workers' Rights Caucus
FC MemberHouse Cancer Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans
FC MemberCommunity College Caucus
FC MemberHouse Baltic Caucus
FC MemberPublic Broadcasting Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Childhood Cancer Caucus
FC MemberBipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force
FC MemberCongressional Steel Caucus
FC MemberRenewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Zoo and Aquarium Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Labor and Working Families Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Heart and Stroke Coalition
FC MemberHouse Manufacturing Caucus
FC MemberTom Lantos Human Rights Commission
FC MemberCongressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues
FC MemberCongressional Ukraine Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Humanities Caucus
FC MemberIndia Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Historic Preservation Caucus
FC MemberBicameral Congressional Caucus on Parkinson's Disease
FC MemberCoalition for Autism Research and Education (CARE)
FC MemberCongressional Caucus on Armenian Issues
FC MemberCongressional Arts Caucus
FC MemberCongressional Animal Protection Caucus
Counties Representing
Bergen / Hudson / Passaic

Bio

A native son of New Jersey, Bill Pascrell, Jr. has built a life of public service around the principles he learned while growing up on the south side of Paterson. Bill credits his parents and his Italian-immigrant grandparents with instilling in him the value of being a bridge builder- one who seeks to bring together the diverse peoples and neighborhoods in our communities to forge a better society.

Bill was first elected Congressman for New Jersey's 8th Congressional District in 1996. After congressional reapportionment, the district was reconfigured and renumbered to be the 9th Congressional District beginning with the 113th Congress in 2013. Bill is now in his twelfth term. Since 2007, Bill has served on the powerful, tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, overseeing numerous economic issues including Social Security, taxes, Medicare, health policy, and international trade. On the committee, Bill has been a champion for the middle class by supporting policies that help facilitate job creation, distribute the tax burden equitably, craft trade agreements that benefit our workers, and make quality health care affordable for all Americans.

Bill is a leader in Congress demanding tax fairness. Heis the lead sponsor of legislation to restore the full state and local tax deduction which was capped by the Republican tax scam law of 2017, stealing a critical economic lifeline for generations of New Jerseyans. Bill is also the prime sponsor on a bill that would finally eliminate the egregious carried interest tax loophole and is leading efforts on the Bring Jobs Home Act to support domestic job creation.

And as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Trade in the 115th Congress, Bill was a stalwart voice for workers, constantly demanding national trade policies that put our laborers first. As a senior member of the panel, Bill maintains that drive.

Bill has made environmental protection a top priority. Pascrell is the long-time sponsor of legislation that would foster development of offshore wind energy. He has voted to support the Paris Climate Accord and is also proud cosponsor of the landmark Green New Deal which would establish a framework for the United States to more effectively stop the effects of climate change. Bill enthusiastically led the designation of Paterson's Great Falls as a crown jewel unit of our National Park System, shepherding into law the Great Falls Historic District Study Act. Bill worked hand-in-hand with President Barack Obama to see that the Great Falls and its 30-acre surrounding area were recognized as the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

In health care, Bill has always supported the Affordable Care Act and has been tireless in protecting it against Republican efforts to revoke health care for millions of Americans and believes we must preserve and strengthen the law. And as the opioid crisis has ravaged our nation, Bill's Alternatives to Opioids in the Emergency Department Act was signed into law in 2018 to bring nationwide a successful preventative program to fight the epidemic.

As an ardent fighter on behalf of our military heroes, Bill secured a new Passaic County VA Outpatient Clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson. The community-based facility is the first of its kind in the Ninth District and serves the more than 30,000 veterans in our communities. The Congressman lobbied hard for the clinic, arguing that too often, VA hospitals and clinics such as those in Hackensack and East Orange, are overcrowded and unable to handle the volume of veterans in our communities needing care.

Bill is the longtime co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus where he uses his post to watch out for the interests of community police departments across America. Bill also serves as co-chair of the Italian-American Congressional Delegation. In addition to serving as a legislative branch liaison to the Republic of Italy, Bill's role ensures there is a strong voice to promote Italian-American history and culture in Congress.

As a child, Bill attended St. George's Elementary School in Paterson and graduated from St. John the Baptist High School. After earning two degrees from Fordham University (B.A. in Journalism, M.A. in Philosophy) in the Bronx, Bill worked as both a high school history teacher and an adjunct professor. Bill also served as president of the Paterson Board of Education and as a member of Passaic County Community College's Board of Trustees.

Bill served his country in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve and received an honorable discharge in 1967.

Bill joined the New Jersey General Assembly in 1988 in his first elected office, rising to become Minority Leader Pro Tempore. While serving in Trenton, Bill was elected mayor of Paterson, New Jersey's third largest city, in 1990.

Through the years, Bill has been widely recognized for his service and leadership by organizations including the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Department of New Jersey Jewish War Veterans, the New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars, the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association, the New Jersey State Fireman's Mutual Benevolent Association, Major County Sheriff's Association, the Brain Injury Association of America, and Ceasefire New Jersey, and the Disabled American Veterans Charity. In Congress, Bill is a member of the prestigious Democratic Steering and Policy Committee that guides his party's caucus.

Bill and his wife, the former Elsie Marie Botto, have three children and five grandchildren.