Steny Hoyer, U.S Representative, Maryland (5th District)

In Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer is a tireless fighter for economic development and a leader in creating jobs. He has helped create and save nearly 23,000 jobs by supporting federal facilities and associated businesses located in and around the Fifth District, including NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the FDA at White Oak, and the future NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park.
He also fights to protect our natural resources. In addition to supporting every major piece of environmental legislation while in Congress, he has co-sponsored numerous bills to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, including the “Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act.” He secured more than $10 million in the 1990s to respond to Pfiesteria and to study its effects on humans; helped secure more than $400 million in the 2008 Farm Bill to enable farmers to implement environmental best practices and reduce runoff into the Chesapeake Bay; and championed the efforts to replenish the declining oyster population of the Bay and to restore the Potomac, Patuxent and St. Mary’s rivers.
Congressman Hoyer works to meet the transportation needs of his constituents by securing funding to maintain and improve local roads, commuter bus systems, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). He also works to keep local communities and the Washington region safe by fighting to fully fund Community Oriented Policing Services, the Assistance for Firefighters Grant Program, and upgrades for first responders’ communications systems.
Congressman Hoyer is also dedicated to outstanding constituent service. At offices in Washington, D.C., Greenbelt, and Waldorf, he and his staff help constituents cut through red tape and solve problems related to passports, immigration, government services, and a host of other issues.
A Record of Achievement
In Congress, Steny Hoyer has built an outstanding record of achievement and earned a reputation as an effective leader and an able legislator. In the 111th Congress, his skill at consensus-building helped the House pass important legislation to strengthen our economy and bring health coverage to an additional 4 million low-income children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. He remains a leading voice in Congress for fiscal responsibility and a government that pays for what it buys. Additionally, through the Make It In America plan he launched in 2010, Congressman Hoyer has spearheaded efforts to invest in creating new opportunities for businesses, workers, and families in Maryland and across the country.
Congressman Hoyer shepherded the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to overwhelming approval in the House in 1990. This landmark civil rights legislation, signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, has helped millions of disabled Americans enter the workforce, achieve independence, and go as far as their talents take them. In 2008, Congressman Hoyer also led the effort to pass the ADA Amendments Act, which allows millions of Americans with disabilities to benefit from the ADA’s original intent of inclusion.
Congressman Hoyer also gained wide acclaim for guiding the Help America Vote Act to House passage and for producing a House-Senate Conference Report that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 29, 2002. Washington Post columnist David Broder called this comprehensive election reform legislation “the most significant piece of election law since [the] Voting Rights Act.”
In addition, Congressman Hoyer drafted and helped secure passage of the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA). FEPCA, which was signed into law in November 1990, was a major effort to restructure the pay system for Federal employees, which attempts to ensure fairness in pay and comparability to similar work outside the Federal government.
Congressman Hoyer also is a widely respected voice on foreign policy and international affairs. As the former Chair and Ranking Democrat on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission), he championed the cause of human rights, individual freedoms, democracy and religious liberties throughout the world. He called for decisive U.S. and NATO action to stop the carnage throughout the former Yugoslavia and condemned the repressive tactics of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Even before the September 11th terror attacks, Congressman Hoyer recognized the danger posed by the Taliban’s regime. He also has taken a very active role in urging international action to stop the genocide in Sudan, and in April 2007 led a Congressional delegation to Darfur. On May 21, 2009, Denmark honored Congressman Hoyer by making him a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.
A staunch advocate for supporting America’s democratic allies abroad, Congressman Hoyer has been a steadfast supporter for aiding Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Congressman Hoyer has also worked tirelessly to strengthen the crucial U.S.-Israel relationship throughout his career in Congress, visiting the country twenty times over the year. He has sought to maintain Congress’ overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel – especially in the wake of the brutal Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Through his committee assignments and leadership positions, Congressman Hoyer has aggressively advocated for his Fifth District constituents. As a member of the Appropriations Committee from the time he took office until he entered the Congressional leadership, Congressman Hoyer has secured funding for numerous important projects in Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, and St. Mary’s counties and throughout the State of Maryland. He also has worked to ensure that the military bases in the Fifth District not only survived base closings but grew and thrived.
On the Transportation, Treasury and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Hoyer became widely recognized as a national leader on issues affecting Federal employees and retirees. In addition to guiding FEPCA to passage, he fights year in and year out for fair pay and benefits for Federal employees, and he has secured funding for telecommuting centers that save money and reduce traffic congestion.
He also has been a strong proponent of Federal law enforcement efforts that fall within the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction, securing funding for innovative crime-fighting projects such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, Gang Resistance Education and Treatment Program, and the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative. In addition, he is a long-time supporter of the COPS on the Beat Program, which has meant more than $30 million in Federal funding to hire an additional 700 police officers in the Fifth District.
On the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Congressman Hoyer championed education and funding for the Class Size Reduction Initiative, Head Start, and teacher training programs. He has also been an advocate for increased funding for childhood immunization and for full-service community schools, which provide a range of important services for students, especially in early childhood years.
Congressman Hoyer is well-recognized for his efforts to make the House more efficient and “customer friendly.” As the former Ranking Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, which oversees the internal operations of the House, he played an important role on policy issues ranging from election reform and campaign finance reform to enhancing the security of the Capitol complex in the aftermath of September 11.
Since 2009, Congressman Hoyer has led Team Maryland in its effort to bring the FBI’s new consolidated headquarters to Prince George’s County. In November 2023, the General Service Administration announced that it selected Greenbelt, Maryland, as the site for the state-of-the-art facility – the culmination of Congressman Hoyer’s 14 years of work on the project. Now, Congressman Hoyer is working to get the project fully funded.
Leadership in Congress
Congressman Hoyer is the most senior member of the House Democratic Caucus, serving the House of Representatives for more than forty-two years. In that time, he has held various leadership positions, including Majority Leader – the second highest ranking member of Democratic House leadership. He served as House Majority Leader between 2007 and 2011 and again between 2019 and 2023. Additionally, Congressman Hoyer served as House Democratic Whip first from 2003 to 2007 and later from 2013 to 2019. Prior to serving as Whip, Congressman Hoyer was the Chair of the Democratic Caucus – the fourth-ranking position among House Democrats – from 1989 to 1995. He is also a former Co-Chair of the Democratic Steering Committee and served as the chief candidate recruiter for House Democrats from 1995 to 2000. Congressman Hoyer also served as Deputy Majority Whip from 1987 to 1989. On June 4, 2007, he became the longest-serving Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland in history.
Today, as Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, Congressman Hoyer continues to play a crucial role in shaping House Democrats’ legislative priorities, communicating their plans to the American people, and implementing the historic laws they passed in the 117th Congress. Additionally, Congressman Hoyer serves as the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.
A Commitment to Public Service and the Fifth Congressional District
Congressman Hoyer attended Suitland High School in Prince George’s County. In 1963, he graduated with high honors from the University of Maryland, selected “Outstanding Male Graduate” that year. In 1966, he received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. That same year, at the age of 27, he won a seat in the Maryland Senate.
In 1975, he was elected President of the Senate, the youngest ever in state history, and served in that body until 1978. He was a member of the State Board of Higher Education from 1978 to 1981, the year in which he came to Congress after winning a special election.