Bio of Congressman Lacy Clay

Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri’s 1st Congressional District in November of 2000. He is currently seeking his fourth term. As the St. Louis region’s senior Member of Congress, Mr. Clay is a progressive advocate for vital issues affecting working families.

Wm. Lacy Clay currently serves on the powerful Financial Services Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over insurance, banking, capital markets, consumer credit and investment firms; and the Government Reform Committee, which has expansive oversight responsibilities for all operations of the federal government.

Congressman Clay is a fierce defender of your voting rights. He is leading the effort for honest, effective election reform. Mr. Clay is urging election authorities in all jurisdictions to make certain that new optical reader and electronic voting machines produce a verifiable paper record to ensure that every ballot is counted and reported accurately. He also strongly supports the reauthorization of the landmark Voting Rights Act.

Mr. Clay is also working to expand voter registration and to improve voter education. In Congress and in the State of Missouri, Congressman Clay strongly opposes any procedural obstacles that would make it harder for minorities, the disabled, low-income voters, seniors and rural voters to take part in the democratic process.

In Washington, Congressman Clay is one of our nation’s foremost advocates for helping minorities and low-income families create wealth by becoming homeowners. He is also cosponsoring legislation that would crack down on predatory lending and has just introduced legislation that would transform healthcare information technology. Congressman Clay is also working with educators to include financial literacy as part of their primary and secondary school curriculums.

Prior to his election to federal office, Mr. Clay proudly served 17 years in both chambers of the Missouri legislature. Among his most notable accomplishments were passage of Missouri’s Hate Crimes Law and a landmark educational package that led to the settlement of the 27-year school desegregation controversy in the St. Louis Public Schools.

As a State Senator, Mr. Clay also gained national prominence when he stood up to threats from the Ku Klux Klan to pass a bill that named a portion of Interstate 55 in honor of civil rights pioneer, Rosa Parks.

Mr. Clay is a graduate of the University of Maryland and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He also holds Honorary Doctorate of Laws degrees from Harris-Stowe University and Lincoln University.

The Congressman is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Progressive Caucus and also serves on the boards of directors of the William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Congressman Clay is a native St. Louisan. He and his wife, Ivie, are the proud parents of Carol (14) and Will (7). Wm. Lacy Clay’s father, former Congressman Bill Clay, was the first African American ever elected to Congress from Missouri. He served for 32 years and was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Clays are long-time members of St. Nicholas’ Catholic Church.

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