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Rep. Edolphus Towns
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Chairman Towns represents the 10th Congressional District of New York, encompassing the neighborhoods of East New York, Canarsie, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cypress Hills, Clinton Hill, Mill Basin, Midwood, downtown Brooklyn, Boreum Hill, as well as parts of Fort Green and Williamsburg.

Edolphus “Ed” Towns, a former social worker and community activist in Brooklyn, New York, is a 14-term veteran in the House. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Towns served on both the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. On December 10th 2008, Rep. Towns was elected chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the upcoming 111th Congress. Towns represents the 10th Congressional District of New York, encompassing the neighborhoods of East New York, Canarsie, Brownsville, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cypress Hills, Clinton Hill, Mill Basin, Midwood, downtown Brooklyn, Boreum Hill, as well as parts of Fort Greene and Williamsburg. This area brings together Brooklyn's diverse populace, including black, white, Hispanic, Caribbean, and Jewish residents. In the 110th Congress (2007–2009), Rep. Towns served as chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement. As chair, Rep. Towns held 22 hearings on important issues such as: poor performance and tax evasion by federal contractors, independence of Inspectors General, security of federal computer systems, and management of health care for 9/11 responders. Under his leadership, the Subcommittee advanced numerous Subcommittee bills, thirteen of which passed the House of Representatives. A member of Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee, the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, and the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, Rep. Towns enhanced consumers’ privacy protections on the Internet by introducing legislation to stabilize the nation’s trauma centers and bridge the digital divide. Among his key legislative accomplishments in the 110th Congress, Towns counts the following:

SIGNED INTO LAW: H.R. 3179, the Local Preparedness Acquisition Act, introduced by Rep. Towns, authorizes state and local governments to purchase homeland security and public safety equipment using the same pre-approved discount prices the federal government receives.

SIGNED INTO LAW: H.R. 3221, landmark housing legislation, which includes legislation introduced by Rep. Towns to keep Starrett City affordable for its tenants. Originally introduced by Towns as H.R. 5937, the Starrett City provision is unique because it is federal legislation that specifically benefits and targets one community.

SIGNED INTO LAW: H.R. 4137, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which includes legislation introduced by Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns to increase grant funding for minority serving institutions, which have faced significant shortages in funding for technology infrastructure.

This portion of the higher education reauthorization -- formerly introduced and passed in the House by Rep. Towns and Rep. Randy Forbes as H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act -- will provide up to $250 million in the first year and much more for the next four years in grants for minority serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) and Hispanic serving institutions.

SIGNED INTO LAW: H.R. 1454, the Student-Athlete Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act, introduced by Rep. Towns in the House, requires colleges and universities that offer federal financial assistance to student-athletes to provide information such as graduation rates of their athletes to prospective students in order to better inform them of their likelihood to graduate on time.

PASSED IN THE HOUSE: H.R. 5669, the Poison Center Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008, introduced by Rep. Towns, seeks to educate public and health care providers about poison prevention and the availability of poison control center resources in local communities.

PASSED IN THE HOUSE: H.R. 964, the Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act, introduced by Rep. Towns, which would improve services to citizens by protecting financial institutions and governmental departments from computer hacking.

Entering politics through his dedicated work in various civic associations, Rep. Towns has the distinction of being the first African American to serve as Deputy Brooklyn Borough President. Congressman Towns and his son, Darryl, a New York State Assemblyman, are the first African-American father-son team to serve simultaneously in New York public office. Towns is married to Gwendolyn (Forbes) Towns, and the couple has two children, Darryl and Deidra, and five grandchildren

Blog Entries by Rep. Edolphus Towns

Lessening the Burden of Student Loans

Posted August 5, 2011 | 11:59:04 (EST)

Hats off to the Huffington Post for launching its new Black Voices and recognizing the value of expanding participation in the public sphere. This platform will allow policymakers and others to reach audiences that rely more on digital sources. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to address...

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MMS' Failure Will Continue Without Real Reform

Posted July 30, 2010 | 17:46:06 (EST)

British Petroleum's (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the Gulf Coast more than 100 days ago and we have witnessed the devastation ever since. Oil has washed ashore from Texas to Florida and the lives of millions of Americans have been put on hold. The magnitude of the spill...

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Foreclosure Prevention: More Than a Government Solution

Posted June 28, 2010 | 12:12:08 (EST)

At the height of the recent economic collapse, the federal government stepped in with billions of taxpayer dollars to save the nation's largest financial institutions from going belly up. Today, the financial system is stabilizing, and some banks are even turning record profits. Sadly, the same cannot be said for...

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The 2010 Census: Steady Progress

Posted May 5, 2010 | 11:05:20 (EST)

The Decennial Census, a snapshot of America that began in March, will determine many important issues in our communities including apportionment of congressional seats and the allotment of Federal and State aid for vital services in our schools, senior centers and critical infrastructure projects. With billions of dollars at stake,...

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Setting the Record Straight About Antigua

Posted April 22, 2010 | 15:50:09 (EST)

Kevin Powell has opened his campaign for Congress claiming to be an effective agent for change. He presents evidence of his effectiveness as "[m]ost recently, I negotiated the release of six young Brooklynites unfairly detained in Antigua and Barbuda." Like most of his claims of leadership and effectiveness, Mr. Powell's...

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The Postal Service's Fiscal Crisis and Future Viability

Posted April 20, 2010 | 11:43:20 (EST)

For more than 200 years the United States Postal Service has connected Americans, facilitated commerce and provided good paying jobs for millions of Americans. As a result of postal workers' high level of service, the Postal Service has become one of the most trusted organizations in America. But the Postal...

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Why I Voted for Health Insurance Reform

Posted March 22, 2010 | 17:38:15 (EST)

Yesterday I joined a majority in Congress to pass historic health insurance reform legislation, H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act. We told 32 million Americans living without insurance that their fear of getting sick without coverage will soon be a thing of the past. We fulfilled...

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To Protect Taxpayer Dollars, Agencies Must Suspend and Debar Bad Government Contractors

Posted March 19, 2010 | 11:19:11 (EST)

This week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform continued its oversight of the Federal procurement system. We focused on the government's use of suspension and debarment, an effective tool, when implemented, for Federal agencies to ensure contractor performance. Federal agencies use suspension and debarment as the last line...

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Congress Must Act Now to Reform P2P Networks

Posted March 3, 2010 | 15:35:22 (EST)

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform began examining the dangers posed by open network peer-to-peer (P2P) software almost a decade ago. P2P was relatively new then and it offered both tremendous promise and unseen dangers. Since that time, we have been told of numerous security breaches as a...

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Congress Is Committed to Creating Jobs on Main Street

Posted December 22, 2009 | 15:26:25 (EST)

Across the nation, in our communities and neighborhoods, we are experiencing the effects of the economic downturn. Jobs have vanished at rates not seen since the Great Depression, and many know someone who lost their job as a result of the recession.

The Democratic Congress has been focused on...

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Are Bank Executives Really Stuck in the Fog?

Posted December 15, 2009 | 18:18:17 (EST)

President Obama held an important meeting yesterday with the top executives of the nation's largest banks. The president convened that meeting to urge these top bankers to increase lending which is an important part of our economic recovery. After being bailed out by American tax dollars last fall, the bankers,...

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Funding New Orleans Health Centers Must be a National Priority

Posted December 4, 2009 | 16:40:38 (EST)

It has been more than four years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region. As we all know, the health care infrastructure was particularly hard hit when Katrina flooded the city and surrounding parishes.

I chaired a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing this week to examine...

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AIG's Misguided TARP-Funded Bonuses

Posted October 27, 2009 | 15:06:50 (EST)

The American people were justifiably outraged when they learned earlier this year that American International Group (AIG) would pay $165 million in bonuses to executives at AIG's Financial Products Division (AIGFP), the very division that brought the company to its knees. The news came just months after taxpayer dollars funded...

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Credit Rating Agencies and the Next Financial Crisis

Posted October 19, 2009 | 11:01:10 (EST)

I recently chaired an Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the role credit rating agencies contributed to the financial crisis. Credit rating agencies play a powerful role in our economy and they played a starring role in the collapse of the financial system last year.

The main...

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Are We Ready for a Flu Pandemic?

Posted October 6, 2009 | 17:55:22 (EST)

With the height of the flu season quickly approaching and our children heading back into the classroom, I recently led a full Committee hearing to examine the Obama Administration's Flu Vaccine program. I wanted to hear from the individuals who are responsible for implementing the vaccine plan about its likely...

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Providing Parental Leave Benefits Invests in Federal Working Families

Posted June 5, 2009 | 16:52:01 (EST)

People are often surprised to learn that the federal government does not provide paid parental leave to its more than 1.8 million hard-working employees. Currently, when federal workers become new parents they are often forced to make the tough decision between staying home to care for their children without pay...

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