Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1982 from New York's 11th Congressional District, Representative Owens is a member of the vitally necessary Education and the Workforce Committee, which guides all federal involvement in education, job training, labor law, employee safety and pensions, programs for the aging and people with disabilities, and equal employment opportunities. Representative Owens also serves on the Government Reform Committee.


As Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee for Workforce Protections, Representative Owens has led the fight for minimum wage increases, blocked the attempt to eliminate cash payments for overtime, confronted the steam rolling attempt to repeal Davis-Bacon, defeated the conspiracy to dismantle the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and spearheaded the fight against legislation designed to gag labor unions.


As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Education and Civil Rights for six years, Representative Owens' record for passing legislation was second only in New York to Adam Clayton Powell. As Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Haiti, he led the successful three-year fight which restored the democratically elected President.


Representative Owens has had previous high achievement careers as a public library Community Coordinator, a Community Action Executive, a New York City Commissioner, a Columbia University Professor, and a New York State Senator.

Blog Entries by Major R. Owens

The Olympics of the Swindles

5 Comments | Posted October 28, 2008 | 06:14 PM (EST)


The Savings and Loan debacle was a mere trial run

The poor are once more the targets of rabid demonization: "Sub-Prime mortgages have caused the current collapse of the Western economic infrastructure." Failure to repay mortgages on small homes sold to working class families is being blamed for the loss...

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The Ghosts of Greed Resurrected: Bailout Pirates Raid the US Treasury Again

Posted July 22, 2008 | 12:33 PM (EST)


As I predicted in my December 7, '07 Huffington blog the plot to bail out the greedy mortgage banks was in the legal racketeering incubator. It has now come to pass. The high finance schemers are now demanding an escalation beyond the 30 billion dollars doled out for Bear...

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A Peace Surge in the First 100 Days

Posted July 15, 2008 | 03:53 PM (EST)


Ending combat in Iraq is only step one.

The newly elected President of the United States must deliver for restless young voters by launching a "Peace Surge" in his first 100 days. There is no need to force the youth of America to wait for visible change. Structures are...

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Blue Dogs Are Now Silver Foxes

Posted June 17, 2008 | 03:44 PM (EST)


We can do it! Change can happen if Congress does not ambush the movement. First, we must secure some strong leashes to hold back the Blue Dogs. They have just commandeered a five-year authorization for a $307 billion farm subsidy bill.

While the nation was appropriately preoccupied with the...

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Males Deserve To Be Better Understood

5 Comments | Posted March 24, 2008 | 03:39 PM (EST)


The recent bombshell exposure of Governor Eliott Spitzer has shocked even the most sophisticated and cynical among us. But sometime ago, while reading reports of the investigations of the systemic abuse of young boys by clergymen, observing those cases where the powers of sex invaded the ranks of the high...

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Lusting Males Invented Poetry

Posted February 14, 2008 | 02:55 PM (EST)


In this year of frantic politics it is appropriate that we pause to remember the rewards we enjoy when we fight to create a better world. Let's celebrate Valentine's Day.

Excerpts From The Play: The Viagra Monologues (by Major R. Owens):

Voice 1:

At the Olympics...

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Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Have a Grand Opportunity

Posted February 12, 2008 | 06:33 PM (EST)


They have nothing to fear but their own timidity. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) who now enjoy unprecedented positions of power in the democratically-controlled Congress will suffer no losses regardless of the presidential candidate they choose to support.

Worries about revenge and reprisals should be locked...

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Hillary Must Rescue Herself from the DLC

Posted January 16, 2008 | 02:27 PM (EST)


Victim abuse by outsiders is not the cause of Hillary's weeping. The primary reason for great lamenting is the fact that Senator Clinton is a captive of her own Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).

Women are not always the automatic underdogs. Eve played an equal opportunity role in the...

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Black Orphans of the Beltway

Posted January 4, 2008 | 01:04 PM (EST)


It is clear that some shocking truths have been exposed by the introduction of transparency into the earmarking appropriations process. Following the Party's usual pattern of taking Blacks for granted, House Democrats treat Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members like orphans. A few favored ones are allowed to feast at the...

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Charlie Wilson vs Osama bin Laden

Posted January 2, 2008 | 10:40 AM (EST)


The movie Charlie Wilson's War is good light hearted entertainment which can also trigger a serious discussion about a pivotal and painful event in recent history. It is based on a book which records the true story, a sober, almost unbelievable account of one man's power to earmark billions of...

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The Black Caucus Loses a Pillar of Strength

Posted December 17, 2007 | 06:07 PM (EST)


Congresswoman Julia Carson's (Dem-Indiana) recent death is the second unfortunate loss experienced by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) during this 110th Congress. Congresswoman Juanita Millender McDonald (Dem-California), who also was a victim of cancer, passed earlier this year and has been replaced by Congresswoman Linda Richardson (Dem-California). Among the many...

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Lesson II: Checks on Beef and Pork Abuses

Posted December 12, 2007 | 07:49 PM (EST)


Earmarks can be good for democracy. This is the first lesson we must not forget. But our second lesson must focus on the need to check routine abuses.

Instead of spending 41 billion dollars for obscure pet projects, a 'Constituent Choice" earmarking program spending only ten dollars per...

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Lesson I: Earmarks Can Be Good for Democracy

Posted December 10, 2007 | 03:27 PM (EST)


Specifically targeted allocations of public dollars in New York State are called "member items." In New Jersey they are called "Christmas tree items." Throughout the nation many labels are assigned and often the packages are left nameless in order to mask their existence. But these jewels in beef or pork...

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Crime Does Pay -- For Government-Chartered Banks

Posted December 7, 2007 | 05:25 PM (EST)


Taxpayers beware! A bi-partisan plot to bail out the mortgage greedy banks is in the legal racketeering incubator. Remember the rescue of the Savings and Loans Bank swindles that has already cost the U.S. Treasury more than a trillion dollars. (Try to get an exact figure and you'll be...

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A Leash of Decency for the Blue Dogs

Posted November 26, 2007 | 04:52 PM (EST)


The Sunday, November 25th Washington Post editorial poses a vital question for taxpayers: "Is limiting federal subsidies to farmers with incomes over $750,000 dollars unreasonable?" It is a commentary on the latest farm subsidy and loans proposed legislative raid on the treasury. The well-targeted editorial argument ends with...

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The Deadliest Dog Fights Are in Washington, DC

Posted August 8, 2007 | 04:47 PM (EST)


We all love dogs. But Atlanta Falcon Quarterback Michael Vick is the recipient of a bloated share of pundit indignation and is wolfing down more than the fifteen minutes of media infamy that he deserves.

Who let the most heartless dogs out?

Which dogs should we growl most...

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D-Day is Off The Table

Posted July 27, 2007 | 05:16 PM (EST)


"There will be no invasion of Normandy. Such an action might distract from the overall war effort."

Impeachment is off the table. Ordinary House Members will not be exposed to the opportunity to become the "Greatest Generation" of legislators.

In June 1944, upon hearing that the Americans would not try...

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The Impeachment Imperative

Posted June 11, 2007 | 10:41 AM (EST)


Achtung! Troops now hear this! Bush war-extension victory not a total loss. Check the vote count! Waters-Woolsey freshmen "No" votes outnumber Emanuel freshmen "Yes" votes. Public troop
loyalty lag still a problem. Danger of a Lieberman coalition (hardcore Republicans and confused Democrats) counterattack very real. Impeachment second front...

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Congressional Black Caucus Budget: A Compass for the Congress

Posted April 22, 2007 | 10:26 PM (EST)


The annual House of Representatives budget ceremony is over. But it was not exactly a routine exercise and some features merit further monitoring. Of great importance this year is the fact that the alternative budget offered by the Congressional Black Caucus cannot be patronizingly dismissed as the idealistic but...

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The Farm Subsidy Ripoff: A Test for the CBC

Posted March 16, 2007 | 10:52 AM (EST)


It is budget time in the Congress. Democrats must lead with their response to the President's budget proposals. Other groupings such as the Republican Conference, the Blue Dog Coalition and the Congressional Black Caucus are allowed to offer alternative budgets. High on the agenda is a debate on the farm...

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