Biography provided by participant
On January 4, 2007 Frank Pallone, Jr. was officially sworn in for his tenth full term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pallone represents New Jersey’s Sixth Congressional District, which covers most of Middlesex County, as well as the Bayshore and oceanfront areas of Monmouth County, the township of Plainfield in Union County and Franklin in Somerset County.
In January 2007, Pallone was chosen by his colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee to chair the Subcommittee on Health. The subcommittee has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee. It oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction and all health care homeland security-related concerns.
Pallone was born on October 30, 1951, in Long Branch, New Jersey, where he grew up and where he still resides. The son of a policeman, Pallone attended the local public schools and earned an academic scholarship to Middlebury College. After graduating cum laude from Middlebury in 1973, Pallone received his master's degree in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He earned his law degree at Rutgers University in 1978, and has been admitted to the bar in four states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Pallone began his political career in his home city of Long Branch, getting elected to the City Council in 1982 and winning re-election four years later. In 1983, Pallone was elected to the state Senate, representing the Monmouth County coastline. He was re-elected in 1987. During his tenure in the state Legislature, Pallone distinguished himself as an advocate for environmental issues and senior citizen concerns, and made a major priority of providing constituent services.
On November 8, 1988, at the age of 37, Pallone was elected to the House of Representatives from New Jersey’s former Third District, encompassing parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties. In March 1992, a new Congressional district map for New Jersey was adopted. Portions of the former Third District were merged with parts of two other districts to create the Sixth Congressional District, taking in large portions of Middlesex and Monmouth counties. Pallone was first elected to the Sixth District seat in November 1992.
Pallone married the former Sarah Hospodor in 1992. They have three children, daughters Rose Marie and Celeste Teresa, and a son, Frank Andrew.
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., D-NJ. has no recent responses.
