Media contacts:

Hansen Clarke For Congress

2900 E. Jefferson Avenue
Ste. C4
Detroit, Michigan 48207
HansenClarkeForCongress@gmail.com

Biography

Congressman Hansen Clarke was elected to represent the 13th Congressional District of the United States House of Representatives in November 2010. The district covers Detroit from the eastside down to southwest, the Grosse Pointes, Harper Wood, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge, and Wyandotte. Congressman Clarke serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and as the Vice-President of the Democratic Freshman Class. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Before serving the citizens of Southeast Michigan in Congress, Hansen Clarke was elected three times to the Michigan House of Representatives and twice to the Michigan Senate.

Born and raised in Detroit, Hansen Clarke spent most of his life on the eastside. As the son of an African-American mother and Indian father, he was exposed to diverse experiences and ways of thinking. His mother, Thelma Clarke, was a school crossing guard, and his father, Mozaffar Ali Hashim, was a UAW member who worked in the Ford foundry. Hansen’s mother raised him as a single parent after his father died when Hansen was only eight years old.

Recognizing that her son had a gift for the arts, Thelma Clarke secured private lessons for Hansen at the Detroit Institute of Arts. After graduating from Cass Technical High School, he received an art scholarship to attend Cornell University. During his time at Cornell, Hansen’s mother passed away. He returned to Detroit to start a business, but fell on hard times. It was a job at a local school created by an act of Congress that helped restore his hope and allowed Hansen to go back to Cornell to complete his degree in fine arts. At Cornell, he was elected to the student seat on the University Board of Trustees by campaigning to help expand opportunities for minority students to attend.

After Cornell, Hansen Clarke attended Georgetown Law School, where he graduated with his Juris Doctorate. He then went to work for U.S. Representative John Conyers, serving as his Chief of Staff. Hansen also worked for then-Wayne County Executive Edward H.McNamara.

Congressman Clarke is married to Choi Palms-Cohen.

Congressional Committee Assignments

Committee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security
- Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
- Subcommittee on Research and Science Education

Caucus Memberships
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues
Congressional Art Caucus
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Congressional Bangladesh Caucus
Congressional Black Caucus
The Democratic Caucus
Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans
LBGT Equality Caucus
Northern Border Caucus
Congressional Prayer Caucus
Congressional Robotics Caucus
Smart Contracting Caucus
Congressional Social Worker
Congressional Steel Caucus
Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans

Sole-Sponsor Legislation

H.R.2890 : To expand homeland security at public water systems and treatment works by allowing the Secretary of Homeland Security to include these facilities in the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program.
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Transportation and Infrastructure
Latest Major Action: 9/20/2011 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.

H.R.2920 : Detroit Jobs Trust Fund Act
Committees: House Ways and Means; House Oversight and Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 10/3/2011 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform.

H.R.3462 : To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make tuition payments for veterans enrolled in institutions of higher learning who are receiving assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program by not later than the tuition due date for the quarter, semester, or term.
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 12/6/2011 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

H.R.4170 : Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012
Committees: House Education and the Workforce; House Foreign Affairs; House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 3/29/2012 Referred to House subcommittee.
Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

H.R.4308 : To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to provide growth and stability funding for the city of Detroit.
Committees: House Oversight and Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 3/29/2012 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

H.RES.331 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should immediately reassess the United States mission in Afghanistan and redirect funding to strengthen homeland security, to create jobs, and to reduce the Federal deficit and debt.
Committees: House Armed Services; House Foreign Affairs
Latest Major Action: 6/24/2011 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

H.RES.365 : Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should cut the United States’ true debt burden by reducing home mortgage balances, forgiving student loans, and bringing down overall personal debt.
Committees: House Financial Services; House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: 7/22/2011 Referred to House committee.
Status: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

H.AMDT.370 to H.R.2017  : Amendment strikes the proviso that limits the Urban Areas Security Initiative to the top 10 urban areas by risk.
Latest Major Action: 6/2/2011 House amendment agreed to.
Status: On agreeing to the Clarke (MI) amendment (A022) Agreed to by recorded vote: 273 – 150 (Roll no. 389).

H.AMDT.426 to H.R.2112 : Amendment increases funding for the Women, Infants and Children Farmers Market Nutrition Program by $5 million offset by a reduction in the Departmental Administration account by a similar amount.
Latest Major Action: 6/14/2011 House amendment agreed to.
Status: On agreeing to the Clarke (MI) amendment (A008) Agreed to by voice vote.