Bill Delahunt

William D. "Bill" Delahunt is the representative, in the U.S. House of Representatives, for the Tenth Congressional District, made up of Cape Cod, the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as Boston's economically diverse South Shore. He is a Democrat. First elected in 1996, he has been reelected five times; he had no opponent in 2008.

House Committee on Foreign Affairs
He serves as a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight His committee conducts oversight of key aspects of the Bush Administration’s foreign policy. Its jurisdiction includes oversight of the State Department, foreign aid and export assistance programs, arms control, democracy promotion and policies towards the United Nations and its affiliated organizations. The panel also has jurisdiction over policies that promote human rights and international cooperation. Delahunt is also a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. On this panel, Delahunt has worked to improve diplomatic relations throughout Latin America and to reverse the declining image of the United States in the region. In recent years Delahunt negotiated an agreement to cut the cost of home hearing oil delivered from Venezuela to low income families in the northeast. He has also led efforts to reassess policies created to promote democracy in the region, including travel restrictions imposed on Americans who seek to travel to Cuba.

Judiciary
As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Representative Delahunt brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor – and lifelong commitment to safeguarding civil rights – to the federal arena. As a District Attorney, his innovative approach included developing the first prosecutorial unit focused on domestic violence in the United States, and prototype programs to combat violence against women that became models for prosecutors nationally and abroad.

Rep. Delahunt also serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Coast Guard Caucus; House Older Americans Caucus; and the Congressional Working Group on Cuba. Rep Delahunt has championed a diverse range of legislative priorities from streamlining international adoptions to minimizing wrongful convictions.

Activities in the District
Closer to home, Delahunt is helping the redevelopment of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, working to expand marine transportation services, and promoting economic development in areas such as renewable energy, “bio-fuels” and ocean technology. He is a strong booster of heritage tourism, wetlands restoration, and a fierce defender of the region’s ocean sanctuaries and a fierce defender of the region’s ocean sanctuaries and National Parks.

On Cape Cod, he led efforts to clean up the Massachusetts Military Reservation and the establishment of the 15,000 acre Upper Cape Water Supply Reserve to protect Cape Cod’s water supplies. He also worked to save the base during the last round of BRAC and is helping to make it a regional center for homeland security. Delahunt has also secured funds to expand the region’s public transportation system and bike trails while helping local health care clinics, including establishment of a new primary care center on the Cape and Islands for veterans. Representing a coastal district, he has actively sought ways to promote collaboration and “consensus” between environmental and economic interests – such as, creating an innovative whale-safe gear program for local fisherman.

Personal
A 1963 graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, Mr. Delahunt later went on to earn a law degree from Boston College in 1967. He served from 1963 to 1971 in the Coast Guard Reserve. The Congressman is the son of the late Ruth and Bill Delahunt Sr., a sales manager. He is a lifelong resident of Quincy, and the exceedingly proud father of Kirstin and Kara.