Senator Dianne Feinstein
- A biography -

Senator Dianne Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992 with the most votes cast for a Senator in U.S. history. She is the first woman to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is the ranking member of the Technology and Terrorism Subcommittee and a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence.

On these panels, Senator Feinstein is working on a wide range of legislation to fight terrorism and improve our homeland security. She has also sponsored and won passage of bills to improve our visa and border security system and prevent biological pathogens from falling into the wrong hands.

On the Intelligence Committee, she helps oversee our nation's intelligence and counter-terrorism programs and receives frequent classified briefings on top-secret intelligence matters involving the war on terrorism and international crises such as Iraq and North Korea.

She also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee where she is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, and is a member of the Rules and Administration Committee.

In 2001, Senator Feinstein became a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where she has worked on measures to help solve California's electricity crisis and ensure against future crises; protect California's natural resources; and restore California's water ecosystem and provide adequate water for the future.

As California's senior Senator, Dianne Feinstein has built a reputation as an independent voice, working with both Democrats and Republicans to find common-sense solutions to the problems facing our State and our Nation.

A leader in the battle against cancer, she co-chairs the Senate Cancer Coalition and is Vice-Chair of the National Dialogue on Cancer, with former President George Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush. In this regard, Senator Feinstein has introduced the National Cancer Act, legislation to create a new comprehensive national battle plan to modernize and re-energize the nation's war on cancer.

Other noteworthy accomplishments by Senator Feinstein include:

• The Assault Weapons Ban - Won one of the toughest battles of her career with passage of this measure in 1994 to prohibit the manufacture and sale of 19 types of military-style assault weapons.
  
  
• California Desert Protection Act - Protected more than 7 million acres of pristine California desert -- the largest such designation in the history of the continental United States -- and established the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and the East Mojave Natural Preserve.
  
  
• Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act - Has raised more than $30 million for breast cancer research to date through the creation of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp, the first such postal stamp dedicated to raising funds to fight a disease.
  

• The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act - Enacted in 2000, this measure preserves and restores this treasured natural resource by authorizing $300 million in federal funds over 10 years to match investments by the States of California and Nevada and local authorities and help reverse the environmental emergency that threatens the future of the lake and forest.
  

• Headwaters Forest Agreement -- Obtained funding and brokered agreement to save the "Headwaters Forest," a 7,500 acre national treasure and the largest privately held stand of uncut old-growth redwoods. The agreement also helped preserve 12 additional groves of ancient redwood trees and provided strong protections for the endangered marbled murrelet and coho salmon.



• San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds - Negotiated purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds from Cargill along the San Francisco Bay - the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history. As part of the unprecedented public-private partnership, Senator Feinstein asked for and received $35 million from the Goldman Fund and the Hewlett, Moore and Packard Foundations.
  

Senator Feinstein was first elected in 1992 to fill the remaining two years of then-Senator Pete Wilson's term when he resigned to become California's governor. In 1994, she was elected to her first full six-year term in the Senate and was reelected on November 7, 2000 to her second full six-year term.

A native of San Francisco, Senator Feinstein was appointed by California Governor Pat Brown to the women's parole board in 1960 at age 27. In 1969, she was elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, where she served 2.5 terms as President of the Board.

She became Mayor of San Francisco in November 1978 following the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, where she immediately demonstrated a steadiness and command that calmed the city during that turbulent time.

The following year she was elected to the first of two four-year terms. As the City's first woman Mayor, Dianne Feinstein managed the City's finances with a firm hand, balancing nine budgets in a row. In 1987, City and State Magazine named her the nation's "Most Effective Mayor."

For further information on Senator Feinstein, her accomplishments, her legislative priorities, or on obtaining constituent services from her office, please go to her website at http://feinstein.senate.gov .