LEGISLATIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD
Bob Filner
U.S. Representative, 51st Congressional District
Congressman Bob Filner represents California’s 51st Congressional District, one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the nation. Congressman Filner’s district encompasses southern San Diego County and all of Imperial County, including the entire California/Mexico border. He is California’s Border Congressman.
Congressman Filner has been an active member of our community for more than four decades. He taught history at San Diego State University for more than 20 years. He was the President of the San Diego Board of Education and served on the San Diego City Council for five years. In 1991, he served as Deputy Mayor of the city of San Diego. He was first elected to Congress in 1992, and has been re-elected by wide margins every two years.
In January 2007, Congressman Filner became Chairman of the House of Representatives Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He has achieved a national reputation for his work on behalf of our nation’s veterans, both current veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and more elderly veterans from the Vietnam and Korean wars and World War II. He led the fight to restore honor and benefits to the Filipino veterans and merchant mariners of World War II.
During his years in Congress, Congressman Filner has also served on the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He has fought for federal funding for border infrastructure. He has been an advocate of improved U.S./Mexico relations, quality education, protection of the environment and universal health care.
Congressman Filner has sponsored a number of critical legislative bills for law enforcement. In the most recent session, he brought two bills to the floor in H.R. 324 and H.R. 327. The former would give U.S. Department of Defense police officers the authority to execute warrants, make arrests and carry firearms. The latter is the Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act, which would give all federal officers the same pay and retirement.
