29 Facts About Connie Morella

Constance Morella is an American politician and diplomat.

Connie Morella represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2003.

Connie Morella served as Permanent Representative from the US to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development from 2003 to 2007.

Connie Morella was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Connie Morella became a secondary school teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland from 1957 to 1961.

Connie Morella continued to teach until 1985, when she left teaching to fully focus on her political career.

In 1971 Connie Morella was appointed as a founding member to the Montgomery County Commission for Women, an advisory women's advocacy body, and she was elected its president in 1973.

Connie Morella became active in the League of Women Voters.

Connie Morella ran again in 1978, winning the seat and receiving more votes than the three previous incumbents.

Connie Morella was reelected for an additional term, before running for United States Congress.

In 1986, Connie Morella ran for the open Congressional seat in Maryland's 8th congressional district.

Connie Morella was the first woman to hold this seat.

Connie Morella opposes her party's positions on abortion, gun control, gay rights, and the environmental movement, voted for government funding of contraceptives and needle exchange programs for drug addicts, and favored the legalization of medical marijuana.

Connie Morella received some support from organized labor and opposed many tax cuts.

Connie Morella voted against President Clinton's 1993 budget, as all other Congressional Republicans did.

Connie Morella voted against declaring English the official language of the United States and, in 1996, against a bill overwhelmingly approved by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton to combat illegal immigration.

In 1996, Connie Morella was one of only five Republicans to vote against the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act.

Connie Morella was the only Republican in the entire Congress to have voted against approving the use of military force in Iraq in 1991 and again in 2002.

Connie Morella was active in human rights, women's health, and domestic violence issues in Congress, and served on the Science and Government Reform Committees.

Connie Morella came under greater pressure after her party took control of the House in 1994 Congressional elections.

Connie Morella did not openly challenge the new House leadership until 1997 when she voted "present" for Speaker of the House instead of for the incumbent, Newt Gingrich.

Connie Morella tried to portray herself as giving her district a place at the table, but over time, Morella's Democratic opponents claimed that a vote for Morella was a vote to keep Tom DeLay and other Republicans unpopular to district voters in power.

One proposal went so far as to divide her district in two, effectively giving one to State Senator Chris Van Hollen and forcing Connie Morella to run against popular Delegate and Kennedy political family member Mark Shriver.

In 2013, Morella signed an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v Perry case.

Connie Morella publicly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2020 US Presidential election, over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.

Connie Morella is an honorary board member of the National Organization of Italian American Women who declared Morella a Feminina Excelente.

Connie Morella officially served as Ambassador from August 1,2003 to August 6,2007.

Connie Morella has received honorary doctorates from American University, 1988; Norwich University, 1989; Dickinson College, 1989; Mt.

Connie Morella received the Foremother Award by The National Center for Health Research in 2008.