1. Grace Meng is an American lawyer and politician serving as the US representative for New York's 6th congressional district since 2013.
19 Facts About Grace Meng
1. 2.
Grace Meng is the first Asian American elected to the United States Congress from New York.
3.
Grace Meng was born to a Taiwanese American family on October 1,1975, in Queens, New York, and was raised in the Bayside and Flushing sections of that borough.
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Grace Meng is of waishengren Taiwanese descent, and is the daughter of Jimmy Meng, the first Asian to serve in the New York State Assembly, and Shiao-Mei Meng.
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Grace Meng attended Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School and Stuyvesant High School with the intent to become a teacher, according to a classmate.
6.
Grace Meng was arrested for wire fraud during an FBI sting investigation.
7.
Grace Meng served one term and decided against seeking reelection in 2006.
8.
Grace Meng ran for Assembly to succeed her father, but was taken off the ballot when Democrat Ellen Young challenged her residency status.
9.
Jimmy Grace Meng later pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a bribery scheme.
10.
Grace Meng was the author of the Reverse Mortgage Act of 2009 that prohibited proceeds received from reverse mortgages from being considered as income, so senior citizens can get their partial property tax exemption.
11.
Grace Meng is a member of the Vote Blue Coalition, a progressive group and federal PAC created to support Democrats in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through voter outreach and mobilization efforts.
12.
In June 2012, Grace Meng faced fellow Assembly member Rory Lancman and New York City Council member Elizabeth Crowley in a primary election for New York's 6th congressional district and won.
13.
Grace Meng's district includes the Queens neighborhoods of Auburndale, Bayside, Briarwood, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Rego Park.
14.
In 2015, Grace Meng opposed the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action supported by President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.
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In July 2019, Grace Meng reintroduced the Community College Student Success Act to improve graduation rates at under-resourced public community colleges to have the necessary funding to develop and implement support services for their low-income and minority students.
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Grace Meng was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
17.
Grace Meng voted in favor of three military aid package supplementals for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan respectively in April 2024, along with most Democrats.
18.
Grace Meng married Wayne Kye, a Korean American dentist and assistant professor at NYU, in June 2005.
19.
In November 2013, Grace Meng was robbed and assaulted by a purse-snatcher in the Eastern Market area of Washington, DC She suffered injuries to her head, left knee, hand, and face, and was treated at George Washington University hospital.