29 Facts About Henry Waxman

Henry Arnold Waxman was born on September 12,1939 and is an American politician who served as a US representative from California from 1975 to 2015.

Henry Waxman's district included much of the western part of the city of Los Angeles, as well as West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills, and was numbered the 24th district from 1975 to 1993, the 29th district from 1993 to 2003, and the 30th district from 2003 to 2013, changing because of redistricting after the 1990,2000, and 2010 censuses.

Henry Waxman now serves as chairman at Waxman Strategies, a DC-based communications and lobbying firm, working on health care, environmental, energy, technology, financial services, labor, and telecommunications issues.

Henry Waxman served as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2007 to 2009, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce from 2009 to 2011, and was the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2011 until 2015.

On January 30,2014, Henry Waxman announced he would not seek re-election to a 21st term in 2014.

Henry Waxman was born to a Jewish household in Los Angeles, California, the son of Esther and Ralph Louis Henry Waxman.

Henry Waxman's father was born in Montreal, Canada; his mother was from Pennsylvania.

Henry Waxman attended college at UCLA, earning a bachelor's degree in political science in 1961 and a JD degree from UCLA School of Law in 1964.

Henry Waxman was elected to the California State Assembly in 1968, and served three terms.

Henry Waxman gave up his state assembly seat to run for the district, which had been re-numbered from the 19th to the 24th in a mid-decade redistricting.

Henry Waxman won the Democratic nomination for the district, and easily won the general election, as this was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic district.

Henry Waxman was re-elected 17 times, with no substantive opposition.

Henry Waxman faced no major-party opposition in 1986, and was completely unopposed in 2008.

In 1994, Henry Waxman forced the chief executives of the seven major tobacco companies to swear under oath that nicotine was not addictive.

Henry Waxman was the committee's ranking Democrat from 1997 to 2007.

Henry Waxman has harshly criticized the Republicans for ignoring their "constitutional responsibility" to conduct oversight over the government.

Henry Waxman had already let it be known that he wanted to investigate Halliburton, as well as its alleged malfeasance related to government contracts in Iraq.

However, Henry Waxman told Newsweek that he is interested in accountability and not retaliation.

Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming once described Henry Waxman as being 'tougher than a boiled owl.

Henry Waxman is proud of his "strong Jewish identity" and has drawn political conclusions from his exploration of the religion.

Henry Waxman said he applies Jewish ethical values to his congressional service.

Henry Waxman was strongly critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.

In 1985, Henry Waxman sponsored a bill supported by affluent homeowners groups in his district to ban federal funding for the Red Line subway after a methane gas explosion in the Fairfax District.

In 2005, a robust real estate market, multi-dwelling construction boom, and lack of public mass transit planning on the westside caused by Henry Waxman's bill resulted in gridlock throughout Henry Waxman's district.

In October 2005, the panel decided that tunneling was possible, and on December 16, Henry Waxman responded by announcing he would introduce a bill to the US House that would lift the ban on federal money for subway tunneling in the district.

Henry Waxman maintains that the 1985 bill was sponsored in the interest of public safety and not, as some allege, to hinder access of the working classes in South and East Los Angeles to his affluent district.

Henry Waxman responded, saying he had no involvement in the selection of the loan.

Once hailed in the media as a "lobbyist's worst nightmare," Henry Waxman himself became a successful and influential lobbyist when he opened his own firm after retiring from Congress.

In 2021, Henry Waxman was praised by television host Bill Maher on his HBO Talk Show Series Real Time With Bill Maher.