34 Facts About Kathleen Rice

Kathleen Maura Rice was born on February 15,1965 and is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2023.

On January 29,2014, Kathleen Rice announced that she would run for Congress in New York's 4th congressional district to replace retiring Democratic incumbent Carolyn McCarthy.

Kathleen Rice defeated Republican nominee Bruce Blakeman on November 4,2014, and took office in January 2015.

On February 15,2022, Kathleen Rice announced that she would retire at the end of her term.

Kathleen Rice was born in Manhattan, New York, to Laurence and Christine Kathleen Rice.

Kathleen Rice grew up in Garden City, on Long Island, as one of 10 siblings.

In 1992 Rice began her career as an assistant district attorney in the Kings County District Attorney's Office, under District Attorney Charles J Hynes.

In 1999, Kathleen Rice was appointed assistant United States Attorney in Philadelphia by then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

Kathleen Rice was elected Nassau County District Attorney in 2005, winning by 7,500 votes to become the first woman to hold the position.

Kathleen Rice defeated 30-year incumbent Denis E Dillon, who had generally won reelection easily, even after switching his affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 1989.

Kathleen Rice was the first serious opponent Dillon had faced since his first run in 1974.

In 2006, Kathleen Rice declared her first major policy initiative to be an "assault on the drunk driving epidemic".

Kathleen Rice lowered the blood-alcohol level at which plea bargains were offered, supported Leandra's Law, and charged a man with murder after a 2005 accident that killed a limo driver and a child.

In September 2011, Kathleen Rice's office arrested seven students after uncovering an SAT cheating ring on Long Island.

When this case led to the discovery of a wider-spread cheating scandal, Kathleen Rice worked with the College Board, which administers the test, to update security standards to halt cheating in the future.

Kathleen Rice has received credit for teen education programs geared toward cyberbullying, drug use, texting and dangerous driving.

In 2008, following the trampling death of a Walmart employee at one of its Black Friday sales events, Kathleen Rice encouraged Walmart to upgrade its security protocols at its nearly 100 New York stores.

In 2012, Kathleen Rice came out in favor of decriminalizing small amounts of "plain view" marijuana.

Kathleen Rice has supported efforts to allow some citizens to seal prior low-level, non-violent convictions in the hopes of improving their chances of obtaining employment.

Kathleen Rice implemented gun buyback programs in some of the county's most crime-plagued areas, which removed more than 2,000 guns from the streets.

Kathleen Rice spoke out in favor of then-Governor Cuomo's gun control legislation and created the office's first ever gun prosecution unit.

In 2011 Kathleen Rice announced a major prosecution of nine gun dealers and gun store employees police arrested in an undercover operation investigating alleged illegal assault weapons.

Kathleen Rice was previously arrested on firearms-related violations in 2007.

Kathleen Rice was among those named in that suit, but has largely escaped attention for starting her career in an office in which prosecutors are alleged to have put some innocent people behind bars with coerced confessions, bogus witness statements, coached lineup identifications and other tactics.

Kathleen Rice charged these defendants with crimes ranging from attempted murder of a police officer to assault and robbery to gun and drug sales.

In July 2013, Cuomo appointed Kathleen Rice to be one of three co-chairs of the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption.

Kathleen Rice formed Nassau's first-ever Medicaid and public assistance fraud unit, which has since secured millions of dollars in restitution for Nassau taxpayers.

In July 2013, Kathleen Rice was inducted as president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.

Kathleen Rice was one of three House Democrats on the Energy Committee to vote against a provision that would lower prescription drug prices.

In 2022, Kathleen Rice criticized Democratic groups aiding far-right GOP primary candidates to make for easier opponents in November.

In 2005, Kathleen Rice returned to Nassau County and declared her candidacy for District Attorney on the Democratic line.

In 2009, Kathleen Rice was challenged by law clerk Joy Watson.

In May 2010, Kathleen Rice announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for New York State Attorney General.

In 2013, Kathleen Rice was challenged by Law Secretary Howard Sturim.