Eliminating Government Waste, Fraud, Abuse, and Corruption
Strong on National Defense
As Chair of the HASC Subcommittee on Military Personnel and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congresswoman Speier is committed to keeping the United States secure from terrorists and hostile nations and honoring and supporting our veterans, military servicemembers, and their families. That means ensuring that American troops have the right equipment to do their jobs and save taxpayers’ money by fighting for improved cyberdefenses and sound management practices at the Pentagon.
On these committees, and in her previous assignments, she has led numerous congressional investigations and hearings to protect the public by exposing a lack of oversight and enforcement of our laws and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). That includes violations of UCMJ’s codes of conduct for the use of nonconsensual pornography against servicemembers and wasting billions of taxpayers’ dollars on disastrous programs like the F-35 and LCS. She has passed numerous amendments through the National Defense Authorization process to reduce sexual violence within our military and aid survivors, address misconduct by senior officers, and increase transparency about how our wars are funded and fought.
Prior to Congress
The special election was called after Ryan was shot to death in Jonestown, at the compound of the People’s Temple, a cult in Guyana that had previously been based in Ryan’s District. Speier traveled with Ryan on that trip in 1978 in an attempt to rescue some of the cult’s 900 members. She was left nearly lifeless on the airport tarmac after being shot five times at point blank range with an assault rifle.
Speier underwent multiple surgeries after the tragedy and while recovering she realized she had a choice to make: Did she want to be a victim or did she want to be a survivor?
Speier chose to be a survivor, noting that “looking death in the face can make you fearless.”
Speier received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis and her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law. Along with her husband, Barry Dennis, and her children, Jackson and Stephanie, she is a proud fan of the San Francisco Giants, the Golden State Warriors, and a lover of all things California. She enjoys any activity that allows her to spend time with her family, including their much-loved puppy Emma.
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