113th Congress: Jared Huffman, D-Calif. (2nd District)

By Carolyn Phenicie, CQ Staff

Jared Huffman, who served on the Marin County Municipal Water District Board and worked as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, plans to maintain his concentration on environmental issues when he arrives on Capitol Hill.

He wants to focus in particular on coastal protection — the Bay Area district has one of the longest coastlines in the country — and the clean energy economy, ideally as a member of the Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce committees.

“The intersection between job creation and economic growth and environmental sustainability is where I like to focus,” he says.

Huffman, a liberal who calls himself “more of a policy person than a politics person,” plans to join the Progressive Caucus. According to his campaign website, he supports allowing the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans to expire, cutting military spending and is “firmly” pro-abortion rights.

He says he believes his years in the California Assembly, where he gained experience as both a legislator and an overseer, will prove beneficial during his time in Congress.

“I’ve certainly encountered partisan dysfunction and gridlock,” he says, but “I also know that Congress is a whole new arena with new and different challenges.”

Huffman also was a member of the 1987 world-champion U.S. volleyball team.