United States Congressman, Republican Nominee for New York State Governor
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Video is available one week after the event date
New York City Series
Moderator:
Shelly Banjo
NY Bureau Chief, Bloomberg
Congressman Lee Zeldin grew up in Suffolk County, New York, where he graduated from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach.
Congressman Zeldin graduated from the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY) and then Albany Law School, becoming New York's youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.
After completing the Army ROTC program, Congressman Zeldin served four years on Active Duty. During that time, he served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor and Military Magistrate. While assigned to the Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division, in the summer of 2006, Congressman Zeldin was deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following his service on active duty, in 2007, Congressman Zeldin transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel.
In 2008, Congressman Zeldin opened a successful law practice in Smithtown, New York, which he operated full time until he was elected to the New York State Senate in 2010, representing New York's 3rd Senate District. As a State Senator, Congressman Zeldin led the successful effort to repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, a job killing tax that was hurting New York's small businesses. He also created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Program, a peer to peer counseling program for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI); the program started in Suffolk County and quickly expanded across the state. Congressman Zeldin also successfully fought to repeal the Saltwater Fishing License Fee; a victory for tens of thousands of fishermen on Long Island.
In 2014, following four years in the State Senate, Congressman Zeldin was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York's First Congressional District.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Representative Zeldin has continued to secure important victories for his district. He has championed the successful effort to save Plum Island, steered a $2 billion Electron Ion Collider (EIC) to Brookhaven National Lab (BNL), and ushered into law his Adult Day Health Care Act to aid veterans who are 70% of more disabled and his bill to safeguard veterans' homeownership opportunities. Congressman Zeldin also secured a new veterans health care clinic on the East End of Long Island, saved a vital communications spectrum for local first responders, helped lead the effort to permanently reauthorize the Zadroga Act and Victim Compensation Fund for 9/11 first responders and their families, and advanced several vital Army Corps projects for his district, including the over $1 billion Fire Island to Montauk Point (FIMP) project.
His office has also successfully resolved over 15,000 cases in favor of NY-1 constituents. Congressman Zeldin serves on two Committees in the House of Representatives: Financial Services and Foreign Affairs, where he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Additionally, Congressman Zeldin serves as co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus and founding member of the National Estuary Program Caucus and as one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, also serves as co-chairman of the House Republican Israel Caucus, which has over 100 members, and has been a stalwart opponent of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, coleading a House passed resolution (H.Res.246) to combat it.
Congressman Zeldin resides in his hometown of Shirley with his wife, Diana, and their twin daughters, Mikayla and Arianna.
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