Norma Judith Torres (née Barillas ; born April 4, 1965) is an American politician. She is a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

California's 35th congressional district California's 35th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. The district is currently represented by . The district is based in the Inland Empire, including the communities of Chino, Eastvale, Fontana, Montclai ...

. Previously, she was a member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

representing the

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

. When she was five, she and her uncle came to the United States; her mother died a year later. She originally arrived on a tourist visa, but became a legal resident in her teens and gained citizenship in 1992. Torres worked as a

9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...

dispatcher, and in 1994 led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators. She was an active member of

AFSCME The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

, serving as local 3090's

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

. She served on the Pomona city council before being elected the city's mayor in 2006. In 2008, Torres endorsed then-presidential candidate

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

before

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

withdrew from the race, and was a

superdelegate In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...

to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2008, filling the vacancy left by former legislator Nell Soto, who retired. She earned her bachelor's degree in labor studies from the now defunct

National Labor College The National Labor College was a college for union members and their families, union leaders and union staff in Silver Spring, Maryland. Established as a training center by the AFL–CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizin ...

in Maryland in 2012.

U.S. House of Representatives

Torres was elected to the U.S. House of Representative for

in 2014, defeating Christina Gagnier (D) with 63.5% of the vote. She was reelected in 2016, defeating Tyler Fischella (R) with 72.4% of the vote. In 2018, Torres received 69.4% of the vote to defeat Christian Valiente (R), and in 2020, she defeated Republican Mark Cargile with 69.3%. After being reelected to the House in November 2022, Torres accused President Nayib Bukele of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

of interfering in her race. Bukele had urged voters to oppose Torres.

Committee assignments

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Com ...

** Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies ** Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs ** Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government *

United States House Committee on Rules The Committee on Rules, or more commonly, the Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other commit ...

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Congressional Hispanic Caucus The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fou ...

* Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus

Political positions

Abortion

As of 2022, Torres has a 100% rating from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access t ...

and an F rating from the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

for her abortion-related voting record. She opposed the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'', calling it "devastating" and saying it set back "our country decades, reversing so many years of hard-fought progress" for women.

Big Tech

In 2022, Torres was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the

Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 The Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021 (MFFMA) is a proposed antitrust bill in the United States Congress. The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Amy Klobuchar ( D- MN) and Chuck Grassley ( R- IA) as S. 228 on February 4, 2021. C ...

, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

Personal life

Torres is married to Louis Torres. They live in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyt ...

. They have three children, all sons, including Robert Torres, a Pomona City Council member.

References

External links

Congresswoman Norma Torres
official U.S. House website
Norma Torres for Congress
campaign website * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Norma 1965 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Guatemalan descent California city council members Democratic Party California state senators Dispatchers Female members of the United States House of Representatives Guatemalan emigrants to the United States Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Los Angeles Police Department officers Mayors of places in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California National Labor College people People from Escuintla Department People from Pomona, California People with acquired American citizenship Women state legislators in California Women mayors of places in California