Ellen O'Kane Tauscher

Ellen O'Kane Tauscher (November 15, 1951 – April 29, 2019) was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and Democratic Party politician who was the U.S. representative for California's 10th congressional district from 1997 to 2009. From 2009 to 2012, she served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. She then served as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense at the U.S. State Department.

While in Congress, Tauscher was a leading centrist Democrat, and the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives. She also served as vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Leadership Council from 2001 to 2005.

Early life and career

Ellen Tauscher was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of John E. O'Kane, a shop steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers union at a ShopRite store in Union City, and his wife Sally, a secretary for Marsh & McLennan in New York City. She graduated in 1974 from Seton Hall University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education.

She then worked as an investment banker with Bache & Co. and, at age 25, was the youngest and one of the first women to become a member of the New York Stock Exchange. She also served as an officer of the American Stock Exchange from 1979 to 1983, after which she worked for Bear Stearns and a subsidiary of Drexel Burnham Lambert.

In 1989, Tauscher moved to California and later founded the ChildCare Registry, the first national research service to help parents verify the background of childcare workers. She also published ''The ChildCare Sourcebook'' and headed the Tauscher Foundation, which provided funds for elementary schools to buy computers and Internet access.

Political career

Before running for the United States House of Representatives, Tauscher was active in Democratic circles as a fundraiser and also chaired Dianne Feinstein's successful 1992 and 1994 Senate campaigns.

In 1996, Tauscher was recruited to run against two-term Republican incumbent Bill Baker in California's 10th congressional district, which included several wealthy suburbs in the East Bay. During the campaign, Tauscher emphasized balancing the federal budget, her support for business, the environment, and the military. She also charged that Baker was too conservative for the district, particularly given his opposition to abortion and gun control. She narrowly defeated Baker, claiming victory by a margin of 1.45% of the vote. The race was ranked as the fourth most expensive of that year's 435 House races.

Tauscher was re-elected in 1998 and 2000 against vigorous Republican opposition. While the 10th district was once considered "solid Republican territory," most Bay Area Republicans tend to be more moderate than their counterparts in the rest of California and since the 1990s have been increasingly willing to support Democrats at the national level.

In 2000, during the statewide redistricting process, some of the more Republican-leaning parts of Tauscher's district were removed and replaced with more Democratic territory near Berkeley and in Solano County. She was subsequently re-elected to four more terms, facing no substantive opposition and receiving more than 65 percent of the vote after 2002.

In the House of Representatives, Tauscher served on the Armed Services Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. She chaired the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, which oversees the country's nuclear weapons stockpile, missile defense program, and the national labs. Tauscher was the only member of Congress who had two national labs in her district, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the California campus of Sandia National Laboratories. At the time she left Congress, Tauscher also was the senior member from California serving on the Highways and Transit subcommittee and the Aviation subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. From her position on the Transportation Committee, Tauscher brought $33 million to her district for transportation and infrastructure projects.

On March 18, 2009, President Obama nominated Tauscher to the position of Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 25, 2009, by unanimous consent. Notwithstanding her appointment, confirmation and acceptance, she served as Speaker Pro Tempore on June 26, 2009, when the House narrowly passed (219–212) a cap-and-trade global warming bill. Tauscher resigned her seat on June 26, 2009, after voting was finished on the American Clean Energy & Security Act. Her resignation necessitated a special election. Tauscher served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security until her appointment on February 6, 2012, as Special Envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense. Tauscher retired from the State Department on August 31, 2012.

As Under Secretary of State, Tauscher successfully negotiated the New START treaty with the Russian Federation in March 2010. The first major agreement signed with Russia in nearly 20 years, the treaty was signed by Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev on April 8, 2010, and ratified by the U.S. Senate on December 22, 2010. Tauscher represented the United States at the U.N. NPT review conference that is held every five years to review the status of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). The 2010 conference was the first in 10 years to result in an consensus agreement. Tauscher was also the lead official in the State Department working on the bilateral agreements with Poland, Romania, and Turkey for the European Phased Adaptive Approach missile defense system, negotiating timely agreements that allowed the President's deployment timeline to be met.

In 2008, Tauscher was a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton's candidacy for president. She traveled around the country as a surrogate for Clinton's campaign in the primary. In 2013, she was one of the first prominent elected officials to join the Ready for Hillary effort which became one of the largest independent grassroots efforts on behalf of an undeclared Presidential candidate in history.

Political views

A leading centrist Democrat, Tauscher was the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, a caucus of moderate Democrats in the House. She also served as vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Leadership Council from 2001 to 2005.

Tauscher received an 11% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, and a 95% rating for her 2008 voting record from Americans for Democratic Action.

While in Congress, she supported universal health care and, in particular, covering uninsured children through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). She also supported scaling back the estate tax, tightening bankruptcy rules, and expanding free trade.

Abortion

Tauscher was strongly pro-choice. She received a 100% positive rating from NARAL. She voted against bans on late-term and partial-birth abortions.

She also supported federal funding of stem cell research, voting in favor of both Stem Cell Research Enhancement Acts.

Gun rights

Tauscher was in favor of more extensive gun control. She expressed her support for the Second Amendment, but has also said that "we should keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those with history of violence." She called for "common sense gun safety legislation that strikes a balance between Second Amendment protections and protections for the public."

While in Congress, she supported arming commercial pilots, requiring background checks of legal gun owners, and banning Saturday night specials. She received an F rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.

Iraq war

In October 2002, Tauscher voted in favor of the Iraq Resolution

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