Torres, Norma, 1965-

<p>Norma Judith Torres, (née Barillas /ˈtɒrɛs/; born April 4, 1965) is an American politician. She is a member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 35th congressional district. Previously, she was a member of the California State Senate representing the 35th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.</p>

<p>Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas in Guatemala. 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.</p>

<p>Torres worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, and in 1994 led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators. She was an active member of AFSCME, serving as local 3090's shop steward. 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 before Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, and was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention. 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 in Maryland in 2012.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Norma J. Torres represents California's 35th Congressional District in the Inland Empire which includes Bloomington, Chino, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, and Rialto. She previously served as a State Senator, Assembly Member, and as a Mayor and Council Member in the City of Pomona. Throughout her career in elected office, she has worked to make government more responsive to the needs of Inland Empire residents.</p>

<p>As State Senator, Torres played a significant role in making the Affordable Care Act work for California’s patients and consumers. Her law to diversify the Covered California Board so that it would be better prepared to enroll the uninsured, earned her statewide recognition and national attention. As Chair of the Committee on Housing and Community Development, she led an effort that secured $2 billion in federal funds for the “Keep Your Home California” program, which helped thousands of families keep their homes during the foreclosure crisis. Fighting crime and making sure public safety systems are responsive to the needs of the community has been a lifelong priority for Torres. As a former 9-1-1 dispatcher, she drew on her expertise to author a law that modernized the 9-1-1 system—resulting in a system that now routes cell phone callers to their local police department, rather than a statewide hotline, during an emergency.</p>

<p>Now on her third term in Congress, Torres currently serves on the powerful House Appropriations and Rules Committees. The Appropriations Committee is responsible for appropriating all federal spending, domestic and abroad. As a member of the Rules Committee, she helps determine the consideration of all legislation on the House floor.</p>

TORRES, Norma Judith, a Representative from California; born in Escuintla, Guatemala, 1965; graduated from Mountain View High School, El Monte, Calif., 1983; attended Mount Saint Antonio College, Walnut, Calif., 1999-2000; attended Rio Hondo College, Whittier, Calif.; B.A., National Labor College, Silver Spring, Md., 2012; emergency 9-1-1 dispatcher; sales representative; member of Pomona, Calif., city council, 2000-2006; Mayor of Pomona, Calif., 2006-2008; member of the California state assembly, 2008-2013; member of the California state senate, 2013-2014; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Fourteenth and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2015-present).