Hoyer, Steny H. (Steny Hamilton), 1939-

<p>Steny Hamilton Hoyer (/ˈstɛni ˈhɔɪ.ər/ STENN-ee HOY-ər; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as U.S. Representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981 and as House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat, he was first elected in a special election on May 19, 1981, and is currently serving in his 20th term. The district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland Congressional delegation and the most senior Democrat in the House.</p>

<p>Since 2003, Hoyer has been the second ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives behind Nancy Pelosi. He is a two-time House Majority Leader, having previously served in the post from 2007 to 2011 under Speaker Pelosi. During two periods of Republican House control (2003–2007 and 2011–2019), Hoyer served as House Minority Whip, both times under Minority Leader Pelosi. As a result of the 2018 midterm elections, in which the Democrats took control of the House, Hoyer was re-elected Majority Leader in January 2019 on the opening of the 116th Congress, remaining the number two House Democrat behind Speaker Pelosi.</p>

<p>In the Fifth Congressional District, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer is a tireless fighter for economic development and a leader in creating jobs. He has helped create and save nearly 23,000 jobs by supporting federal facilities and associated businesses located in and around the Fifth District, including NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head, the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the FDA at White Oak, and the future NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park.</p>

<p>He also works hard to protect our natural resources. In addition to supporting every major piece of environmental legislation while in Congress, he has co-sponsored numerous bills to protect the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, including the "Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act.” He secured more than $10 million in the 1990s to respond to Pfiesteria and to study its effects on humans; helped secure more than $400 million in the 2008 Farm Bill to enable farmers to implement environmental best practices and reduce runoff into the Chesapeake Bay; and championed the efforts to replenish the declining oyster population of the Bay and to restore the Potomac, Patuxent and St. Mary's rivers.</p>

<p>Congressman Hoyer works to meet the transportation needs of his constituents by securing funding to maintain and improve local roads, commuter bus systems, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). He also works to keep local communities and the Washington region safe by fighting to fully fund Community Oriented Policing Services, the Assistance for Firefighters Grant Program, and upgrades for first responders’ communications systems.</p>

HOYER, Steny Hamilton, a Representative from Maryland; born in New York City, N.Y., June 14, 1939; graduated from Suitland High School, Suitland, Md., 1957; B.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 1963; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., 1966; lawyer, private practice; member of the Maryland state senate, 1966-1979, and president, 1975-1979; member of the Maryland state board for higher education, 1978-1981; Delegate to Democratic National Conventions, 1968, 1974, 1976, and 1984; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-seventh Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy created by H. Res. 80, which declared United States Representative Gladys Noon Spellman's seat vacant due to an incapacitating illness, and reelected to the twenty succeeding Congresses (May 19, 1981-present); chairman, House Democratic Caucus (One Hundred First through One Hundred Third Congresses); minority whip (One Hundred Eighth, One Hundred Ninth, and One Hundred Twelfth through One Hundred Fifteenth Congresses); majority leader (One Hundred Tenth, One Hundred Eleventh, One Hundred Sixteenth, and One Hundred Seventeenth Congresses).