Capuano to Give Breakfast Talk to Somerville Chamber of Commerce

The following was provided by the Somerville Chamber of Commerce. For more information and for tickets to the talk—$25 for members, $30 for non-members—contact Stephen Mackey at (617) 776-4100 or smackey@somervillechamber.org

Michael Everett Capuano is serving his seventh term as a Representative in Congress for Massachusetts' Eighth District, which includes Cambridge, Chelsea, Somerville and approximately 70% of Boston. He is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Financial Services. In November 2006, Mike was appointed to head the Transition by then Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi as Democrats prepared for a majority role in the 110th Congress. In January 2007, Speaker Pelosi appointed Mike to chair the Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement. In March 2008, a resolution establishing an Office of Congressional Ethics was passed, involving non-Members of the House in ethics matters for the first time in history. 

On the local level, as Massachusetts' only Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, he fought to protect Massachusetts' share of federal transportation dollars. Through his efforts, Massachusetts received more than $5 billion over six years. As a Member of the Financial Services Committee, Mike succeeded in providing assistance for the development of new intergenerational housing for grandparents raising their grandchildren and he significantly expanded the number of Massachusetts citizens eligible for affordable home loans. 

On the national level, moved by the story of a young man forced out of school and into hiding after telling authorities of a crime he witnessed, Mike filed the "Young Witness Assistance Act" to create a grant program at the Department of Justice for locally developed juvenile witness assistance initiatives. Mike also succeeded in passing a law to require Medicare coverage for vision rehabilitation services. These services help restore safety and independence to seniors who suffer from vision loss. 

On the international level, Mike co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on Sudan. He has emerged as a leading Congressional voice, fighting the ongoing atrocities and genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. He even secured an additional $50 million in funding for the African Union Mission in Sudan. 

Mike was the Mayor of Somerville (1990-1998). He graduated from Somerville High School, received a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College in 1973, and a law degree from Boston College Law School in 1977. He passed the Massachusetts Bar in 1977.   Mike is married to Barbara Teebagy Capuano.