Skip to main content
Image
Photo of hearing room

Meet the Ranking Member

Image
Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr.

This Congress, Frank Pallone, Jr. is serving his 18th full term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Pallone represents New Jersey's 6th Congressional District, which covers most of Middlesex County, as well as the Bayshore and oceanfront areas of Monmouth County.

Pallone is the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is the oldest continuous standing committee in the House and has one of the broadest jurisdictions of any congressional committee.  The Committee’s jurisdiction includes, but is not limited to, issues pertaining to health care, energy, environment, commerce, food and drug safety, consumer protection, and communications and technology.  Pallone has held a seat on the Committee since 1993.  He previously served as Chairman from 2019-2022 when Democrats controlled the House and before that as the Committee’s Ranking Member from 2015-2018. 

During the 117th Congress (2021-2022), as Chairman, Pallone was a leader in the fight to pass the Inflation Reduction Act—the most significant climate law in our nation’s history.  The law includes unprecedented investments in clean energy, methane pollution reduction, and environmental justice that will help protect our communities, create jobs, and lower energy costs for American families.  The law will also lower prescription drug and health care costs for millions of Americans, while finally empowering Medicare to negotiate the cost of lifesaving prescription drugs for seniors, something Pallone has championed for years.  

Image
Congressional Democrats with President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act

Pallone was also instrumental in the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that invests in America’s electric grid and electric vehicle deployments, replaces lead water service pipes, and deploys affordable broadband to all corners of the country.  It also tackles dangerous PFAS chemicals and funds Superfund and brownfield cleanups.  In addition, he also helped usher into law the CHIPS and Science Act to bolster our economy and boost our domestic manufacturing industry.

In the fiscal year 2023 omnibus, Pallone fought for the inclusion of legislation that strengthened, expanded, and established more than 30 critical mental health and substance use disorder programs.  It also provides the Food and Drug Administration with the tools and resources it needs to oversee the cosmetics industry, which Pallone first proposed over a decade ago.  He also successfully pushed for provisions to provide continuous coverage for children and new mothers through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

In 2021, as the nation fought to recover from the unprecedented public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pallone helped lead the passage of the American Rescue Plan to ramp up distribution of lifesaving vaccines, expand access to affordable health care coverage, and keep Americans’ lights on and connected to the internet for students, parents and teachers at home.

During the 116th Congress (2019-2020), as the nation initially confronted the unprecedented public health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting severe economic downturn, then-Chairman Pallone played a pivotal role in passing legislation through Congress that provided the resources Americans desperately needed to combat the pandemic, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Pallone also authored bipartisan legislation that was enacted to protect Americans by ending surprise medical bills, reducing and blocking robocalls, and replacing suspect foreign communications network equipment.  Pallone successfully ushered into law critical legislation to combat climate change by phasing down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons, mandating the repair of methane leaks, and marching toward a clean energy future.

During the 115th Congress (2017-2018), as Ranking Member, Pallone fought to prevent Republicans from repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), led efforts to pass bipartisan legislation for expanded opioid use disorder treatment, and helped reauthorize the Safe Drinking Water Act for the first time in 20 years.

In his first term as Ranking Member during the 114th Congress (2015-2016), Pallone led Democrats in passing key health care and environmental bills that were signed into law by President Obama, including the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, the  Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, and the 21st Century Cures Act.

From 2007 to 2014, Pallone served as the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Health.  In 2010, as Subcommittee Chairman, Pallone played a key role in authoring and passing the ACA.

Pallone was born and raised in Long Branch, New Jersey, where he still resides.  He is a graduate of Middlebury College, holds a master's degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and earned his law degree at Rutgers University.  Pallone married his wife Sarah in 1992.  They have three children: Rose, Celeste, and Frank, and daughter-in-law Karin.