Brendan Francis Boyle (born February 6, 1977) is an American politician serving as a
Democratic member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, representing a district in the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
area since 2015. He represented the
13th district from 2015 to 2019, serving much of
northeast Philadelphia and most of suburban
Montgomery County. Since 2019, he has represented the
2nd district, which includes the northeastern fourth of Philadelphia. He was previously a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the
170th district from 2009 to 2015.
Early life and education
Boyle is the elder of two sons. His father, Francis (Frank), is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrant who came to the United States in 1970 from
Glencolmcille
''Gleann Cholm Cille'', anglicised as Glencolumbkille or Glencolmcille, is a small district on the Atlantic coast of southwest County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Named after Saint Colm Cille (Columba), it is also a ...
, a district in the south-west of
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...
in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
, Ireland, and works as a janitor for the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). His late mother, Eileen, was the child of Irish immigrants from
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the an ...
; she worked as a
Philadelphia School District crossing guard for over 20 years.
Boyle was born and raised in the
Olney neighborhood of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. He attended
Cardinal Dougherty High School before receiving an academic scholarship to the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1999, completing the Hesburgh Program in Public Service. After working for several years as a consultant with the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
, including
Naval Sea Systems Command, he attended graduate school at
Harvard Kennedy School, where he earned a
Master of Public Policy
The Master of Public Policy (MPP), is one of several public policy degrees. An MPP is a master's-level professional degree that provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focu ...
.
[Brendan Boyle biodata](_blank)
voteboyle.com; accessed November 9, 2014.
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Elections
On November 4, 2008, Boyle defeated Republican Matthew Taubenberger, son of
2007 mayoral candidate Al Taubenberger, by a margin of 15,442 (59.2%) to 10,632 (40.8%) to win the election to succeed George T. Kenney,
[Pennsylvania election returns](_blank)
(2008); accessed November 9, 2014. becoming the first Democrat ever elected to represent the
170th district.
On November 2, 2010, Boyle won re-election, defeating Republican Marc Collazzo by a margin of 64% to 36%.
In the 2012 election cycle, Boyle ran unopposed and was selected as Chairman of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus.
Boyle ran unopposed in the 2014 election cycle and resigned his seat on January 2, 2015, prior to being sworn in as a member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. He was succeeded by
Martina White.
Tenure
As a state lawmaker, Boyle's focus was on greater educational access, healthcare and greater economic equality.
As the first member of his family to attend college, he prioritized greater access to higher education. During his first term in office, he introduced the REACH Scholarship program, which would offer tuition-free public college for qualifying Pennsylvania students.
He fought cuts to public K-12 and higher education funding, and supported greater investment in infrastructure, voting in 2013 for legislation (passed into law as Act 89) that provided the first comprehensive transportation funding overhaul in Pennsylvania in nearly 20 years, providing several billion dollars in new funds for roads, bridges and mass transit. He also founded the Eastern Montgomery County-Northeast Philadelphia Legislative Alliance, a group of local and state lawmakers who work across Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County on issues affecting both regions.
Boyle was a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus during his first term in office, voting in favor of legislation in 2009 prohibiting discrimination of LGBT Pennsylvanians in work, housing and other areas the only time it passed out of committee. In 2014, he introduced legislation to amend Pennsylvania's hate crimes statutes to include crimes perpetrated based on sexual orientation.
Boyle also introduced legislation in 2011 to make
genocide education a required part of Pennsylvania public school curricula, legislation that was eventually passed into law in 2014. In 2013, he introduced legislation to expand access to school counseling services, which resulted in him being selected as recipient of the 2013 Pennsylvania School Counselor Association's "Legislator of the Year" award. In 2014, he introduced the SAFER PA Act, which required timely testing of DNA evidence kits and that backlogged and untested evidence be reported to the state. It would also require that authorities notify victims or surviving family when DNA testing is completed. The SAFER PA Act was reintroduced and signed into law by Governor
Tom Wolf in 2015.
Committee assignments
*Appropriations
*Insurance
*Labor Relations
*Liquor Control
*Policy
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2014
In April 2013, Boyle announced his candidacy for
Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district, which stretched from
Montgomery County to northeast Philadelphia. The incumbent five-term Democrat,
Allyson Schwartz, gave up the seat to run for Governor. Boyle had the support of nearly 30 labor unions across the Philadelphia region.
Boyle ran against former Congresswoman
Marjorie Margolies, then state Senator
Daylin Leach and current Montgomery County Commissioner
Valerie Arkoosh for the Democratic nomination. Despite Margolies entering the race with a 32-point lead over Boyle in early polling, and having the endorsement of former President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, as well as support from former Pennsylvania Governor
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...
and Congressman and Philadelphia Democratic Chair
Bob Brady
Robert A. Brady (born April 7, 1945) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2019. He was the ranking Democrat and Chairman of the United States House Committee on House Administration from 2007 to 20 ...
, in the 2014 Democratic primary Boyle defeated Margolies with 41% of the vote, with Margolies receiving 27%.
He went on to win the seat in the general election on November 4, 2014, defeating Republican Carson "Dee" Adcock with 67% of the vote.
2016
No Republican or other party candidate filed to run against Boyle in 2016, so he was re-elected unopposed.
2018
The
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
imposed a new map for
Pennsylvania's congressional districts in February 2018. Boyle then announced that he would run for re-election in the new 2nd district. This district had previously been the
1st district, represented by retiring fellow Democrat
Bob Brady
Robert A. Brady (born April 7, 1945) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2019. He was the ranking Democrat and Chairman of the United States House Committee on House Administration from 2007 to 20 ...
. However, the new 2nd absorbed all of the Philadelphia portion of the old 13th, including Boyle's home. PoliticsPA rated Boyle's district as not vulnerable (a safe seat).
2020
In the 2020 general election, Boyle won a fourth term over Republican challenger David Torres.
2022
Tenure
As a member of Congress, Boyle has prioritized legislative measures to address national income inequality, while expanding access to healthcare and education. He has supported legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $12.00 an hour, as well as measures to revise the way Social Security benefits are calculated to protect seniors from seeing their benefits reduced over time.
Boyle has been outspoken about the need to protect American jobs. After
Mondelez International
Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual revenue of about $26 billion and operates in ...
announced that it would close a Philadelphia factory, Boyle announced his support for the
Oreo Boycott by appearing with a poster featuring an Oreo cookie red circle and line through it, accompanied by the message, "Say no to Oreo,"
[ After highlighting the American layoffs, Boyle noted that CEO Rosenfeld received a pay increase.]
Along with Congressman Marc Veasey
Marc Allison Veasey (born January 3, 1971) is an American politician serving as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 33rd congressional district. From 2005 to 2013, he was a member of the Texas House of Representat ...
of Texas, Boyle is co-founder and chair of the Blue Collar Caucus, which aims to promote discussion and develop legislation to help "addressing wage stagnation, job insecurity, trade, offshoring, and dwindling career opportunities for those in the manufacturing and building trades."
Boyle filed the Standardizing Testing and Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act, or shortened to the acronym Stable Genius Act, in 2018. The measure would imply "nominees of each political party to file a report with the Federal Election Commission certifying that he or she underwent a medical exam by the Secretary of the Navy" - containing the exam's results.
Boyle is also the sponsor of H.R. 6094: To prohibit lifting of United States sanctions imposed with respect to North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
.
On education, he joined other Members of Congress to urge House leaders to get federal money to Philadelphia's ailing schools.
Boyle was one of the first members of Congress to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign, doing so the day Biden declared his candidacy in 2019.
Boyle was selected as one of seventeen speakers to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention
The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...
.
In 2021 Boyle introduced in the Congress a draft of a non-binding resolution H.Res. 741 with an official title: ''"Expressing support for the designation of the month of September 2022 as "Macedonian American Heritage Month" and celebrating the Macedonian language, history, and culture of Macedonian Americans
Macedonian Americans ( mk, Македонски Американци, Makedonski Amerikanci) are Americans of ethnic Macedonian heritage.
History Review
Macedonian national feelings had shifted throughout the 20th century. According to the ''H ...
and their incredible contributions to the United States."'' The resolution claims ahistorically that the first ''Macedonian immigrants'' reached the territory of today's United States in 1492, practically before Columbus even discovered America. That caused the critical reaction of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization which has sent an address to the US Congress on who Macedonian Bulgarians are, insisting the first Macedonian Slavic immigrants moved to the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while identifying themselves as Bulgarians, at least until the middle of the 20th century.
Ratings
Boyle has received the following ratings from advocacy organizations:
* Human Rights Campaign: 100%
* League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
: 100%
* Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 100%
* American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
: 88%
* The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: B
* United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...
: 58%
* FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representat ...
: 5%
Committee assignments
* Committee on Ways and Means
* Budget Committee
Caucus memberships
* Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
* Climate Solutions Caucus
*Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cau ...
*New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters.
As of ...
* Medicare for All Caucus
* Blue Collar Caucus (Chair)
Personal life
Brendan is married to Jennifer, a Montgomery County public school teacher; the couple have one child named Abigail and reside in the Somerton Somerton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Somerton, New South Wales
* Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb
** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach
* Somerton, Victoria ...
neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia.
His brother Kevin
Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ).
The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
serves as a representative of Pennsylvania's 172nd House district, having been elected in 2010 by defeating former Speaker of the House John M. Perzel. Brendan and Kevin were the first brothers to serve simultaneously in the Pennsylvania House.
Boyle also serves as a part-time faculty member at Drexel University's Center for Public Policy, teaching courses in policy and campaign management.
Awards and honors
In August 2008, Boyle was named "one of top 10 rising stars" in politics by the ''Philadelphia Daily News''.
In 2011, the Aspen Institute chose Boyle as one of its Rodel Fellows, a program that "seeks to enhance our democracy by identifying and bringing together the nation's most promising young political leaders."
References
External links
Congressman Brendan Boyle
official U.S. House website
Brendan Boyle for Congress
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Brendan
1977 births
21st-century American politicians
American people of Irish descent
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Living people
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Politicians from Philadelphia
University of Notre Dame alumni