Tammy Duckworth

Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician who has been the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district since 2013. A Democrat, she is the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress in Illinois, the first disabled woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand.

Duckworth previously served as Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from April 24, 2009 to June 30, 2011, and as the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs from November 21, 2006 to February 8, 2009.

An Iraq War veteran, Duckworth served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and suffered severe combat wounds, losing both of her legs and damaging her right arm. She was the first female double amputee from the war. She continues to serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard along with her husband, Major Bryan W. Bowlsbey, a signal officer and fellow Iraq War veteran.

Early life, education, and military service
Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, to Frank and Lamai Duckworth. Her American father, who died in 2005, was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who traced his family's roots in America back to before the Revolutionary War; her mother, a native of Thailand, is of Chinese ancestry. Because of her father's work with the United Nations and international companies, the family moved around Southeast Asia. Duckworth became fluent in Thai and Indonesian, in addition to English.

The family settled in Hawaii when she was sixteen. Duckworth attended Singapore American School, and for a few months in her senior year was at the International School Bangkok, from which former Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner also graduated. She graduated with honors from McKinley High School in 1985, after skipping the ninth grade. She graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, and received a Master of Arts in international affairs from George Washington University.

Following in the footsteps of her father and ancestors, who served in the Revolutionary War, World War II, and the Vietnam War, Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps as a graduate student at George Washington University in 1990. She became a commissioned officer in the United States Army Reserve in 1992 and chose to fly helicopters because it was one of the few combat jobs open to women. As a member of the Army Reserve, she went to flight school and entered in the Illinois Army National Guard in 1996.

Duckworth was working towards a PhD in political science at Northern Illinois University, with research interests in the political economy and public health in southeast Asia, when she was deployed to Iraq in 2004. She lost her right leg near the hip and her left leg below the knee from injuries sustained on November 12, 2004, when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents. She is the first female double amputee from the Iraq war. The explosion "almost completely destroyed her right arm, breaking it in three places and tearing tissue from the back side of it." Duckworth received a Purple Heart on December 3 and was promoted to Major on December 21 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she was presented with an Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal.

Duckworth also worked as a staff supervisor at Rotary International headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

Post-military career
Duckworth was fitted for prosthetics and is now fully mobile. She helped establish the "Intrepid Foundation" and is involved in its fundraising to build a rehabilitation center for other injured veterans.

Government service
Duckworth was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs by Governor Rod Blagojevich from November 21, 2006 to February 8, 2009. She was honored by Chicago's Access Living for "her extraordinary commitment to veterans with disabilities".

On September 17, 2008, Duckworth attended a campaign event for Dan Seals, the Democratic candidate for Illinois's 10th congressional district. Duckworth used vacation time to avoid any appearance of impropriety, but violated Illinois law by going to the event in a state-owned van which was equipped for a person with physical disabilities. She promptly acknowledged the mistake and repaid the state for the use of the van.

On February 3, 2009, Duckworth was nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The United States Senate confirmed her for the position on April 22. On June 30, 2011, Duckworth resigned from her position to launch her campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois' 8th Congressional District.

Recognition
Former Republican Presidential candidate and Senator Bob Dole dedicated his biography One Soldier's Story in part to Duckworth. Duckworth credits Dole for inspiring her to pursue public service while she recuperated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. However, in her 2006 campaign for Congress, Dole endorsed Duckworth's Republican opponent.

In 2007, Duckworth was honored by the non-profit group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America with the "Veterans Leadership Award", in recognition of her dedication to the nation's newest generation of veterans. In May 2010, Duckworth was awarded an honorary doctorate by Northern Illinois University.

Duckworth was a speaker on the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and on the first night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

On June 26, 2013, during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Duckworth received national media attention after questioning Strong Castle CEO Braulio Castillo on a $500 million government contracts the company had been awarded based on Castillo's disabled veteran status.

Elections

 * 2006

After long-time incumbent Republican Henry Hyde announced his retirement from Congress, several candidates began campaigning for the office. Duckworth won the Democratic primary with a plurality of 44%, defeating 2004 nominee Christine Cegelis with 40%, and Wheaton College professor Lindy Scott with 16%. In the Republican primary, Illinois Senator Peter Roskam ran unopposed. While she raised over $1 million more than Roskam, on November 7 Duckworth lost by only 4,810 votes, with 49% to Roskam's 51%.

In July 2011, Duckworth launched her campaign to run in 2012 for Illinois's 8th congressional district. Duckworth defeated former Deputy Treasurer of Illinois Raja Krishnamoorthi for the Democratic nomination on March 20, 2012, then faced incumbent Republican Joe Walsh in the general election. Duckworth received the endorsement of both the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald. Walsh generated controversy when at a July 2012 campaign event, Walsh accused Duckworth of politicizing her military service and injuries, saying "my God, that's all she talks about. Our true heroes, the men and women who served us, it's the last thing in the world they talk about," and faced significant backlash for the comments.
 * 2012

On November 6, 2012, Tammy Duckworth defeated Walsh 55%–45%. She is the first disabled woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand.

Tenure
Duckworth was sworn into office on January 3, 2013.

On April 3, 2013, Duckworth publicly returned 8.4% of her Congressional salary for that month to the United States Department of Treasury in solidarity with furloughed government workers. Duckworth released the news via a tweet of her check. She joined President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
 * Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements
 * Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs

Veteran affairs
At the AmVets' National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans in 2012, Duckworth called for improvements in veterans health care. She called for mandatory funding of veterans' health care, rather than discretionary funding that could change with political winds; she also wants improvements in transition assistance for those returning to civilian life, particularly for those with disabilities. Duckworth also wanted the Department of Veterans Affairs to hire more veterans as doctors and nurses because they understand what combat veterans face, and she wants the VA to prepare for the possibility of severe respiratory problems in the future for Iraq war veterans.

Abortion
According to The Washington Post, Duckworth believes that abortion and end-of-life decisions are private matters and should not be subject to federal restriction. During her 2006 campaign for U.S. Congress, Duckworth was endorsed by EMILY's List.

Education
On August 23, 2006, Duckworth was endorsed by the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. In accepting the endorsements, Duckworth criticized the Bush administration's education policy of No Child Left Behind Act.

Iraq War
Duckworth was critical of the administration of President George W. Bush for its provision of veterans' care, and was chosen by the Democratic Party to give the September 30, 2006, response to President Bush's weekly radio address. Duckworth's strategic recommendations included requesting an immediate accounting by the U.S. Secretary of Defense of the readiness level and the training of the Iraqi forces, followed by aggressive benchmarks for progress and redeployment of U.S. troops linked to the stand-up of Iraqi troops, saying the U.S. should proceed by standing-down a defined number of U.S. units for every Iraqi battalion that can be properly trained and certified as combat-ready.

In 2006, The Sunday Times reported that Duckworth agreed with General Sir Richard Dannatt, the British Army chief, that the presence of coalition troops was exacerbating the conflict:"'We're attracting more people to terrorism than ever before. We really need to think about drawing down,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I want the Secretary of Defense to come before Congress and tell us how many Iraqis are fully trained. If two guys can do traffic control in Kirkuk, I want to bring two Americans home.'"

When asked whether she would like to see Bush impeached, Duckworth said that Congress had "far more pressing issues to deal with."

Defense spending
In August 2006, Duckworth called on Congress to audit the estimated $437 billion spent on overseas military and foreign aid since September 11, 2001. She said, "Real and meaningful oversight has taken a back seat to partisan inaction. With the right kind of leadership Congress can bring greater fiscal discipline and accountability to the billions of dollars we are spending on our military efforts."

Gun control
On October 10, 2006, Duckworth was endorsed by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The endorsement was announced in a joint appearance with the Fraternal Order of Police, who had also endorsed Duckworth. At the press conference in Lombard, Illinois, Duckworth referred to the recent school shootings and criticized her opponent's opposition to renewing a Federal ban on semi-automatic firearms, which expired in 2004. Duckworth claimed, "Basically, whatever the NRA wants, Peter Roskam will vote for it." Duckworth also supported the Brady Law, which requires background checks for gun purchases from federally licensed firearm dealers.