First elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, Representative Xavier Becerra is Assistant to the Speaker of the House and is the only member from Southern California currently serving on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. The first Latino to serve on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Becerra also serves on the Health, Oversight, and Social Security subcommittees. He is also a member of the House Committee on Budget, which oversees the federal budget process.

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Rep. Becerra is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) where he served as Chair during the 105th Congress (1997-98). The Congressman is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. At the international level, he serves as Vice Chair of the U.S.-Korea Interparliamentary Exchange, and is Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus. Prior to his election to Congress, Rep. Becerra served one term in the California Legislature as the representative of the 59th Assembly District in Los Angeles County. He is a former Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice. The congressman began his legal career in 1984 working in a legal services office representing the mentally ill. In 1980, Rep. Becerra earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University. He was awarded his Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School in 1984.