Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez is serving her sixteenth term as U.S. Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District. In the 118th Congress, she is Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, and a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Throughout her tenure, she has broken significant barriers. In 1992, she became the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1998, she was named Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee—the first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Member of a full House committee. In 2006, she became the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee as Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee.

Born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, in 1953, Velázquez was one of nine children and the first in her family to earn a college degree. She entered the University of Puerto Rico at 16, graduating magna cum laude in political science, and later earned a master’s degree from NYU. She taught Puerto Rican studies at Hunter College before entering public service.

A champion of economic opportunity and equal rights, Congresswoman Velázquez advocates for small businesses, working families, and underserved communities. She has advanced priorities in access to capital, federal contracting, housing, education, health care, and environmental protection—remaining deeply committed to the residents of Brooklyn and Queens she represents.