• Democratic Member of Congress
• First self-proclaimed lesbian elected to Congress
• Member of the radical Progressive Caucus
• Voted multiple times against bills banning the late-term abortion procedure commonly known as partial-birth abortion
• Consistently votes against tax cuts
• Voted against a bill for the deployment of a national missile defense system
• Voted against the Patriot Act and its reauthorization

Tammy Baldwin is a Democratic Member of Congress who represents the Second District of Wisconsin, which is centered in Madison.

Born in 1962, Baldwin was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents. She graduated from Smith College in 1984 and earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1989.

While still in law school, Baldwin at age 24 was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Six years later, in 1992, she was elected to the lower house of the Wisconsin legislature, where she served until 1998.

In 1998, with a $1.5 million war chest (one-fourth of which came from the feminist group EMILY's List), Baldwin won the Democratic congressional primary with 37 percent of the vote in a field of four Democrats. Running as an advocate of "single-payer" (i.e. state-run) health coverage, she won with 53 percent of the vote in the general election. The first self-identified lesbian elected to Congress, Baldwin consistently attracts considerable campaign money from gay activists nationwide.

In the 2008 election cycle, Baldwin’s campaign received heavy support from labor unions such as as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Other big donors in recent election cycles have included the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now known as the American Association for Justice); the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund; the Teamsters Union; the United Auto Workers Union; The United Postal Workers Union; the gay activist Human Rights Campaign; the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the Communications Workers of America; the National Education Association; the United Steel Workers of America; Greenpeace International; EMILY’s List; and the Johnson Family Foundation.

Baldwin is a member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin; the College Democrats of America; the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials; the NAACP; the National Organization for Women; and Wisconsin Citizen Action.

Baldwin belongs to the Progressive Caucus in the House of Representatives. The leftwing Americans for Democratic Action consistently rates her voting record as 95 to 100 percent on the left side of legislation. Following is an overview of Baldwin’s policy positions and voting record on key pieces of legislation during her years in Congress:

Abortion and the Rights of the Unborn: In June 1999 and April 2005 Baldwin voted against a bill making it illegal to take minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions. In April 2000, June 2003, and October 2003 she voted against a bill banning the late-term abortion procedure commonly known as partial-birth abortion in all cases except where the mother's safety requires it. In April 2001 and February 2004 she voted against bills making it an added criminal offense for someone to injure or kill a fetus while carrying out a violent crime on a pregnant woman.

Hate Crimes: Baldwin has worked to expand Hate Crimes law to include gender, sexual orientation, and disability.

Taxes: In July 1999 Baldwin voted against a bill calling for $792 billion in tax cuts over a ten-year period. In May 2001 she voted against $1.35 trillion in federal tax cuts over an 11-year period. In May 2003 she voted against $350 billion in proposed tax reductions. In May 2006 she voted against $69.96 billion in tax credits and cuts through 2010.

Guantanamo Bay Detention Center: In May 2007 Baldwin voted in favor of an amendment calling for a plan to transfer all prisoners out of this Cuba-based facility.

Missile Defense: In March 1999 Baldwin voted against a bill for the deployment of a national missile defense system to protect the U.S. from long-range nuclear attacks.

Defense Spending: Each year from 2004 through 2008, Baldwin was one of a small minority of congressional representatives to vote against the Defense Department’s Fiscal Year Authorization Bills.

Iraq War: In October 2002 Baldwin voted against a bill “to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.” In June 2006 she voted against a resolution "honoring all Americans who have played an active role in the Global War on Terror, stating that it is not in the security interest of the U.S. to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and committing the U.S. to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure and united Iraq." In July 2007 she voted to pass to pass a bill to reduce the presence of American armed forces in Iraq by April 1, 2008.

Fossil Fuels: In April 2005 Baldwin voted against allowing oil and gas exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In October 2005 she voted against a bill authorizing the President to designate Federal land for construction of new oil refineries and repealing certain environmental regulations. In May 2006 she voted in favor an amendment to continue the prohibition against drilling for natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf. In July 2008 she reversed her position on oil exploration, voting in favor of a bill to facilitate oil drilling in Alaska.

Nuclear Energy: In March 2000 Baldwin voted against the establishment of a nuclear waste storage repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain by 2007.

Illegal Immigration: In May 2004 Baldwin voted against a bill requiring hospitals to provide the government with information on illegal aliens seeking emergency medical care, and allowing the Secretary of Homeland Security to deport such illegals. In February 2005 she voted against "Real ID" legislation mandating higher standards for State driver's licenses and identification documents, so as to prevent terrorists from abusing America's asylum laws. In December 2005 and September 2006 she voted against the construction of approximately 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border. In September 2006 she voted against a bill granting state and local officials the authority to investigate or arrest illegal immigrants.

Military Commissions: In September 2006 Baldwin voted against a bill that: (a) authorized the President to establish military commissions to try detained enemy combatants; (b) specified that unlawful enemy combatants are not protected under the Geneva Convention; and (c) prevented unlawful enemy combatants in detention from filing writs of habeas corpus.

Patriot Act: In October 2001 Baldwin voted against the Patriot Act anti-terrorism legislation. In July 2005 she voted against a bill reauthorizing and extending certain provisions of the Patriot Act.

Marriage: In July 2006 Baldwin voted against a constitutional amendment prohibiting individual states from recognizing the marital status of any union other than that of a man and a woman.

Israel: In May 2002 Baldwin refused to vote for House Resolution 392 expressing support for Israel as it faced terrorist attacks that killed more than 600 civilians.

Cuba: Baldwin supports easing U.S. travel and trade restrictions against the Communist dictatorship in Cuba.

Colombia: In 2002 Baldwin joined 44 other members of Congress, 42 of whom were Democrats, in signing a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell alleging human rights violations by the Government of Colombia in its war against the narco-terrorist Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party. This letter, published worldwide and used as pro-FARC propaganda, made no mention of FARC's thousands of murders, its countless atrocities, or the support it received from Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Marxist president Hugo Chavez.