* Was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012
* Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
* Believes that all women should have unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion services
* Supports amnesty and a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens
* Supports affirmative action
* Opposes Voter ID laws
Lois Frankel was born in New York City on May 16, 1948. In 1970 she earned a BA in psychology from Boston University (BU), where she was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. Today she jokes that she “majored in protests” at BU. Frankel further recalls that during her student days, “I told myself I want to try to get into a position where I’m not protesting my government, where I’m part of the government and in a position to change it.”
After earning a JD from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973, Frankel worked as a clerk for Judge David Norman in Washington, DC during 1973-74; co-founded the West Palm Beach, Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women in 1974; was an assistant public defender in West Palm Beach from 1974-78; and was a partner in two separate law firms between 1978 and 1994. Since 1990 she has been a partner in the firm of Ricci, Hubbard, Leopold & Frankel.
A lifelong Democrat, Frankel served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1986-92, and again from 1994-2002. From 2003-11 she was the mayor of West Palm Beach. And in 2012, the voters of Florida’s 22nd Congressional District elected Frankel to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2016, her District was renumbered as the 21st. Frankel continues to serve on the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, and the Pro-Choice Caucus, among others. She is also a member of the League of Women Voters.
Maintaining that all women should have unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion services, Rep. Frankel has voted: against a proposal to prohibit the federal funding of any such procedures; against the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which sought to prohibit abortions from being performed on any fetus that had reached the 20th week of its gestation period—except in cases where a pregnancy endangered the mother’s life or was the result of rape or incest; and against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill requiring healthcare practitioners to do everything in their power to save the life of an infant who had survived an attempted abortion.
Frankel favors a pathway-to-citizenship for illegal immigrants currently residing in the U.S.; believes that restrictions on immigration are fundamentally racist because they tend to disproportionately prevent nonwhites from entering the country; voted against a 2014 bill barring the Executive branch of the federal government from exempting illegal aliens, either temporarily or permanently, from deportation pursuant to existing immigration law; and voted against the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, which called for the cessation of federal funding to any state or local governments that willfully shielded illegal aliens from immigration authorities.
Hopeful that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) would be gradually expanded until a government-run, single-payer healthcare system is achieved, Frankel voted against the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015, which would have repealed certain provisions of the Act while rescinding federal funds from abortion providers.
In May 2015, the Washington Post reported that Frankel was planning to raise funds for her political campaign by charging potential donors $2,500 for the privilege of sitting next to her at an upcoming Taylor Swift concert at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. — an event for which standard ticket prices ranged between $54.50 and $134.50.
As matters of principle, Frankel believes that:
For information on how Frankel has voted on a wide range of key issues, click here.
Further Reading:“Lois Frankel” (Ballotpedia.org, Votesmart.org); “Rep. Lois Frankel: From ‘Majoring in Protest’ to the U.S. House” (BU.edu, 4-6-2015); Frankel’s Voting Record on Many Different Issues (OnTheIssues.org); Frankel’s Voting Record on Abortion (Votesmart.org); Frankel’s Voting Record on Immigration (Votesmart.org); Frankel’s Voting Record on Health Care (Votesmart.org); “Members of Congress Charge $2,500 to Sit with Them at a Taylor Swift Concert” (Washington Post, 5-8-2015).