When

Saturday May 16, 2015 at 5:00 PM 
to
Saturday May 16, 2015 at 9:00 PM 

Add to Calendar 

Where

University of Denver, Driscoll Ballroom 
2055 E Evans Ave
Denver, CO 80210 

 
Driving Directions 

Contact

Jessica A. Clark 
Denver Urban Debate League 
jessicaclark@urbandebate.org 
720.878.2776 

Keynote Speaker:

Congresswoman

Diana DeGette

 

Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette is serving her 9th term in Congress as Representative for the First District of Colorado. As a member of the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce, an exclusive congressional
committee with vast jurisdiction over health care, trade, business, technology, food safety, and consumer protection, she is one of the leading voices in the
health care debate in this country. As lead whip, she played a vital role in the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, has fought for
tough food safety legislation, and was a key player in crafting a comprehensive consumer product safety bill. In 2011 she was elected the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which conducts investigations into programs within the committee’s jurisdiction.   

U.S. Rep. DeGette is also the chief architect of legislation to expand stem cell research, which has been passed twice with broad, bipartisan support in Congress. The measure was vetoed twice by President
George W. Bush – including his very first presidential veto. A life-long Coloradoan, U.S. Rep. DeGette is guided by traditional Western values. She’s
also the author of the landmark Colorado Wilderness Act, which would protect and preserve pristine land across Colorado for generations to come. She has
fought to enhance her constituents’ access to affordable quality health care, expand mass transit, improve transportation in the Denver area, clean up
environmental waste sites, and improve opportunities for small business.

Democratic Leadership

In 2005, U.S. Rep. DeGette was promoted to the House
Democratic leadership as Chief Deputy Whip. As a Whip, she works to ensure passage of key pieces of legislation and orchestrate opposition to Republican
legislation that is antithetical to Democratic values.  Steadily rising in the Democratic Whip organization since her first term in Congress, U.S. Rep.
DeGette previously served six years as Regional Whip and two years as the Democratic Floor Whip.

Committee Membership

As Vice Chair of the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce from 2007 to 2011, U.S. Rep. DeGette served as the Acting Chair of the committee in the Chairman’s absence, spearheaded projects, and assisted the Chairman in promoting the Committee’s legislative agenda.

A member of the Committee since her first term in Congress,she has used her position to improve health care, expand medical research, reform corporate business and accounting practices, ensure that our homeland is adequately protected, take on global climate change, and move America toward
energy independence. She is as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and the Subcommittee
on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

In January 2011, U.S. Rep. DeGette was named the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on
Energy and Commerce.