Biography
Christina Marie "Chrissy" Houlahan, born on June 5, 1967, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, is an American politician, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and former United States Air Force officer. A member of the Democratic Party, she has represented Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 3, 2019. The district encompasses almost all of Chester County and the southern portion of Berks County, including the city of Reading. Houlahan is the first woman to represent this district and the first Democrat to do so since before the Civil War.
Raised in a military family, Houlahan is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States with nothing. Her father, Andrew C. A. Jampoler, a naval aviator born in Lviv, Ukraine, served as a historian and author. Houlahan's parents met when her father and grandfather flew P-3s in the same Navy squadron.
After earning her engineering degree from Stanford University on an ROTC scholarship, Houlahan served three years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, working as a project manager on air and space defense technologies. She continued her service in the Air Force Reserve until 2004, achieving the rank of captain.
Transitioning to the private sector, Houlahan became the Chief Operating Officer of AND1, a basketball apparel company headquartered in Paoli, Pennsylvania, where she helped transform the startup into a major brand. She later served as the founding COO of B Lab, a nonprofit that promotes B Corporations and good business practices.
Houlahan's commitment to education led her to join Teach for America as a chemistry teacher at Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia. She subsequently became President and COO/CFO of Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on improving early childhood literacy in underserved communities nationwide.
In Congress, Houlahan has been recognized for her bipartisan efforts and dedication to her constituents. During the 117th Congress, her team closed over 8,000 cases, resulting in more than $50 million in direct federal benefits payments to constituents. She has been awarded the Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and three Congressional Management Foundation Democracy Awards for outstanding achievement in transparency and accountability, constituent services, and workplace environment.
Education
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Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Stanford University, earned on an ROTC scholarship.
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Master of Science in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology .
Political Experience
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U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District: Elected in 2018, re-elected in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
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Committee Assignments:
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117th Congress:
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Subcommittee on Readiness
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
- Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation
- Committee on Small Business
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118th Congress:
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Military Personnel
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture – Ranking Member
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Caucus Memberships:
- Climate Solutions Caucus
- Servicewomen and Female Veterans Caucus
- Women in STEM Caucus
- For Country Caucus
- New Democrat Coalition
- Honor and Civility Caucus
- Congressional National Service Caucus
- Veterans' Education Caucus
- Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
- Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition
- Problem Solvers Caucus
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Legislative Achievements:
- Created the DoD Cyber and Digital Service Academy to provide scholarships for degrees in cyber or digital technology to civilians to work within the Department of Defense after graduation.
- Co-authored an Action Plan to Fight Inflation with New Democrat Coalition colleagues, which Forbes Magazine called "the best inflation-fighting blueprint to come out of Congress yet."
- Helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which caps insulin prices at $35 for seniors and limits out-of-pocket pharmaceutical costs for Medicare recipients at $2,000 per year, beginning in 2025.
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Awards and Recognitions:
- 2022 Advocate for American Business Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
- Friend of the Farm Bureau Award for the 117th Congress by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
- 2022 Milton Stewart Award by the Small Business Technology Council.
- 2022 Champion of Small Business Investing Award by the Small Business Investor Alliance .
- 2022 Constituent Service Democracy Award and 2022 Life in Congress Democracy Award by the Congressional Management Foundation.
Houlahan's diverse background in military service, business leadership, and education informs her approach to governance, emphasizing bipartisan collaboration and a commitment to serving her constituents in Chester and Berks Counties.
