U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng – Biography

U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng is serving her seventh term in the United States House of Representatives, where she represents New York's Sixth Congressional District. Grace's district is located entirely in the New York City borough of Queens, including west, central, and northeast Queens.

Grace is the first and only Asian American Member of Congress from New York State, and the first female Congressmember from Queens since former Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro.

In Congress, Grace serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee where she is the Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. Grace also sits on the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs and is New York's senior member of the Appropriations Committee. The House Appropriations Committee is responsible for funding the federal government's agencies, programs and activities.

Grace serves as the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combatting Antisemitism.

Grace has proudly passed several pieces of her legislation into law. This includes legislation on many important issues affecting the lives of her constituents – from laws supporting religious freedom, making Queens historic sites part of the National Park Service, striking "Oriental" from federal law, protecting public housing residents from insufficient heat, championing improvements to broadband and internet access for students across the country to help close the homework gap and establishing the first step in creating a national museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Also signed into law were her measures to assist veterans and members of the military, and provisions to improve consumer protections, excessive flooding and safeguards for children.

Additionally, in order to combat the rise in hate and violence that increased during the coronavirus pandemic, Grace passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Further, she helped reduce long processing times for passports, secured millions of dollars for her congressional district and has worked to combat mail theft. 

At every turn, Grace has fought to expand opportunities for communities of color, young people, families, small businesses and women.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Grace served in the New York State Assembly. Before entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer.

Born in Elmhurst, Queens, and raised in the Elmhurst, Bayside, and Flushing sections of the borough, Grace attended local schools and graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She also attended the University of Michigan (Go Blue) before earning her law degree from Yeshiva University's Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Grace is raising her family in Queens, where she lives with her husband, Wayne, and their two sons.