Who is Sen. Mary L. Landrieu

Mary L. Landrieu has been referred to as “one of the Senate’s foremost leaders on education” by her colleagues in the Senate. One Louisiana publication dubbed her “Military Mary” for her dedication to our armed services and her knowledge of defense issues. She has become a national voice on the importance of strengthening families through foster care and adoption. She is the state’s senior senator, and a fiscal leader for the nation as a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. She is a working mother, each day balancing the joys of family life with the responsibilities of being a U.S. Senator.

Service in the Senate

Senator Landrieu’s service in the Senate has been defined by powerful committee appointments and by her work championing legislation that opened the door of opportunity for Louisianans and all Americans. A moderate Democrat, she is known as an independent voice willing to cross party lines to support legislation that is right for Louisiana. She currently serves on the Senate Appropriations, Energy and Natural Resources and Small Business Committees.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Landrieu is a strong and effective voice for Louisiana, while bringing her record of fiscal discipline to the committee that approves more than $300 billion in federal discretionary spending annually. From her seat on one of the most powerful panels on Capitol Hill, she fights for Louisiana’s jobs and economic interests. In addition, she serves on several appropriations subcommittees of great importance to Louisiana, including Agriculture, Labor, Health and Education, and Military Construction. Senator Landrieu is ranking member of the District of Columbia Subcommittee and works to be a voice for so many who have no vote in Congress.

Landrieu is a moderate Democrat who believes our nation can and should do a better job of balancing our budget, protecting and conserving our environment, and educating our children for the global challenges ahead.

Leading for Stronger, Smarter National Security

In 1999, Senator Landrieu became the first Democratic woman to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Louisiana is the home to three major military installations and one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, Senator Landrieu recognizes that military issues are Louisiana issues. Even after leaving the panel in 2002, she continues to be an advocate on these issues for both the state and the nation.

Landrieu is a member of the Senate Guard and Reserve Caucus, recognizing the increasingly valuable role that our citizen soldiers play in our nation’s defense. With reservists and guard members making up a far greater percentage of combat and support forces today than ever before, she is fighting for increased pay and benefits for those who put their lives on the line.

Senator Landrieu was on the Armed Services Committee just a few months when she negotiated a major compromise that broke a five-year partisan deadlock, allowing the Senate to move forward with a policy for developing a National Missile Defense system. Her amendment made it clear the U.S. will pursue this strategy on two fronts: development and deployment of a national missile defense system to protect the nation’s borders, and continued negotiations with Russia and other nations to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals.

Protecting our Coast, Getting Our Fair Share: Restoring America's Wetlands

A leader in issues dealing with both energy and the environment, Senator Landrieu aggressively fights for Louisiana jobs and continues to guide her colleagues toward development of a national energy policy that will increase domestic production and lessen the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

As a member of the Senate Energy Committee, Landrieu has been an effective and tireless advocate for saving Louisiana’s vanishing coastline and wetlands, demanding Louisiana’s fair share of offshore oil and gas proceeds to stop the erosion and investing in Louisiana’s future.

Educating Children, Protecting and Strengthening Families

Improving education has become a cornerstone issue for Senator Landrieu. She worked across party lines in 2001 to craft the No Child Left Behind Act, the most sweeping reform ever of our nation’s public schools. A strong advocate of accountability and results in public education, she has worked to bring Louisiana the dollars needed to effectively improve our schools.

In 2001, Senator Landrieu led a successful effort of ensure federal Title I dollars make it to the schools and children that most need the help – those schools with high concentrations of poor children. Title I dollars are intended to compensate for spending gaps in state and local education funding in order to level the playing field for children in low-income school districts. She continues to be a leader in developing policies that remove poverty as a barrier to a quality education.

Statistics on the overall health and well being of Louisiana’s children are among the worst in the nation, with 32 percent of the state’s children living in poverty. Taking into account that 90 percent of a child’s brain develops before age 3, Senator Landrieu realized that early childhood education is a key to breaking the cycle of poverty. She helped launch several organizations in the state that stress the value of early childhood development in getting all children ready to learn in school.

Senator Landrieu has become a nationally recognized advocate for domestic and international adoption. As the Senate Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, she believes Congress has the power to assist state and local efforts to improve foster care and promote adoption. She was a co-sponsor of the Safe and Stable Families Act, which removes barriers to children finding permanent homes and puts in place systems that connect children with loving families in a timely manner.

Senator Landrieu’s ultimate goal is to ensure every child has the opportunity to be part of a stable and loving family. She believes all children deserve a loving and nurturing family to call their own. To that end, she has worked to increase the adoption tax credit, reform the foster care system and create laws helpful to families who are committed to international adoption.

Advocate For Small Business and Entrepreneurship

More than 65 percent of new job growth in Louisiana in the past decade was created by small businesses, making it the backbone of the state’s economy. As a member of the Small Business Committee, she helped pass legislation that has reduced federal regulations and created tax relief for small businesses. In fact, her pro-growth, pro-business voting record has earned her the U.S. Chambers of Commerce’s Spirit of Enterprise Award, and in 2002, the National Federation of Independent Businesses awarded her the “Guardian of the Small Business Award.”

Louisiana Roots

Senator Landrieu’s roots run deep in Louisiana. She was born into a family with a long history of public service and commitment to community, and married into a family with those same values. When friends and family began urging her to run for office at the age of 23, Landrieu realized it was time to put those values to use in public service.

Landrieu ran for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1979, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the state Legislature. Her work in the House earned her a reputation as a tenacious fighter for children and families, while being thoughtful and fair-minded. Eight years later, she successfully ran for Louisiana State Treasurer, and spent two terms finding innovative solutions for the state’s fiscal problems, including establishing responsible debt limitations and improving investments for educational initiatives.

In 1996, she was approached about running for an open Senate seat and realized the time was right to bring her Louisiana values and local experience to the United States Senate. With her swearing in on January 7, 1997, Mary Landrieu became the first woman from Louisiana elected to the Senate. She was re-elected in 2002.

Sen. Landrieu is married to Frank Snellings, an attorney from Monroe. They have two children, Connor and Mary Shannon. The daughter of former New Orleans Mayor and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Moon Landrieu and Verna Landrieu, Sen. Landrieu is the eldest of nine siblings and the proud aunt of 36 nieces and nephews.