About
Hailing from central Brooklyn, Congresswoman Yvette Diane Clarke feels honored to represent the community that raised her. She is the proud daughter of Jamaican immigrants. She takes her passion for her Caribbean heritage to Congress, where she co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and works to foster relationships between the United States and the Caribbean Community. Clarke is a Senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Committee on Homeland Security. Clarke has been a member of the Congressional Black Caucus since coming to Congress in 2007 and today serves as its 1st Vice-Chair and Chair of its Immigration Task Force.
As the Representative of the Ninth Congressional District of New York, Congresswoman Clarke has dedicated herself to continuing the legacy of excellence established by the late Honorable Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman and Caribbean American elected to Congress. In the 118th Congress, Congresswoman Clarke introduced landmark legislation to advance the priorities closest to her heart and at the top of her constituent’s minds. She has led critical legislation to support the health of women, including the Menopause Research Equity Act, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid and Education Act, and the Uterine Cancer Study Act. As a trailblazing leader guiding Congressional efforts to enact meaningful policy in the Age of AI, she also introduced first-of-its-kind legislation to stop the spread of malicious deepfakes with her DEEPFAKES Accountability Act and increase transparency surrounding political AI-generated advertisements with her REAL Political Ads Act. She has consistently stood against the rising tide of mis- and disinformation in traditional and new media spaces, and she is committed to ensuring Americans across the nation not only have access to the information they need but that they can trust it is accurate.
Clarke is a leader in the tech and media policy space as co-chair of the Smart Cities Caucus and co-chair of the Multicultural Media Caucus. She believes smart technology will make communities more sustainable, resilient, and livable and works hard to ensure communities of color are not left behind while these technological advancements are made. Clarke formed the Multicultural Media Caucus to address diversity and inclusion issues in the media, telecom, and tech industries. As a driving force in Congress to preserve and expand the Affordable Connectivity Program, a vital initiative that provides reliable and affordable broadband to Americans across the country, Congresswoman Clarke understands that internet access is essential in a modern nation and will bridge the digital divide.
She is also one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, which develops programs to support the aspirations of Black women of all ages. Congresswoman Clarke is also the co-chair of the Medicare for All Caucus, where she fights for the right to universal health care.
Before being elected to the United States House of Representatives, Congresswoman Clarke served on New York’s City Council, representing the 40th District. She succeeded her pioneering mother, former City Council Member Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter succession in the City Council’s history. She cosponsored City Council resolutions that opposed the war in Iraq, criticized the federal USA PATRIOT Act, and called for a national moratorium on the death penalty.
Congresswoman Clarke is a graduate of Oberlin College and was a recipient of the prestigious APPAM/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis. She received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and the Honorary Doctorate of Public Policy from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean. Congresswoman Clarke currently resides in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she grew up. She is a proud active member of the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.