Brian Higgins went to which school in Mar 1984?
Brian Higgins Brian Michael Higgins ( born October 6 , 1959 ) is the U.S . Representative for , serving since 2005 . The district , numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 , includes Buffalo and Niagara Falls . He is a member of the Democratic Party and is a member of several congressional committees and caucuses . Higgins was born and raised in Buffalo , and graduated from college in Buffalo , later obtaining graduate degrees from Buffalo State College and Harvard University . Self-described as both an independent and conservative Democrat , Higgins is also considered a centrist . He supports the strengthening of Social Security and has been a proponent for a public option for health insurance . He further supports national and regional economic development . Previously anti-abortion , Higgins now supports abortion rights . He has also supported efforts for peace in many areas of the world , and been actively involved in the Northern Ireland peace process . Early life , education and career . A native of South Buffalo , Higgins served on the Buffalo Common Council ( city council ) from 1988 to 1993 , representing the South District . Higginss grandparents were from Ireland . In 1993 , during his final year on the Council , Higgins was rated Buffalos Best Lawmaker in a 1993 Buffalo News Survey of Western New York business and community leaders . Responding to the survey were 158 business , community , and government leaders in Western New York . Higgins earned the highest rating of any political leader , with a 3.81 out of a possible score of 5 . The Buffalo News wrote of Higgins , During his 5 1/2 years on the Council , he has earned a reputation as a thoughtful , soft-spoken lawmaker who has paid attention to both district and citywide concerns . One community leader said , Brian is a very bright , responsible public official , while a government leader said of Higgins , The best Councilman in Buffalo . Has great vision . Higgins graduated from Buffalo State College with a B.A . in political science in 1984 . He received an M.A . in history from Buffalo State College in 1995 and an M.P.A . from Harvard Universitys John F . Kennedy School of Government in 1996 . Higgins has taught courses on state and local government , and the economic history of Buffalo and Western New York , in Buffalo State Colleges history and economics departments . He served as the 145th district representative to the New York State Assembly from 1999 to 2004 . U.S . House of Representatives . Elections . 2012 . Jack Quinn , a moderate Republican who had represented the heavily Democratic 27th since 1993 , unexpectedly announced his retirement in 2004 . In April 2004 , Higgins entered the race , and narrowly defeated then-Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples . Even after redistricting following the 2000 census , the district was made slightly friendlier for Quinn ( in part , by adding mostly rural Chautauqua County ) , but was still at the time the most Democratic district in the country represented by a Republican . The district has since reverted to form , and Higgins was reelected three times without serious difficulty , never receiving less than 60% of the vote . He easily dispatched his 2008 and 2010 opponents even after they posted six-figure fundraising numbers . In 2006 and 2008 , Higgins garnered more than 70% of the vote . For his first four terms , Higgins represented the southern two-thirds of Buffalo , as well as Chautauqua County . After the 2010 census , his district was renumbered as the 26th , and a special master redrew it to be much more compact and Democratic . He picked up the rest of Buffalo , as well as several inner-ring suburbs that used to be in the territory of Louise Slaughter , while losing Chautauqua County to its traditional Southern Tier district . He also picked up a large slice of Niagara County , including all of North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls . Higgins has received financial contributions for his campaigns from many business executives in Western New York throughout his tenure in Congress . In 2012 , his reelection committee raised more than $1,000,000 , with approximately 2/3 coming from individual donors , representing major businesses in Western New York . Tenure . Higgins has positioned himself as a centrist . He has called himself the most independent and conservative Democrat in [ the ] New York delegation . He ran for the Assembly on both the Democratic and Conservative party lines , and in the House , he often agrees with Republicans on issues of national security , immigration , and gun control . Higgins is a member of the New Democrat Coalition . He describes himself as a pro-union moderate who wants to spur job growth . He has said he supports allowing seniors to buy prescription drugs from Canada , and one of his priorities in Congress is legislation allowing the government to negotiate for volume discounts on drugs . He has also said he wants Congress to repeal President George W . Bushs tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals . Higgins procured $279 million over 50 years for Erie Countys various governments and agencies from the New York Power Authority as part of the Niagara Power Project 50-year relicensing agreement . He is an advocate for economic development and job creation , and played a pivotal role through his membership on the Houses Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in securing approval for the construction of a new federal courthouse in downtown Buffalo . Higgins strongly advocates for increased federal funding for cancer research , as Buffalo is home to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center , the nations first major medical facility devoted exclusively to treating cancer , with cancer research as its main mission . In 2006 , Higgins and Representatives James T . Walsh and Tim Murphy met with several government leaders in Ireland and announced confirmation of the Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) weapons decommissioning . Government leaders with whom the three met included Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern , Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain , US Ambassador to Ireland James C . Kenny , US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert H . Tuttle , and the leadership of each of the main political parties involved in the process for peace . Higgins has also supported efforts for peace in South Asia and Africa , and the Middle East , including Iraq , Afghanistan , and Darfur . In 2007 , Higgins reportedly played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in saving St . Josephs Hospital in Cheektowaga from closure as proposed by the New York State Commission on Health Facilities in the 21st Century . Higgins received an A+ on the 2007 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues from the Drum Major Institute , which describes itself as providing the ideas that fuel the progressive movement . Several media outlets named Higgins as one of the leading candidates to succeed Hillary Clinton in the United States Senate after she became Secretary of State in an Obama administration . He was one of six candidates on New York Governor David Patersons short list for the position ; a WKBW-TV poll showed 75% of respondents on the stations website would support Higginss nomination . In the end , Paterson appointed Representative Kirsten Gillibrand . On January 31 , 2009 , Higgins led a delegation of Western New York elected leaders in welcoming Gillibrand to the region , moderating an economic roundtable discussion held at the Bioinformatics Center of Excellence , on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus . In December 2008 , after only two terms in the House , Higgins secured a spot on the United States House Committee on Ways and Means , considered one of the most important and powerful committees in Congress due to its wide jurisdiction . Higgins was subsequently appointed to serve on the Ways and Means Committees subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures and its subcommittee on Oversight . After the GOP takeover of the House following the 2010 elections , Higgins left the Ways and Means Committee ( while maintaining a right to return ) and became a member of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the United States House Committee on Homeland Security . On the latter , Higgins quickly rose to the position of Ranking Member of the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence . Committee assignments . - Committee on Foreign Affairs - Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia - United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa - Subcommittee on Terrorism , Nonproliferation , and Trade - Subcommittee on Europe , Eurasia , and Emerging Threats - Committee on Homeland Security - Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security - Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence , Ranking Member - Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness , Response , and Communications - Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs Caucus memberships . - Co-chair , Revitalizing Older Cities Task Force - Former co-chair , member , Great Lakes Task Force - Former co-chair , member , House Cancer Caucus - Former co-chair , Historic Preservation Caucus - Former co-chair , member , Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition - Former co-chair , Northern Border Caucus - Member , New Democrat Coalition - Member , House Steel Caucus - Member , China Caucus - Member , Arts Caucus - Medicare for All Caucus - Congressional Arts Caucus - Afterschool Caucuses - Blue Collar Caucus Political positions . Social Security . On a previous policy position from his website , Higgins said , For too long , the Social Security Administration has underfunded and understaffed hearing offices in Western New York .. . citizens who have contributed to the Social Security system throughout their lives should have proper customer service when their benefits come due . In 2010 , Higgins and many other congressional members sent President Barack Obama a letter encouraging him to keep Social Security and make it stronger , saying We write today to express our strong support for Social Security and our view that it should be strengthened . We oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits , including raising the retirement age . We also oppose any effort to privatize Social Security , in whole or in part .. . cutting Social Security benefits beyond the already scheduled increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 would create even more needless hardship for millions of vulnerable Americans . This was in response to Obama giving the task of cutting government spending to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform on October 15 , 2010 . The letter also stressed that Social Security is prohibited by law from adding to the national budget deficit . Higgins opposes privatizing Social Security . He support [ s ] full funding for the Social Security Administration to process checks on time ; fight against waste , fraud , and abuse ; and combat unacceptable claims backlogs . His district includes nearly 150,000 senior citizens . Higgins introduced related legislation , House Resolution ( HR ) 3997 , in February 2014 . The bill aims requires the Social Security Commissioner to submit an estimated annual budget and to submit the estimated budget to Congress before submitting it to the President ; prohibits the closing or limitation of field offices and hearing offices without justification ; and mandates particular procedures related to closings , consolidations , and/or public limitations . Abortion . While serving in the New York State Assembly from 1999 to 2004 , Higgins consistently voted anti-abortion . Since running for Congress in 2004 , Higgins identifies himself as pro-choice . In 2006 , Higgins was given a rating of 9% by the NRLC , which indicates a pro-choice stance . Higgins received a score of 100% ( a perfect score ) from Planned Parenthood in 2012 and from NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2011 . Health care . Higgins voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , also known as Obamacare . In June 2012 , Higgins said he believed that health care providers will have to embrace Accountable Care Organizations , comparative effectiveness research—which studies various treatments to determine what works best—and other changes . He believed that this should have been done decades ago . On his congressional website , Higgins has stated that there is no question that [ the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ] was needed . He added that it is a beginning of health care reform in the United States . Higgins strongly believes in a national healthcare program , with a public option , whereby the government provides health insurance that would compete with other businesses plans . A letter Higgins signed from a group of representatives to Senator Harry Reid , then the Senate Majority Leader , stated , As the Senate continues to work on health reform legislation , we strongly urge you to consider including a public option . The American Public Health Association gave Higgins a perfect rating of 100% in 2009 . Stimulus spending . It was reported that Higgins was proposing something unprecedented in this era of $1.3 trillion annual deficits : a $1.25 trillion , five-year plan to rebuild the nations roads , bridges , railroads , ports and airports . Higginss website gives the cost of these endeavors as $1.2 trillion . The bill , the Nation Building Here at Home Act , based on research by the New America Foundation , would cost significantly more than Obamas $787 billion stimulus package . Higgins said that he wants to rebuild the US as weve rebuilt other countries—Iraq and Afghanistan—in recent years . He also said that it is not a stimulus bill , but a nation-building bill . Education . Higgins is a supporter of education , including early education through higher education . He has said , Every child has a right to a quality education . Ensuring that young people have a quality early education , and that legislators are supportive of education for individuals in primary , elementary , secondary , and higher educational institutions are among Higginss aims . He is a proponent of congressional support for measures that increase student achievement , but that also reward success rather than punish failure , as the No Child Left Behind Act has done . Higgins further believes that financial barriers to education should not hinder anyone from pursuing higher education . Student loan interest rates . Higgins supports maintaining lower interest rates on loans incurred by college and university students . He cosponsored two bills , H.R . 3826 and H.R . 4816 , in efforts to extend the period of time in maintaining the reduced 3.4% interest rate on student loans . In 2007 Higgins supported The College Cost Reduction and Access Act , a bill passed into law that included the reduced 3.4% interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans through the end of the 2012 academic year . Personal life . Higgins resides in South Buffalo . He has two adult children , Maeve and John . External links . - Congressman Brian Higgins official U.S . House website - Brian Higgins for Congress