Hillary Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton was elected to the United States Senate by the people of New York on November 7, 2000, after decades of public service on behalf of children and families.

A strong advocate for New York, Hillary works with communities across the state to strengthen the economy and to expand opportunity. She is the first New Yorker ever to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, working to see that America’s military has the necessary resources to protect our national security. And Hillary supports a return to fiscal responsibility, because she knows that wise national economic policies are essential to protect America’s future.

Senator Clinton also serves on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging. She chairs the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, which is responsible for communicating with the public about key issues before Congress.

As First Lady of the United States from 1993-2001, Hillary led efforts to make adoption easier and increase support for families in the adoption and foster care system; to increase funding for breast cancer research and treatment and for children’s vaccinations; and to make education, health care, and economic opportunity available for women and girls around the world. As keynote speaker at the United Nations Fifth International Conference on Women, in Beijing China, she spoke for the rights of women and girls around the world, saying “Women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."

Hillary's leadership as First Lady was recognized by the many awards she received, including: the Elie Wiesel Foundation Humanitarian Award; Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Progressive National Baptist Convention; Family Circle Woman Who Makes a Difference Lifetime Achievement Award; National Federation of Black Women Business Owners, Black Women of Courage Award; National Association of Elementary School Principals Distinguished Service Award; Save the Children Distinguished Service Award, The National Council for Adoption, "For advocacy on behalf of adoption"; Henrietta Szold Award, Hadassah; and the Irish American Peace Prize, by Irish American Democrats.

Since being elected to the Senate, her awards for public service include: The Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service, United States Department of Defense; President’s Award, League of United Latin American Citizens; Senator of the Year, National Multiple Sclerosis Society; The Military Order of the Purple Heart, in recognition of her initiative and perseverance in assisting the Military Order of the Purple Heart; National Hispanic Medical Association, for leadership in improving the health of Hispanics; Woman of Steel, Role Model of the Year, United Steel Workers of America; the 2004 Women in Politics Award, The National Hispana Leadership Institute; International Women’s Philanthropy Award by the Lion of Judah Conference, of Combined Jewish Philanthropies; the Cesar E. Chavez Award of the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation; and the Distinguished Bridge Builder Award, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation.

Hillary's memoir, Living History, was published in June, 2003 and has now sold more than 3 million copies. She has also written It Takes a Village: and Other Lessons Children Teach Us; Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids Letters to the First Pets; and An Invitation to the White House, a tribute to the historic home of the nation's First Families.