Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz

Allyson Y. Schwartz (née Young; born October 3, 1948) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015, and Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Senate from 1991 to 2005. Born in New York City, she was raised in a family deeply affected by World War II; her mother was a Holocaust survivor from Austria who immigrated to the United States after the war. Schwartz attended public schools and developed an early interest in public service and social policy, influences that would shape her later legislative career.

Schwartz pursued higher education in the social sciences and health policy. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Simmons College in Boston in 1970 and went on to receive a Master of Social Work from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania in 1972. Trained as a social worker, she began her professional career in the health and human services field, focusing on issues of access to care and the needs of vulnerable populations. Before entering elective office, she worked in nonprofit and public-sector roles that involved health planning and administration, gaining expertise in health policy that would later become a hallmark of her legislative agenda.

Schwartz’s formal political career began at the state level in Pennsylvania. In 1991, she was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate, where she represented districts encompassing Northeast and Northwest Philadelphia. She served in the state senate until 2005. During her tenure, she became known for her work on health care, children’s health insurance, and fiscal issues, and she played a significant role in the development and expansion of Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which later served as a model for the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Her legislative record in Harrisburg established her as a prominent Democratic policymaker with particular expertise in health and social policy.

In 2000, while still serving in the Pennsylvania Senate, Schwartz sought statewide office by entering the Democratic primary for the United States Senate, challenging incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum. In a crowded six-candidate Democratic primary, Pittsburgh-area U.S. Representative Ron Klink won with a plurality of 41 percent of the vote. Schwartz finished second with 27 percent, performing strongly in the southeastern part of the state, including Philadelphia County, where she received 60 percent of the vote, and Montgomery County, where she received 62 percent. She also carried Centre County with 33 percent and Union County with 38 percent. Despite her regional strength, it was not enough to overcome Klink’s dominance in western Pennsylvania. Because Pennsylvania state senators serve staggered four-year terms and she was not up for reelection until 2002, Schwartz did not have to relinquish her state senate seat to pursue the Senate nomination.

In 2004, Schwartz ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, seeking to represent a district that included parts of Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia. She was elected as a Democrat to the 109th Congress and took office on January 3, 2005. She subsequently won reelection four times, serving five consecutive terms until January 3, 2015. As a member of the House of Representatives, Allyson Y. Schwartz participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history, including debates over health care reform, economic recovery, and national security in the post-September 11 and Great Recession eras. She represented the interests of her constituents in suburban and urban communities, emphasizing health care, fiscal responsibility, and economic development. During her House service, she also held a party leadership role as National Chair for Recruitment and Candidate Services for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she was responsible for identifying and supporting Democratic candidates for the House nationwide.

Schwartz’s congressional career coincided with major national policy initiatives, and she was particularly active on health care and budget issues. Drawing on her background in social work and state-level health policy, she advocated for expanding access to health coverage, strengthening Medicare, and supporting preventive care and women’s health services. She also worked on issues affecting veterans, transportation infrastructure, and small business development in her district. Her decade in Congress from 2005 to 2015 placed her at the center of key legislative battles, and she contributed to the democratic process as a senior member of the Pennsylvania delegation and a visible figure within the House Democratic Caucus.

In 2013, Schwartz announced that she would not seek reelection to the House of Representatives and instead would run for governor of Pennsylvania. She declared her intention to give up her House seat to challenge incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett, who was up for reelection in 2014, and officially launched her gubernatorial campaign on April 8, 2013. In February 2013, she publicly confirmed that she would not run for another term in the U.S. House. In the 2014 Democratic primary for governor, she finished second, losing to Tom Wolf, who went on to win the general election. This was her second statewide primary in which she placed second, following her 2000 U.S. Senate primary campaign.

After leaving Congress in January 2015, Schwartz remained engaged in public policy and political affairs, particularly in the areas of health care and health system reform. Building on her long record in state and federal office, she has been involved with policy organizations and advisory roles focused on improving health care delivery, access, and payment systems. Throughout her career—from her early work as a social worker, to her fourteen years in the Pennsylvania Senate, to her decade in the U.S. House of Representatives—Allyson Y. Schwartz has been recognized as a leading Democratic voice on health policy and as a prominent figure in Pennsylvania and national politics.