— Barbara F. Vucanovich, From Nevada to Congress, and Back Again

The Honorable Barbara F. Vucanovich was elected in November 1982 to serve Nevada’s 2nd District in Congress. She was reelected to each succeeding Congress, and after serving seven terms in Congress, she retired in 1996. Congresswoman Vucanovich is known to be a woman of “firsts.” She was the first woman to be elected to a federal office from Nevada. She was the first Representative for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses most of the State of Nevada with the exception of Las Vegas and the town of Henderson. As Republican Conference Secretary for the 104th Congress, she was the first Nevadan to serve in a leadership position in the U. S. House of Representatives. Congresswoman Vucanovich’s major Committee assignment during her Congressional service was the House Committee on Appropriations. She chaired its Subcommittee on Military Construction and was Vice Chairman of the Appropriations on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies. Prior to her House of Representatives service, she experienced the role and workings of the U. S. Senate. She served as District Representative in Northern Nevada for U. S. Senator Paul Laxalt from 1974 to 1981. Congresswoman Vucanovich is a former member of the Presidential Debate Commission. She serves as a Trustee on the Fund Board of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Justices, as well as a Trustee on the Board of Saint Mary’s Health Network. The Congresswoman is also on the Board of Casa De Vida (a home for unwed Mothers). She serves on the Presidential Commission to Select White House Fellows. The Congresswoman recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Nevada Reno.