Congressman Gerald E. Connolly

Speaker

Congressman Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly is serving his seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th District, which includes Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. Prior to his election to Congress, he served 14 years on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, including five years as Chairman. Throughout his career, protecting and growing Northern Virginia's economy has been his top priority.

In Congress, he has played a key role in securing federal dollars for transportation improvements in Northern Virginia, including completion of the Fairfax County Parkway, widening the Prince William County Parkway, providing ongoing support for Rail to Dulles, and securing the annual federal commitment of $150 million for the regional Metro system.

Congressman Connolly is a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. In this role, he is responsible for shaping government-wide policy on issues related to information security, including cybersecurity and privacy; government-wide federal information technology management and innovation; and procurement.

He also serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Using his extensive background in foreign policy, including as a senior staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has become a leading voice on foreign assistance reform, war powers, embassy security, and democracy promotion abroad.

Congressman Connolly co-authored the bipartisan Issa-Connolly Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which was signed into law in 2014, and represents the first major overhaul of the federal laws governing IT management since enactment of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. In 2016, he passed the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, which allows temporary employees of land management agencies to now be eligible for civil servant positions. He also helped pass the Telework Enhancement Act, which requires the federal government to increase the use of telework by federal employees to ensure continuity of operations by federal agencies during emergency situations, enhance recruitment of a quality federal workforce, reduce traffic congestion, and improve the region's air quality.

Congressman Connolly received an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1979. He received a B.A. in Literature from Maryknoll College in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

He resides in Fairfax with his wife Smitty and has a daughter Caitlin.