Sander “Sandy” Levin was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He was elected to the Congress in 1982. He currently represents the 9th Congressional District which includes communities in Macomb and Oakland counties and spans from Lake St. Clair to Bloomfield Township.

Sandy is the Ranking Democrat of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, having served as Chair in 2010 when Democrats held the Majority in the U.S. House.  He has served on every Ways and Means Subcommittee (Social Security, Health Care, Income Security and Family Support, Trade) except for the Oversight and Select Revenue Subcommittees.  You may review a legislative snapshot here.

James Gannon, the former Detroit News bureau chief, once wrote:  “Sandy Levin: The guy I'd want for my Congressman and neighbor: hard-working, thoughtful, effective and honest."

Education

Levin graduated from Central High School in Detroit, MI. He earned his B.A. at the University of Chicago, his M.A. in international relations from Columbia University and a law degree from Harvard University.

Public Service

Sandy’s career in public service began when he was elected to the State Senate in 1964, serving as Senate Minority Leader from 1969 to 1970. As a State Senator, he reformed the state’s laws to give state employees the right to collectively bargain for the first time (known as the Public Employee Relations Act), reformed the state’s workers compensation, unemployment compensation and minimum wage laws. He was also instrumental in reforming the State’s Special Education system. After competing for the Governorship with Republican Bill Milliken in 1970 and 1974, Sandy joined the Carter Administration as an Assistant Administrator in the Agency for International Development (AID). At AID, he saw firsthand the importance of international family planning programs and has been an eloquent and active defender of those programs in the Congress.

Family

Sandy is married to Pamela Cole, a professor of Clinical Child Psychology and Human Development at Penn State University. His late wife, Vicki, with whom he enjoyed a wonderful partnership for over 50 years, passed away in 2008 from metastatic breast cancer.  They had four children and Sandy now enjoys ten grandchildren. Sandy’s brother, Carl, serves in the United States Senate. Historically, there have only been a handful of these “Siblings Teams” serving together in Congress.