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Catherine Cortez Masto        

Former Attorney General & Current Senator of Nevada; First Latina Elected to the United States Senate

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Catherine Cortez Masto has spent her career fighting for Nevada’s working families. She served two terms as Attorney General of Nevada and in November 2016, she made history by becoming the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the United States Senate.

Cortez Masto has been a strong advocate in the Senate for strengthening our health care system and for protecting Medicare and Medicaid. In Congress, Senator Cortez Masto remains a strong advocate for women and children and is working to pass legislation to strengthen women’s health care. She is a cosponsor of the Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine (Healthy MOM) Act, which would ensure that mothers and their babies have access to the care they need, both before and after birth. Senator Cortez Masto continues to support our servicewomen by addressing the unique challenges they face as they transition from active duty. To ensure that they are empowered to access the full range of services they need to thrive, she has introduced the Servicewomen’s Health Transition Training Act of 2019, which would increase the knowledge of available VA health care resources like mental health assistance, maternity care, cancer screenings and casework management.

Senator Cortez Masto is working to repair our broken immigration system and protect hardworking families. She is a cosponsor of the DREAM Act and a fervent supporter of comprehensive immigration reform. She is also committed to finding solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Nevada and across the country so that every hardworking family is able to pursue the American dream. Cortez Masto introduced the Home Loan Quality Transparency Act to reinstate key Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act reporting requirements, which were repealed last year, that help regulators and advocates hold banks accountable for discriminatory or unfair lending practices.

Protecting survivors and combating human and child trafficking continues to be one of Cortez Masto’s top priorities. Cortez Masto introduced two bipartisan bills, titled the Not Invisible Act of 2019 and Savanna’s Act, which aim to address the crisis of missing, murdered, and trafficked Native Americans and Alaska Natives by increasing coordination among all levels of law enforcement, improving data collection and information sharing, and empowering tribal governments with the resources they need and bridging the gaps between tribal communities, law enforcement and the federal government. Cortez Masto has also introduced the Interdiction for the Protection of Child Victims of Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act to ensure law enforcement officers have the necessary tools and training to recognize and rescue at-risk and exploited children.

An avid hiker and nature lover, Cortez Masto is committed to protecting our environment and public lands for future generations to enjoy. She is the cosponsor of the Clean Energy for America Act, a bill that would measurably reduce carbon pollution over the next decade through a series of incentives for clean energy and the promotion of new technologies in the private sector.

Cortez Masto earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1986, and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1990. She resides in Las Vegas with her husband Paul, a retired Secret Service agent.

News


Catherine Cortez Masto Wins Nevada to Become First Latina Senator
LAS VEGAS — After a close race fueled by record outside spending, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, won the Nevada Senate contest on Tuesday to become the first Latina senator ...

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