VoterLens
Oberlin College—Bachelor of Arts
Data last updated 10/27/2026
Yvette D. Clarke was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Oberlin College from 1982 to 1986. Before serving in Congress, she was director of business development for the Bronx Empowerment Zone and represented the 40th District on the New York City Council. She has represented New York's 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2013 after previously representing New York's 11th Congressional District beginning in 2007.
Committee Assignments: Committee on Energy and Commerce · Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade · Communications and Technology · Oversight and Investigations
Yvette D. Clarke supports expanding access to affordable health care, including universal health care through Medicare for All, while emphasizing health equity, reproductive and maternal health, cancer research, HIV prevention, patient safety, and access to care for women and underserved communities. Her recent sponsored and co-sponsored health legislation focuses especially on menopause care, maternal mental health, cancer detection and research, lowering Medicare eligibility, and broader public health access.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke proposed legislation to improve federal focus on menopause care and mid-life women’s health, reflecting support for expanded access to care during menopause and post-menopause.
SourceClarke proposed legislation focused on maternal health and mental health support for mothers, aligning with her emphasis on women’s health and health equity.
SourceClarke proposed legislation to study uterine cancer, indicating support for research and policy attention to cancers affecting women.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation to amend Social Security and Medicare law to lower Medicare eligibility to age 50, supporting expanded public health coverage.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation to create a national patient safety body, reflecting support for improving health care quality and reducing medical harm.
SourceYvette D. Clarke’s Economy & Jobs stance emphasizes targeted federal investment, worker protections, affordability, small-business support, and clean-energy job creation. Her recent record includes sponsoring tax-credit legislation to hire veterans into energy-sustainability jobs and renewable-energy legislation, while her campaign says she supports economic opportunity, small businesses, and Green New Deal-style clean-energy employment.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke proposed expanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for employers that hire veterans who completed VA vocational training, tying veteran employment to growth in clean-energy jobs.
SourceClarke proposed a renewable-energy standard aimed at accelerating clean-energy investment and job creation while reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
SourceClarke co-sponsored labor legislation focused on protections for public service workers.
SourceHer campaign says she strongly supports the Green New Deal, describing it as a way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean-energy industries.
SourceHer campaign says she will continue to introduce, co-sponsor, and support legislation that favors economic opportunity and small businesses while holding corporations accountable for environmental and economic actions.
SourceYvette D. Clarke supports a pro-immigrant agenda centered on humane immigration policy, pathways to citizenship, protections for immigrant families, and improved legal/process access for immigrants. Her recent record includes sponsoring diversity-visa modernization and co-sponsoring measures on immigration counsel, citizenship pathways, and visa processing modernization.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke sponsored legislation to protect and modernize the diversity visa program, aligning with her support for keeping immigration pathways open and accessible.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation focused on improving fairness in immigration proceedings by expanding access to legal representation for people facing immigration cases.
SourceClarke co-sponsored a resolution reaffirming support for preserving and expanding pathways to citizenship.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation to modernize domestic visa renewal processes, supporting more efficient immigration administration for eligible visa holders.
SourceClarke states that immigrants are central to the country’s growth and says she has fought for immigrant rights, while her campaign says U.S. immigration policy should empower people seeking to become part of the American dream and respond to family separation and deteriorating detention conditions.
SourceYvette D. Clarke presents a strongly pro-climate and pro-renewable-energy stance, emphasizing emissions reductions, environmental justice, climate resilience, and clean-energy jobs. Her record includes sponsoring a 2026 national renewable-electricity-standard bill and publicly backing limits on fossil-fuel exports, the Green New Deal, and federal climate-preparedness planning.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke sponsored legislation to create a national renewable electricity standard, aiming for 70% renewable generation by 2036 and up to 100% by 2046 while prioritizing investments in impacted communities.
SourceClarke supports and co-led legislation to prohibit most U.S. natural-gas exports, arguing it would lower household energy costs and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
SourceClarke’s campaign says she strongly supports the Green New Deal to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels and create high-paying clean-energy jobs.
SourceClarke supports placing climate change at the center of FEMA planning by requiring the agency to incorporate climate risks, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience into its policies and strategic plans.
SourceClarke supports legislation directing DHS to assess federal climate research, consult governments and stakeholders, and report on climate-related research and development for homeland-security preparedness.
SourceYvette D. Clarke supports accessible, high-quality education across age groups, with emphasis on early childhood education, affordability in higher education, and reducing barriers for children of color. Her public statements also favor protecting federal education funding, expanding pre-K, protecting student borrowers, and investing in struggling public schools rather than closing them.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke states that children, young adults, and seniors have a right to accessible, high-quality education and says policy should address higher-education costs and barriers affecting children of color.
SourceClarke criticized cuts to Department of Education programs and funding as harmful to communities in New York's Ninth Congressional District.
SourceClarke urged action to expand early childhood education and supported full-day universal pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds in New York City with dedicated funding.
SourceClarke argued federal student aid should increase access to higher education, not allow banks or colleges to exploit students through high fees or conflicted lending arrangements.
SourceClarke opposed closing and phasing out struggling New York City public schools and called for rebuilding the school system and addressing root causes of poor performance.
SourceYvette D. Clarke’s public-safety stance emphasizes gun violence prevention, safer streets, civil-rights-oriented law enforcement reforms, and opposition to the death penalty. Her record also includes support for measures addressing sex trafficking, protecting public service workers, and improving road safety for vulnerable users.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Clarke proposed legislation focused on safer streets and transportation-related public safety protections.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation aimed at strengthening protections for public service workers.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation to prohibit the federal death penalty, reflecting a criminal justice reform position within public safety policy.
SourceClarke co-sponsored legislation targeting demand connected to sex trafficking as a public safety and law enforcement concern.
SourceClarke’s official House issue areas identify gun violence prevention as a policy priority, indicating support for public-safety measures addressing firearms-related harm.
SourceBallotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Yvette_ClarkeFetched: biography, education, committee assignments, location
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official website
https://clarke.house.gov/about/Fetched: biography, location, education
U.S. Government Publishing Office Congressional Directory
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDIR-2022-10-26/html/CDIR-2022-10-26-NY-H-9.htmFetched: biography, age
New York City Campaign Finance Board
https://www.nyccfb.info/nyc-votes/vgwelcome/state-general-2018/meet-the-candidates/representative-in-congress/district-9/yvette-d-clarke/?languageType=EnglishFetched: education, professional background
FEC API
https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/candidate/H4NY11138/totals/Fetched: totalRaised, totalSpent, cashOnHand
OpenWatchdog
https://www.openwatchdog.com/member/C001067Fetched: partyAlignment, missedVotes, keyVotes
OpenSecrets
https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/yvette-clarke/summary?cid=N00026961&cycle=2026Fetched: campaignFinance
Planned Parenthood Action Fund Endorsed Candidates
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
League of Conservation Voters 2025-2026 Endorsements
https://www.lcv.org/endorsements/?cycle=general&result_page=11Fetched: endorsements
NYSUT Endorsements
https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voter-guide/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
NYSUT congressional-primary endorsement announcement
https://www.publicnow.com/view/719B2D81C611C51BF1611D15D711BF4BC28F91B1Fetched: endorsements
CSEA Legislative & Political Action
https://cseany.org/about-csea/legislative-political-action/Fetched: endorsements
AFL-CIO Legislative Scorecard
https://aflcio.org/scorecard/legislators?name=&order=party&page=18&sort=descFetched: ratings
Reproductive Freedom for All Congressional Scorecard
https://reproductivefreedomforall.org/lawmaker/yvette-clarke/Fetched: ratings
Club for Growth Foundation 2023 Congressional Scorecard
https://clubforgrowthfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2023-Congressional-Scorecard-FINAL-WEB.pdfFetched: ratings
The Freedom Index
https://thefreedomindex.org/legislator/c001067/votes/report-scorecard-118-3/pdf/scc/Fetched: ratings
Humane Society Legislative Fund 2024 Humane Scorecard
https://humaneaction.org/sites/default/files/scorecard/pdfs/HSLF_HumaneScorecard_2024.pdfFetched: ratings
Vote Smart candidate profile
https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/44741/yvette-clarkeFetched: ratings, endorsements
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official House biography
https://clarke.house.gov/about/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official House site
https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-introduces-invest-act-to-deliver-tax-relief-to-employers-who-hire-veterans/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke - Immigration/Migrant Issues
https://clarke.house.gov/legislation/key-issues/immigration-migrant-issues/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke - American Renewable Energy Act release
https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-welch-van-hollen-reintroduce-bicameral-bill-to-create-70-renewable-energy-resource-standard-by-2036-speed-u-s-clean-energy-transition/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke - Lowering American Energy Costs Act release
https://clarke.house.gov/representatives-clarke-espaillat-and-senator-markey-introduce-legislation-to-lower-household-energy-bills-by-stopping-exports-of-natural-gas-abroad/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke - FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act release
https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-introduces-legislation-to-combat-the-impacts-of-climate-change/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke - DHS Climate Change Research Act release
https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-thompson-kennedy-reintroduce-bill-to-prepare-dhs-for-climate-crisis/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official issue page
https://clarke.house.gov/legislation/issue-areas/education/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official press release
https://clarke.house.gov/congresswoman-clarke-launches-listening-session-tour-with-community-boards-8-9-in-central-brooklyn/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official press release
https://clarke.house.gov/congresswoman-clarke-urges-a-vote-to-expand-early-childhood-education/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official press release
https://clarke.house.gov/congresswoman-clarke-works-to-protect-students-from-unfair-banking/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official press release
https://clarke.house.gov/rep-yvette-d-clarke-fights-for-better-solutions-for-nyc-schools/Fetched: issuePositions
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke official House issue areas
https://clarke.house.gov/legislation/issue-areas/Fetched: issuePositions