Elected in 1992, Representative Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20) was the first African American from Florida since the post-Civil War era to be elected to the United States Congress. Representative Hastings has been a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the Helsinki Commission) since 2001. In 2007, Representative Hastings became the first African American to chair the Commission.
Currently, Representative Hastings serves as the Ranking Democratic Member of the Helsinki Commission. He is the only American to have ever served as President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), and is the former Special Representative on Mediterranean Affairs of the PA.
In addition, Representative Hastings is a senior Member of the House Rules Committee, Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process, and the former Vice Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Furthermore, he is the Co-Chairman of the Democratic Israel Working Group (DWIG), where he remains committed to working with his colleagues in Congress to further strengthen the special relationship with Israel, a country he has visited 18 times.
Representative Hastings is in his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also serves as a Senior Democratic Whip, and is an influential member of the House Democratic Leadership and serves as the Co-Chairman of the Florida delegation.
