Ro Khanna facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ro Khanna
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Official portrait, 2016
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 17th district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Honda |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rohit Khanna
September 13, 1976 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Ritu Ahuja Khanna
(m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Amarnath Vidyalankar (grandfather) |
| Education | University of Chicago (BA) Yale University (JD) |
| Website | |
Rohit "Ro" Khanna (born September 13, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer. He serves as a U.S. Representative for California's 17th congressional district. He has held this position since 2017.
As a member of the Democratic Party, Khanna won his seat by defeating the previous representative, Mike Honda, in the 2016 election. Before joining Congress, Khanna worked for the U.S. government. He was the deputy assistant secretary in the United States Department of Commerce under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011.
Khanna was born in Philadelphia to parents who had moved to the U.S. from India. He believes in "progressive capitalism," which means he supports both social progress and a strong economy. He does not accept campaign donations from large groups called political action committees (PACs) or corporations, taking money only from individuals.
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Early Life and Schooling
Rohit Khanna was born on September 13, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents came to the United States from Punjab, India, in the 1970s. His father is a chemical engineer, and his mother was a schoolteacher.
Khanna's grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar, was part of the Indian independence movement. He worked for India's freedom and spent two years in jail for his beliefs.
Khanna went to Council Rock High School North in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1994. He then earned a degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1998. After that, he received a law degree from Yale Law School in 2001.
Career Before Congress
As a college student, Khanna helped with Barack Obama's first campaign for the Illinois Senate. He also worked as an intern for Vice President Al Gore and at former president Jimmy Carter's Carter Center.
After law school, Khanna worked as a lawyer for technology companies. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed him to a position in the United States Department of Commerce. There, he helped American businesses sell their products in other countries.
Khanna left this role in 2011 and returned to law. He also taught economics at Stanford University and law at Santa Clara University School of Law. In 2012, he wrote a book called Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America's Future.
In 2014, Khanna ran for Congress for the first time but lost a close election to Mike Honda. He ran again in 2016 and won. He has been reelected every two years since then.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
As a congressman, Ro Khanna focuses on several key areas, including the environment, technology, and the economy.
Fighting Climate Change
Khanna is the chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Environment. In 2021, he led a hearing where he questioned the CEOs of major oil companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP. He wanted to know if they had spread false information about climate change.
He played a big part in passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which included $369 billion to fight climate change. He also supports the "Green New Deal," a plan for an economy based on 100% renewable energy.
Technology and Jobs
Khanna believes that technology jobs should be available all over the country, not just in Silicon Valley. He has worked to bring tech training and jobs to rural areas, like Jefferson, Iowa, and Paintsville, Kentucky.
He co-wrote the Endless Frontier Act, which became part of the CHIPS and Science Act. This law invests billions of dollars in science and technology to create jobs across America.
Two of Khanna's bills were signed into law by President Donald Trump. The Valor Act helps military veterans get apprenticeships. The IDEA Act requires government websites to be modern and easy to use.
Making the Internet Fair
In 2018, Khanna created a set of principles for an "Internet Bill of Rights." This plan says that people should have the right to:
- Know what personal information is collected online and control it.
- Be asked for permission before a company collects or sells their data.
- Have net neutrality, meaning internet service providers can't block or slow down websites.
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, supported Khanna's plan.
Economic Ideas
Khanna wants to make the economy fairer for working families. He supports making public colleges tuition-free and has proposed expanding the earned income tax credit (EITC), which gives money back to working people with lower incomes.
He also supports "Medicare for All," a plan for a government-run healthcare system that would cover every American.
Khanna has also worked to address the power of large companies. He introduced the Stop BEZOS Act to push companies to pay their workers a living wage. In response to this pressure, Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2018.
Foreign Policy Views
Khanna believes the U.S. should avoid getting involved in wars that are not necessary for its security. He has been a strong voice for ending U.S. military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which has caused a major humanitarian crisis.
He has also worked to end the Korean War officially. In 2019, he introduced a resolution to create a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.
Khanna is a member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. He wants to rebalance the trade relationship with China and bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
Campaign Finance Reform
Khanna believes that money has too much influence in politics. In 2017, he co-founded the NO PAC Caucus with other members of Congress. Members of this group refuse to take campaign money from political action committees (PACs), which are organizations that raise money for political candidates.
He has also proposed a plan for "Democracy Dollars," which would give every American citizen $50 to donate to federal election campaigns. This would allow regular people to have a bigger voice in politics.
Election History
Khanna first ran for Congress in 2004 but was not successful. He ran again in 2014 against Mike Honda and lost in a very close race.
In 2016, Khanna challenged Honda again. This time, he won the election with over 60% of the vote. He has been reelected to represent California's 17th congressional district in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Personal Life
Khanna lives in Fremont, California, with his wife, Ritu Khanna, and their two children. He is a practicing Hindu and has said his beliefs are inspired by the non-violent philosophy of Gandhi.
See also
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
- List of United States representatives from California
- Politics of California
