Norma Torres

On June 6, 2019, Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., was debating Republicans about language in the fiscal 2020 Health and Human Services spending bill. Rep. Ross Spano, R-Fla., said during floor debate that the spending bill includes provisions that weaken anti-abortion protections, including conscience protection rules for doctors and nurses who do not want to perform abortions. But Torres dismissed Spano’s opposition as sexist. “It is tiring to hear from so many sex-starved males on this floor talk about a woman’s right to choose,” Torres said.

She worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher, where in 1994 she led a campaign to require the hiring of bilingual 9-1-1 operators. She was an active member of AFSCME, serving as local 3090's shop steward. She served on the Pomona city council prior to being elected the city's mayor in 2006. In 2008, she endorsed then-presidential candidate Barack Obama before Hillary Clinton withdrew from the race, and was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention. She was elected to the State Assembly in November 2008, filling the vacancy left by former legislator Nell Soto, who retired. She earned her bachelor's degree in Labor Studies from the now defunct National Labor College in Maryland in 2012 at the age of 47.

Torres was born Norma Judith Barillas in Guatemala. When she was five, she and her uncle came to the United States; her mother died a year later. Although she had originally arrived on a tourist visa, she became a legal resident in her teens and gained citizenship in 1992.

Norma Judith Torres, née Barillas (/ˈ t ɒr ɛ s / ; born April 4, 1965) is an American politician. She is a member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 35th congressional district. Previously, she was a member of the California State Senate representing the 35th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.