Houlahan, Chrissy

Chrissy Houlahan represents Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district and serves as ranking member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee within the House Committee on Armed Services. As ranking member of the minority party, she leads Democratic opposition and priorities on the subcommittee, which oversees military personnel policy, readiness, recruitment, and related defense workforce matters. Her role gives her significant influence over hearings, investigations, and legislative proposals within this jurisdiction, though the majority party controls the subcommittee's agenda.

Houlahan brings substantial expertise to this position through her background as a former Air Force officer and engineer. After graduating from Stanford University, she served three years on active duty at Hanscom Air Force Base as a project manager focused on air and space defense technologies, eventually separating from the Air Force Reserve in 2004 as a captain. Beyond her military experience, she worked as chief operating officer at the sportswear company AND1 and later at B-Lab, a nonprofit focused on social enterprises. She also served as president and chief financial officer of Springboard Collaborative, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit addressing early childhood literacy in underserved communities.

Houlahan was first elected to Congress in 2018, defeating Republican Greg McCauley in her suburban Philadelphia district. She also serves as a member of the House Committee on Armed Services more broadly, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and holds ranking member status on the Open Source Intelligence Subcommittee. Her legislative work has focused on defense policy, biotechnology, and education, reflecting her diverse professional background in military technology, business operations, and nonprofit education work.