| In 2002, David Scott was elected to the United States Congress. He is currently in his tenth term representing Georgia's Thirteenth Congressional District, which includes 6 counties around metro Atlanta- Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton and Henry. He began his public service by being elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1974.
In Congress, David Scott is a strong voice for farmers, jobs, healthcare, education, our veterans, our children, and transportation. He serves on the Financial Services Committee, Agriculture Committee, and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He has authored several laws including student loan repayment assistance for law students who become public prosecutors and defenders so that top attorneys will be attracted to public service. Congressman Scott secured $80 million in funding in the 2018 Farm Bill for agriculture-focused scholarships at the 19 Historically Black 1890's Land-Grant Colleges and Universities across the country. He also recognized the importance of Fathers by adding Father's Day to the U.S. Flag Code as a day of special significance. He bridged political gridlock to achieve National Heritage Area designation for the Arabia Mountain in metro Atlanta.
Respect for veterans is important to Congressman Scott. After scandals were revealed at the Atlanta VA, Congressman Scott worked in a bipartisan effort to pass major reforms of the VA and he was the first Democrat to call for the resignation of the VA Secretary. He authored bills that later became law to allow veterans and their children to receive in-state tuition. He also co-authored a law to help increase the number of mental health professionals at the VA by paying for their student loans.
David Scott was born on June 27, 1945 on a farm in Aynor, South Carolina to Mamie Polite Scott and Albert James Scott. Soon after he was born, David's mother and father moved up north to take work as live-in domestics (maid/ cook and chauffeur/butler) for wealthy families, leaving David in the care of his maternal grandparents, Helen and James Burroughs, on the farm.
At age 5, David Scott was relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania where he lived with his paternal grandparents, Minnie and Charles Scott. He attended Washington Street Elementary School in Scranton. At age 10, his paternal grandmother died and David was moved back to the care of his maternal grandmother on the farm in South Carolina for one year.
Then at age 11, David Scott was relocated to Scarsdale, New York where his parents found another job as live-in domestics for a wealthy family. However, this family allowed David to live with his parents in Scarsdale, marking the first period in his life that he actually lived day-to-day with his parents. David attended Fox Meadow School and Scarsdale Junior High School.
At age 13, David moved with his parents to Daytona Beach, Florida where they bought a home and his father started a garbage collection business. David worked with his father on the garbage truck; and worked his way through school as a busboy, waiter and dishwasher at hotels and restaurants along Daytona's famous beach. David Scott graduated with honors from Campbell High School in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1963.
David Scott received several academic scholarships and attended Florida A&M University where he earned his BA degree and graduated with honors in 1967. During the summers of his junior and senior years at FAMU, David was selected to serve as a management intern in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor Management Relations in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, he was awarded scholarships to the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and he earned his MBA degree with honors in 1969.
David Scott began his political career in 1972 by working on Andrew Young's successful congressional campaign. In 1974, he was elected as a Georgia State Representative, where he served from 1975 to 1982. As State Representative, he authored laws to provide for gun safety, including creating background checks for gun purchases. He also made it a felony to knowingly sell or provide a firearm to a child or minor and held parents and guardians responsible for keeping their firearms away from children. Representative Scott helped create Peachcare, the health insurance program for children.
In 1982, David Scott was elected as a Georgia State Senator, where he served from 1983 to 2002. In the Senate, he successfully passed several major laws including a moment of silence for reflection or prayer in Georgia's public schools. He wrote the Georgia law that gives women with breast cancer surgery the right to determine their length of stay in the hospital and level of medical care in consultation with their physician, rather than having insurance companies make such critical health decisions. He authored the law to limit and restrict landfills in residential neighborhoods, cleaning rivers and streams, and protecting underground water aquifers. He also passed the state law to provide sex education and AIDS prevention instruction in Georgia public schools.
David Scott is married to Alfredia Aaron Scott. Their family includes two daughters, Dayna and Marcye; two grandchildren, Kimani and Kaylin; and a son-in-law Kwame. David Scott is the son of a minister and a man of strong faith who loves the Lord. He regularly gives guest sermons in area churches. |