Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for the seventh congressional district (Seattle and vicinity) of Washington state. From 1993-1995, he served as Chairman of the House Ethics Committee.
After graduating from Wheaton College in Illinois, he earned a medical degree from Chicago's University of Illinois College of Medicine. He served during the Vietnam War as a United States Navy psychiatrist.
Before being elected to the United States Congress, he served in both the Washington State Senate and the Washington State House of Representatives.
His two marriages -- to Virginia Beattie McDermott (until 1989) and Therese Hansen (1997-2012) -- resulted in a total of two children.
He and fellow Democrat Maria Cantwell both represented Washington state in the United States Congress.