Ken Calvert, a lifelong resident of Riverside County and 17-year small business owner in the restaurant and real estate industries, represents the 42nd Congressional District of southern California. Calvert was born on June 8, 1953 and attended neighborhood public schools, graduating from Corona High School in 1971. He attended two years at Chaffey College and then enrolled at San Diego State University, where he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Throughout his life, Ken has been actively involved and served in leadership roles with several local community volunteer organizations, including the Corona Chamber of Commerce, the Corona Rotary, and the Corona-Norco Family YMCA.

During his freshman term in the 103rd Congress, Calvert served as an active Member of the Resources Committee and Science Committee. His ability to work in a bipartisan fashion in his first two years led to him being rewarded with the Chairmanship of the Energy and Mineral Subcommittee on the Resources Committee. While unusual for a sophomore Member to be given a Chairmanship after only one term in Congress, Calvert also served on two other Committees; maintaining his seat on the Science Committee and gaining a seat on the Agriculture Committee. Over the years his committee assignments enabled him to address issues critical to Riverside County our state and the nation. He has been a leader on issues such as the Endangered Species Act, agriculture, energy, water and much more. In the 105th and 106th Congress, Rep. Calvert was Chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment where he worked on alternative energy and clean air issues. In 2001 (107th Congress) Calvert was selected to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

In the 108th Congress (2003-2004), Calvert continued his service on the Armed Services Committee, Resources Committee and Science Committee. On the Resources Committee, Calvert was Chairman of the Water and Power Subcommittee overseeing federal water rights in the west, including hydro-power generated from federal water projects. As Chairman he introduced and helped pass H.R. 2828, The Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act, which reauthorized the CALFED Bay-Delta program.

In the 109th Congress (2005-2006), Calvert was Chairman of the House Science Committee Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics and passed the first NASA Authorization bill in five years. He also served as a member of the Committee on Armed Services and the Resources Committee.

In the 110th Congress (2007-2008), Calvert served for five months as the Ranking Member of the House Science Committee Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics and as a member of the Committee on Armed Services and the Resources Committee. On May 9, 2007, Rep. Calvert was selected to serve on the House Appropriations Committee. He was a member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee and the Interior and the Environment Subcommittee.

In the 111th Congress (2009-2010), Rep. Calvert served on the House Appropriations Committee and was a member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee, the Interior and the Environment Subcommittee and the Homeland Security Subcommittee. He was also selected to serve as the Ranking Member of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel of the House Committee on Appropriations (SIOP). The SIOP reviewed and studied budget requests for intelligence activities in order to make recommendations to relevant subcommittees of the Committee on Appropriations.

In the 112th Congress (2011-2012), Rep. Calvert served on the House Appropriations Committee and was a member of the Defense Subcommittee, the Interior and the Environment Subcommittee and the Legislative Branch Subcommittee.  He also served on the House Budget Committee.

In the 114th Congress (2015-2016), Rep. Calvert served on the House Appropriations Committee where he was the Chairman of the Interior and the Environment Subcommittee.  Rep. Calvert was also a member of the Defense Subcommittee and the Energy and Water Subcommittee.  He also served on the House Budget Committee.  Rep. Calvert was also selected to serve as the Chairman of the California Republican Delegation, a role he still holds today.

In the 115th Congress (2017-2018), Rep. Calvert served on the House Appropriations Committee where he continued his role as Chairman of the Interior and the Environment Subcommittee.  Rep. Calvert was also Vice-Chairman of the Defense Subcommittee and served on the Energy and Water Subcommittee.

In the 116th Congress (2019-2020), Rep. Calvert continues to serve on the House Appropriations Committee where he is the Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds approximately one-half of the discretionary budget. Rep. Calvert also serves on the Energy and Water Subcommittee. 

In 1996, Calvert authored legislation that created E-Verify, the only tool available to employers to check the veracity of a name and Social Security number given on an I-9 form for employment. That law is a result of Calvert's 1995 tour of the southern border at which a Border Patrol agent remarked on the job magnet that brings hundreds of thousands of people illegally to the United States. Rep. Calvert, a former small business owner and employer, concluded that the best and quickest way to enable employers to check the legal status of newly hired employees was to set up a system that could check the name against the Social Security number.