from 1975 to 1982, sitting in the 181st, 182nd, 183rd and 184th New York State Legislatures. In 1982, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, replacing the retiring Shirley Chisholm, where he remained until his retirement in 2006. Owens became known as "The Librarian In Congress." Owens's career in Congress is marked by his advocacy for and support of library funding and education issues; in particular public libraries, school libraries, and librarianship. In Congress, he worked closely with American Disability activist Justin Whitlock Dart who often was visiting his office in Capitol Hill and provided testimony before Owen's Subcommittee on Select Education in the House, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, prior to the passage of the ADA when it was being heatedly debated. Owens served as floor manager of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and aided in its enactment. Owens represented a diverse district located within Brooklyn, New York which included many African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Jewish Americans, including a large Hasidic Jewish community. His district included low income areas of Brownsville, a large Hasidic area of Crown Heights, the heavily Caribbean areas of Flatbush and East Flatbush, and the now upscale neighborhood of Park Slope. Although Owens won the 2004 Democratic primary with just 45.44% of the vote, he was re-elected in 2004 general election with 94% of the vote. In 2006, Owens decided to retire at the end of his term (January 2007). In the 2006 election, Yvette Clarke, who had run against Owens in the 2004 primary, won the election and became Owens successor. Owens was one of 31 House Democrats who voted to not count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 United States presidential election. Republican President George W. Bush won Ohio by 118,457 votes. Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He received an "A" on the Drum Major Institute's 2005 Congressional Scorecard on middle-class issues. Later career In 2006, Owens decided to not pursue re-election and retired from Congress, thereby ending his political career. Owens indicated that he wanted to spend his time writing novels and poetry. In 2006 after Owens's retirement decision, the Librarian of Congress announced that Owens would be