CONTRIBUTOR
REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES / NATIONAL IMPACT
Bob Goodlatte
Member For
31 weeks 2 days
Website:
U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte (VA)
Contact:
2240 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5431
BIOGRAPHY
Bob Goodlatte began his ninth term representing the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia in 2009.
Bob’s service to the people of the Sixth District began in 1977 when he became District Director for former Congressman Caldwell Butler. He served in this position for two years until 1979, and was responsible for helping folks across the District seeking assistance with or encountering problems from various federal agencies. In 1979, he founded his own private law practice in Roanoke. He was a partner in the law firm of Bird, Kinder and Huffman, working there from 1981 until taking office.
During his time in Congress, Bob has made a name for himself as a leader on Internet and high-tech issues. He is Co-Chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, and Chairman of the House Republican High Technology Working Group.
In January 2009, Bob was elected to serve as the Vice Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee. He has been an active member of the House Judiciary Committee since arriving in Congress. The Judiciary Committee is well-suited to many of Bob’s legislative priorities including ensuring the Internet is free from regulatory burdens, combating spyware, protecting private property rights and reining in wasteful spending by requiring the government to have a balanced budget. In addition to serving on the House Judiciary Committee, Bob serves on the House Agriculture Committee where he is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research. This important subcommittee has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues including water conservation, energy production, rural electrification, agricultural credit and agricultural research and education. Bob also serves on the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, which is of particular importance to the Sixth District since it is one of the leading turkey and poultry producing districts in the nation. Bob has served the Agriculture Committee in a variety of leadership roles including Chairman of the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee (1996-2002), Chairman of the Agriculture Committee (2003-2006), and Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee (2007-2008).
Bob, age 56, is a graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Government was earned at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He and Maryellen, his wife of 34 years, live in Roanoke and have two children, Jennifer and Rob.
COMMENTARIES
Democrats' Health Care Plan: Fewer Choices and Increased Costs
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 11/07/09
You know what’s best for your family when it comes to health care, and it is crucial that any health care reform proposal ensures high-quality health care, protects your ability to make choices, and gives you affordable options. Our nation’s health care system needs reform. However, in their rush to takeover our nation’s health care delivery system, Democrats in Congress have forgotten what Americans want and are pushing... read more »
2 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Speaker Pelosi: Some Transparency, Please
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 11/01/09
During the Presidential election campaign then Senator Obama called for transparency in the legislative process, even promising that health care reform negotiations would be “televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents and who are making arguments on behalf of the drug companies or the insurance companies.” However, last week Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the Democrats’... read more »
Health Care Reform Bill is Bad for Seniors
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 10/23/09
This summer Democratic leaders in Congress introduced H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act”, which sets the tone for a Washington takeover of the health care system -- one defined by federal regulation, mandates, a myriad of new big government programs, and a significant increase in federal spending. While this legislation contains a multitude of dangerous policies it is particularly detrimental to our... read more »
Democrats' Healthcare Plan Wrought with Job Killing Tax Increases
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 10/17/09
More than 90 percent of all American employers are small businesses and they generate more than 70 percent of the new jobs created in the United States each year. Small businesses are crucial to the American economy and account for a significant majority of new product ideas and innovation. Small businesses are also central to the American dream of self-improvement and individual achievement which is why Congress must work to reduce the tax and... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Economic Recovery Starts with Fiscal Responsibility in Washington
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 10/12/09
It is no secret that the American people are facing a very tough economic climate. Families and small businesses are cutting back on expenses. As economic uncertainty continues, many across our nation are looking to the government for leadership during this difficult time. In these challenging economic times it is even more important for government to control spending. The federal government must work to both eliminate every cent of... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Heathcare Reform: 100 Million Americans Would Lose Current Coverage
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 10/03/09
This summer Democratic leaders in Congress introduced H.R. 3200, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act”, which sets the tone for a Washington takeover of the health care system —one defined by federal regulation, mandates, a myriad of new big government programs, and a significant increase in federal spending and debt. At least two different independent analyses of the House Democrats’ health care... read more »
2 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Congress Takes Steps to Protect Chesapeake Bay
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 09/20/09
The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., is an incredibly complex ecosystem that includes important habitats and is a cherished part of our American heritage. More than 64,000 square-miles of land drains into creeks, streams, rivers and, eventually, the Chesapeake Bay. Almost 200 miles long, the Chesapeake Bay is a wonderful resource, still beautiful and still teeming with life that we both harvest and appreciate. But unquestionably... read more »
2 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Proposed Legislation Would Reign In the Czars
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 09/12/09
On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed their names to the United States Constitution. In doing so they laid the framework on which we have built our nation. The Constitution protects Americans’ liberties by creating a limited government that is divided into three separate branches, each of which holds only those powers delegated to it. This “separation of powers”... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Government Run Health Care: Little Choice and Long Lines
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 09/06/09
While we can all agree that our current health care system is flawed there are many different ideas about how to fix it. Democratic Leaders in Congress have introduced and rushed through committee, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act”. This one-size fits all proposal would steer the country toward a government-run health care system likely marked by little choice and long lines. I oppose this bill and... read more »
6 Comments | Related Topics »National |
Putting an End to the Bailout Culture in Washington
By Rep. Bob Goodlatte | 08/29/09
Late last year the Congress passed, without my support, the Financial Stabilization Package, which was supposed to stabilize the growing financial crisis currently facing our country. In fact, this legislation represented one of the largest corporate bailouts in American history by taking 700 billion dollars of taxpayers’ hard-earned money and handing it over to the very companies that made the bad decisions which led us into this... read more »
3 Comments | Related Topics »National |
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