Steve LaTourette (R-OH-14)i

Steve LaTourette Congressman Ohio District 14

Steve LaTourette Biography from House.gov

Biography of Steve LaTourette

Steve LaTourette has represented NE Ohio in the House of Representatives since 1995 and has earned a reputation as a solutions-oriented, common-sense legislator who does what’s best for his district and the region. He has also proven time and again that doesn’t shy away from a challenge. He has been the go-to person for transportation-related issues in the district and has brought tens of millions of federal dollars back to the district and region. He was an early and ferocious critic of TARP and the bank bailouts, his interest fueled by outrage that the Treasury denied TARP funds to help National City Bank and orchestrated its demise at a fire-sale price.

He fought to undo bank bonuses, to strip pork projects from the first stimulus bill (including tax breaks for toy wooden arrows and rum), and pressed for common-sense fixes, like making banks that received TARP funds document new lending. He encountered strong opposition from both the Bush and Obama Administrations. He led the charge to force GM and Chrysler, who had received more than $60 billion in bailouts, to help ousted dealers. His legislation led to an arbitration process so dealers can get their businesses back. With almost 1,600 dealers filing for arbitration, including about 1,100 from GM alone, GM voluntarily agreed to reinstate 661 dealerships, which translates to more than 6,000 jobs saved.

The Congressman’s scrappy nature and willingness to roll up his sleeves to fight for NE Ohio also led him to go full-throttle against the Pentagon when it tried to close the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Cleveland as part of its base-closing process. Using the same meticulous research skills and tenacity that had made him Ohio’s Prosecuting Attorney of the Year, he and his staff amassed irrefutable evidence that Cleveland DFAS landed on the closure list based on bogus data. His odds of overturning the Pentagon’s wishes were just 10 percent, but he was relentless in his pursuit to expose flaws and save the jobs. His effort not saved 1,100 existing jobs, but he got a promise that jobs would grow to 1,500. Current estimates now show DFAS Cleveland will have 2,011 jobs by 2011.

Congressman Steven C. LaTourette is serving his ninth term in the United States House of Representatives and represents Northeast Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, which includes all of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties, and part of Cuyahoga, Summit, Trumbull and Portage counties. All told, there are 22 cities, 34 villages and 63 townships in the 14th District.

LaTourette is a fiscally conservative, moderate Republican who is well respected in his district.  He strives to take a bipartisan and regional approach to governing and is widely credited with leading the successful effort to save more than 1,100 jobs at Cleveland’s Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which the Pentagon hoped to close as part of its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

More recently, LaTourette took a leading role in trying to assist auto dealers impacted by the bankruptcy and bailout of GM and Chrysler.  His efforts led to the creation of an arbitration process so dealers could save their businesses.  After nearly 1,600 dealers filed for arbitration, the automakers voluntarily reinstated hundreds of dealers, saving an estimated 40,000 jobs.

LaTourette is one of Speaker John Boehner’s closest colleagues in the House, and he was asked to escort the Speaker to the House Floor to be sworn in, and was asked to take the gavel and preside after the ceremony. Speaker Boehner also appointed LaTourette as one of three House Members to serve on the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution.

LaTourette was appointed to the prestigious House Appropriations Committee in 2009 and is the only member from NE Ohio. This panel provides funding for all federal government programs with the exception of mandatory spending programs like Social Security and Medicare.  He serves on three subcommittees: Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD); Interior, Environment and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch.

The Congressman brings extensive experience in transportation policy to the committee, having served 14 years on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in several leadership positions.   He continues to focus on the maintenance and growth of our nation’s infrastructure.   At the start of the 112th Congress, LaTourette was named Vice-Chair of the transportation subcommittee, meaning he will serve as Chair in absence of the Chairman.

As a member of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, LaTourette plays a role in the funding priorities for our national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and other public lands, water resource protection, and cultural agencies, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center.  He emphasizes effective use of tax dollars in the management of these natural and cultural resources with a keen understanding that these resources also enhance economic development.  Finally, as a member of the subcommittee responsible for funding the legislative branch of government, he is especially interested in the effective use of legislative resources in serving constituents.

LaTourette continues to be actively involved in Great Lakes’ and environmental issues and served as Co-Chair of the influential Great Lakes Task Force for a decade.  In 2005, LaTourette was named co chair of the Northeast Midwest Coalition (NEMW) and its Manufacturing Task Force, which has oversight of the Great Lakes Task Forces.  NEMW focuses on economic competitiveness and environmental quality in the Northeast and Midwest states.  He is co-founder of the Nursing Caucus, and has been a leading advocate for nursing issues in Congress.

Prior to his election to the House of Representatives, LaTourette served from 1989 to 1995 as the Lake County Prosecutor. In 1990, he was named Prosecuting Attorney of the Year in Ohio for his successful prosecution of 13 members of a murderous religious cult. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He lives in Bainbridge Township and is the father of six children.

Biography from LaTourette for Congress

Serving Ohio’s 14th District, Congressman Steven C. LaTourette is an unflinching advocate for Northeast Ohio’s economic needs and a force against wasteful spending in Washington, D.C. His ability to achieve results for constituents and reach across party lines to solve problems is unmatched in Congress.

Steve’s tenacity and relentless support of Northeast Ohio’s economy has caught newspapers’ attention. The Akron Beacon Journal praised Steve, because he has “delivered for his district and the region . . . and has been refreshingly independent-minded.”  The Cleveland Plain Dealer argued that Steve has “become Cleveland’s most effective representative in Washington.” The Willoughby News Herald agrees: “Of all the members of Congress in Northeast Ohio, he is the only heavyweight who delivers to his constituents.”

With Northeast Ohio’s economy suffering, Steve has not simply waited back for things to improve. He has taken initiative to save thousands of jobs, using the same tenacity that earned him Ohio’s Prosecutor of the Year award in 1990. When General Motors and Chrysler accepted $60 billion in bailout money and then tried to eliminate car dealers on an arbitrary basis, Steve led the charge to stop it. As a result, dealers were afforded an opportunity for a hearing, and GM reinstated 661 dealers, saving more than 6,000 jobs.

Steve also stood up to Washington bureaucrats who tried to close the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Cleveland. After months of in-depth research, Steve found that the bureaucrats relied upon faulty data when deciding to close DFAS. Steve’s effort saved 1,100 jobs for Northeast Ohio, and employment in that office is expected to swell to 2,011 by 2011.

Steve is currently fighting against the multiple bailouts and stimulus packages that threaten to bankrupt the country. Steve urged his colleagues to vote against wasteful pork projects in the first stimulus package, including tax breaks for makers of rum and toy wooden arrows. Steve fervently opposed the $700 billion dollar bailout of the banks, particularly when the Treasury denied bailout money to Cleveland-based National City Bank, leading to the bank’s sale to PNC.

Steve’s ability to achieve results is a testament to his willingness to roll up his sleeves, do the research, and build bipartisan coalitions to ensure the government does the right thing. He is well-positioned in Congress to guarantee that Northeast Ohio’s interests are heard, loud and clear. Steve is a member of the prestigious House Appropriations Committee, where fiscally conservative values are most needed. Steve is also widely regarded as an expert in the fields of identity theft and privacy, environmental preservation, and transportation.

Steve is serving his eighth term in the United States House of Representatives. He strives to represent Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, which includes all of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties, and part of Cuyahoga, Summit, Trumbull and Portage counties. His district includes 22 cities, 34 villages and 63 townships.

Before being elected to Congress in 1994, Steve served as the Lake County Prosecutor for seven years, where he successfully prosecuted 13 members of a murderous religious cult. Steve is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Cleveland Marshall School of Law. He is the father of six children and lives in Bainbridge Township with his wife, Jennifer.