John Barrow (D-GA-12)

John Barrow Congressman Georgia District 12

John Barrow Biography from House.gov

Biography of John Barrow

Congressman John Barrow is currently serving his fourth term as Congressman from Georgia’s 12th Congressional District.

John Barrow’s Georgia roots run deep. For over 7 generations, his family has farmed, taught, preached, and practiced law all across eastern and southeastern Georgia.

He grew up learning the importance of serving his community and standing up for what’s right. John’s father, James Barrow, was a decorated World War II veteran, and his mother, Phyllis Barrow, also served in the armed service during World War II, attaining the rank of Captain. Both were courageous and outspoken leaders in the effort to desegregate the University of Georgia.

John earned degrees in political science and history from the University of Georgia. Later, at only 20 years old, he became one of the youngest members of his class at Harvard Law School.

In 1990, after having built and run a successful law practice, John was elected as a charter member of the Athens-Clarke County Commission. He served on the Commission for 14 years, voting against every tax increase, working for economic development, fighting for property tax relief for homeowners, and developing innovative programs to improve the quality of life of the people he represents.

In Congress, those are the same values John Barrow fights for every day.

In the House of Representatives, John currently serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. John is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and currently serves as the groups co-chair.

John is the father of two children, James and Ruth, and lives in Savannah.

Biography from Friends of John Barrow

Congressman John Barrow is currently serving his third term representing Georgia’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

John Barrow’s family has lived, worked, farmed, taught, practiced law, and preached in east Georgia for over 7 generations. Both of John’s parents served in World War II, and taught John the importance of giving back to your community, standing up for what’s right, and fighting injustice. Both were active in the effort to desegregate the University of Georgia, and John’s a lifetime member of the NAACP.

John’s father was the judge who presided over the case that desegregated the local public schools, and John was in the first class to go all the way through the newly named Clarke Central High School. Those were turbulent times, but John believes in change because he has actually lived it. John then attended the University of Georgia, and majored in history and political science. Although a lifelong Bulldog fan, John entered law school at Harvard as one of the youngest members of his class.

After graduating from Harvard Law, John returned home to Georgia and built a successful law practice. He was elected to the Athens-Clarke County Commission, where he served for 14 years. In 2003, John decided to run for Congress in the 12th District.

Since being elected to Congress in 2004, John has worked tirelessly, crisscrossing all 22 counties of the 12th Congressional District, meeting with local elected officials, veterans, military families, small businesses, and concerned constituents. In fact, many folks have told John at his public meetings, “We’ve never had a Congressman work as hard as you do.” Since January of 2009, the start of the 111th Congress, John has held over 70 public meetings throughout the 12th District, in all 22 counties. John believes that folks shouldn’t have to make a long distance call or travel a long distance in order to talk to their Congressman.

John has worked hard to help families in Georgia’s 12 District as their Representative in Congress:

• Leading the effort to successfully increase the mileage reimbursement rate for disabled veterans – for the first time in thirty years.

• Working to pass H.R. 5522, the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008, in the wake of the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion – to prevent that kind of disaster from happening again.

• Standing with President Obama to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has already brought over $200 million in funding for roads, hospitals, schools, transportation, and housing to communities in the 12th District.

• Passing “Juan’s Law” – because parents have the right to know whether their child’s day care center will be financially responsible if they harm their child.

• Voting to increase the minimum wage to help all working families make ends meet.

• Voting to extend PeachCare – so that kids whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance, don’t have to rely on the emergency room for medical care.

• Introducing legislation to give working families tax credits for the cost of childcare, sending kids to college, and the same mortgage interest deduction that upper income folks already get.

• Voting for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – to close the wage gap where women earn 78 cents for every dollar that a man earns in America.

• Supporting the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights – to protect American consumers from arbitrary rate increases, excessive fees, and other abusive credit practices.

• Voting to bring back “statutory PAYGO,” the budgetary rules, which produced the budget surpluses of a decade ago. PAYGO requires Congress to pay for any new spending programs, so we don’t pay for the government we use today by mortgaging our kids’ future.

• Introducing the “Informed Peer-to-Peer User Act” – to protect Internet users from having their most personal information stolen by other users of P2P software.

• Passing legislation to enhance and support programs at historically black colleges and universities to meet our national security needs in cryptography, computer science, and language study.

During his time in Congress, John has earned praise from across the political spectrum. He’s been praised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NumbersUSA, the National Rifle Association, President Barack Obama, the Georgia Association of Educators, the VFW, the National Farmers Union, AFL-CIO, Democrats, and Republicans for his independent voting record. Since being elected to Congress in 2004, John has established himself as an independent voice for Georgia families. He’s a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and the moderate New Democrat Coalition. He also serves on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

An avid history buff, John lives in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, and is the father of two children, James and Ruth.

Do you know where you still on the political spectrum? See “Political Beliefs, Where Are You” to find out where you stand.