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Congressman John
Tanner has represented Tennessee’s 8th District in West and Middle Tennessee
since 1989, currently serving on the House Ways and Means Committee and the
House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Legislators from all 26 NATO-member
nations elected Tanner in November 2008 to serve as President of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly, the alliance’s legislative branch.
As co-founder of a group of moderate to
conservative U.S. House Democrats known as the Blue Dog Coalition, Tanner is
considered a leader in the fight for fiscal responsibility and pro-growth
economic policies. Congressman Tanner and his wife, Betty Ann, live in Union
City, Tennessee, and have two children and three grandchildren. He and his
brothers own an insurance business and farming interests in Tennessee.
Education
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Attended
public schools in Union City, Tennessee.
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Entered
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville on a basketball scholarship in
1962 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration in 1966.
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Earned a
law degree from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1968.
Military Service
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Served as
a Lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1968-1972, after which he
received an honorable discharge.
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Entered
the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1972 and retired in 2000 at the rank
of Colonel.
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Is one of
few Members of Congress to have served on the Board of Visitors for the
U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military
Academy.
Government Service
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Represented House District 77 in the Tennessee General Assembly from 1976
until 1988.
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Is serving
his tenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Helped
found the moderate-to-conservative Blue Dog Democrats in 1995. The group,
so named because its members felt they had been “squeezed from the left
and the right until they turned blue in the face,” now has 47 members.
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Served on
the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Science
until his appointment in 1997 to the Ways and Means Committee.
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Appointed
as Chief Deputy Whip for the House Democratic Caucus in 109th
and 110th Congresses.
Community Involvement
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With his
wife Betty Ann, has two children, Elizabeth Tanner Atkins and John Portis
Tanner, and three grandchildren, Abby Frances Atkins, Tanner Lantrip
Atkins and Beck Counce Tanner.
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Is Past President of Union City Rotary
Club and a Paul Harris fellow.
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Serves as
an Elder of the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
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Works as
active supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, serving on the
organization’s Professional Advisory Board.
The 8th District
includes all of Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Dickson, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood,
Henry, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, Obion, Stewart, Tipton
and Weakley counties, as well as portions of Montgomery and Shelby counties. |