Biography of Congressman Mike Ross

Congressman Mike Ross of Prescott represents Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District which includes 29 counties throughout much of the southern and western parts of the state.  First elected in 2000, Mike is currently serving his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A fifth-generation Arkansan, Mike brings to Washington the same common sense values he learned growing up in towns like Emmet, Hope and Prescott.  During his time in Congress, Mike has used his seat on the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce and on its Energy and Health Subcommittees to address issues like energy, health care and job creation.  Mike has led efforts to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil by calling for the largest expansion of domestic and offshore drilling, while also pushing for investments in alternative and renewable energy, much of which can be found and developed here in Arkansas.

Mike also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee which considers measures about the relations of the United States with foreign nations, protection of United States' citizens abroad, the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  He was also selected by House leadership to serve on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO-PA) where he represents the United States at meetings of the 26 NATO-member countries throughout the world.

Understanding the importance of a balanced federal budget, Mike is a key leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic House members that advocates the principles of fiscal responsibility and government accountability.  He also serves on the important Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Energy & Commerce Committee which has oversight responsibility of agencies, departments and programs within the jurisdiction of the full committee to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent appropriately and that government decisions are made in the best interest of working families.

In the last session of Congress, Mike was recognized by the Speaker of the House for having presided over 100 hours as Speaker Pro Tempore.  Immediately following the swearing in of the new Congress on Jan. 6, 2009, Mike was selected by the House Speaker to serve as the first Speaker Pro Tempore of the new 111th Congress. 

Mike was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, as the son of two public school educators.  Along with his wife, Holly, and two children, Sydney and Alex, Mike and his family are active members of the First United Methodist Church in Prescott.  When he is not working in the nation’s capital or visiting the 150 towns in the Fourth Congressional District, Mike spends time with his family and enjoys hunting and fishing right here in Arkansas.

In 1990, Mike was elected, at age 29, as the youngest member of the Arkansas State Senate where he served for ten years.  He is also a former member of the Nevada County Quorum Court, and a graduate of Hope High School in Hope, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  He worked his way through college as a radio announcer and previously owned a family pharmacy in Prescott with his wife, Holly.

 Click here to download a high resolution official photograph of Mike