John M. McHugh was first sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1993, as the voice in Congress for Northern New Yorkers. In 2003, his district was redrawn to include new territory in Central New York and renamed the 23rd Congressional District. And with the start of the 111th Congress in January 2009, Rep. McHugh began his ninth consecutive term in office.
During this time, Rep. McHugh has been a champion of fiscal responsibility; lower taxes; protecting Social Security and Medicare; providing stronger, better schools; and protecting America's farmers. He has also been a leader in the country's policy on national defense. He brings to the House of Representatives more than 30 years of demonstrated public service to upstate New York, including eight years as a State Senator.
In addition to lowering taxes, Rep. McHugh believes one of Congress' top priorities is to make our government less intrusive and more efficient. He has been on the front-line fighting to eliminate the marriage tax, the telephone tax, and the death tax. With Rep. McHugh's support, Congress has maintained critical services, protected vital programs like Social Security and Medicare, and provided American taxpayers with the first meaningful tax relief since 1984.
As a result of his travels throughout his eleven-county Congressional District, Rep. McHugh knows that many individuals do not have access to health insurance, either because their employer does not offer a health care plan, they cannot afford premiums on an individual policy, or some other reason. Consequently, affordable and accessible health care for people residing in rural areas is a priority for Rep. McHugh. He firmly believes that any discussion of health care reform must include the issue of cost and whether the enactment of reforms adversely impacts individuals' pocketbooks and their ability to secure adequate health care coverage.
The Congressman has also been in the forefront in the fight to help farmers secure better prices for their crops. He has voted to extend crop insurance protections to specialty crop farmers, such as apple and onion growers. This effort ensures that farmers will have a better safety net in place to make it through the tough times that occur because of falling prices or extreme weather. Rep. McHugh is also pushing for a new "Value-Added Producer Package" that would help farmers and producer groups earn more by reaching up the agricultural marketing chain to capture more of the profits their product generates. The package is aimed at jump-starting agricultural enterprises by assisting cash-strapped producers to help them reap more of the profits themselves.
Rep. McHugh is recognized as a "Champion of Dairy Farmers" for his aggressive approach to forcing Congress to address the needs of dairy farmers. By rallying Members of Congress from across the country, Rep. McHugh was successful in enacting the Option 1-A pricing system, which provides higher payments to our farmers for their milk. When faced with a major obstacle in the expiration of the Northeast Dairy Compact, Rep. McHugh continued to fight for New York's farmers through the creation of the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. And because he has long believed that the entire dairy industry stands to benefit from the stable milk prices brought about by a market-based pricing system, Rep. McHugh continues to push for reform of the MILC program to provide greater assistance to more of our family farmers and ultimately replacement of that program with the National Dairy Equity Act. Everyone – from farmers to processors to consumers – would benefit from its existence.
Education is another one of Rep. McHugh's top priorities. He believes that a good educational foundation allows children to reach their full potential and lead responsible adult lives. As such, Rep. McHugh has been a strong supporter of a bill that would subsidize $25 billion in zero-interest school modernization bonds. Funds that would have gone to pay bond interest would be freed for other educational needs. Additionally, Rep. McHugh has voted to send education money directly to the classroom to provide stronger, better schools through local control.
Congressman McHugh was the Ranking Member (lead Republican) of the House Armed Services Committee. As Ranking Member, Congressman McHugh was responsible for setting the Republican agenda of the Committee. The Armed Services Committee oversees the Pentagon and America's defense policies. Before becoming Ranking Member of the full Committee, Congressman McHugh was Ranking Member of the Committee's Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Congressman McHugh is also a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reviews, on a continuing basis, government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency. As a recognized authority on postal matters in light of his six years as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Postal Service, Rep. McHugh was appointed to serve as the chairman of the Committee’s Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight in early 2003. At the close of the 109th Congress, Rep. McHugh's bill to significantly reform the Postal Service for the first time in 35 years, was signed into law by President Bush.
During the 109th and 110th Congress, Congressman McHugh served as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was appointed in 2005 by then Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert. The committee is responsible for overseeing activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community, including the annual legislation that directs its operations and spending. It maintains an effective oversight process to ensure that intelligence resources are not misused and that intelligence activities are conducted lawfully. Many aspects of the committee’s work are, and must be, classified for reasons of national security. Rep. McHugh served on three Intelligence Subcommittees: Terrorism/Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence; Technical and Tactical Intelligence; and Intelligence Policy.
Rep. McHugh began his public service career in 1971 in his hometown of Watertown, where he served for five years as a Confidential Assistant to the City Manager. Thereafter, he joined the staff of New York State Senator H. Douglas Barclay, where he served as Chief of Research and Liaison with local governments for nine years. Succeeding Senator Barclay in 1984, Rep. McHugh served four terms in the legislature's upper house before coming to Congress.
Rep. McHugh is a resident of Pierrepont Manor in Jefferson County, New York. Born on September 29, 1948, the Congressman was educated in Watertown public schools, graduating in 1966. He received a B.A. in Political Science from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1970, and earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the State University's Nelson A. Rockefeller Graduate School of Public Affairs in 1977.
