Congressman Steven C. LaTourette 14th District of Ohio
Congressman Steven C. LaTourette is serving his seventh 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. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer says LaTourette has “become Cleveland’s most effective representative in Washington” and notes that the “moderate Republican has done much good for both his district and the state of Ohio, and is well positioned to keep the dollars coming.” The (Willoughby) News Herald says “Of all the members of Congress in Northeast Ohio, he is the only heavyweight who delivers to his constituents.” And, the (Akron) Beacon Journal has praised LaTourette’s “independent streak” and adds that his “presence adds to the possibility of overcoming arch partisanship and moving the country forward.”
LaTourette strives to take a bipartisan and regional approach to governing and is widely credited with leading the congressional 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. LaTourette devoted months to digging through Pentagon data and found numerous flaws in the data used to justify the recommendation to close the Cleveland office. About 90 percent of BRAC recommendations are adopted, yet Cleveland beat the odds. Not only will the city retain 1,100 high-paying jobs, but the site is guaranteed to have at least 1,500 jobs and possibly as many as 1,800 by 2011. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer praised LaTourette’s efforts to save DFAS, noting “had he accomplished nothing else during his 12 years in the House, (he) would merit re-election for the work he did last year in preserving more than 1,000 Defense Finance and Accounting Service jobs in Cleveland,” adding that “in his often low-key, laconic way, LaTourette has done just what voters sent him to Washington to do. He gets things done for all of Ohio.”
LaTourette has also used his seniority on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation funding to the Greater Cleveland area, including funding for bridge, road, rail and airport improvements. At the start of the 110th Congress, LaTourette was named ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, which has jurisdiction over all activities of the Coast Guard, including its duties, organization, functions, and personnel. The panel also has jurisdiction over the regulation of ocean shipping and the Federal Maritime Commission, the Merchant Marine and the Jones Act, which is critical to the Great Lakes shipping industry. Both the U.S. and Great Lakes shipping fleet are protected by the Jones Act, which requires U.S. ownership, construction and crew for all coastal waterborne commerce.
LaTourette will also be a new member of the Aviation Subcommittee, which will be active this Congress in the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. This subcommittee post leaves LaTourette ideally suited to help Cleveland Hopkins and other Ohio airports. In addition, he will continue to serve on the Railroads Subcommittee, of which he was chairman in the 109th Congress. He previously served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management in the 107th and 108th Congress.
The Congressman is also a longtime member of the House Committee on Financial Services, where he serves on the following subcommittees: Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises; Oversight and Investigation; and Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. LaTourette has been an active committee member, and is widely regarded as a leading authority on identity theft, privacy and data security policy. He has authored several identity theft provisions that were signed into law, including access to one free credit report annually. He also authored the Credit Union Membership Access Act, legislation that was signed into law in 1998 and has made credit union membership accessible to millions of Americans.
LaTourette continues to be actively involved in Great Lakes’ and environmental issues and served as Co Chair of the influential Great Lakes Task Force from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, LaTourette was named co-chair of the Northeast Midwest Coalition and its Manufacturing Task Force. The NEMW Coalition is a bipartisan, bicameral congressional organization devoted to the economic competitiveness and environmental quality of the Northeast and Midwest states. It is focused on protecting regional energy, manufacturing, transportation, and environmental policy interests. NEMW is the umbrella group with oversight of the Great Lakes Task Force. In addition, LaTourette has authored major Great Lakes legislation, including the reauthorization of the National Invasive Species Act, and has been actively involved in efforts to prohibit drilling in the Great Lakes and the sale and exportation of Great Lakes’ water.
LaTourette’s legislative accomplishments and voting record have been lauded by many groups, including Watchdogs of the Treasury, National Federation of Independent Business, National Tax Limitation Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 60 Plus Association and Seniors Coalition. LaTourette also is a longstanding member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter to foster remembrance of the Holocaust. He has served on the panel since 1995.
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. LaTourette is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
He lives in Bainbridge Township and is the father of five children.
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