Biography

Congressman Steve Scalise was first elected to Congress in a special election in May of 2008. Scalise was overwhelmingly re-elected in November of 2008 and again in November of 2010 to continue serving Louisiana’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Scalise is known as a staunch conservative who advocates for the principles of fiscal discipline, lower taxes, a comprehensive national energy policy, ethics reform, a strong national defense and traditional family values. As a member of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, Scalise has already emerged as one of the leaders in Congress in pushing for a strong national energy policy that increases the supply of American oil and natural gas to lower gas prices at the pump and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. He has also been a vocal leader in the fight for fiscal discipline to reign in wasteful spending in Washington, and has made hurricane recovery and flood protection a top priority.

In Congress, Scalise serves as an Deputy Republican Whip, and has many legislative priorities including his Disaster Recovery Improvement Act (DRIA), H.R. 57, which reforms FEMA to eliminate log jams and speed up the disaster recovery process, addresses existing problems, and improving evacuations in the future.

Through his post on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he fought against the government takeover of health care, and strongly opposed the “cap and trade” energy tax.

Scalise continues to fight for fiscal responsibility and government accountability. He introduced an Amendment to H.R. 1 that would sunset many of the “czar” positions in the executive branch, eliminate appropriations to fund these positions and their offices, and require Senate confirmation of any future government official with czar-like powers. This amendment passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Scalise is a steadfast defender of coastal Louisiana.  Since coming to Congress, Scalise has spearheaded a number of legislative initiatives to protect and restore our fragile coast.  He led the effort in the House to pass the “RESTORE Act,” which dedicates BP Clean Water Act fines to the Gulf Coast to fully restore our coastal ecosystems and economies in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.   The RESTORE Act was signed into law in June of 2012, and he has numerous other coastal restoration victories, including passing his amendment to provide funding for the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) program.  Scalise has also introduced legislation to increase Louisiana’s revenue share from OCS activities.

Scalise is committed to maintaining an open line of communication with his constituents to better serve them in Congress. Scalise holds regular town hall meetings in every parish of the First Congressional District to meet with local residents and hear their concerns.

Scalise was preceded in Congress by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.