About Senator Saxby
Biography
On November 5, 2002, Saxby Chambliss was elected Georgia’s 63rd United States Senator in what was one of the most stunning and historical victories of the 2002 elections. Chambliss is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Rules Committee. He is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Through these committee assignments, Chambliss has emerged as a leader and gained the reputation as an expert on defense, intelligence, and agricultural issues.
In January 2005, Chambliss was unanimously elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. According to the Congressional Research Service, Chambliss is the only Senator since 1947 to chair a full standing Senate Committee who has served in the Senate for just two years. As Chairman, Chambliss oversees agricultural policy that affects the safe, affordable and production of the nation’s food supply. He has earned praise and respect for his leadership. On his first day as chairman, Chambliss delivered the committee’s unanimous approval of the new Secretary of Agriculture, and swiftly moved forward with a series of hearings in step with the developing concerns in livestock, school nutrition, grains and futures markets, food safety and biotechnology’s future for agriculture. Chambliss secured a practical and fair amount for agriculture’s share of deficit reduction during the fiscal year 2005 budget reconciliation, and held firm to maintain hard-won provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill.
In Georgia, agriculture supports one in every six jobs, an ever-present reminder in Chambliss’ long time championing of national and home state farming concerns. Long before his election to Congress, Chambliss specialized in representing farmers’ legal interests in South Georgia. During his four terms in the House, Chambliss was instrumental in drafting two farm bills and reforming the federal crop insurance program through his chairmanship of the Agriculture’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
Additionally, Chambliss’ leadership and experience on the issues of terrorism, homeland security, and intelligence matters earned him an appointment to the prestigious Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where he steadfastly advocates that our U.S. intelligence community must dramatically improve its information sharing and human intelligence gathering abilities. To ensure our troops on the ground and the new Director of National Intelligence have access to the most timely and accurate intelligence, Chambliss has authored legislation calling for the creation of a Four Star military command for intelligence within the Department of Defense. Chambliss’ previous role as the chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security made him one of the leading congressional experts on these issues. Immediately following the tragic September 11th terrorist attacks, Chambliss’ House subcommittee conducted a thorough investigation and released the first comprehensive report detailing critical shortfalls within the United States intelligence community’s performance and technological capabilities. In May of 2006, Chambliss was honored with the CIA Director’s Award by the Director of Central Intelligence. Recognized for his “extraordinary fidelity and essential service” to the CIA, Chambliss received the agency’s highest award.
As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chambliss continues Georgia’s longstanding tradition of leadership and advocacy for the state’s military installations. Following in the footsteps of former Senators Richard B. Russell, Jr., and Sam Nunn, Chambliss is a strong voice for Georgia’s defense industry and the military community. Throughout the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round, Chambliss has remained steadfast in defense of Georgia’s bases targeted for closure and has also been a tireless advocate to improve the quality of life for our troops and their families.
In 1994, Chambliss was first elected to Congress to represent Georgia’s 8th congressional district. Throughout his legislative career, Chambliss has been honored with numerous awards from both the private and public sector for his work in the fields of agriculture, defense, budget, and national security. He is a past recipient of the Air Force Association’s W. Stuart Symington Award, the top civilian award given annually for outstanding contributions in the field of national security and was awarded the Reserve Officers Association’s Minuteman of the Year Award in 2005.
Chambliss is a member of the Senate Caucus on Military Depots, Arsenals and Ammunition Plants, the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, the Rural Health Caucus, the Juvenile Diabetes Caucus and he is the co-chair of the Senate Reserve Caucus.
Chambliss earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia in 1966 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1968. Chambliss and his wife, Julianne, have been married since 1966, and reside in Moultrie, Georgia. They have two children and two grandchildren.
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