Congressman Rick Boucher is serving his twelfth term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Virginia's Ninth Congressional District. 

He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, serving on two subcommittees - Telecommunications and the Internet; and Energy and Air Quality, of which he is the ranking member. He also sits on the House Judiciary Committee, serving on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee.

He originated the House Internet Caucus in 1996 and currently serves as one of two House co-chairman of the more than 180 member group. In that position he is a leading architect of federal policy for Information Technology and the Internet.

His first Internet related legislation, which became law in 1993, authorized electronic commerce by permitting for the first time messages with commercial content to traverse the Internet backbone.

His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries are at the core of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Rick's Showcasing Southwest Virginia program has brought more than 4,000 technology related jobs to his Congressional district in recent years.

Congressman Boucher earned his bachelor's degree from Roanoke College and his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He has practiced law on Wall Street in New York and in Virginia. Prior to his election to Congress, he served for seven years as a member of the Virginia State Senate.  Rick is a native of Abingdon, Virginia, where he currently resides with his wife Amy.