On January 7, 2003, Tim Ryan was sworn in as the youngest Democratic member of the 108th Congress.

The first freshman representative in his congressional class to speak on the House floor, Congressman Ryan has fast proven himself to be a leader in the House of Representatives. Winning appointments to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Armed Services Committee, and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, the representative from Niles continues to be a tireless advocate for the working families of Northeast Ohio.

Prior to being elected a United States Congressman, Tim Ryan served as an Ohio State Senator. In the Senate, Ryan served as the ranking minority member on the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He was also a member of the Senate Committee on Highways and Transportation, the Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice, and the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee. Senator Ryan spearheaded efforts to establish a state-based earned income tax credit, to standardize community school data reporting, and to strengthen laws penalizing sexually based offenses. He also established the first Collegiate Political Action Committee in order to engage young people in the political process.

Before his tenure in the Ohio Senate, Ryan served as President of the Trumbull County Young Democrats, as well as Chairman of the Earning by Learning program in Warren, Ohio. He was awarded the National Italian American Foundation Scholarship.

Tim Ryan began his career in politics as a congressional aide with the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 and later served as an intern for the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office. Ryan holds a law degree from the Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire. He studied abroad as part of the Dickinson School of Law's International Law Program in Florence, Italy and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Born July 16, 1973 in Niles, Ohio, Tim Ryan is the younger of two sons, both raised by their mother, Rochelle Rizzi with the help of grandparents, Anna and John Rizzi. He attended John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, where he was captain of the football and basketball teams. His family continues to reside in Niles.

Rep. Tim Ryan's Official Website

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60 percent of 401(k) participants cash out their savings when they change jobs. (Hewitt Associates)