Biography

Congressman Harold Ford was sworn in to represent the Ninth District of Tennessee in 1996 at age 26, and is now serving his fifth term in the House of Representatives. Ford sits on the House Budget Committee and the House Committee on Financial Services.

Ford has built a reputation as a solutions-oriented lawmaker who seeks to replace partisan politics with fresh ideas and a pragmatic approach to the challenges of the twenty-first century. He has worked with members on both sides of the aisle to fashion solutions that work for the American people. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Ford is a “lawmaker of influence [who has] exerted himself on issues beyond the reach of his committees.”

With American troops fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the global war on terror, Congressman Ford has made national security issues a top priority. In September, 2004, Ford was appointed by the Joint Forces Command to serve on the Transformation Advisory Group (TAG). The TAG is a group of political, military and academic leaders who are working with the Department of Defense’s civilian and military leadership to transform the armed forces to meet existing and new national security threats.

Ford is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats that has built a reputation for promoting positions that bridge the gap between ideological extremes. Ford also co-chairs the Community Solutions and Initiatives Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that seeks to help faith and community based groups solve social challenges, and the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus, a bi-partisan coalition dedicated to advancing policies to build savings and assets for all Americans, and low-income Americans in particular.

Congressman Ford received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996. He earned a bachelor’s degree in American History from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. Born in Memphis, Tennessee on May 11, 1970, Congressman Ford is the eldest son of former U.S. Representative Harold E. Ford and Dorothy Ford. He has three brothers, Jake, Isaac and Andrew, and one sister, Ava.