Sue serves on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, which is the oldest legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It enjoys the broadest legislative responsibility of any House committee, including public health, telecommunications, energy, consumer protection, food and drug safety, air quality, environmental health, and interstate and foreign commerce. In addition, the jurisdiction extends over five Cabinet-level departments and seven independent agencies. Sue is a member of the subcommittees on Health, Environment and Hazardous Materials, and Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

From 2002 to 2004, Sue served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest voting bloc in Congress.  The RSC is a group of House Republicans that are organized for the purpose of advancing a conservative economic and social agenda for America. Under Sue’s tenure, the RSC grew from 65 to over 96 members and became an influential force in shaping policy in Congress.  Her leadership of this group and dedication to controlling government spending has made her a national voice for House conservatives.

In January 2003, Sue was appointed as a Deputy Majority Whip of the 108th Congress by Majority Whip Roy Blunt.  As Deputy Whip, Sue is one of only a handful of Republican House members with a seat at the leadership table where the agenda of the House is crafted.  Due to her hard work during the last Congress, Majority Whip Blunt asked her to continue as a Deputy Whip through the 109th Congress.  

A breast cancer survivor, Sue co-chairs the House Cancer Caucus.  She has successfully championed legislation aimed at stopping the deadly disease through increased research, education, early detection, and development of promising new medical therapies. 

Sue also serves on the Speaker’s Task Force for a Drug-Free America, which advises the Speaker on major drug policy matters and advocates common sense legislative solutions to the nation’s illegal drug problem.  In addition, she was personally selected to be a member of President Bush’s Working Group on Iraq.

A small businesswoman herself, Sue is the former President and CEO of Myrick Advertising and Public Relations and Myrick Enterprises. Before Congress, she served on the Charlotte City Council and was a two-term mayor of the City of Charlotte. Sue remains the first and only female mayor in Charlotte history.

As Mayor, Sue hit the streets, going nose-to-nose with drug dealers, telling them to get the heck out of the neighborhoods.  Sue also gained much praise for greatly improving Charlotte’s transportation infrastructure, while never raising taxes.

Sue has extensive experience in disaster relief and recovery from tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. She knows local communities can’t always depend on the federal government to help solve their emergencies. Many times, they are on their own. She also understands the role that FEMA, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and organizations like the Mennonite Disaster Service play in emergency situations, having worked extensively on-site in coordination with them.

As an advocate for stronger Homeland Security, Sue created her own Homeland Security Taskforce for the Charlotte region.  This taskforce is comprised of top security professionals from around the 9^th Congressional District.  It advises local officials of possible terrorist loopholes in their security systems, and, more importantly, it advises officials how to prevent terrorist attacks from occurring in the first place.  

Sue is a wife; a mother of two children and three step-children. She and her husband, Ed, have 12 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Extended Biography

Honors and Awards

9th Congressional District Information

(picture above by the Wall St. Journal)