Congressman Steven C. LaTourette is serving his sixth term in the United States House of Representatives and represents Northeast Ohio’s 14th Congressional District. The district includes all of Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties, and part of Cuyahoga, Summit, Trumbull and Portage counties. All told, there are 22 cities, 34 villages and 63 townships in the 14th District.

LaTourette is a fiscally conservative, moderate Republican who is well respected in his district. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer says the “moderate Republican has done much good for both his district and the state of Ohio, and is well-positioned to keep the dollars coming.” The (Willoughby) News-Herald says “Of all the members of Congress in Northeast Ohio, he is the only heavyweight who delivers to his constituents.” The (Akron) Beacon Journal says he’s “delivered for his district and the region...and has been refreshingly independent-minded.”

LaTourette has used his seniority on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation funding to the Greater Cleveland area, including funding for bridge, road, rail and airport improvements. At the start of the 109th Congress, LaTourette was named the new chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over many aspects of rail, including infrastructure and safety issues, homeland security and Amtrak. He will also be responsible for oversight of the major rail companies operating in the 14th District, including Norfolk Southern and CSX. The congressman will continue to serve on two other transportation subcommittees in the 109th Congress: Highways, Transit and Pipelines, and Water Resources and Environment. He previously served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management in the 107th and 108th Congress.

The Congressman is also a longtime member of the House Committee on Financial Services, where he serves on the following subcommittees: Oversight and Investigation; Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology; and Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. LaTourette has been an active committee member and authored several identity theft provisions that were signed into law in December 2003, including access to one free credit report annually. He also authored the Credit Union Membership Access Act, legislation that was signed into law in 1998 and has made credit union membership accessible to millions of Americans.

LaTourette also is a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, serving on the following subcommittees: National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, and Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.

He has also been actively involved in Great Lakes’ and environmental issues during his tenure in Congress and served as Co-Chair of the influential Great Lakes Task Force from 1995 to 2005. At the start of the 109th Congress, LaTourette was named co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition and its Manufacturing Task Force. The NEMW Coalition is a bipartisan, bicameral congressional organization devoted to the economic competitiveness and environmental quality of the Northeast and Midwest states. It is focused on protecting regional energy, manufacturing, transportation, and environmental policy interests. NEMW is the umbrella group with oversight of the Great Lakes Task Force. In addition, LaTourette has authored major Great Lakes legislation, including the reauthorization of the National Invasive Species Act, and has been actively involved in efforts to prohibit drilling in the Great Lakes and the sale and exportation of Great Lakes’ water.

LaTourette’s legislative accomplishments and voting record have been lauded by many groups, including Watchdogs of the Treasury, National Federation of Independent Business, National Tax Limitation Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 60 Plus Association and Seniors Coalition. LaTourette also is a longstanding member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, which was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter to foster remembrance of the Holocaust. He has served on the panel since 1995.

Prior to his election to the House of Representatives, LaTourette served from 1987 to 1994 as the Lake County Prosecutor. In 1990, he was named Prosecuting Attorney of the Year in Ohio for his successful prosecution of 13 members of a murderous religious cult. LaTourette is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

He lives in Concord Township and is the father of five children.