U.S. Representative John L. Mica is currently serving his seventh term in the 109th Congress representing Florida's 7th Congressional District, which stretches across six counties from the suburban areas north of Orlando to the Jacksonville city limits. Major cities in the district include Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Deltona, DeLand, Daytona Beach, Palm Coast, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, and Palatka.
Rep. Mica serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Government Reform Committee and the House Administration Committee.
In 2001, Rep. Mica was named Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. A panel under the jurisdiction of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the subcommittee has oversight of all matters regarding civil aviation including airport improvement, aviation safety and security, and other related issues. Major federal agencies overseen by the Aviation Subcommittee include the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. After 9/11, Mica authored the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the new Transportation Security Administration to focus on protecting aviation -- as well as all modes of transportation -- from future terrorist attacks.
Rep. Mica has been recognized as a national and Florida leader in transportation issues. He has spearheaded legislative efforts to improve our nation's infrastructure and to expedite Florida's highway and interstate expansion. Mica has also led efforts to develop local and state transportation alternatives.
On the Government Reform Committee, Mica served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources from 1999-2001, and he is still a senior member of that panel. As Chairman he became a national leader in development of our nation’s counter-narcotics policy, and he has worked to strengthen our anti-drug effort. Mica was also appointed as Co-Chairman of the Speaker’s Drug Task Force and is a national leader in promoting drug education, prevention, enforcement, eradication and interdiction programs.
In Congress, Mica has helped direct our national, State and local anti-drug efforts. He conducted more than 40 committee hearings in Washington and around the country, including one held in Central Florida on the heroin epidemic that killed dozens of young Americans in the Orlando area. In October, 1997, Mica was successful in securing federal designation of Central Florida as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (Central Florida HIDTA), which provides additional resources to our local community for fighting the war on drugs.
Mica has been recognized for his work in the War on Drugs by the U.S. Customs Service and by Scotland Yard. He received the Legislator of the Year Award from the Florida/National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, Inc. and the Award of Appreciation from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation of Orlando, Florida for vision, leadership and legislative success in combating drug trafficking.
From 1995 through 1998, the Congressman served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service. As Chairman of this panel, he successfully worked to downsize the Office of Personnel Management, privatize functions of federal agencies and reformed the federal employee life insurance program. He also introduced the first legislation for long term care for Federal Employees which has subsequently be enacted into law. He authored the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act that was signed into law and which recognizes veterans service as federal employment both for hiring and in times of downsizing. Mica authored legislation to expand health care options by opening our Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) to U.S. military dependents and retirees. For his work in support of veterans, he is the recipient of nearly every veterans service organization's national award.
Mica has been recognized as a national leader in the regulatory reform movement and was credited for his efforts to slow down expansion of federal regulatory authority by requiring the use of risk assessment and cost/benefit analysis on new regulations. He has spearheaded congressional reform and reorganization of our federal international trade activities. He was a prime sponsor of the White House Accountability Act which requires the White House to live under the same mandates as Congress and the private sector.
In Mica's first term in Congress, his freshman Republican colleagues honored him with their Outstanding Legislative Leadership Award for new Members of Congress. In each Congress in which Mica has served, he has consistently received: the Golden Bulldog Award from the Watchdogs of the Treasury, the Hero of the Taxpayer/Friend of the Taxpayer Award from Americans for Tax Reform, the Sprit of Enterprise Award from the US Chamber of Commerce. the Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Thomas Jefferson Award from the Food Marketing Institute, and the Champion of the Merit Shop Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors. In 1995, he was honored as one of 100 Americans to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Prior to joining the House, Mica was a successful businessman in real estate development, communications and international trade consulting. In 1973, the Florida Jaycees recognized Mica's work in reorganizing local government by awarding him the Florida State Good Government Award. As a member of the Florida House of Representatives (1976-1980), Mica served on the Appropriations, the Select Energy, the Ethics and Elections and the Community Affairs Committees. He was recognized for his service by being named one of Florida's Five Outstanding Young Men in 1978. He served as Chief of Staff and Administrative Assistant to Florida Republican United States Senator Paula Hawkins from 1981 to 1985.
Mica is a graduate of the University of Florida (1967) and Miami-Dade Community College (1965). He is active in national and community affairs, and is listed in Who's Who in American Politics. He is a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity and Florida Blue Key. His brother, Dan Mica, also served for ten years as a United States Congressman from South Florida.
Mica and his wife, Patricia, have been married for thirty-four years and have two children, D'Anne and Clark. The Mica Family has resided in Central Florida since 1972. |
