Tom Petri, who represents Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, is serving his 14th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. First elected in April, 1979, Petri has been returned to office every two years since.

Petri is vice chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where he is also Chairman of the Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee. He is also vice chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

From 1987 through 1990, Petri served as a member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, better known as the House Ethics Committee.

A persistent foe of government waste, Petri has repeatedly earned high marks from such organizations as the National Taxpayers Union, the Concord Coalition, Citizens Against Government Waste, and the Watchdogs of the Treasury. Over many years he has repeatedly been named a "Guardian of Small Business" by the National Federation of Independent Business, and has won the "National Security Leadership Award" from the American Security Council.

Termed "a notably independent, creative legislator" by Washington Post columnist David Broder, Petri is known for his efforts to apply innovative solutions to problems, with a firm commitment to cost-effectiveness.

Important Petri legislative initiatives have included those in the areas of student loan reform, the allocation of money for federal highway spending, cost-sharing for federal water projects, tax and welfare reform, banking reform, campaign reform, and health care reform. The 1996 Almanac of American Politics states that Petri specializes in "thoughtful and original solutions to problems" which "cut across ideological and party lines."

Petri attended Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac and received undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. He served in the Peace Corps in Somalia and in the White House focusing on anti-drug effforts. He is married to Anne Neal Petri and has one daughter, Alexandra.

Home Complete Bio Printable Version Photo Portraits