Born April 22, 1964, Congressman Jim Langevin has dedicated his life to public service and opening the doors of government to its rightful owners — the people of this great nation.

Langevin will now bring his advocacy of government reform and access to affordable, quality health care for all to the United States Capitol. Elected in 1994 as the youngest Secretary of State in the country, Congressman Langevin is bringing a new spirit of energy and vitality to Rhode Island's Second Congressional District and Capitol Hill. It's no surprise, given the commitment to good government which has characterized his career in public service.

In 1980, at the age of sixteen, Jim was injured in an accident while working with the Warwick Police Department as a cadet in the Boy Scout Explorer program. A gun accidentally discharged and a bullet struck Jim, leaving him paralyzed. The tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement he received from his friends and neighbors inspired Jim to give something back to the community. Instead of pursuing a life long dream of entering law enforcement, after the accident Langevin decided to become a lawmaker. Jim ran as a State Delegate to Rhode Island's Constitutional Convention in 1986 and served as its Secretary. Two years later, he won election to his first term in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Representative Langevin quickly established a reputation as a hard-working reformer committed to good government. For two years running, he received the number-one reform voting record in the Rhode Island House from government watchdog group Common Cause. Jim sponsored and helped to win passage of key reforms to reduce the size of the General Assembly, eliminate the legislative pension system and provide appropriate compensation to legislators. While building on this impressive record in the Rhode Island General Assembly, Jim graduated from Rhode Island College and went on to earn a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In 1994, Representative Langevin embarked on his first campaign for statewide office, ultimately defeating a one-term Republican incumbent. During his first days as Secretary of State, Jim began to fulfill his promise of transforming the office into "the people's partner in government." He immediately created the Office of Public Information, providing the public with comprehensive daily and weekly reports on the activities of the General Assembly. These publications have become a valuable resource for groups and individuals who track bills through the legislature.

Soon after, Jim took on another great challenge - modernizing the state's elections. Then-Secretary of State Langevin won passage of legislation to replace the state's antiquated Shoup lever voting machines with new optical scan equipment. The new machines are faster and easier to use and promise to help end long lines at the polls, while encouraging Rhode Islanders to take part in the electoral process.

In 1997, Langevin launched a new initiative to provide unprecedented access to legislative information. He established the Public Information Center, the public's office in the State House, which provides a range of legislative tracking and search capabilities. In addition to funding electronic copies of all printed materials, the Center offered on-line access to House and Senate floor votes and a searchable database of all current legislation.

The next step in his effort to open the doors of state government came with the publication of "Access Denied," a joint report conducted by the Office of Secretary of State and the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University. The result of six months of extensive research, the report examined the General Assembly's compliance with the Open Meetings Law and documented routine and widespread violations. This in-depth examination of each legislator's adherence to the law drew public attention to the problem and promoted greater compliance with the law. Soon after, Jim was honored by Common Cause for "his vision and diligence in restoring state government to its rightful owners."

In 1998, Jim easily won re-election to his second term as Secretary of State, achieving the largest plurality of any general officer in this century. In 2000, Jim successfully made a run for the U.S. House of Representatives. As Congressman, Jim Langevin will continue to support initiatives to restore the public's trust in government. Jim resides in Warwick, Rhode Island, and has served on the Board of Directors of Rhode Island American Red Cross, PARI Independent Living, Tech Access, The Warwick Shelter and the Rhode Island March of Dimes. Langevin is also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Lions Club and Save the Bay.

Rep. Jim Langevin's Official Website

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250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries – at least 120 million on a full time basis. (Human Rights Watch)