Currently serving his fourth term in Congress, Jim McGovern was first sworn in as U.S. Representative for Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District on January 7, 1997.

McGovern has been elected by his New England colleagues to the House Democratic Leadership team as a Regional Whip. McGovern is the third-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, which sets the terms for debate and amendments on most legislation.

Before his election to Congress, the 43 year old McGovern spent fourteen years working as a senior aide for the late U.S. Representative John Joseph Moakley (D-South Boston), former dean of the Massachusetts delegation and Chairman of the House Rules Committee.

During those years, McGovern earned a strong reputation as a champion of human rights. In 1989, McGovern was chosen by Congressman Moakley to lead a congressional investigation into the murders of six Jesuit priests and two lay women in El Salvador.

In Congress, McGovern has championed several education initiatives, including a bill to increase grant assistance for college students and their families; he has led the fight to provide adequate health care, including home health care; he has worked to increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund; he has fought to preserve and strengthen Social Security; and he has secured millions of dollars in federal assistance to Central and Southeastern Massachusetts.

Jim McGovern was born on November 20, 1959, in Worcester, the son of two successful small business owners. His two sisters are elementary school teachers in Worcester's public school system.

McGovern earned his Bachelor of Arts ('81) and Masters of Public Administration ('84) degrees from The American University, working his way through college by serving as an aide in the office of U.S. Senator George McGovern (D-SD). He went on to manage Senator McGovern's 1984 Presidential campaign in Massachusetts, and delivered his nomination speech during the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

Jim McGovern has worked as a volunteer for the Mt. Carmel House, an emergency shelter for battered and abused women that is administered by the Carmelite Sisters. He is also a member of the Jesuit International Volunteers Board of Directors.

Jim is married to Lisa Murray McGovern. In 1995, Lisa McGovern was named as an alternative member of the President's Interagency Council on Women. The McGoverns have a son, Patrick George and a daughter, Molly Ginette.

Rep. Jim McGovern's Official Website

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Typical student loan debt has risen to $17,500.

Source:The College Board