Congressman Adam H. Putnam

Congressman Adam H. Putnam has represented the people of Florida's 12th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2001, when at the age of 26 he became one of the youngest members of Congress in history. Today, no longer the youngest, he has risen to become the chairman of the Republican Conference, third-highest ranking post in his party’s leadership. He is also a member of the Committee on Financial Services, which oversees all components of the nation’s housing and financial services sectors.

A fifth generation Floridian, Adam brings to Capitol Hill the common sense values he learned growing up in a farming family. He has led improvements to a wide array of laws affecting Floridians, ranging from agriculture and children to small business and social security. During his time in Congress, Adam has served as a member of the committees on Agriculture, Budget, Government Reform, and the powerful committee on Rules. In 2003, was selected to lead the subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Census, making him the youngest subcommittee chairman since World War II. In that post, he worked to reduce the risk of cyberterrorism, and was responsible for legislation that strengthened federal computer security.

Before being elected by his peers to chair the Republican Conference, Adam served as the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, another leadership post. As Conference Chairman, he is responsible for being his party’s chief spokesman, but Adam describes it as “turning the lights back on in the Idea Factory. We can’t just say ‘no,’ we have to provide constructive ideas to move the nation forward.”

Florida’s 12th District is composed of most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties. Positioned along the I-4 Corridor, the district reflects the economic and cultural diversity the Sunshine State. Here are rapidly changing communities near the major metropolitan areas of Tampa and Orlando, as well as cattle ranches, citrus groves, and small towns that still evoke Old Florida.

Adam was born in the heart of the 12th District, in the city of Bartow in 1974. There, he graduated from Bartow High School and went on to the University of Florida, where he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in economics. After graduating from UF he returned to work in his family’s citrus and cattle operation and won election to the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1996-2000. Today, Adam, his wife, Melissa, and their four children reside in Bartow.