Biography
U.S. Rep. Phil English was re-elected in 2006 to his seventh term
to serve western Pennsylvania's 3rd District, which includes Erie
County and parts of Armstrong, Butler, Crawford, Mercer, Venango
and Warren counties. English, 52, is a Republican and lifelong resident
of Erie. Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives,
English was chief of staff for then Pennsylvania State Senator Melissa
Hart. He was also Minority Executive Director of the State Senate
Finance Committee, Executive Director of the State Senate Transportation
Committee and Research Director of the State Senate Labor and Industry
Committee. In 1985, English served as Erie City’s Controller, the
first GOP candidate elected to city-wide office in 20 years, and
was a key player in developing new investment fund policies to protect
the retirement plans of city workers. He also led the fight to divest
Erie City’s pensions from South African Investments, which was then
an apartheid government. He received a B.A. in Political Science
from the University of Pennsylvania and is married to Chris English,
a retired educator in the Erie public school system. Ranked as a
key “centrist” in the House by National Journal (March 8, 2008),
English is a leading voice for economic growth and fair trade in
Washington.
Committee Assignments
In his first term, English became the first Freshman Republican
to be appointed to the Ways and Means Committee in almost 30
years. The Committee handles legislation affecting taxes, trade,
health, Medicare, Social Security and welfare.
English serves as the top Republican of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, which has jurisdiction over tax policy and sits on the Health and Income Security and Family Support subcommittees.
In 2001,
English was appointed to the Joint Economic Committee, which
is a combined House and Senate committee that serves as the
economic policy arm of Congress. English was also appointed
by the president and currently serves on the Presidents Export
Council. In 2004, English was appointed to the Republican
Policy Committee.
Working to Create a Strong Economy and Jobs
English has been a strong advocate for developing policies and
legislation to put the U.S. economy back on a growth path. English
has introduced and helped develop a number of legislative initiatives
to stimulate the economy and investment and spur job growth. He
has supported measures to eliminate the marriage penalty, increase
the child tax credit, accelerate the reduction in income tax rates,
encourage household savings, eliminate the individual and corporate
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), cut the capital gains tax rate,
increase expensing limits for businesses making capital investments
and encourage American companies operating overseas to reinvest
in the U.S.
Since coming into office in 1994, English has been a strong
advocate for lower and fairer taxes and is committed to working
with his colleagues to replace the current tax system with a
system that is both fair and simple. English is the original
author of the Simplified USA Tax (SUSAT), legislation that would
completely replace the current income tax, both corporate and
personal. SUSAT would simplify the tax code and give Americans
the opportunity to save a larger portion of their income or
to pay for their children’s education if they choose without
excessive taxes.
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Fighting for Fair Trade
English
has been an advocate of fair trade and a strong U.S. trade policy.
He has developed and fought for legislation to strengthen domestic
trade laws to better protect U.S. companies against unfair foreign
trade.
English has led the fight against unfair Chinese trade practices and developed bills designed to help manufacturers more easily gain relief from unfair trade and impose tariffs on China for its manipulation of the yuan: The Trade Law Reform Act, The Nonmarket Economy Bill, The CHINA Act and The U.S. Trade Rights Enforcement Act, which passed the House in July 2005.
As Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, English led the
fight to win presidential safeguard action to give the domestic
steel industry a chance to recover after a surge in steel imports.
English has been a champion of the manufacturing sector in general
and has worked closely with the administration to draw attention
to the suffering of the industry and seek short and long-term
solution.
To help American workers displaced by trade, English successfully
fought to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program
to help update workers’ skills and prepare them for new jobs.
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Helping Seniors
English strives to protect seniors by championing efforts
to strengthen Medicare. He has developed and passed legislation
to fix the Medicare reimbursement system to better allow hospitals
to hire qualified workers and has fought to repeal the cap on
therapy treatment. As an active member of the Health Subcommittee,
English helped develop the legislation to provide prescription
drug benefit for seniors under Medicare, which was signed into
law in 2003.
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Making Education More Affordable
A longtime believer in the importance of education, English
has introduced and helped develop innovative legislation to
make higher education more affordable. His Education for Life
plan includes incentives for people to save for education throughout
their lives. He has promoted legislation to eliminate the tax
penalty on funds withdrawn from a prepaid tuition account plan
and led the effort to allow for tax-free distribution from Qualified
Tuition Plans thereby providing parents and students with additional
savings vehicles for a college education. English also led the
successful fight to expand the deductability of interest payments on student loans.
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Congressional Caucuses and Other Memberships |
- Steel Caucus, vice chairman
- Zero AMT Caucus, chairman
- Brazilian Caucus, co-chairman
- Morocco Caucus, co-chairman
- Real Estate Caucus, co-chairman
- Armenian Caucus
- Child Care Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on Nigeria
- Congressional Furnishings Caucus
- Congressional Internet Caucus
- Congressional Sportsman's Caucus
- Food Safety Caucus
- Great Lakes Task Force
- Hellenic Caucus
- House Law Enforcement Caucus
- House Trails Caucus
- India Caucus
- Congressional House Long Term Care Caucus
- Israel Caucus
- Military Veterans Caucus
- National Guard and Reserve Caucus
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- Pro-Life Caucus
- Silk Road Caucus
- Travel and Tourism Caucus
- Turkey Caucus
- Zero Capital Gains Tax Caucus
- Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors
- Congressional Manufactured Housing
- Congressional Manufacturing Task Force
- Congressional Study Group on German
- Congressional Study Group on Japan
- Congressional Urban Development
- Forestry 2000 Task Force
- Italian American Delegation—Associate member
- House Renewable Energy
- President’s Export Council
- Private Property Rights Coalition
- Renewal Alliance
- Transatlantic Policy Network, Member and co-chairman of the Task Force on Trade
- Wind Hazard Reduction
- Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, co-chairman
- Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus,
co-chair
- Bipartisan Congressional School Health and Safety Caucus, co-chairman
- ThanksUSA Congressional Advisory Board, Member
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Congressional Leadership Group, Member
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Awards |
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- 2008 National Association of Health & Educational Facilities Finance Authorities Legislator of the Year Award, in recognition for service to non-profit Healthcare and Higher Education
- 2008 Policymaker of the Year Award from the Association for Career and Technical Education
- 2008 Distinguished Community Health Defender Award from the National Association of Community Health Centers
- 109th Congress Small Business Champion by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
- Medicare Choices Leadership Award 2008
- Recognition Award for introducing the Medigap Access Improvement Act of 2007 from the Respiratory and Allergic Disease Foundation
- Healthcare Leadership Award 2008 from the American Chiropractic Association
- Champion of Medical Technology Innovation 2007 from the Advanced Medical Technology Association
- Medicare Choices Leadership Award
- Oncology Medal of Honor Award for supporting the fight against Cancer
- My Promise to American Seniors to Pledge
to Protect Social Security from the 60 Plus Association
- Hero of the Taxpayer Award from the
Americans for Tax Reform for the 104th, 105th, 106th,
107th, 108th and 109th Congresses
- Friend of the Shareholder from the
American Shareholders Association for the 106th , 107th,
108th and 109th Congresses
- Champion of Small Business from the
Small Business Survival Center
- Guardian of Small Business from the
National Federation of Independent Businesses for the 108th and 109th Congresses
- Super Friend of Seniors by the 60 Plus
Association
- Friend of the National Parks B the
National Park Conservancy Association
- National Association of Realtors 106th
Congress Legislative Leadership Award.
- Small Business Advocate Award by the
Small Business Survival Committee for the 106th, 108th Congresses
- Honored by the American Hospital Association
for his legislative efforts to protect hospitals
- Distinguished Service Award from the
Lake Erie Health Education Center
- Leadership Award 2000 from KIDco &
TADco
- Roger Williams Award from the Zeta
Beta Tau Fraternity.
- Spirit of Enterprise Awards from the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce for the 104th, 105th, 106th , 107th,
108th Congress
- The Jefferson Award for the 105th and
Congress from the Citizens for a Sound Economy
- The Pennsylvania Association of Home
Health Agencies 1996 Congressional Legislator of the Year
- The 1996 Campaign to Keep American
Warm award for the leadership and unfailing support for
the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
- The Paul Harris Award from Rotary International
- American College of Emergency Physicians
Award for efforts to assure coverage of emergency medical
services for all patients in need
- Neal Coughlin Award and Robert Parker
Award, Erie County Republican Party
- A Watchdog of the U.S. Treasury for
the 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th Congresses
- Legislative Excellence Award from the
National Manufacturers Association, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th
Congresses
- The 1999 Beacon Award from the American Society of Association Executives
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- The 1996 Friend of the Family Award from the Christian Coalition
- Congressman of the Year Award, 1996,
from the Council of Development Financial Agencies
- Congressman of the Year Award, 1996,
from the Council of Development Financial Agencies
- The 1996 President’s Award for Legislative
Excellence, National Beer Wholesalers Association
- The President’s citation from the American
Institute for Architects
- Appreciation Award from the Make-a-Wish
Foundation
- The 1996, 2004 and 2006 Thomas Jefferson
Award from the Food Distributors International
- The 1995 Guardian of Medicare Award
from the Coalition for Responsible Medicare Reform
- United Seniors Association Pro-senior
Tax Cut Award
- Certificate for co-sponsoring legislation
favorable to the Union Label and Services Trades Department
- Certificate for distinguished achievement
by the Conneaut Lake Park Volunteer Fire Department
- Teen Anti-drug Coalition of America
certificate of Leadership Award for Excellence in Drug Prevention
- American Legion Orville H Frank Post
742 certificate of appreciation for outstanding service
and assistance which contributed to the advancement of the
American Legion programs and activities.
- Erie Postal Credit Union certificate
for supporting the Credit Union Membership Access Act
- Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding
support and contributions to the Fathers’ Workshop Program
- 1997 Award from the Credit Unions in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in recognition of the courage
and leadership shown on their behalf
- National Joint Council of Food Inspection
Locals of the American Federation of Government Employee
AFL-CIO Award for support and concern for food safety and
consumer protection regarding meat.
- Public Service Award for unwavering
support of the Community Service Block Grant to help poor
and disadvantaged citizens, Sept. 1996 from the Greater
Erie Community Action Committee
- Commanders Award for outstanding achievement
in support of the 1999 Toys for Tots Program
- Certificate of Appreciation for participation
in programs during National Chemistry Week 1997
- The October 1997 Coalition to Save
Medicare Award
- 1997 Society for American Archaeology
Public Service Award
- The 24/7 Award for effort to assure
coverage of emergency medical services for all patients
in need from the American College of Emergency Physicians
- 1995 Erie County Young Republican of
the Year
- 2003 American Occupational Therapists
Assn. Award for Excellence in Leadership.
- Honorary Doctorate for Erie College
of Osteopathic Medicine
- 2004 Ben Franklin Award from the 60 Plus Association in recognition of his efforts to permanently repeal the death tax
- Honorary doctor of laws, Thiel College
- 2005 Manufacturers' Advocate of the Year Award by the American Business Council (ABC)
- Humane Advocate Award by the Human Society of the United States for the 109th Congress.
- 2006 Award for Advocacy of Independent Higher Education by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)
- 2006 Superhero Award by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)
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