Congressman John Adler's Official Photo

A native New Jerseyan, John grew up in the Borough of Haddonfield with his mother, Mary Louise and his father, John. His family owned and operated a local dry cleaning store for more than fifteen years, but after his father experienced a series of heart attacks that led to crippling medical expenses, they lost their small business. This experience left an indelible mark on John, and he remains particularly sensitive to the concerns of small business owners and their ability to afford health care coverage.

Before his election to Congress, John served for seventeen years in the New Jersey State Senate. In addition to his role as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John emerged as a leader on environmental and health related issues, homeland security, ethics reform, and reducing taxes on small business, middle class families and seniors. John wrote New Jersey's Smoke-Free Air Act, which became the state's premier public health law in January 2006. The bill prohibits smoking in indoor public places and has already spared thousands of people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.

John's fight for ethics reform began early in his career. He was elected to the Cherry Hill Town Council in 1987 and wrote the town's ethics ordinance. As a State Senator, he went on to write New Jersey's law requiring pension forfeiture and mandatory prison terms for corrupt officials.

John is the only New Jersey member to serve on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and he is the only New Jersey member in the majority to serve on the powerful Financial Service Committee. John's first bill in Congress was to provide tax relief for seniors and disabled veterans in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. When John reviewed the first draft of the economic recovery package, he realized that seniors and veterans were excluded from receiving a tax rebate. He worked quickly to fix the oversight, introducing the Safeguarding America's Seniors and Veterans Act, which was subsequently signed into law. His legislation was endorsed by the VFW, Disabled American Veterans and the AARP.

As part of his efforts to meet with South Jersey and Coastal area residents, John created Congress on your Corner. On most weekends, John meets with local residents at a diner, grocery store or community meeting room and hears directly from his constituents about their issues, concerns, and ideas.

John is dedicated to representing the views of his district and his own values in Washington. On January 11, 2010, CQ Weekly listed John as one of the most independent-minded legislators in the House of Representatives. Based on his 2009 voting record, the magazine ranked John twenty-fifth, out of 256 Democrats, in a study of which lawmakers broke most frequently with their party.

John is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Shelley, live in Cherry Hill, where they are raising their four sons Jeffrey, Alex, Andrew, and Oliver.