Biography

Baron Hill was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana. Before he was first elected to Congress in 1998, Baron ran a small business in Seymour, represented his community in the Indiana General Assembly, served at the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, and worked as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch. Baron and his wife of more than three decades, Betty Schepman Hill, still live in Seymour. Betty recently retired from teaching math and social studies at Seymour Middle School. The Hills have three daughters - Jennifer, Cara and Elizabeth – and one granddaughter, Josie.

Baron was a standout athlete at Seymour High School, setting records in basketball, football and track. Baron is one of Seymour High School's all-time leading basketball scorers. He received one of Hoosier basketball's highest honors when he was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Basketball legend Larry Bird joined Baron in the 2000 class Hall of Fame inductees.

Baron continued his education at Furman University, where he graduated with a degree in history in 1975. After college, he returned to Seymour and ran an insurance and real estate business for 15 years. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1982 and served there for eight years. In 1990, Baron left the Indiana legislature to run for the United States Senate and narrowly missed an upset victory. During that campaign, Baron walked the entire length of the State of Indiana, meeting and talking with Hoosiers along the way.

In 1992, then-Governor Evan Bayh named Baron the Executive Director to the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, which helped Hoosier students' dream of attending college become an affordable reality. Baron later returned to the private sector, where he was a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1998. Baron represented Southern Indiana for three terms in Congress. He served on three committees: the House Agriculture Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. As part of his duties on the House Armed Services Committee, Baron sat on the Anti-Terrorism Subcommittee and the Military Readiness Subcommittee, which among other responsibilities oversaw military installations such as Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, located in Southern Indiana.

Drawing on his business background, Baron took the lead on budget and fiscal issues in Congress. In his third term, his colleagues selected him as Communications Co-Chair for the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 44 moderate-to-conservative Democrats who offer common-sense solutions and strongly advocate fiscal discipline.

In an effort to make schools safer and better learning environments, where principals and teachers know their students and parents have an active role, Baron authored the Smaller Schools, Stronger Communities Act. The bill would provide grants to local educational agencies to develop smaller schools or 'schools within schools.' Baron's legislation is based on research that concludes children learn better and are safer in schools where they feel connected to each other and to their teachers and administrators. Baron's initiative was signed into law as part of H.R. 1, President Bush's education reform bill.

Baron was reelected to Congress in 2006 and 2008. He continues to serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Science and Technology Committee, and Joint Economic Committee. His position on the Energy and Commerce Committee has afforded Baron the opportunity to further his work on attaining energy independence in America. Last Congress, Baron was the author of legislation that raised fuel efficiency standards for our vehicles for the first time in more than three decades.

In response to concerns from his constituents about skyrocketing property taxes in Indiana, Baron introduced property tax relief legislation in the fall of 2007. After working tirelessly to see the legislation enacted, Baron was successful in getting the property tax relief language inserted into a housing package that became law in July 2008. The property tax relief legislation creates a new standard deduction for homeowners who do not itemize their deductions on their federal income tax filings. Under current law, taxpayers who itemize their deductions may take advantage of deductions that other taxpayers cannot. Non-itemizers will be able deduct up to $500 of their property tax bills from their federal taxes this year, and families will be able to deduct up to $1,000.

In addition, Baron has rejoined the Blue Dog Coalition. In the 111th Congress, Baron is one of the group's leaders, serving as the co-chair for policy. Although pleased that PAYGO rules were put in place during both the 110th and 111th Congresses, Baron continues to push to make those rules law.

Baron is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Seymour and has participated in the Elks Club, the American Red Cross and the Seymour Chamber of Commerce. He was also the Seymour Jaycees former president. Baron was born in Seymour on June 23, 1953.