Bio
Congressman Steven C. LaTourette is serving his eighth term in
the United States House of Representatives and represents Northeast
Ohio's 14th Congressional District, which includes all of Lake,
Geauga and Ashtabula counties, and part of Cuyahoga, Summit,
Trumbull and Portage counties. All told, there are 22 cities, 34
villages and 63 townships in the 14th District.
LaTourette is a fiscally conservative, moderate Republican who
is well respected in his district.
- The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer says LaTourette has "become
Cleveland's most effective representative in Washington" and notes
that the "moderate Republican has done much good for both his
district and the state of Ohio, and is well positioned to keep the
dollars coming." The (Willoughby) News Herald says "Of all the
members of Congress in Northeast Ohio, he is the only heavyweight
who delivers to his constituents".
- The (Akron) Beacon Journal has praised LaTourette's
"independent nature" and adds that that congressman" is not a
generic Republican.
He also has shown he can work across the aisle and get things
done." LaTourette strives to take a bipartisan and regional
approach to governing and is widely credited with leading the
congressional effort to save more than 1,100 jobs at Cleveland's
Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which the Pentagon hoped to
close as part of its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
LaTourette devoted months to digging through Pentagon data and
found numerous flaws in the data used to justify the recommendation
to close the Cleveland office. About 90 percent of BRAC
recommendations are adopted, yet Cleveland beat the odds. Not only
will the city retain 1,100 high-paying jobs, but the site is
guaranteed to have at least 1,500 jobs and possibly as many as
1,800 by 2011.
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer praised LaTourette's efforts to
save DFAS, noting "had he accomplished nothing else during his 12
years in the House, (he) would merit re-election for the work he
did last year in preserving more than 1,000 Defense Finance and
Accounting Service jobs in Cleveland," adding that "in his often
low-key, laconic way, LaTourette has done just what voters sent him
to Washington to do. He gets things done for all of Ohio."
In 2009, LaTourette was appointed to the prestigious House
Appropriations Committee. This panel is responsible for providing
funding for all federal government programs with the exception of
mandatory spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
He serves on three of the Committee's subcommittees:
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Subcommittee;
Interior, Environment and Related Agencies; and the Subcommittee on
Legislative Branch. The Congressman brings extensive experience in
our nation's transportation policy to the Transportation, HUD
Subcommittee, having served on the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee in several leadership positions over the
past 14 years. As a member of the Transportation Appropriations
Subcommittee, he continues to focus on the maintenance and growth
of our nation's infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on
northeast Ohio. Additionally, as a member of the Interior,
Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee, LaTourette plays a
role in the funding priorities for our national parks, wildlife
refuges, forests and other public lands, water resource protection,
and cultural agencies including the Smithsonian Institution and the
Kennedy Center.
He brings his decade of service as Co-Chair of the influential
Great Lakes Task Force to the subcommittee with an understanding of
the vital importance of our nation's water resources in ensuring a
healthy population and economy. As a fiscal conservative, he
emphasizes effective use of tax dollars in the management of these
natural and cultural resources with a keen understanding that these
resources also enhance economic development. Finally, as a member
of the subcommittee responsible for funding the legislative branch
of government, he is especially interested in the effective use of
legislative resources in serving constituents. The congressman had
to give up his assignments on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and the Financial Services Committee to join the
Appropriations panel because House rules stipulate that
appropriators can only serve on that one committee.
While on the Transportation Committee, LaTourette was
responsible for securing hundreds of millions of dollars in
transportation funding to the Greater Cleveland area, including
funding for bridge, road, rail and airport improvements. He also
was an active member of Financial Services, and was one of most
outspoken critics of the $700 billion financial bailout that led to
the acquisition of National City Bank by PNC in Pittsburgh. The
Congressman is widely regarded as a leading authority on identity
theft, privacy and data security policy. He has authored several
identity theft provisions that were signed into law, including
access to one free credit report annually. He also authored the
Credit Union Membership Access Act, legislation that was signed
into law in 1998 and has made credit union membership accessible to
millions of Americans.
LaTourette continues to be actively involved in Great Lakes' and
environmental issues and served as Co Chair of the influential
Great Lakes Task Force from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, LaTourette was
named co chair of the Northeast Midwest Coalition and its
Manufacturing Task Force. The NEMW Coalition is a bipartisan,
bicameral congressional organization devoted to the economic
competitiveness and environmental quality of the Northeast and
Midwest states. It is focused on protecting regional energy,
manufacturing, transportation, and environmental policy interests.
NEMW is the umbrella group with oversight of the Great Lakes Task
Force. In addition, LaTourette has authored major Great Lakes
legislation, including the reauthorization of the National Invasive
Species Act, and has been actively involved in efforts to prohibit
drilling in the Great Lakes and the sale and exportation of Great
Lakes' water. LaTourette's legislative accomplishments and voting
record have been lauded by many groups, including Watchdogs of the
Treasury, National Federation of Independent Business, National Tax
Limitation Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 60 Plus Association
and Seniors Coalition.
LaTourette also is a longstanding member of the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Council, which was created in 1979 by President Jimmy
Carter to foster remembrance of the Holocaust. He has served on the
panel since 1995. LaTourette is co-founder of the Middle Class
Caucus and Nursing Caucus, and has been a leading advocate for
nursing issues in Congress. Prior to his election to the House of
Representatives, LaTourette served from 1989 to 1995 as the Lake
County Prosecutor. In 1990, he was named Prosecuting Attorney of
the Year in Ohio for his successful prosecution of 13 members of a
murderous religious cult. LaTourette is a graduate of the
University of Michigan and Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He
lives in Bainbridge Township and is the father of six children.