Biography

Congressman John Kline has been proud to represent the men and women of Minnesota's 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives since first being elected to Congress in 2002. During this time, John has established himself as a champion for workers and small businesses, one of Congress’s foremost experts on defense and veterans issues, a leader in eliminating wasteful government spending, and an advocate for education.

A ‘Star of Education’
Keeping Promises to our Veterans: A Personal Priority
Leading Voice on Defense Issues
Committed to Cutting Pork, Increasing our Energy Independence
Continuing a Lifelong Pursuit of Public Service

A Star of Education
In 2009, John Kline was chosen by his peers to serve as the ranking Republican on the 50-member Education and Labor Committee. “It is an honor to lead my Republican colleagues in ensuring our children have access to the best education and protecting the rights of our workers and small businesses,” Kline said.  

Since joining the Education and Labor Committee in 2003, John has been a strong advocate for greater flexibility and local control in education, and increased federal funding for special needs and low income students. “Rep. Kline has been a diligent, hard-working member of our committee,” said Chairman Miller. John has authored legislation to increase the availability of federal education funding at the local level, for which he was honored with the “Star of Education” Award by the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium.  

Prior to becoming the ranking Republican on the Education and Labor Committee, John served as the ranking Republican member on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee (HELP), which is responsible for all matters associated with the relationships between employers and employees, including retirement security and pension, health, and other employee benefits.

Among his legislative successes in these areas, John co-sponsored sweeping pension reform legislation that protects the pensions of 44 million Americans. “People have worked their entire lives for these pensions,” Kline said. “Nothing is more important than making sure these obligations are met.” When an agreement could not be reached on the final legislation, John helped write a provision that secures pension plans for 9,100 Northwest Airlines (NWA) pension plan participants in Minnesota’s 2nd District. “Our district’s hard-working airline employees had serious concerns about the future of their pension plans, which is why I fought for airline relief,” Kline said. The pension reform legislation was signed into law in August 2006.
 
Keeping Promises to our Veterans: A Personal Priority
As the father of an Army Blackhawk pilot, the husband of a retired Army nurse, and a 25-year veteran of the Marine Corps, John Kline considers it a personal priority to ensure government keeps its promises to our veterans. Since arriving to Washington in 2003, he has considered it one of his greatest duties in Congress to support our veterans of today and tomorrow.
 
In January, 2008, John championed “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” legislation that makes Minnesota’s “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” reintegration program available to Guard and Reserve units nationwide. For his efforts on behalf of all veterans, the National Guard bureau honored John with one of its highest civilian awards, a “Heritage Painting.”
 
Leading Voice on Defense Issues
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, John Kline has been recognized by his colleagues as a leader and valuable resource on defense, veterans, and military personnel issues. During his first term in Congress, he led a bipartisan group of his colleagues in successfully defeating a proposal to radically change the length of service and independence of senior officers in the U.S. military leadership. Congressman Kline also authored legislation to protect members of the National Guard and Reserves who are students from student loan and administrative liabilities incurred when they are called to active duty service.
 
John also has made it a priority to ensure government keeps its promises to our veterans. Among his legislative successes in this area, Congressman Kline helped negotiate the agreement that partially ended the unfair of policy of prohibiting concurrent receipt, which penalizes veterans for injures they received in service to their country (previously, for every dollar a disabled veteran received in disability benefits, a dollar was removed from their pension). In the 111th Congress, John is a cosponsor of legislation that would provide full concurrent receipt for retired military servicemen and women with any service connected disability.

Congressman Kline has been instrumental in leading bipartisan, bicameral efforts to ensure 2500 members of the Minnesota National Guard whose service was extended involuntarily would receive their long overdue bonus pay. John brought this issue to the attention of Defense Secretary Robert Gates regarding during a hearing in 2010, and the Secretary announced days later that these men and women would receive their pay within weeks.
 
Demonstrating his continued dedication to the well-being of the men and women of our armed services, John has traveled on numerous Congressional Delegation (CODEL) trips, which have enabled him to observe and evaluate our nation’s foreign policy in action.

• John traveled to Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 2004 to visit U.S. troops and meet with military and civilian leadership stationed there.
• Just days before the Iraqi elections in January 2005, John led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Iraq. During this trip he was able to assess the progress of U.S. operations in support of the emerging democracies in those nations, evaluate the tremendous success of elections in Afghanistan, and survey conditions on the eve of elections in Iraq. Based on his personal observations on the ground, John correctly predicted the success of the Iraqi elections that occurred just days after his visit.
• In 2006, John led a congressional delegation to Iraq – his fourth trip to the region – to assess the progress of the unity government and the work being done by the Iraqi Security Forces, as well as visit members of the Minnesota National Guard.
• In 2007, in the wake of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s assessments of Iraq, John traveled with a congressional delegation to Iraq and Afghanistan to see for himself the latest developments and current ground conditions.
• In February 2008, John traveled with a congressional delegation to Afghanistan where he met with high ranking military officials to discuss progress being made by Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in rebuilding Afghanistan. “To improve the infrastructure and security there, we must empower local government officials and increase civilian participation,” Kline said after the trip. “Enhancing the security of Afghanistan also requires an increase in support from our NATO allies.
• In April 2009, John traveled with a congressional delegation to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel. The objective of this mission was to show foreign leaders that the United States is indeed united in support of President Obama’s new regional strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan that includes a pledge to deploy more troops to defeat al-Qaida militants, the Taliban, and their allies, but also includes a greater emphasis on regional diplomacy and economic development.
• In May 2009, John joined Intelligence Committee colleagues on a fact-finding trip to France, Algeria, Greece, and Morocco. The trip included a visit to the Normandy American Cemetery in northern France, where John participated in a Memorial Day ceremony and helped lay a wreath in honor of those American service members who gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy and made possible the liberation of Europe in World War II.
• In May 2010, John participated in a five-day bipartisan Congressional Delegation (Codel) trip to Afghanistan where he worked with House colleagues – both Democrats and Republicans – to observe and assess the progress being made in Afghanistan. On the fact-finding mission, Kline met with military and civilian officials as well as U.S. troops currently serving in the area. During their visit, members of the Codel focused on issues pertaining to the training and equipping of U.S. forces, the surge, reconstruction efforts, training of the Afghanistan National Army and Afghanistan National Police, and combating corruption.

Committed to Cutting Pork, Increasing our Energy Independence
Since January 2007, John Kline has led the charge in earmark reform. In 2007, John was one of just 12 members of the House of Representatives who refused to request earmarks while calling for comprehensive reform. Two years later, approximately 40 House members have joined the effort to address the reckless spending problem that is pervasive in Washington. As his first act of the 111th Congress, John asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner to put an end to the wasteful earmarking process. “Our constituents demand increased transparency and deserve the assurance that federal spending decisions are based on merit,” Kline said.
 
John also remains committed to increasing our energy independence. During the month-long congressional recess in August 2008, while gas prices hovered near $4 per gallon in Minnesota, John was a key leader of an historic “energy revolt,” in which many House Republicans remained on the floor of the House of Representatives to implore Speaker Pelosi to allow a vote on the “American Energy Act.” This legislation, cosponsored by John, was a comprehensive, “all of the above” energy policy that would increase domestic energy production, embrace renewable and alternative fuels, and support conservation efforts to reduce energy consumption.
 
John’s committed pursuit of economic growth, job creation, and tax relief for Minnesotans have earned him the “Hero of the Taxpayer,” “Small Business Advocate,” and “Spirit of Enterprise” Awards. John has also been honored with the “True Blue Award” from the Family Research Council for his pro-family voting record.
 
Continuing a Lifelong Pursuit of Public Service
Prior to being elected to Congress, John Kline spent several years in Washington during his 25-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps. He distinguished himself as a helicopter pilot and earned the responsibility of flying Marine One, the President’s personal helicopter. John was also hand-picked to serve as a personal military aide to President Jimmy Carter, and subsequently to President Ronald Reagan. John’s responsibilities during this period included carrying the nuclear “football” – the briefcase containing the nuclear war plans and strike options in case of a national emergency.  
 
During his successful career in the Marines, John served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, commanded all Marine aviation forces in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and served as the Program Development Officer at Headquarters Marine Corps, where he was responsible for the Program Objective Memorandum – the document used by the U.S. Armed Services to submit budgetary and planning proposals. Among his many medals and awards are four Legion of Merit Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, a Naval Commendation Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, and the Defense Superior Service Award.  He retired from the Marine Corps with the rank of Colonel.

Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in September 6, 1947, John earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Rice University in 1969, and earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University in 1988.

John and his wife, Vicky, live in Lakeville, Minnesota. He is especially proud of his two children and four grandchildren. John’s son – a father of two – is a helicopter pilot in the Army and has served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. His daughter is a freelance author, mother of two, and creator of the popular PBandJAHM e-zine, which offers community and advice for stay at home mothers across the country.