Co-chair Biographies
Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan is the Co-chair for the Congressional Military Mental Health Caucus. He is a relentless advocate for working families in Ohio's 13th District. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and was sworn in on January 7, 2003. Successfully reelected five times, he is now serving in his sixth term. Congressman Ryan currently serves as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee which controls the expenditure of money by the federal government. He has been assigned to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (HAC-D) and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD). Together, these two subcommittees oversee almost $600 billion dollars in discretionary funding. Ryan is also a member of the House Budget Committee which has oversight over the federal buget process.
Ryan serves as co-chairman of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus and remains a leader in the fight to strengthen America's manufacturing base and reform U.S. trade policies. The House Manufacturing Caucus examines and promotes policies to help American manufacturers find trained, educated workers, continue to lead the world in developing new industrial technologies, operate on a level playing field with their foreign competitors, and obtain the capital they need to thrive. Ryan is the leading advocate in the House to impose sanctions on unfair Chinese currency manipulation.
Ryan's primary focus remains on the economy and quality-of-life in Northeast Ohio. He works closely with local officials and community leaders to advance local projects that enhance the economic competitiveness and help attract high-quality, high-paying jobs.
Ryan is a dynamic leader in the House where he often speaks out on issues of particular concern in Northeast Ohio. He is a champion of efforts to make college more affordable, revitalize America's cities and improve the health and well-being of American families and children. His work on these and other issues has garnered the attention of the national media.
Ryan has also served in the Ohio State Senate where he spearheaded efforts to establish a state-based earned income tax credit, to standardize community school data reporting, and bring college students into the debate over higher education funding.
Before his election to public office, Ryan served as President of the Trumbull County Young Democrats and as Chairman of the Earning by Learning program in Warren, Ohio. He began his career in politics as a congressional aide with the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 and later served as an intern for the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office. Ryan holds a law degree from the University Of New Hampshire School Of Law (formerly the Franklin Pierce Law Center), studied abroad as part of the Dickinson School of Law's International Law Program in Florence, Italy, and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Born July 16, 1973 in Niles, Ohio, Tim Ryan is the younger of two sons, both raised by their mother, Rochelle Ryan with the help of grandparents, Anna and John Rizzi. He resides in Niles, Ohio.
Thomas J. Rooney
Tom Rooney was raised in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Following high school, he went on to play college football at Syracuse University and Washington and Jefferson College. After receiving his BA in English Literature, Tom worked for Senator Connie Mack in Washington, DC. Tom returned home to Florida to attend the University of Florida where he received a Masters Degree and the University of Miami, School of Law where he earned his J.D. and met his wife Tara.
After graduation, Tom and Tara spent over four years in the United States Army JAG Corps. Most notably he served as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney on Fort Hood, TX prosecuting all civilian crimes on post. In 2002, Tom was selected to teach Constitutional and Criminal Law at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
In 2004, Tom returned to Florida and went to work as an Assistant Attorney General. After leaving the Attorney General's office, he became CEO of "The Children's Place at Home Safe," a home for abused and neglected children. He was later appointed by Governor Bush to the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County Board of Directors. In 2006, Tom entered private practice and joined a Stuart law firm.
On November 4th, 2008, Tom was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He represents Florida's 17th district. He sits on the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee's on Agriculture, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and State and Foreign Operations. He is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and serves as Chairman of the Intelligence Subcommittee on Emerging Threats. He also serves as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Tom and Tara live in Okeechobee with their three young sons: Tommy Jr., Sean, and Seamus.
