U.S. Senator Evan Bayh is dedicated to
providing hardworking Hoosier families with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed today. From his work growing small businesses to his fight to make higher education more affordable, Senator Bayh is cutting through the partisan gridlock of Washington to help more Hoosiers make a better life for themselves and their children. His commitment to making real progress in the midst of potential political showdowns has set Bayh apart as a leader on a wide range of important issues facing our country.
Bayh's common sense approach is a hallmark
of his work in the U.S. Senate. "Evan Bayh is staking out new political
turf in Washington - and carving out his identity - by confronting the way
things work in the tradition-bound U.S. Senate," wrote The Indianapolis
Star. Bayh's signature legislative efforts seek to raise the performance of
our nation's public schools, encourage responsible fatherhood, and provide
tax relief for families struggling to afford the rising costs of college,
retirement, and the long-term care of a loved one. The Fort Wayne Journal
Gazette says Bayh's commitment to fiscally responsible tax cuts makes him
"one of the few voices of reason" in Washington.
Bayh serves on five Senate committees:
Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance; Armed Services; the Select
Committee on Intelligence; the Special
Committee on Aging; and the Small Business Committee.
Bayh is a leader of the New Democrat
movement. He serves as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC),
a national group of Democratic elected officials and community leaders who
offer a third-way approach on issues that often fall victim to partisan
politics. Bayh is a member of the Senate Centrist Coalition, a group of
moderate senators from both parties who meet regularly and work together to
find common ground. He helped establish the New Democrat Coalition, a new
and growing group of senators who are committed to sensible bipartisan
progress. Bayh also serves on the Board of Directors of the National
Endowment for Democracy, a non-partisan group that works to promote and
strengthen democratic institutions worldwide.
Before his election to the Senate, Bayh
served two terms as Governor of Indiana, where he established the state as
one of the strongest, most financially secure economies in the nation.
"Mr. Bayh's record," reported The Wall Street Journal in 1992,
"is one of a genuinely fiscally conservative Democrat." Stressing
fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, job creation and lean government,
then-Governor Bayh's list of achievements are remarkable: eight years
without raising taxes; the greatest single tax cut; the largest budget
surplus in state history; national leadership in moving people from welfare
to work; more dollars for schools every year; high academic standards and
new college opportunities; over 375,000 new jobs; tougher laws; and improved
environmental quality.
Bayh was born in Shirkieville, Indiana. He
graduated with honors in business economics from Indiana University in 1978,
and received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1981. After
clerking for a federal court judge and entering private law practice in
Indianapolis, he was elected Indiana's Secretary of State in 1986.
Senator Bayh counts as his most important
role and greatest responsibility a position he assumed in November 1995:
proud father of twin sons Beau and Nicholas - a joy he shares daily with his
wife, Susan.
