Tim Ryan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (October 2008)

Tim Ryan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003
Preceded by	James Traficant
Born	July 16, 1973 (1973-07-16) (age 35) Niles, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	single
Residence	Niles, Ohio
Alma mater	Bowling Green State University, Franklin Pierce Law Center
Occupation	Congressman
Religion	Roman Catholic

Timothy J. "Tim" Ryan (born July 16, 1973) is an American politician and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Seventeenth Congressional District of Ohio since 2003.

[edit] Early life and career

Tim Ryan was born in Niles, Ohio and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, where he played football as a quarterback.^[1] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bowling Green State University in 1995 and was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In 2000, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.

Ryan served on the staff of controversial congressman Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) in the mid-1990s. From 2000 to 2002 he served a term in the Ohio State Senate. After Traficant was convicted on criminal charges in 2002, Ryan declared his candidacy for the Congressional seat of his home district.

As the result of redistricting following the 2000 census, the 17th, which had long been based in Youngstown, now included portions of Akron and Portage County. Before the redistricting, all of Akron had been part of the 14th District, represented by eight-term Democrat Tom Sawyer. The 14th had been eliminated in the year 2000 redistricting; most of it was drawn into the 13th District of fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown, but Sawyer's home was drawn into the 17th. In the 2002 Democratic primary, Ryan defeated Sawyer, who was seen as insufficiently labor-friendly in the newly-drawn district. Traficant ran as an independent in the race from his prison cell.

Ryan easily won the general election in November 2002. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House, at 29 years of age. He was reelected in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Recently, before the 2004 presidential election, Ryan spoke on the House floor in an impassioned speech denouncing the Bush administration's denial of a draft reinstatement, comparing this to the administration's previous claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, the Bush tax cuts would create jobs, and other such claims.^[2]. He repeated in September 2006 with an equally-heated speech criticizing what he felt to be the Bush administration's tendency to distract the public from key issues like the war in Iraq and the economy.^[3]

Ryan is a member of the "30 Something" Working Group ^[4], which is a Congressional caucus that includes those members of the United States House of Representatives who are Democrats and have not yet reached the age of 40. It was organized by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to energize and engage younger people in politics by focusing on issues that are important to them.^{[citation needed]}

Early in the race, Ryan was strongly courted by national Democrats to run against Mike DeWine for Senate in 2006 but he declined. He endorsed Paul Hackett for the seat, who later withdrew from the race in favor of Sherrod Brown's candidacy.

On December 13, 2006, he was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee for the 110th Congress.^[1]

On October 4, 2007, Ryan announced his endorsement of U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in the race for the Democratic nomination for President. In a post on the well-known progressive blog DailyKos, he said: "When I vote for a President I want certain qualities. I want passion, I want conviction and I want clarity. Today I endorse Chris Dodd because he has all three." After Dodd withdrew from the race, Ryan endorsed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) on April 19, saying that under her administration "people in the seventeenth district of Ohio would enjoy a return to strong economic growth, millions of jobs being created and a rise in wages."^[5].

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch

[edit] Caucus memberships

• Co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus

[edit] See also

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 17th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio
• 30 Something Working Group

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Congressman Tim Ryan official U.S. House site
• Tim Ryan for Congress official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia