Evan Bayh

U.S. Senator Evan Bayh is focused on 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. Elected to his second term in November 2004, Senator Bayh has proven he is "more concerned with reflecting what he believes is right for Indiana citizens than with playing to the Beltway crowd," says the Indianapolis Star. His signature legislative efforts seek to strengthen our national security, create more jobs through the growth of small businesses, encourage responsible fatherhood and provide tax-relief for families struggling with the rising costs of college, retirement and the long-term care of a loved one. To help win the war on terror, Bayh has taken the lead in providing our troops with the armored vehicles they need and has visited Baghdad for a firsthand look at the progress on-the-ground.

Bayh currently 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.

At a time when partisanship is threatening progress on the nation's most pressing issues, Bayh is spearheading the creation of the Third Way, an organization designed to build consensus around legislation that would otherwise remain bogged down in political turf wars. Bayh also served for more than four years as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a national group that offers support for Democratic elected officials and community leaders with a progressive approach on issues. 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, Bayh's list of achievements are remarkable: eight years without raising taxes; the greatest single tax cut and 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 350,000 new jobs; tougher laws on crime; 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 Nick - a joy he shares daily with his wife, Susan.