Congressman John F. Tierney
Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
In his seventh term representing Massachusetts's Sixth District, U.S. Representative John F. Tierney has developed a national reputation as an effective legislator fighting for America's families. The congressman continues to proudly serve as the only member from Massachusetts on the Education and Labor Committee, serving on the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness and the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.
Fighting for a vibrant middle class and working to create broad opportunity, Congressman Tierney has been an active leader on education and labor issues. He has spearheaded efforts to improve education at all levels including authoring key aspects of the Higher Education Act in an effort to make college more affordable for all students. This act was reauthorized for the first time in 10 years during the 110th Congress. Congressman Tierney is also committed to creating more jobs and ensuring workers receive needed training. This is reflected in his sponsorship and authorship of several key initiatives that strengthen laws protecting American workers, including the Green Jobs Act, which creates a comprehensive program to train and equip our workers to compete for jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act, which would prohibit profitable companies that promised employees retirement coverage from curtailing or eliminating benefits under their retiree health plans after an employee retires.
His hard work and commitment to ensuring the legislative branch conducts vigorous oversight have earned Congressman Tierney the chairmanship of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and a speaker-appointed seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Chairman Tierney has undertaken a variety of investigations to ensure that our national security policy prioritizes a robust military and intelligence capability focused on 21st-century threats, meaningful diplomatic initiatives, serious attention to nuclear non-proliferation efforts and a defense budget that efficiently uses taxpayer dollars.
In his Subcommittee's very first hearing, glaring deficiencies were exposed in the treatment of our seriously injured soldiers returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Continual, aggressive oversight is being pursued toward researching such issues as facilities’ conditions, staffing at hospitals and disability evaluations.
Additionally, Congressman Tierney believes that we can, and we should, have a government that is truly responsible to the American people--not to special interest groups and lobbyists. To that end, he continues to be the leading advocate for the creation of a public financing system for congressional elections. His Clean Money, Clean Elections Act would create a comprehensive, voluntary system whereby candidates could successfully fund their campaigns without recourse to private contributions and all the adverse perceptions they entail.
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Congressman Tierney attended Salem Public Schools and graduated from Salem State College. He earned a law degree from Suffolk University and until he took office in January 1997 was partner in the law firm of Tierney, Kalis and Lucas for over 20 years. He and his wife, Patrice, continue to make Salem their home.
