John F. Tierney

Infobox_Congressman
name =John F. Tierney


date of birth=birth date and age|1951|09|18
place of birth =Salem, Massachusetts
state = Massachusetts
district = 6th
term_start = January 3, 1997
preceded = Peter Torkildsen
succeeded = Incumbent
party =Democrat
religion= Roman Catholic
alma_mater= Salem State College, Suffolk University
occupation= attorney
residence= Salem, Massachusetts
spouse = Patrice Tierney

John F. Tierney (born September 18 1951), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing the 6th District of Massachusetts.

Early life and career

Tierney was born in Salem, Massachusetts and was educated at Salem State College, from which he earned a bachelor's degree, and at Suffolk University Law School. He worked as a trial lawyer with Tierney, Kalis, & Lucas until successfully running for Congress.

Tierney considers himself a strong voice for the middle class. The representative is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and has introduced legislation that would make college more affordable. He is also pushing for a bill that would prohibit companies from curtailing retirement benefits that were promised to tenured employees. Tierney is considered to be a strong supporter of labor. He is also interested in protecting the environment.

Most recently, Tierney has received attention for introducing [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.3099: H.R. 3099] on June 25, 2005, a Congressional bill that would introduce Clean Elections to national elections. The bill, though [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3099 supported by 40 members of his own caucus] , was tabled in committee.

Tierney has also recently co-authored the College Affordability and Accountability Act, which attempts to lower college tuition rates. He also created the Emergency Retiree Benefits Protection Act, which prohibits companies from going back on retirement promises.

Committee Assignments

*Education and Labor Committee
**Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
**Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
*Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
**Domestic Policy Subcommittee
**National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee (Chairman)
*Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
**Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Vice Chair)

Electoral history

*2008 Race for U.S. Congress
**Richard A. Baker (R)
**John Tierney (D)

Ideological ratings

*Americans for Democratic Action: 100% for the years 2001–2005.
*AFL-CIO: 93% for 2005.
*League of Conservation Voters: 100% for 2005.
*NARAL Pro-Choice America: 100% for 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005
*National Journal: Composite liberal score of 94% for 2005.
*Planned Parenthood: 100% for the period 1995–2003.Source: [http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=BC036793 Project Vote Smart]

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/tierney Congressman John F. Tierney] official U.S. House website
* [http://www.johntierney.com/ John Tierney for Congress] official campaign website
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Tierney Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
*Tierney, John [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/tierney Intelligent Reform] "The Nation", February 6, 2006