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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| <- |
2022-01-01 |
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| Name | John B. Larson |
| Address | 1887 Main Street
East Hartford, Connecticut 06108, United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | [Link] |
| Born |
July 22, 1948
(75 years)
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| Contributor | Classical Liberal |
| Last Modifed | NCdem
Nov 12, 2023 12:33am |
| Tags |
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| Info | Congressman John B. Larson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, and was reelected to his third term by the people of Connecticut's First Congressional District in 2002.
His service in Congress has been defined by his commitment to preserving Social Security and Medicare, advocacy of prescription drug coverage for seniors, leadership in securing critical national defense programs and counterterrorism training, equipment and communications for local first responders, enhancing economic security for workers, and his efforts to close the digital divide in America by advancing education technology for schools and communities. He has also been active in utilizing fuel cell technology to reduce America's dependence on foreign energy sources as well as to help reduce environmentally harmful emissions. Larson has authored legislation to dramatically increase research and development funding for America's aviation and aerospace industry.
He serves on the House Armed Services and Science Committees.
Larson introduced the Municipal Preparation and Strategic Response Act of 2001 in the weeks after September 11. It would spend $1.5 billion on grants to municipalities for the necessary training, equipment, communications capabilities and strategic planning that local first responders need to respond to disasters such as an act of terrorism.
Larson introduced the Energy Independence Act (H.R. 1830), which will invest $1 billion in fuel cell technology over the next five years to develop and demonstrate fuel cells and promote the technology as the energy source of the future. The Act also directs the Department of Energy to develop a strategic plan to ensure the United States is energy self-sufficient by 2011 and provides funding for federally run pilot and demonstration programs. Additionally, the bill also makes a significant grant program available directly to state and local governments interested in integrating fuel cell technology into existing programs.
Larson introduced H.R. 4653, the Aeronautics Research and Development Revitalization Act, to counteract a dramatic decline in U.S. research and development spending as well as to meet the challenge of European Union efforts to win global leadership in the industry.
In addition, he is creator of the bi-partisan Tactical Air Caucus that successfully restored $1.8 billion to the Defense Appropriations Act for the F-22 jet fighter program - a project of vital importance to the economic health of the First District and the state. Most recently he has created the Digital Divide Caucus designed to coordinate legislation and initiatives aimed at closing the technological imbalance in America.
One of his legislative proposals, the Community Economic Adjustment Act of 2000, is designed to create a federal office to work with communities severely impacted by job layoffs. His proposal resulted in the creation of a pilot program based on the legislation to be initiated in the Hartford region.
Larson was successful in having two bills he introduced signed into law by President Clinton; the first established a written history of the House of Representatives, and the second commissioned a study by the Secretary of the Interior of the historical route which passed through Connecticut traveled by Generals Washington and Rochambeau during the Revolutionary War.
Larson was born on July 22, 1948 in Hartford, Connecticut. He and his seven brothers and sisters were raised in Mayberry Village, a public housing project in East Hartford by their parents, Raymond and Lois. Raymond worked as a fireman at Pratt & Whitney, an East Hartford manufacturing company, while Lois was an East Hartford Town Councilwoman and a State Capitol employee. Larson is the oldest of the five boys.
He attended public schools, and graduated from East Hartford High School in 1967. He graduated from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) with a bachelor's degree in 1971, and later took graduate courses at CCSU and Trinity College in Hartford on education and public policy. Larson was later selected by Dr. Ed Zigler, the creator of Head Start, to be a Senior Fellow at the Yale Bush Center for Child Development.
He was a high school history teacher and athletic coach until 1977, when he went into the insurance business and became an owner of Larson & Lysik, and later a consultant. He served on the East Hartford Board of Education from 1977 until 1979. Larson was also a member of the East Hartford Town Council from 1979 to 1983. In 1982, he was elected to the Connecticut State Senate, beginning a 12-year tenure representing the 3rd Senate District from 1983 to 1995. Larson served as Senate President Pro Tempore for eight years, the longest in Connecticut history, from 1987 to 1995.
During his time in the State Senate, he is credited with establishing the nation's first family and medical leave legislation and advocating comprehensive educational and family friendly programs. He also designed legislation on economic diversity to help defense industries adjust to federal cutbacks. He also created and chaired ConneCT96, a project that brought the Internet into Connecticut classrooms and libraries. Under his direction, 4,000 volunteers were mobilized into action to make this communications link a reality.
The Congressman and his wife Leslie have three children and are life-long residents of East Hartford.
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