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Santorum, Rick

CANDIDATE DETAILS

Affiliation


<-	2015-01-01

Name

Rick Santorum

Address

Verona, Pennsylvania , United States

None

Website

http://ricksantorum.com

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ricksantorum

Born

May 10, 1958 (65 years)

Contributor

Classical Liberal

Last Modifed

RBH
Feb 17, 2020 01:35am

Tags

Caucasian - Irish - Italian - Married - NRA - Catholic - Christian -

Info

Richard John Santorum

Rick Santorum has served in the United States Senate since January of 1995. During that time, he has served as a champion for Pennsylvanians either through his accomplishments in the United States Senate or through his leadership position as Republican Conference Chairman, the party's third-ranking leadership position in the Senate. The Senator has been elected to a third term as Republican Conference Chairman by his Republican colleagues. As Conference Chairman, Senator Santorum directs the communications operations of Senate Republicans and is a frequent party spokesman. He is the youngest member of the leadership and the first Pennsylvanian of such a prominent position since Senator Hugh Scott was Republican leader in the 1970s.

Senator Santorum was raised in Butler County, Pennsylvania and attended college at Penn State University. It was during his undergraduate career that he became actively involved in the political process as a campaign volunteer for the late Senator John Heinz. Senator Santorum received a B.A. in Political Science from Penn State in 1980 and went on to earn an M.B.A. in 1981 from the University of Pittsburgh. Later, he graduated with a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1990, at the age of 32, Senator Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and made his mark in Congress as a champion of government accountability and welfare reform.

Currently, in the 109th Congress, Senator Santorum serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee; the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration; the Senate Special Committee on Aging; and the Senate Finance Committee, of which he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy.

Senator Santorum has been prominent in the fight to reform America's social welfare system, playing a major part in the historic 1996 welfare reform law. The Senator believes in giving recipients of federal aid incentives to work while providing funds for fatherhood and marriage initiatives. Welfare reform, however, is only a part of his broader vision to end urban and rural poverty by strengthening families, communities and the local organizations that sustain them.

Senator Santorum has been a leader in congressional efforts to revive America's communities and empower citizens to enjoy better lives. The most important of his initiatives for community and economic renewal is the Charity, Aid, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which passed the Senate during the 108th Congress. Based on three concepts -- giving, saving, and fairness -- the CARE Act provides incentives for charitable giving, opportunities for low-income families to build their individual assets, and equity between faith-based and secular organizations as they provide charitable social services. These renewal programs will promote job growth, economic development, affordable housing and higher education, and long-term financial stability for Americans. Senator Santorum is committed to further fostering this movement.

Also, of legislative precedence to the Senator is the belief that human life is sacred and must be guarded by the law, science, and society. To this end, Rick Santorum has sponsored and fought for measures to protect the most vulnerable among us and to ban a procedure known as partial-birth abortion. During the 107th Congress, Senator Santorum successfully ushered the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act through the Senate and House, and his bill to recognize the basic rights of all children born alive was signed into law. In the 108th Congress, the Senator's legislation to end partial-birth abortion won congressional approval and was signed by President Bush.

The Senator is committed to the initiative to eradicate global HIV/AIDS. He believes that the United States has an obligation to provide funding to combat HIV/AIDS, and a responsibility to extend debt relief to third world nations.

Senator Santorum is proud to represent Pennsylvania's leading industry, agriculture, on the Senate Agriculture Committee. He is a leading advocate for the Commonwealth's 55,000 hard-working, farming families and is responsible for the creation of the Farmland Protection Program. The Senator will fight for the future of Pennsylvania's dairy farmers; will work to provide a robust crop insurance program for producers of all sizes; will continue to be an advocate on behalf of Pennsylvania's disaster assistance needs; and will support child nutrition programs that have a positive impact on Pennsylvania's children.

As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Aging and Chairman of the Finance Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy, Senator Santorum is on the front lines in the fight to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. Furthermore, as the son of two Veterans Administration employees, and as a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Santorum has focused on efforts to ensure that the American men and women who serve in our military are treated with the respect and honor they so richly deserve.

While Senator Santorum is proud of his accomplishments as a lawmaker and public servant, he is most proud of his role as a husband and father. Senator Santorum and his wife, Karen Garver Santorum, are the parents of six wonderful children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, and Patrick.

JOB APPROVAL POLLS