Jack Reed
Senior Senator from Rhode Island
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 7, 1997 Serving with Sheldon Whitehouse
Preceded by	Claiborne Pell
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2009)
Born	November 12 1949 (1949--) (age 57) Cranston, Rhode Island
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Julia Hart
Alma mater	USMA (West Point) and Harvard
Religion	Roman Catholic

John Francis "Jack" Reed (born November 12, 1949) is a Democrat and the senior United States senator from Rhode Island.

Early life and family

Reed was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, to Mary Louise Monahan and Joseph Anthony Reed.^[1] He has lived in Rhode Island his entire life. Reed graduated from La Salle Academy in Providence and attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. Following his graduation and receiving an active duty commission, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Masters in Public Policy. Reed also served in the 325th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division^[2] as an Army Ranger and paratrooper. He married professional Senate staffer Julia Hart in a Roman Catholic ceremony in the Catholic chapel on the United States Military Academy campus on April 16, 2005. On January 5, 2007, Mrs. Reed gave birth to a daughter, Emily.

Law and politics

Reed resigned from the army in 1979 as a captain and enrolled in Harvard Law School. In 1982, he graduated and served as an associate at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. Afterwards, he returned to Rhode Island and joined Edwards and Angell, a Providence law firm. Reed was elected as a state senator in 1984 and served three terms. In 1990, Reed was elected to the United States House of Representatives. For the next six years, Reed became well known in his state for his positions on education and health care, and when Senator Claiborne Pell announced his retirement in 1996, Reed campaigned to be his replacement and won the election. He was easily reelected to a second term in 2002.

Reed is currently a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. Americans for Democratic Action has often listed him as a "hero" as they indicate he has one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate.^[3]

Electoral history

2002 Rhode Island United States Senate Election

1996 Rhode Island United States Senate Election

Footnotes

External links

• United States Senator Jack Reed official Senate site
• Jack Reed at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Jack Reed campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Jack Reed issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Jack Reed campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Senator Jack Reed (RI) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jack Reed profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jack Reed voting record
• War Puts Military Veteran Candidates in the Spotlight Greg Giroux, CQ Politics, February. 10, 2006

United States Senators from Rhode Island

Class 1: Foster • Potter • Howland • Malbone • Champlin • Hunter • De Wolf • Robbins • Dixon I • Sprague III • Francis • A. Greene • James • Simmons • Arnold • Sprague IV • Burnside • Aldrich • Lippitt • Gerry • Hebert • Gerry • McGrath • Leahy • Pastore • J. Chafee • L. Chafee • Whitehouse Class 2: Stanton • Bradford • R. Greene • Ellery • Fenner • Mathewson • Howell • Burrill • Knight • Simmons • Clarke • Allen • Anthony • Sheffield • Chace • Dixon III • Wetmore • Colt • Metcalf • Green • Pell • Reed

Donate to Wikimedia