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Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III (born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who has served as a U.S. Senator from Indiana since 1999 and a former Governor of Indiana. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is a potential Democratic candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
Early life Bayh was born in Shirkieville, Indiana. His father, Birch Bayh, was a Senator from 1963 to 1981 and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1976, but lost to Jimmy Carter. The younger Bayh graduated with honors in business, economics and public policy from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 1978, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Virginia in 1981. He clerked for a federal court judge and entered a private law practice in Indianapolis. He and his wife Susan have twin sons, Beau and Nicholas, born in 1995. She is a law professor and serves on several corporate boards. Indiana Secretary of State Bayh was elected Indiana's Secretary of State in 1986 following a heated debate over whether he met the state's five-year residency requirement to be on the ballot. He served from 1987-89. Governor of Indiana
Senate career Bayh was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998 to the seat that was once held by his father. He won with 64% of the vote, the largest victory margin ever by a Democrat in a U.S. Senate race in Indiana, defeating former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke. He easily won reelection in 2004, receiving 62% of the vote. He currently serves on five Senate committees: Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance; Armed Services; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Small Business Committee. Bayh released a biography in 2003 entitled From Father to Son: A Private Life in the Public Eye. He describes growing up as the son of Senator Birch Bayh and emphasizes the importance of active, responsible fatherhood. From 2001 to 2005, Bayh served as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), the longest term of any DLC chair (previous DLC Chairmen included Bill Clinton and Joe Lieberman). He is also a member of the Senate Centrist Coalition and helped establish the New Democrat Coalition. Bayh serves on the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy. Bayh has voted against confirming United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Although originally voting in favor of the Iraq resolution, Senator Bayh has become increasingly critical of the war in Iraq due to Bush's strategy in handling the war and because of WMD related intelligence failures; thus, Bayh asserts that he would not have voted to go to war with Iraq if he had known what is known today. He favors a flexible timeline for withdrawal. * Senator Bayh began asking for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation in 2004 for his mistakes in the Iraq war. Bayh made it clear that he had lost confidence in Rumsfeld. He voted yes on reauthorizing the Patriot Act in 2006. On January 20, 2006, Bayh introduced a resolution to deal with Iran's nuclear program. The resolution calls for economic sanctions created with the goal of deterring Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Such sanctions include: Committee membership Bayh is a member of several Senate committees and subcommittees. These include positions on the Senate Special Committee on Aging *, the Committee on Armed Services , including the subcommittes on Airland *, Readiness and Management Support *, and Emerging Threats and Capabilities. * Bayh is also a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs *, including the subcommittees on Financial Institutions, Securities and Investment, and the subcommittee on International Trade and Finance, of which he is the ranking minority member. * Bayh also hold a seat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence *, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. * Candidacy for national office
Focus issues Agriculture Bayh voted for the 2002 Farm Bill that provided financial support accessible to rural communities. The bill provides funds for rural water and waste infrastructure. The Farm Bill also provides technology for rural resident's technical skills. USDA 2002 Farm Bill Information Page Bayh encouraged farmers to share their input into the 2007 Farm Bill. USDA 2007 Farm Bill Economy As a member of the Small Business Committee, Senator Bayh has been especially dedicated to making more resources and tools available to Indiana's small businesses. Bayh supports small business in Indiana by co-hosting job fairs throughout the state of Indiana. Several thousand jobs are made available to those who attend. Senator Evan Bayh Co-hosting Job Fair at Glendale Mall Senator Evan Bayh Promotes Small Businesses at IPFW Senate approval In 2003 Bayh introduced legislation to further expand Small Business Administration loans to small manufacturers. The legislation was enacted into law in 2004. Education As Governor, Bayh created the 21 st Century Scholars program, which promises at-risk middle school students full tuition scholarships in return for being drug, alcohol and crime-free and maintaining decent grades. This program was so successful that Iowa and Wisconsin have both introduced legislation modeling Bayh's program. 21st Century Scholars Bayh Praises Wisconsin, Iowa for New Legislation Based on 21st Century Scholars Bayh has continues his efforts to make higher education more affordable and accessible to ALL families by working to increase the college tuition tax deduction and fighting to protect and increase financial aid programs that thousands of students depend on to attend college. In 2000, Senator Bayh authored a bill titled “The Three R's,” which was designed to improve the ability of our nation's public schools to meet the needs of each student. New Dems Reintroduce Three R's Education Bill Healthcare S. 2238: Medicare Prescription Drug Emergency Guarantee Act of 2006 Bayh recently introduced this bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to assure uninterrupted access to necessary medicines under the Medicare prescription drug program. Senator Bayh is proposing legislation he says could help cut health care insurance premiums by at least 20 percent for small businesses and individuals. Bayh Proposes Legislation to Ease Rising Cost of Healthcare To help small businesses provide health care for their employees, Bayh reintroduced legislation in 2005 to provide up to a 50 percent tax credit to small businesses that offer health benefits. Trade During his time in the Senate, Bayh has led efforts to combat the illegal trade practices of foreign countries, including China. Bayh’s bipartisan Stopping Overseas Subsidies (SOS) Act allows the United States to fully enforce its antisubsidy laws and increase the ability of U.S. companies to fight unfair trade. UAW applauds Bayh's call for tariffs on China Bayh placed a hold on the President’s nominee to be the U.S. Trade Representative. After receiving several key commitments from Portman to get tough on China trade, Bayh agreed to release his hold. Bayh lifts block on trade post National security/War on Terrorism "In a post-September 11th world, our first responsibility is to keep the American public as safe as possible and to be prepared for every possible threat," Senator Bayh said. "Preventing and responding to biological attacks will require us to mobilize all available resources at the federal and state level, and the first line of defense is often state governments." Bayh challenges Rove — and Clinton, too? Bayh is a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committee and is continually monitoring the progress of national security abroad, as U.S. troops continue to fight terrorism and help the Iraqi and Afghani people rebuild their countries. "The sad truth is that nearly five years after 9/11, this president has made the country less secure than we were before the attacks. We have tinkered around the edges of homeland security without making the tough decisions and investments needed to make us truly safe. And perhaps worse of all, we have taken our eye off the ball in the war on terror. It is clear to just about everyone but the die-hard neoconservatives within this administration that shifting our focus away from Osama bin Laden to Saddam Hussein was perhaps the biggest strategic blunder in our nation's history. And while we have been preoccupied with Iraq, under this President North Korea has gone nuclear and Iran is on the verge of doing so." Noteworthy speeches
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