| Russ Carnahan has served in the U.S. House of
Representatives since January 3, 2005. He represents Missouri’s Third
District, which includes parts of Saint Louis City and County, as well
as all of Jefferson and Sainte Genevieve Counties.
During
the 109th Congress, when he was a freshman legislator, Congressman
Carnahan was already a leader in Washington. He was appointed as
Assistant Minority Whip during his first month in office, and he
secured places in both the Science & Technology Committee and the
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
His
district, bordered on the East by the Mississippi River, is both a hub
of the biotechnology industry and central to important shipping and
transportation routes, so these committees were a natural fit. In his
first term, Congressman Carnahan was able to secure more than $40
million in funding for important highway improvement projects for the
Third District. Now he is working to make his constituents safer with
major improvements to St. Louis’s floodwall.
Congressman
Carnahan also worked hard to secure a place on the prestigious
Committee on Foreign Affairs. Recognizing that International diplomacy
is crucial to America’s future safety and prosperity, the Congressman
went to work right away to become more involved. Soon he was sitting on
the Subcommittees on Terrorism & Nonproliferation and the Middle
East, which allowed him to concentrate on the war in Iraq and Israel’s
continuing conflicts.
Now
the Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on
International Organizations, Human Rights & Oversight, Congressman
Carnahan is working to increase U.S. aid to Africa and provide
much-needed funding for contraceptives to help fight disease in
developing countries.
Now
a Senior Majority Whip, the Congressman has worked with the New
Congress to increase the minimum wage, eliminate President Bush’s tax
breaks to big oil companies, lower interest rates on student loans,
expand embryonic stem cell research and reduce the price our seniors
pay for prescription drugs, among many other projects. He looks forward
to representing hardworking Missourians in Washington, DC for years to
come.
Before
being elected to Congress, Russ served two terms in the Missouri House
of Representatives. The 59th District, which he represented, is
contained entirely by the Third Congressional District. In the Missouri
legislature, Russ served as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus,
Deputy Whip and vice chairman of the Civil and Administrative Law
Committee. He also organized and chaired the City of St. Louis Caucus
and was appointed to the newly formed statutory Joint Committee on
Terrorism, Bio-Terrorism and Homeland Security, the statutory
Mississippi River Parkway Commission and the State Courts Automation
Committee.
Prior
to serving in the Missouri House, Russ and his wife Debra were partners
in a private law practice and also served on the legal aid panel
representing low-income clients. Russ attended the University of
Missouri in both Rolla and Columbia, earning his Juris Doctorate from
the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1983.
Debra
is currently a judge in the St. Louis Municipal Court. She and Russ
have two sons, Austin and Andrew. Russ is the son of the late Missouri
Governor Mel Carnahan and former Missouri First Lady and U.S. Senator
Jean Carnahan. Russ’s grandfather, A.S.J. Carnahan, was a member of
Congress and represented Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve Counties. Robin
Carnahan, the Congressman’s sister, was elected Missouri Secretary of
State in 2004.
Organizations
St. Louis Ambassadors;
United Way of Greater St. Louis,
Government Relations Committee;
St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA),
Public Policy Committee; and
FOCUS Leadership St. Louis, Class of 1997-98.
Membership
Metropolis St. Louis
State Historical Society of Missouri
Landmarks Association of St. Louis
Compton Heights Neighborhood Association
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Boy Scouts, Eagle Scout recipient; and Friends of Tower Grove Park
Missouri Botanical Gardens and DeMenil Mansion.
Missouri Bar Advisory Committee on Citizenship Education
and Health Care Law Committee
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