John Barrow is serving his second term in Congress as the Representative for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District.  The district stretches from Savannah to Milledgeville, Augusta to Uvalda, Crawfordville to Glennville, and covers 22 counties and 10,000 square miles.

 

John’s Georgia roots run deep.  For over seven generations, John's family has farmed, taught, preached, and practiced law all over the territory that now comprises the 12th District.
 
John grew up learning the importance of serving his community and standing up for what's right.  John's father, James Barrow, was a decorated World War II veteran, and his mother, Phyllis Barrow, also served in the armed forces during World War II, attaining the rank of Captain.  Both were courageous and outspoken leaders in the effort to desegregate the University of Georgia.
 
After earning a degree in political science and history from the University of Georgia, John went on to become one of the youngest members of his class at Harvard Law School.
 
Before he was elected to Congress in 2004, John was a county commissioner for 14 years.  Since he was elected to Congress, John has devoted his efforts to helping middle class families in Georgia’s 12th District:

 

· Leading the effort to successfully increase the mileage rate for disabled veterans – for the first time in thirty years.
· Passing H.R. 5522, the Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 2008, in the wake of the Imperial Sugar refinery explosion – to help prevent that kind of disaster from happening again.
· Passing “Juan’s Law” – so that parents will have the right to know whether the day care center that accepts the moral responsibility for taking care of their kids will accept the financial responsibility if they fail to do so.
· Voting to increase the minimum wage for the first time in 10 years – to help all working families make ends meet.
· Voting to extend PeachCare – so that kids whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance on their own, don’t have to use the emergency room as their only source of health care.
· Introducing legislation that will cut taxes for middle class families that are struggling to pay for childcare, college education, or buying their own home.
· Introducing legislation that will lower the cost of health insurance for small businesses and the self-employed, and eliminate the practice of refusing to cover preexisting conditions.

 

John doesn’t think you should have to travel a long distance or make a long distance call in order to visit with your congressman.  That’s why he has hosted over 100 town hall meetings and public forums all across Georgia’s 12th District in just this Congress alone.  You may have seen him at his tax and mortgage assistance workshops, Energy, Education, and Economic Development Summits, Rural Town Hall Tours, Veterans Town Hall Tours, Health Care Tours, or at Congress on the Corner.  No matter where he goes, John hears over and over: “We’ve never had a Congressman work the district like this before!”

 

John is the only member of Congress to sit on both the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Committee on Agriculture.  As a result, John is smack dab in the middle of making public policy that will make agriculture a part of the solution to the challenge of energy independence rather than a part of the problem.
 
John lives in Savannah and is the father of two children, James and Ruth.