Biography
Representative Kevin Yoder is a 5th generation Kansan and grew up on a grain and livestock farm in rural Kansas near a town called Yoder. It was on his family farm where Kevin learned the true value of hard work, and saw first-hand the ingenuity and prairie spirit that makes Kansas such a special place. He represents the Third Congressional District of Kansas, which includes Johnson County, Wyandotte County and the northeast corner of Miami County.
In 2017, Kevin was sworn in for his fourth term and returns to the House Appropriations Committee. In the 115th Congress, Kevin served as the Chairman of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee on Appropriations, where he provided funding for the House of Representatives, Capitol security and police forces, services for visitors, Congressional support agencies, and Capitol operations. Currently, Kevin serves as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, where he has worked to secure our border and protect the United States from the ongoing threat of terrorism.
Kevin continues to serve on the Agriculture and Financial Services Subcommittees, focusing on balancing the federal budget, reducing the national debt, and supporting policies that help private sector job growth. Thanks to his work on the committee, the federal government is appropriating less money today than it was when Kevin walked into Congress. Additionally, he serves as Vice Chairman for Member Services at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
His Email Privacy Act, a bill to extend Fourth Amendment search and seizure protections to our digital communications, unanimously passed the House of Representatives in February 2017. During the 114th Congress, the bill was the most widely-supported bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives with more than 310 cosponsors.
In the 115th Congress, Kevin also introduced the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigration Act to lift the per-country caps on employment-based green cards and end the backlog of Indian and Chinese immigrants stuck in our unfair system. He has also sponsored the Quindaro Townsite National Commemorative Site Act to improve preservation efforts which passed the House. This legislation gives federal recognition to the historic preservation efforts at this Kansas City, Kansas historic underground railroad site.
During his time in Congress, Kevin has focused on being a leading conservative voice in support of increased federal investment in biomedical research. He was a leading lawmaker in support of the University of Kansas Cancer Center receiving its National Cancer Institute designation in 2012. He was recently featured as a thought leader in the Science Coalition’s Science 2034 series and was honored as the Science Coalition’s Champion of Science in 2018. He has publicly advocated for increased funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 2015, Kevin helped secure the largest federal increase in research funding at NIH since 2003 through his work on the Appropriations Committee. Since then, he has advocated successfully for continuous steady increases to the NIH budget totaling approximately $7 billion.
Additionally, as a product of public schools, Kevin has been a strong advocate for early-childhood education programs like Head Start. In 2012, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) presented Kevin with the Kansas State Children’s Champion Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership and a strong commitment to the improvement of the lives of many of the nation’s most vulnerable children, youth, and families. In 2015, for the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Head Start Program, NHSA recognized him as an inaugural recipient of the PROMISE Award, which was created to celebrate this important anniversary and recognize the bipartisan spirit that has kept Head Start strong for 50 years.
Kevin has received several additional accolades and awards for his voting record and leadership on various issues, including the Champion of Change Award from the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), Legislator of the Year Award from the American Society of Transplantation (AST), Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), Friend of Farm Bureau Award from the Kansas Farm Bureau, Spirit of Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Legislative Excellence Award from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). In 2012, along with Representative Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO), Kevin received the Consensus Civility Award for his efforts to bring civility to public life as a Member of Congress.
Upon arriving in Washington, Kevin was appointed to serve on the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. Located in Washington, DC, Gallaudet University is the world’s only liberal arts university for the Deaf community and hard of hearing.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Kevin represented Leawood and Overland Park as a Representative in the Kansas State Legislature, where he chaired the House Appropriations Committee.
Kevin is a proud graduate of the University of Kansas where he received degrees in political science, English, and law. He and his family live in Overland Park.