Rep. Baron Hill Chief Deputy Whip 9th District of Indiana http://baronhill.house.gov/ Committee Assignment: Agriculture Committee, Armed Services Committee, Joint Economic Committee

Baron Hill was born and raised in Seymour, Indiana. Before he was elected to Congress in 1998, Baron ran a small business in Seymour, served his community in the Indiana General Assembly, served at the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, and worked as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch.


Baron and his wife of 30 years, Betty Schepman Hill, still live in Seymour. Betty teaches math at Seymour Middle School. The Hills have two grown daughters, Jennifer and Cara. Their third daughter, Elizabeth, currently attends a public school in Seymour.

Baron was a stand-out athlete at Seymour High School, setting records in basketball, football, and track. Baron still holds the Indiana State record in the 100-yard dash and is Seymour High School's all-time leading basketball scorer, with 1,419 total career points. He won one of the highest honors any Hoosier basketball player can receive when he was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Basketball legend Larry Bird joined Baron in the 2000 class of Hall of Fame inductees.

Baron continued his education at Furman University, where he graduated with a degree in history in 1975. After college, he returned to Seymour and ran an insurance and real estate business for 15 years. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1982 and served there for eight years. In 1990, Baron left the Indiana legislature to run for the United States Senate and narrowly missed an upset victory. During that campaign, Baron walked the entire length of the State of Indiana, meeting and talking with Hoosiers along the way.

In 1992, then-Governor Evan Bayh named Baron the Executive Director of the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, which helps Hoosiers afford college. Baron later returned to the private sector, working as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1998.

Baron is currently serving his third term in Congress. He serves on three committees: the House Agriculture Committee, where he continues working for Hoosier farmers; the House Armed Services Committee, where he works to keep our national defense strong; and the Joint Economic Committee, which is an advisory panel of both Members of Congress and Senators that reviews economic conditions and recommends improvements in policy. As part of his duties on the House Armed Services Committee, Baron sits on the Terrorism Subcommittee and the Military Readiness Subcommittee, which, among other responsibilities, oversees military installations such as Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, located just outside the 9th District.

Drawing on his business background, Baron has taken the lead on budget and fiscal issues in Congress. Last December, his colleagues selected him as Communications Co-Chair for the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 34 moderate-to-conservative Democrats who offer common-sense solutions and strongly advocate fiscal discipline. He is also an active member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats who focus on economic issues like promoting a high-tech economy and job growth. In January, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), appointed Baron as one of seven Chief Deputy Whips, making him one of the highest ranking moderate Democrats in Congress. Hill serves as a middle-of-the-road voice, bringing moderate and conservative views within the Democratic Caucus to the leadership table.

The Concord Coalition named Baron the most fiscally responsible member of the Indiana congressional delegation in 2000. The Coalition is a non-partisan, grassroots organization advocating fiscal responsibility while ensuring that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are preserved for future generations. He also has received legislative awards and honors from several organizations including the Indiana Farm Bureau, the Indiana Veterans' of Foreign Wars, and the Indiana Wildlife Federation.

In an effort to make schools safer and better learning environments, where principals and teachers know their students and parents have an active role, Baron authored The Smaller Schools, Stronger Communities Act. The bill would provide grants to local educational agencies to develop smaller schools or 'schools within schools.' Baron's legislation is based on research that concludes children learn better and are safer in schools where they feel connected to each other and to their teachers and administrators. Baron's initiative was signed into law as a part of H.R. 1, President Bush's education reform bill.

Baron is an active member of the Central Christian Church in Seymour. In the past, he has participated in the Elks Club, the American Red Cross, the Seymour Chamber of Commerce, and the Seymour Jaycees, of which he is a former president. Baron was born in Seymour on June 23, 1953.

Read More Biographies