Biography Fred Upton, Member of Congress Michigan, 6th District

Representing the Midwestern common-sense of his Michigan district, Representative Fred Upton is one of the most active members of Congress working to ensure our nation is on a path toward a smaller, more efficient, more effective federal government.

First and foremost, Fred is a leader in and for all of southwest Michigan. As such, Upton has left a distinct mark on our communities. He's working on healing the racial divide in the Twin Cities and plays a key role in promoting economic development for the entire region. Working from his flagship office in Kalamazoo and his office in the Twin Cities, Upton has also worked on projects to improve our quality of life. A few of Fred's initiatives include bringing the 51st Weapons of Mass Destruction/Civil Support Team to southwest Michigan, working toward improving and widening I-94, funding for research programs at WMU, and funding for a new transit facility in Kalamazoo.

Ever cognizant of his roots, Upton has brought his small-town, midwestern values to bear in Washington. Like many of us, he wants to see common sense used when formulating government policy. He believes we need to shore up Social Security, provide our senior’s with affordable prescription drugs, and balance the budget.

In the House of Representatives, Fred sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is currently chairman of the powerful Telecommunications Subcommittee. Regarded as one of the younger, more active members of the Congress, he is widely seen as a perfect fit for this chairmanship of this important subcommittee which has jurisdiction over newly emerging high-tech issues such as telemedicine and the wiring of America's classrooms for Internet technology. Fred sees these issues as vital to continued economic growth in America.

In addition, Fred believes that quality education for every young person is the key to our Nation's future prosperity. As such, he is also a powerful voice on the Education and the Workforce Committee where he works to strip away heavy-handed federal regulations, and put decision-making power in closer proximity to parents here in Michigan. As a fiscal conservative, Fred believes that valuable federal education dollars are wasted on Washington bureaucrats. He also wants to cut paperwork and make the relationship between our school districts and the Department of Education less costly, less cluttered, and more manageable. To make sure this philosophy is put into action and carried to Washington, not just talked about; Fred personally visits a school at least once a week to hear the concerns of students and administrators.

Over the years, Fred's style of common-sense leadership has been widely recognized. In addition to being called one of the "straightest shooters" in Washington, The Kalamazoo Gazette noted, "Upton has always been a fiscal conservative. He has always had the taxpayers' pocketbooks in mind when looking for a solution to a problem." The Herald-Palladium similarly observed, "Upton remains a steadying influence among House Republicans that too often have strayed from the party's fiscal conservative roots." And, The South Bend Tribune has called Upton "the yardstick by which all other members of Congress should be measured."

Each week, he personally reads and signs every one of the more than 1000 legislative letters. Fred grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan as one of five children of Stephen and Elizabeth Upton. A graduate of the University of Michigan, he and his wife, Amey, have two children.