BIOGRAPHY
OF CONGRESSMAN ADAM PUTNAM (FL-12)
A fifth generation Floridian,
Congressman Adam Putnam represents the 12th District of Florida. On
September 28, 2004, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert appointed him to the
powerful House
Rules Committee, filling the vacancy created by former
Representative Porter Goss, who was sworn in as Director of the
Central Intelligence Committee.
The Rules Committee, an arm of the
House Leadership, is the “legislative gatekeeper” that assists
the Speaker and Majority Leader in scheduling bills for Floor
action. Its majority members are selected personally by the Speaker.
Every piece of legislation considered by the House must first go
through the Rules Committee.
Before being appointed to the Rules
Committee, Congressman Putnam served as Chairman of the Subcommittee
on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and
the Census. In that position, he led the drive to secure
our Nation’s infrastructure against acts of cyber terrorism. His
ascension to the Chairmanship made Congressman Putnam the youngest
Subcommittee Chairman in the 108th Congress and one of the youngest
in the history of the United States Congress.
Elected to Congress on
November 7, 2000, Mr. Putnam is a native of Bartow, Florida and is a
graduate of the University of Florida (BS, Food and Resource
Economics). Prior to his election to Congress, he worked in his
family's citrus and cattle business and served in the Florida House
of Representatives. Putnam represented the 63rd District in the
Florida House of Representatives from 1996 to 2000, serving as
chairman of the Florida House's Agriculture Committee during the
1998-2000 term. Adam and his wife reside in Bartow with their three
children.
Congressman Putnam was
named by National Journal in 2003 as a "Republican to
Watch" and this year was named as one National Journal's
Homeland Security 100 - the top 100 key government officials and
outside experts. Mr. Putnam was named by Washington Technology as
Congress' leader on cybersecurity and received the 2004 Federal 100
award from Federal Computer Week as one of the most influential
leaders on federal technology policy. Mr. Putnam also received the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award, the 60 Plus
Association Guardian of Seniors Rights Award and the Americans for
Tax Reform Hero of Taxpayer Award. In addition, Mr. Putnam won
the Outstanding Legislative Leadership Award for Further Government
IT Management for 2004 from The Association for Federal Information
Resource Management (AFFIRM).
On January 3, 2001
Congressman Adam Putnam was sworn in, at age 26, as the youngest
Member of the 107th Congress. Now in his second term, Mr. Putnam
remains the youngest Member of Congress.
Updated
September 29, 2004
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