» Fred Thompson

Senator Thompson is a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare reform, and international trade.

While a strong supporter of free trade, Senator Thompson has advocated a balanced approach to trade and national security. He has pushed for an export control policy that protects our country's national security without unnecessarily burdening American industry with bureaucratic red tape. He has also proposed legislation to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by China and other countries and to strengthen the United States' response to such activities.

Senator Thompson also serves as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the National Security Working Group, which observes and monitors executive branch negotiations with foreign governments.

In 1997 Senator Thompson was elected Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, making him among the most junior senators in history to serve as Chairman of a major Senate Committee. He served as Chairman until June of 2001.

The Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with overseeing the management of the federal government. During his Chairmanship, Senator Thompson's committee actively pursued an agenda aimed at producing a smaller, more efficient, and more accountable government. Of his efforts, the Kingsport Times-News wrote, "Sen. Thompson is to be applauded for keeping a watchful eye over Washington fiscal matters. There should be more like him."

Senator Thompson held hearings on topics such as improving the federal regulatory process; reforming the IRS; exploring ways to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse; and a number of national security issues, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies. Senator Thompson also investigated and successfully enacted solutions to information management problems such as computer security.

Additionally, the committee was chosen by the Senate leadership in 1997 to conduct an investigation into alleged improper or illegal activities associated with the 1996 federal election campaigns. The Wall Street Journal's Phil Kuntz observed, "Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee and his Governmental Affairs Committee have offered the public a rare peek at the underside of American politics."

Senator Thompson grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He received his undergraduate degree in philosophy and political science from Memphis State University in 1964 and his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1967, working his way through school. Two years after law school, Thompson was named an Assistant United States Attorney and at the age of 30 was appointed Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee, where he served in 1973 and 1974.
 

In 1977 Thompson took on the case of a Tennessee Parole Board chairman fired under suspicious circumstances. Thompson's work helped to expose a cash-for-clemency scheme that ultimately toppled the governor.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Fred Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington and served as Special Counsel to both the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of the Watergate memoir At That Point in Time.

Senator Thompson resides in Nashville, as do his two sons, Tony and Daniel. He has five grandchildren. In June of 2002, Senator Thompson married Jeri Kehn, a political and media consultant at Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand in Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

Thompson, Fred D. At That Point in Time: The Inside Story of the Senate Watergate Committee. New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1975.