Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA)

Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1992 where he has been a strong supporter of public education and a vocal advocate for preserving Social Security, cutting the national debt, providing tax cuts for America's working families and strengthening the military.

As Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, McKeon is a national leader on issues that involve increasing access to higher education, promoting technology in education, improving teacher training, strengthening the workforce development system and reforming welfare.

In 2000, the Congressman successfully shepherded the passage of the Older Americans Act, which provides the legislative framework for federal programs to assist senior citizens, such as nutritional programs, disease prevention and employment. He is also the sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act, which would completely repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), two onerous provisions in current law that reduce the Social Security benefits of public workers and their spouses, who also have a pension from employment not covered by Social Security.

He also is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and has consistently worked to ensure that the military has the tools that it needs to protect America's interests abroad. He earned a Bachelors Degree from Brigham Young University in 1985, and is the father of six and grandfather of 26.