Tom DeLay is the former House Majority Leader, the second ranking leader in the United States House of Representatives. He was responsible for developing the issues and policies that formed the Republican agenda. DeLay set the legislative schedule by selecting which bills the House would consider and the timing of their consideration. Following the historic Republican victory of 1994, DeLay was elected whip by the new GOP majority. Widely credited with revolutionizing the office, DeLay has been called the most effective whip in the history of the House of Representatives. During the eight years he counted votes, DeLay regularly overcame daunting odds to deliver victory after victory for House Republicans. Despite the limitations imposed by small majorities from 1999-2002, DeLay worked the House floor with consummate skill and often found a way to win votes others thought lost. DeLay called his method "growing the vote," and he used a sophisticated outreach effort to establish trust and build solid relationships with Republican members. In this way, their concerns could be resolved before a bill reached the House floor for a vote. This method produced the successful passage of landmark legislation including the Contract with America, Normal Trade Relations with China, welfare reform, Trade Promotion Authority, the Balanced Budget Act, and all the key elements of the Bush agenda, including the largest tax relief measure in a generation. Before his election as majority whip and then leader, DeLay served as chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, Republican Conference secretary, and deputy whip. Long considered a leading voice on domestic policies, Majority Leader DeLay increasingly asserts leadership on international affairs. Two dominant principles shape his response to foreign policy questions. DeLay believes the United States must strongly support democratic allies who share our commitment to liberty, like Israel and Taiwan, while aggressively promoting the expansion of freedom to closed societies. He also believes tyrants and rogue regimes must be confronted before they harm American interests. In his view, the price of freedom remains an active opposition to terror and tyranny. A native Texan, Tom DeLay was born along the banks of the Rio Grande River in the historic border city of Laredo on April 8, 1947. During his childhood, the DeLay family lived in South America for a number of years. His father's career in the oil and gas industry required several job postings to Venezuela's rural interior, and the DeLay family made their home in small towns near the oil fields. DeLay's years in Venezuela were a formative political experience. His family lived through the turbulence and uncertainty of three revolutions. Two of these events were violent, and neighboring townspeople died at the hands of marauding revolutionaries. DeLay points to this early exposure to political violence as the source of his lifelong "passion for freedom." DeLay graduated from the University of Houston in 1970 with a degree in biology. Shortly afterwards, DeLay opened and operated a successful small business in Houston. The demands of attracting customers and running his business and the responsibility of making payroll for his employees every month convinced DeLay that the primary impediment to economic growth stems from the twin burdens of excessive taxation and unneeded regulation. He soon grew to appreciate the tremendous costs imposed on small businesses by state and federal regulations. The need to lower these burdens sparked his involvement in the political process. During a Fort Bend County Republican Committee meeting in 1978, a party official suggested that DeLay run for an open Texas State House seat that had never before elected a Republican. Excited by the prospect of lowering taxes and excess regulations, DeLay rolled up his sleeves and impressed enough voters to win the election. After serving in Austin for six years, he succeeded in becoming the first Republican Fort Bend County ever elected to the United States Congress. Over the course of his congressional career, DeLay has built a voting record that consistently supports limited, constitutional government, peace through strength, lower taxes, and the sanctity of life. Delay and his wife Christine share a deep interest in the circumstances facing abused and neglected children. They got involved with children's issues after Christine DeLay, a teacher, began volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children in foster care. Eventually, the DeLays became foster parents themselves. Today, they are outspoken advocates in favor of reforming the present foster care system by making the child's best interest the paramount concern. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2013 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Wed, 21 May 2008 21:04:26 GMT Wed, 21 May 2008 21:04:26 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ It seems everyone these days knows how the Republican Party can stop its internal bleeding and win a few elections this November. And while there are many good ideas floating around (and a few bad ones), almost everyone... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2008/05/21/setting_a_conservative_agenda 1c54646c-be38-4a4e-b9bd-f32fc28d14cb Wed, 21 May 2008 21:04:26 GMT One of the few bright spots on the American political map right now for Republicans is, perhaps surprisingly, the House of Representatives. Once the source of the Republican Party's (and the conservative... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2008/01/24/minority_to_majority 693a95d1-66d5-442e-bdf1-3544310ecaae Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:42:36 GMT Moments after accusing everyone who had the temerity to actually believe her husband was lying about "that woman, Miss Lewinsky" of being part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," First Lady Hillary Clinton growled to her... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/10/03/the_return_of_thatll_teach_em_hillary ec1f3c23-8e60-40ef-ab98-16d9a26030ab Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:53:32 GMT I have a very important mission for all of you. Our good friend's at Freedom's Watch are running a $15 million ad buy calling on the American public to tell members of Congress to support full funding of the war in... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/08/29/tom_delays_action_points_tell_nbc_shame_on_you 379995b5-12e7-4458-8eb1-07d43be9086b Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:52:22 GMT Denny Hastert never met a problem he couldn't solve. He was so good at legislating that it's possible he would have been just as successful in his career had he never been Speaker at all. That is to say, Denny didn't... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/08/17/a_genius_for_service 2c6894e2-4e20-40f0-9e45-7678f58403ac Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:22:55 GMT Judicial nominations are one of those issues that, for their overarching importance, should be of much greater interest than they are. Strictly as a matter of impact on national politics over the next four years,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/08/06/bushs_nominees_a_lost_cause ab419d9b-ee82-44e2-b150-47c235cda0ae Mon, 06 Aug 2007 15:58:17 GMT Last night on the House floor - that sprawling, brawling arena that was like a second home to me during my 22 year career in Congress - it seems pretty clear that a crime was perpetrated against the rule of law and the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/08/03/house_democrats_fail_democracy_101 fe066261-d997-440f-a12d-391c5ef66bcf Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:14:05 GMT It seems to me the principal needs for a "coattails" political victory include: an overwhelmingly popular nominee, an overwhelmingly unpopular opponent, a historically significant novelty or potential realignment at... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/07/31/coattails_on_election_night 4f270089-3d86-4931-8a03-b9c2b6ee3be6 Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:58:57 GMT If ever there was a window through which to view the modern liberal soul, it is the issue of climate change. Notice, did you, that it's not global warming we debate anymore, because, after all, it still gets cold in the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/06/26/climate_change_expands_government 5f194903-e871-4f11-bfe7-f192a0257913 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:27:39 GMT On May 20, 2007, Tim Russert had a quirky segment on "Meet the Press." His guests were Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), who's running for president even though nobody knows it, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/06/19/newt_would_make_a_great_show c12bc86b-a2a0-48e0-9468-f5eeeb92218e Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:35:50 GMT The thing you always need to remember when Democrat politicians talk is that they're lying. (How's that for open-minded dialogue?) I suppose that is a bit too strong; let me rephrase. It's not that they're lying,... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/06/12/ag_scandal_not_about_gonzales f66f5815-f963-4e88-9953-592ae57677f5 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:35:11 GMT The idea that Bill Clinton would somehow, in some region of the country, in some portion of the electorate, hurt Hillary Rodham Clinton's run for the White House is patently absurd. He's popular, remember? He's a... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/06/05/she_cant_win_without_him d6a1bfc1-f761-4a56-b92b-604f230d81de Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:13:29 GMT There's an old joke in the Texas pest-control community that the industry is basically obsolete because Texas bugs only come in two sizes: small enough to fit through the screen and big enough to open the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/05/23/nods_meaningless_in_politics c34efce0-5f5d-4496-9615-7257cd44ea81 Wed, 23 May 2007 04:01:33 GMT If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son! -- Rudyard Kipling If a minute... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/05/15/bush_needs_gop_revival c76b40f6-d21e-42b4-9bc0-86aa51487008 Tue, 15 May 2007 11:13:32 GMT The loss of a few seats on the other side of the Mississippi River during the 2006 election cycle wasn't much of a trend in itself; it was simply the Western part of an electoral thumpin'. Republicans lost 30 seats. By... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TomDeLay/2007/05/09/gop_infighting_lost_the_west 216e8a9f-d60e-42d9-8237-76be9919d1b3 Wed, 09 May 2007 17:12:37 GMT