Rick Lazio

Through eminent political acumen, a captivating personality, and a genuine spirit of service, Rick Lazio experienced a meteoric rise in the political world. A former top prosecutor, Rick Lazio first won elected office in 1989 as a Suffolk County Legislator. Re-elected in 1991, Rick's sights moved to congress where in 1992 he defeated18-year incumbent Tom Downey in an upset that startled the nation.

A moderate from the northeast, Rick demonstrated his political acumen by developing a working relationship with the Republican House Leadership, and soon was named Deputy Majority Whip and later the Assistant Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. Rick would later author, as chairman of a key banking committee, landmark reform legislation on public housing.

Over the last four years Lazio was the sole representative to serve on both the Commerce and Banking committees. As a member of these committees, Rick Lazio was instrumental in the enactment of historic financial services modernization. His unique position gave him the opportunity to advocate for expanded powers for bank's and securities firms to engage in non-traditional activities and information age business opportunities, increased thrift powers, and streamlined licensing procedures for interstate insurers. Lazio also was a leading player in balancing these new structures with a customer's financial privacy.

In the last congress, Lazio introduced legislation to amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and reduce transaction fees paid by securities brokers. This legislation passed out of the House Commerce Committee lays a foundation for future tax relief.

A tireless representative, Rick's own brand of compassionate conservatism was responsible for the "work incentives Improvement act," a bill that encouraged disabled Americans to join the workforce without fear of losing their much-needed medical coverage. He also led the fight to pass the "Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act," and is the author of the Lazio Clinical Hotline Act, Jennifer's Law, and American Homeownership Act. The four-term congressman was a leader in the effort to obtain justice for holocaust victims and is a member of the Holocaust Assets Commission.

With the strong support of his wife, Patricia, and his daughters Molly and Kelsey, Rick, just five months to Election Day, took on the daunting task of challenging First Lady Hillary Clinton, already at the time into a well funded campaign for New York's U.S. Senate seat. This contest became a major nationwide focus of the 2000 election campaign. Despite the late start and running against the full power of the U.S. Administration, Rick won 49 of New York's 62 counties and garnered a half million votes more than did President Bush in New York State, but fell short of his goal of capturing the seat.

Since the election, Rick's engaging personality and wit has made him a popular guest on national talk shows, appearing on Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation and Larry King Live. He has served as guest host of the O'Reilly Factor, and regularly appears as a featured guest on television and radio's most popular shows.

Rick's proven capability to communicate, organize and lead people, and absorb vast amounts of information and develop strategies, makes him a leader of his generation Rick is in many ways the perfect speaker. He offers a rare combination of extensive knowledge on complex issues, a warm and deeply ethical character, and an inborn grounding in timeless virtues.