U.S. Congressman Ron Paul - Libertarian

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U.S. Congressman Ron Paul"We have not seen Ron Paul's like in Washington since the days of the Founding Fathers. He is the 20th Century's Thomas Jefferson." -- Lew Rockwell, Founder and President of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Congressman Ron Paul enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. First elected to Congress in 1976, Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington, DC for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives. In fact, Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill.

Ron Paul was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine, before proudly serving as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. He and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he began his medical practice in Brazoria County. As a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies. He and Carol, who reside in Surfside Beach, Texas, are the proud parents of five children and have sixteen grandchildren.

While serving in Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. Paul's limited-government ideals were not popular in Washington. He served on the House Banking committee, where he was a strong advocate for sound monetary policy and an outspoken critic of the Federal Reserve's inflationary measures. He also was a key member of the Gold Commission, advocating a return to a gold standard for our currency. He was an unwavering advocate of pro-life and pro-family values. Dr. Paul consistently voted to lower or abolish federal taxes, spending, and regulation, and used his House seat to actively promote the return of government to its proper constitutional levels. In 1984, he voluntarily relinquished his House seat and returned to his medical practice.

In 1988, Dr. Paul re-entered politics when he successfully won the nomination of the Libertarian Party for the U.S. Presidency. He spent much of the year campaigning across the country, promoting the ideals of limited government, low taxes, and personal liberty.

Dr. Paul returned to Congress in 1996 after successfully winning a House seat representing the 14th Congressional district of Texas. He was re-elected in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. He serves on the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and the International Relations committee. On the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Paul serves as the vice-chairman of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee. He continues to advocate a dramatic reduction in the size of the federal government and a return to constitutional principles.

He has introduced bills calling for, among other things, ending gun control, getting the U.S. out of the United Nations, and abolishing the income tax. In a 2002 speech, Dr. Paul said, "The purpose of all political action should be to promote liberty. We should always maintain the conviction that free people will be able to take care of all of their needs. When government gets involved, it can do things with a lot of good intentions, but it cannot do so without undermining our liberties."

Dr. Paul is the author of several books, including Challenge to Liberty; The Case for Gold; and A Republic, If You Can Keep It. He has been a distinguished counselor to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and is widely quoted by scholars and writers in the fields of monetary policy, banking, and political economy. He has received many awards and honors during his career in Congress, from organizations such as the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the Council for a Competitive Economy, Young Americans for Freedom, and countless others.

Dr. Paul's consistent voting record prompted one Congressman to comment: "Ron Paul personifies the Founding Fathers' ideal of the citizen-statesman. He makes it clear that his principles will never be compromised, and they never are." Another Congresswoman added,"There are few people in public life who, through thick and thin, rain or shine, stick to their principles. Ron Paul is one of those few."

A member of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), Dr. Paul is also a member of the Board of Advisers of the Advocates for Self-Government.

Quotable


"Rights belong to individuals, not groups. Property should be owned by people, not government. All voluntary associations should be permissionable -- economic and social. The government's monetary role is to maintain the integrity of the monetary unit, not participate in fraud. Government exists to protect liberty, not to redistribute wealth or to grant special privileges. The lives and actions of people are their own responsibility, not the government's." -- The Ron Paul Freedom Principles


Books & Tapes

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