Billy Tauzin

The Current President and Chief Executive Officer of PHRMA

"Billy Tauzin began his public service career in the Louisiana State Legislature where he served in a variety of distinguished posts such as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and Chief Administration Floor Leader. He was chosen twice as one of Louisiana's "Ten Best Legislators."

"He was first elected to the U.S. House in 1980 as a Democrat. Because his conservative views increasingly led him to vote with GOP House members despite his Democratic affiliation, he switched parties in 1995. In 1998, he joined with House Majority Leader Dick Armey to propose a revamping of the tax code. While in Congress, he held several leadership positions, beginning with his chairmanship of a Merchant Marine Subcommittee, which oversaw legislation related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. In September 1995 he was named Deputy Majority Whip; he is the first American to have been part of the leadership of both parties in the House. In an effort to promote a spirit of bipartisan cooperation on Capitol Hill, he co-founded and served as Co-Chairman of the Mainstream Conservative Alliance, better known as Republican "Blue Dogs."

Until February, 2004, he served as the Chairman of the influential House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over all interstate and foreign commerce, including energy, telecommunications, health care, biomedical research, consumer protection, the environment and travel and tourism. During his tenure, he left his mark on issues ranging from natural gas, airline, trucking and electricity deregulation to the Clean Air Act, Superfund and the historic Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996. In addition, he was the original author of the Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Cable Act – the only bills over the past decade to become law despite a Presidential veto. As chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he helped President George W. Bush win passage of a Medicare prescription drug bill."

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