Congressman Fred Upton
Representing Michigan's 6th District

Representing the Midwestern common-sense of his southwest Michigan district, Representative Fred Upton wants to keep us on a path toward a smaller, more efficient, more effective federal government.

Upton is uniquely positioned to achieve these goals as the Chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In this position, he directs a wide variety of Congressional inquiries targeting waste, fraud, and abuse in and out of government. Already this year Upton has focused on efforts to end Medicare fraud, expose Chinese espionage, and the expose scandal surrounding the Atlanta Olympic bid. He is proudest of his hearing on date-rape drugs. The hearing featured a number of Michigan law enforcement officials and helped to put the issue in the national spotlight. It also led to his introduction of legislation to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets, protecting young victims.

Upton is working to ensure Congress continues to place a greater emphasis on health care. He believes that quality health care starts before we get sick. It is not only an important ingredient in helping Americans lead healthier lives, but can lead to tremendous savings for programs like Medicare and Social Security. Upton wants to prevent medical errors which kill more Americans than car accidents.

With our federal budget now balanced, Upton says the budget surplus should be used wisely. He believes this windfall should be used to shore up Social Security, pay down our national debt, and provide families across Michigan with tax relief. He wants to see unfair taxes like the marriage penalty eliminated.

In addition to the House Commerce Committee, Upton serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee where he works to strip away heavy handed federal regulations, put decision making power in closer proximity to kids here in Michigan, and make sure that federal education dollars are not wasted on Washington bureaucrats. He also wants to cut paperwork and make the relationship between our school districts and the Department of Education less costly, less cluttered, and more manageable.

Though his legislative agenda is varied, common-sense is a common theme throughout all of his initiatives. Upton has seen his bill to increase federal research to help find a cure for Parkinson's Disease signed into law. His plan to keep pharmaceutical jobs in the U.S. is now law and is working. He has successfully blocked regulations that would have clogged the U.S./Canadian border with red tape and traffic jams. He was even able to overturn an attempt proclaiming Vermont's Lake Champlain as a sixth Great Lake in a grab at research dollars targeted for the five real Great Lakes.

Upton has long been regarded as a steady hand and a consensus builder. The Kalamazoo Gazette praised Upton for his leadership saying, "We wish there were many more members of Congress of all political persuasions with Upton's common sense, courage and convictions."

Year after year he has been recognized for his record. The National Taxpayers Union declared him "far and away" the most fiscally conservative Member of Congress. The bipartisan, grassroots Concord Coalition awarded him one of only three 100% ratings in the House. Organizations like the Michigan Farm Bureau, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Fraternal Order of Police have all supported his voting record.

As a community leader, Upton has worked to help heal the racial divide in the Twin Cities. He plays an active role in the economic development of the region and does whatever he can to promote the area and attract new jobs. Upton also makes certain to visit a school at least once a week to meet with students. Working from his Kalamazoo and Twin City offices, Upton has been active in improving US-31 and 131, cleaning up the Kala-mazoo River, and promoting growth in the Edgewater development are among many efforts to improve the quality of life in our area.

Upton has a voting attendance record of more than 99% and again did not miss a single vote in 1999. He personally reads and signs every one of the more than 500 legislative letters he responds to each week. Upton was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 after unseating an incumbent. Fred grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan as one of five children of Stephen and Elizabeth Upton. A graduate of the University of Michigan, he and his wife, Amey, have two young children.

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