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Congressman Clifford B. Stearns
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Congressman Cliff Stearns has represented Florida’s Sixth Congressional District since 1989. Currently, he is Chairman of the Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee and Vice Chairman of the Telecommunications Subcommittee. He served as Chairman of the Veterans Health Subcommittee.
Born in Washington, D.C., Stearns attended Woodrow Wilson High School there. He graduated from George Washington University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. As a member of Air Force ROTC, he was recognized as the Distinguished Military Graduate.
In the U.S. Air Force, Stearns worked in the areas of aerospace engineering and satellite reconnaissance. He left the service with the rank of Captain and worked in the private sector before starting his own business. He owned and operated a number of motels and restaurants in North Central Florida prior to joining Congress.
Stearns and his wife Joan live in Ocala. They have three children.
As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection Subcommittee, Stearns is a leader in developing information privacy legislation, overseeing the overhaul of accounting standards in light of corporate corruption, and enhancing consumer protection. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Telecommunications Subcommittee and Co-Chairman of the U.S. Air Force Caucus. In addition, he was Chairman of the Veterans Health Subcommittee in the 105th and 106th Congresses.
Stearns is pushing for information privacy legislation. In the 107th Congress, he held a series of hearings that was the most extensive inquiry in Congress on the issue. In addition, he chaired a number of hearings dealing with corporate scandals and is deeply involved in overseeing the tightening of accounting standards used by corporations. As Vice-Chairman of the Telecommunications Subcommittee, he is pushing for a comprehensive spectrum management plan as well as other initiatives to promote growth and innovation in the telecommunications industry.
Stearns is a leading advocate for increasing funding for the VA. He supported a proposed 12-percent budget increase in the 107th Congress and is continuing to work to ensure that veterans get the benefits they deserve. He was Chairman of the Veterans Health Subcommittee from 1997 to 2000 and Vice Chairman from 2001 to 2002. His Veterans Millennium Health Care & Benefits Act, H.R. 2116, was signed into law in 1999. The health provisions will improve access to long-term care for disabled veterans and expand the VA's obligation to provide alternatives to nursing home care. In 2000, the provisions from H.R. 5109, the Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Act authored by Stearns, were combined with other veterans proposals and enacted as S. 1402. The health-care personnel provisions guarantee annual pay raises for VA nurses, revises and increases the rates of special pay for VA dentists, and includes pharmacists among those exempt from special salary caps. He succeeded in placing VA health clinics in Ocala and Leesburg.
After years of controversy, he forged a consensus among state, local, and federal officials to return the Cross Florida Canal Lands to the state of Florida, resulting in a 77,000-acre greenway and $32 million in repayments to six Florida counties. He obtained funding for Central Florida Community College, Ocala, to expand its efforts to provide students the chance to improve their workplace skills and employers to develop customized training for employees. He is also a leader in converting Cecil Fields from a military facility to productive commercial use and gained grants for training students in the Jacksonville area in aviation technology. He also worked with the U.S. Attorney General to bring the Federal "Weed & Seed" program, which funds community-based efforts to combat crime and poverty, to several Florida cities.
He is extremely accessible to constituents. Returning to his home in Ocala often, he has held over 436 town meetings across North Central Florida.
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