John Breaux

	Jr/sr	United States Senator
	State	Louisiana
	Party	Democratic
	Term Start	January 6 , 1987
	Term End	January 3 , 2005
	Preceded	Russell B Long
	Succeeded	David Vitter
	Place Of Birth	Crowley , Louisiana
	Dead	alive
	Law School	Louisiana State University , 1967
	Spouse	Lois Daigle Breaux
	Religion	Roman Catholic

John Berlinger Breaux (last name pronounced BRO) is a former United States Senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005 . He was also a member of the U.S. House from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more Conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party . Breaux was a member of the New Democrat Coalition .

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

Breaux was born in Crowley, Louisiana , on March 1 , 1944 . He graduated from the University Of Southwestern Louisiana (now Called The University Of Louisiana At Lafayette) in Lafayette in 1964 and from Louisiana State University Law School in Baton Rouge in 1967 . After graduation, he practiced Law , and then served as an assistant to U.S. Representative Edwin Edwards .

BREAUX IN CONGRESS

Breaux was elected as a Democrat to the , and Breaux took the Senate seat that he would hold for eighteen years. Breaux was not seriously opposed in the 1992 and 1998 elections.

Breaux was seen as a centrist in a Senate divided along partisan lines, and was frequently sought out by Republican leaders to corral a few Democratic votes when they needed them; conversely he also often served as the Democratic emissary in attempts to gather a few moderate Republicans to win votes on their proposals. He was pro-life and a supporter of Second Amendment rights, though he gradually moderated his position on gun control. He was more conservative on taxes than most in his party and challenged many environmental protections.

In 1993, Breaux was elected by Senate Democrats as Deputy Majority Whip, a position he held until his retirement. He also held a number of key Senate committee positions. A senior member of the Finance Committee, Senator Breaux served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. From his position on the Finance Committee, he helped build the coalition that passed welfare reform and health insurance reform bills in 1996. He also pushed for a reduction in the capital gains tax and for tax relief for college education expenses. In 1998, Breaux was selected by the White House and House and Senate leaders to chair the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. Also in 1998, Senator Breaux co-chaired the National Commission on Retirement Policy, which produced legislation to help reform Social Security.

Breaux was a founder of the Centrist Coalition of Senate Democrats and Republicans, and served as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.

He announced that he would not run for re-election in 2004 . He was succeeded in the Senate by Republican David Vitter of suburban New Orleans . Though Breaux was considered a popular politician in Louisiana, he was unable to dictate his successor in the Senate. He endorsed the losing Democratic candidate, Chris John , retiring congressman from the same Seventh District that Breaux had once represented. In the 2003 Louisiana gubernatorial campaign, after flirting briefly with the possibility of running himself, Breaux campaigned hard for the successful Democratic candidate, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Lafayette .

SINCE THE SENATE

In February 2005, Breaux took a position as Distinguished Professor in the Douglas Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge . Since 2005, Breaux has been a lobbyist for Washington, DC , firm Patton Boggs , specializing in issues of health care and energy law.
Since leaving office, Breaux has spearheaded his own national campaign, “Ceasefire on Health Care: Finding Common Ground for the Uninsured.” Breaux coined the campaign name as a play on the CNN TV program '' Crossfire '', which he points out has been canceled. Breaux has hosted multiple events with prominent members of both parties to establish a dialogue that will lead to real healthcare reform. Breaux developed the campaign alongside American University 's Center For Congressional And Presidential Studies .

EXTERNAL LINKS

John Breaux For Governor 07

Bio from Ceasefire on Health Care website

REFERENCES

	State	Louisiana
	District	7
	Before	Edwin Edwards
	After	Jimmy Hayes
	Years	1973–1987

	State	Louisiana
	Class	3
	Before	Russell B Long
	After	David Vitter
	Years	1987–2005
	Alongside	Bennett Johnston, Jr , Mary Landrieu

	Before	John Kerry <br>Massachusetts</br>
	Title	Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
	Years	1989–1991

	Before1	Charles Grassley <br>Iowa
	Title1	Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee
	Years1	January 3 , 2001 – January 20 , 2001
	Before2	Larry Craig <br>Idaho
	Title2	Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee
	Years2	June 6 , 2001 – January 3 , 2003

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