Thomas Joseph "Tom" Tauke (born October 11, 1950 in Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

) is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

. Tauke represented the northeast corner of the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 (2nd district) as a Republican from 1979 to 1991, entering Congress as one of the youngest members. Tauke left active politics in 1991 following an unsuccessful bid to unseat U.S. Senator Tom Harkin

Tom Harkin

Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....

. http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1990&fips=19&f=0&off=3&elect=0 He has continued to establish himself as a leading voice and public policy advocate in the U.S. telecommunications industry. Jim Nussle

Jim Nussle

James Allen "Jim" Nussle is an American politician and was the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Nussle was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2007...

 followed him as the Representative for northeast Iowa.

Tauke is now Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Policy and Communications for Verizon. He has made recent news with his statements in opposition to the Net Neutrality Bill, which has been a recent source of debate among internet users. As a spokesman for Verizon, one of the main opponents of the bill, Tauke has expressed his discontent with Net Neutrality.

Prior to entering the House, he had served as a lawyer. He was also a two term member of the Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa House of Representatives

The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 100 members of the House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 29,750 for each constituency...

 from 1975 to 1979. Tauke's undergraduate degree was earned at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and his law degree was earned at the University of Iowa College of Law

University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law is one of the eleven professional graduate schools at the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1865, it is the oldest law school in continuous operation west of the Mississippi River. The law school was ranked as the 27th best law school...

.

He currently resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife Beverly and children Joseph and Elizabeth.

External links