Home > Advisory Board > Advisory Board - Christopher Shays

Christopher Shays :

Congressman Christopher Shays has served us with honor and integrity in Congress since August 18, 1987, when Connecticut’s Fourth District voted him to succeed the late Stewart McKinney in a special election.  Ever since, Shays has been a committed advocate for the needs of his constituents. 

As a moderate Republican, he has grown into national leadership, and along the way has provided an independent and effective voice for clean and honest government.  His work is at the forefront of the most important issues Congress faces today.  Shays’ work in Congress has saved taxpayers money, protected our environment, and made our nation safer.

Shays’ record in public service dates back to 1968, when after completing his undergraduate education, he and his new wife Betsi joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching in the Fiji Islands.

On his return, Shays spent a year and a half as an aide to the First Selectman of Trumbull, and then went on to graduate studies at New York University. After receiving his first Masters’ degree (in Business Administration) in 1974, he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives.  It was a difficult year for Republicans in the wake of the Watergate scandal, but Christopher began his career as it continues today – as an outspoken critic of government corruption and abuse.

His first action in Hartford was to introduce legislation requiring recorded roll call votes and opening all committee meetings to the public.  Though leadership on both sides of the aisle initially opposed his proposal, the attention generated by Shays’ efforts led to its eventual adoption two weeks later.

While still serving in the state House in 1985, Shays spent a week in jail for contempt of court after speaking out against corruption in the legal system.

Shays’ passion for reform continued after his election to Congress in 1987.  He was the chief sponsor and driving force behind the Congressional gift ban, lobby disclosure legislation, and the Congressional Accountability Act, the first legislation passed by the Republican Congress in 1995, which requires Congress to live by the laws it enacts. 

Christopher Shays became a national figure during his seven-year battle to enact campaign finance reform. Shays worked with a bipartisan group of legislators – including Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA), Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) – in a long effort that resulted in final passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in March 2002.  The law, which bans the large, unlimited donations from corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals known as “soft money” for federal elections, was upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2003.  Shays and the coalition have continued working together, introducing legislation in the current Congress to reform the Presidential public funding system.

Shays has been a widely recognized and respected force for independent oversight over our nation’s military and security operations.  Through his role as Chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Resources, between 1995 and 1997 Shays led an extensive inquiry into illnesses suffered by veterans of the first Gulf War.

Those efforts continued when Shays took over chairmanship of the Subcommittee on National Security in 1998, as he begun an investigation into the production and use of the vaccine used to inoculate our armed forces against anthrax.  His efforts prompted the military to reform the anthrax vaccine program, leading to a safer and more reliable vaccine.

Shays’ subcommittee chairmanship put him on the front lines of the war on terror long before September 11.  In 20 separate hearings preceding the attack, Shays prodded both the Clinton and Bush Administrations to articulate a clear assessment of the terrorist threat and provide a clear strategy to combat that threat. 

In the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy, he has sought to ensure we are better prepared for and working hard to prevent future attacks. In his subcommittee, Shays played an integral part in the creation and organization of the Department of Homeland Security.  With his expertise, Shays was then a natural appointment to the Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Shays has been a leader in Congress in providing oversight of our military’s efforts in Iraq.  He was the first Member of Congress to enter Iraq after the start of the war, in April 2003, and has traveled to that country four additional times over the past year.  Traveling at times without the protection of the U.S. military, and speaking directly with Iraqis, Shays has brought an independent perspective to the challenges faced by our reconstruction efforts there.

Shays was elected in 1987 with a promise to “get our financial house in order.”  Ever since, he has worked hard to get federal budgets out of deficit and keep our economy strong.  As a member of the Financial Services Committee, he has been a vocal supporter of bringing housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the same laws that govern all other corporations.  In the wake of corporate accounting scandals that rocked the financial world in 2001 and 2002, Shays has fought to ensure that auditing of publicly traded firms is conducted transparently and correctly.

Designated a “Lifetime Hero” by the League of Conservation Voters, Shays has remained a steadfast environmentalist since his first day in office.  He has fought the coal interests to regulate mountaintop mining, and the logging industry to defend our national forests.   He has been a vocal advocate for lowering auto emissions standards, protecting animals and wildlife, and defending the Arctic from oil and gas exploration. 

Shays has earned yearly “Green Scissors” awards from Taxpayers for Common Sense for his stalwart opposition to wasteful, environmentally harmful spending projects.  As Co-Chairman of US-GLOBE (Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment), Shays works hard to unite legislators throughout the world to help people understand we will not have a world to live in if we continue our neglectful ways.

Shays is an important voice for socially moderate views in the Republican caucus and in the Congress.  He is leading the charge to end racial profiling and sexual discrimination in the workplace.  Shays is a staunch supporter of a woman’s right to choose, and a cosponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would encode Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.  He helped author and lead the charge for the assault weapons ban.  Shays also helped lead the effort in Congress to create the AmeriCorps national service program, and he is co-chairman of the bipartisan Friends of Animals Caucus.

He and his wife, Betsi – his high school sweetheart – grew up in Darien and reside in Bridgeport.  Their daughter, Jeramy, is currently studying environmental law at the Universtity of Vermont Law School.