Jim Inhofe was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from the University of Tulsa, earning a degree in economics. His career in politics was not born right out of college, first he served in the United States Army. Inhofe has worked as a businessman in real estate, aviation and insurance for over 30 years.
During his political career, Inhofe has held many positions that led up to his current one in the United States Senate. He has been a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Mayor of Tulsa, minority leader of the Oklahoma Senate and a Congressman from the First Congressional District. Inhofe has drawn from 30 years in the business community and has used that knowledge to help his fellow Oklahomans.
As chairman of the Enviornmental and Public Works Committee, Inhofe played a key role in helping the 2005 Highway Bill get passed. He helped end the “donor state” status for Oklahoma, and now it receives money for federal highway funding. The passage also helped to put the decision making process back in Oklahoma's hands. In addition to the highway, Inhofe has been working hard to restore common sense and science to important environmental issues.
Inhofe has a reputation for being an expert when it comes to defense and national security issues. He has advocated for greater resources for our soldiers fighting in the war zones. Inhofe has also personally visited the war zones, including both Afghanistan and Iraq. His service before becoming a politician has played a key role in how he views issues.
He gained national attention when he moved forward to end the secrecy of the legislative process in the United States House of Representatives. This also prevented leaders from keeping bills bottled up in committees. After the House, Inhofe moved on to the United States Senate. He worked to pass something similar, which would end the obstruction of the Senate's consideration of nominations and legislative matters. He has received much praise for his work in politics. One title he earned was “Most Outstanding Conservative U.S. Senator” by Human Events Newspaper and the American Conservative Union. He is continuously winning awards and praise for his work on tax reform and national security issues.
Inhofe has been married over 50 years to his wife, Kay. They have four children and twelve grandchildren. While serving in the Senate, Inhofe tries to return to Oklahoma each and every weekend in order to spend time with his family. |
