J. Dennis Hastert
J. Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, served from January 6, 1999 until January 3, 2007 and was the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. During his 20 years in the House, Speaker Hastert focused his efforts on lowering taxes, improving education, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and fortifying national defense efforts. He championed legislation to balance the federal budget, cut taxes and government waste, and clean up the environment. He also passed legislation to reduce government regulations in areas such as trucking and telecommunications in order to increase competition and consumer choice. During his tenure as Speaker of the House, Speaker Hastert was instrumental in passing post-September 11th antiterrorism legislation and historical legislation to create a Department of Homeland Security—the most significant restructuring of federal government in the past 50 years. http://www.dicksteinshapiro.com
