Thomas Joseph Tauke (born October 11, 1950) is an American politician, lawyer, and corporate executive from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. He is a former member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Tauke represented the northeast corner of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

(2nd district) as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...

He has continued to establish himself as a leading voice and public policy advocate in the U.S. telecommunications industry.

Jim Nussle James Allen Nussle (born June 27, 1960) is an American businessman and retired politician who has been president and chief executive officer of the Credit Union National Association since 2014. Nussle served as a Republican member of the United S ...

followed him as the representative for northeast Iowa. From 1991 to 2013 he served as executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communications of

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

.LinkedIn Profile
/ref> He has made recent news with his statements in opposition to the

Net Neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...

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 The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1975 to 1979. Tauke's undergraduate degree was earned at

Loras College Loras College is a private Catholic college in Dubuque, Iowa. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students and is the oldest post-secondary institution in the state of Iowa. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree pr ...

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, Iowa, and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree was earned at the

University of Iowa College of Law The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865. Iowa is ranked the 28th-best law school in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or U ...

in 1974. Since retiring from Verizon he has served on many boards and committees (both non-profit and for-profit) and is past chair of the board of regents of Loras College and the Washington Center. He currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife Beverly and children Joseph and Elizabeth. He serves on the board of directors of the

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United States Representatives Robert Gia ...

.Board Members , Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tauke, Tom 1950 births Living people Iowa lawyers Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Loras College alumni University of Iowa College of Law alumni Politicians from Dubuque, Iowa Spokespersons Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa