33 Facts About Tom Petri

Tom Petri represented his high school as a delegate to the youth government and leadership program Badger Boys State in 1957.

Tom Petri graduated from Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac.

Tom Petri then attended Harvard University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees.

Tom Petri was one of the founders of the Ripon Society, a public policy organization aligned with the Republican Party.

Tom Petri served as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Somalia from 1966 to 1967.

Tom Petri served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1973 to 1979.

Tom Petri defeated fellow state senator Gary Goyke by only 1,200 voters.

Tom Petri won the seat in his own right in 1980, taking 57 percent of the vote in a rematch with Goyke.

Tom Petri ran unopposed in 1990,1994,2002, and 2006.

Tom Petri faced no major-party opposition in 1986 and 1998.

Tom Petri was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research, although he generally opposes abortion.

Tom Petri called for a moratorium on the death penalty, but voted against other restrictions on it.

Tom Petri was a member of the moderate Tuesday Group conference of Republicans, and received $10,000 from the group in 2008 and $5,000 in 2012.

Tom Petri was the author and sponsor of three surface transportation laws.

Tom Petri supported the laws that eliminated the 55-miles-per-hour speed limit and eliminated the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Tom Petri voted for Project Labor Agreements and twice voted to allow the use of PLAs in government contracts.

Tom Petri voted to permit the use of taxpayer funds to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act, voted to use federal funds for collective bargaining by the Transportation Security Administration, and voted in favor of $233 million in taxpayer funding for the National Labor Relations Board.

Tom Petri continued to push for the passage of Multicare until 2004.

In 2005, Tom Petri voted to fund the "Gravina Island Bridge", and voted to prevent the drilling for oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In 2005, Tom Petri introduced the Direct Loan Reward Act, and in 2006 introduced the Student Aid Reward Act.

On November 2,2005, Tom Petri voted against the Online Freedom of Speech Act.

On January 18,2007 Tom Petri voted in favor of HR 6, which made it more difficult to obtain a lease to drill for oil domestically.

Tom Petri endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2008 GOP presidential primary.

Tom Petri subsequently endorsed John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.

In 2011, Tom Petri sponsored an amendment to allow Michigan-based Badger Ferry to continue operating on Lake Michigan dumping more than 500 tons of coal ash a year into the lake.

Tom Petri had received $14,751 in campaign donations from executives of Lake Michigan Carferry, the owner of Badger Ferry.

Tom Petri headed the Congressional British-American Parliamentary Exchange Group, which coordinated annual meetings between members of Congress and Parliament.

In 2014, Tom Petri was investigated for advocating for a constituent company, Oshkosh Corporation, in which he held stock.

Tom Petri was under scrutiny in regard to another Wisconsin-based business, The Manitowoc Company, in which he had a financial interest.

Tom Petri was honored by US English, Inc in May 2008 for his votes and co-sponsorships of official English legislation in the 110th Congress.

Tom Petri had previously sponsored legislation declaring English an official language in 1999.

In 2014, Tom Petri received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan's second highest civilian honor, for his work to improve relations between the United States and Japan.

In 2015, Tom Petri was made an honorary officer in the Order of the British Empire for his work on trans-Atlantic issues.