Why Rick?

Learn more about Rick, his history as a legislator and his stance on critical issues by downloading our PDF "Rick Santorum: A Champion of Traditional American Values."

Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 at the age of 32, and from 1995 to 2007, served in the US Senate.  In 2000, he was elected by his peers to the position of Senate Republican Conference Chairman.

Senator Santorum became one of the most successful government reformers in our history, taking on Washington's powerful special interests from the moment he arrived in our nation's Capitol. Along with John Boehner and Jim Nussle, Senator Santorum was a member of the famous "Gang of Seven" that exposed the Congressional Banking and Congressional Post Office scandals.  It was this record of reform that prompted a Washington Post reporter to write in a recent article that "Santorum was a tea party kind of guy before there was a tea party."

He was also an author and floor manager of the landmark Welfare Reform Act which passed in 1996 that has empowered millions of Americans to leave the welfare rolls and enter the workforce.

Senator Santorum wrote and championed legislation that outlawed the heinous procedure known as Partial Birth Abortion as well as the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act," the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," and the "Combating Autism Act" because he believes each and every individual has value and the most vulnerable in our society need to be protected.

Senator Santorum fought to maintain fiscal sanity in Washington before it was in fashion, fighting for a balanced budget and a line item veto.  He bravely proposed reforming entitlements, cutting spending and even developed a "spendometer" that added up the cost of Democrat amendments to spending bills.   This record made him one of the most conservative senators in Pennsylvania's history.

He served eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee where he led the fight before the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to transform our military from a Cold War force to meet today's threats. He was a leader on US-Israeli relations, authoring both the "Syria Accountability Act" and the "Iran Freedom and Support Act" which he successfully fought to pass in spite of initial opposition by President Bush.

An accomplished author, Senator Santorum penned the 2005 New York Times Best Seller It Takes a Family.

But of all his accomplishments, Rick is most proud of his role as a husband and father. Rick and his wife of 21 years, Karen, are the parents of seven wonderful children: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, Patrick and Isabella.