Pat Tiberi

Patrick Joseph Tiberi (born October 21, 1962) is an American lobbyist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 12th congressional district from 2001 to 2018.

His district included communities north and east of Columbus.

He graduated from Ohio State in 1985 with a degree in journalism.

Tiberi was the first person in his family to graduate from college.

He is a member of the Republican Party, and previously served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000.

He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1993, and he soon rose to the position of House Majority Leader.

Tiberi authored legislation that made it easier for returning military veterans to receive federal jobs and provided for more federal assistance to caregivers of incapacitated adults.

He was later awarded an honorary doctorate in the Humanities by Capital University in May 2005.

Upon graduation from college, Tiberi worked as a realtor for RE/MAX Achievers, a franchise of RE/MAX, located in Lewis Center, Ohio.

Both of the bills were passed in 2006.

Tiberi voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, saying the bill was "loaded with Nancy Pelosi's grab bag of big spending wishes."

Following passage of the bill, Tiberi wrote a letter to United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in an effort to bring stimulus money to his district.

Tiberi was described as loyal to former House Speaker John Boehner.

When Boehner resigned his speakership and was replaced by Paul Ryan, Tiberi sought to replace Ryan as the chairperson of the United States House Committee on Ways and Means.

The steering committee selected representative Kevin Brady over Tiberi to chair the committee.

Ryan controlled five of the votes and reportedly supported Brady's bid.

He held town hall meetings, including one for Tea Party members of Newark in August 2011 and one on Iran in September 2015.

He cosponsored legislation that would require a commission to host town halls regarding reforms to Medicare and Social Security.

When asked by the Dispatch editorial board if he would hold "a public, in-person town-hall meeting to answer questions from your constituents", Tiberi reiterated his opposition to town halls.

Tiberi said that President Trump's firing of James Comey as the director of the FBI raised "many questions" amidst the FBI's investigation over Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

Tiberi did not support the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation.

He said that he would support the appointment of a special prosecutor if the relevant congressional subcommittees recommended it.

Tiberi called town hall meetings "not productive" and "shouting matches".

He briefly served as Chair of the new Republican Main Street Congressional Caucus from September 7, 2017.

In October 2017, Tiberi announced his plan to resign from Congress in January 2018 to lead the Ohio Business Roundtable.

His last day in office was January 15.

Tiberi was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Italian immigrants, Rina (Silvestri) and Joe Tiberi.

He attended the city's Woodward Park Middle school and Northland High School.

Tiberi attended the Ohio State University, where he was a member of The Ohio State University Marching Band.

During the congressional recess of February 2017, Tiberi did not hold a town hall meeting to discuss healthcare reform with his constituents, but met in private with small groups.

Prior to the recess, a constituent petition for a town hall with Tiberi surpassed 1,500 signatures.

Over 200 small group meetings would be necessary to meet the demand of signatories alone.

Tiberi was considered a potential candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for the Senate in the 2018 election, but he declined to run.

His large fundraising haul had fueled speculation of his possible entrance into the race.

Tiberi spoke at a Ripon Society forum and addressed the IRS targeting controversy and tax reform.

Tiberi said the IRS is one of the worst scandals he has seen in American history, stating that "...it's not like any other. It has Democrats, non-political independents, business owners, other individuals and people who don’t pay attention to government, kind of on their toes, because they know it can happen to them."

Tiberi went on to say that the only way out was to show bipartisan partnership among the Administration in order to "...get this scandal off the front page [and] working with Republicans to get comprehensive tax reform done in a way that simplifies our code."

Tiberi voted against an amendment by Bill Pascrell before the Ways and Means Committee to request President Trump's federal income tax returns.

He opposed the amendment as politically motivated and inviting a slippery slope.

He said that Trump said "he will release them, and I encourage him to do so."