Congressman Philip M. Crane (R.-Ill.) is serving his 11th term in the United States House of Representatives after first being elected to Congress in 1969. In the 1988 election, he carried 75 percent of the vote in his race to represent the 12th Congressional District of Illinois.
Congressman Crane is the third ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, with jurisdiction over energy, taxes, trade, Medicare, welfare reform and Social Security. He serves as the vice chairman of the Trade Subcommittee and is currently on the Republican Research Committee’s Task Force on Foreign Policy.
A recognized leader of conservatives in the House of Representatives, the congressman announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President on Aug. 2, 1978, which stands as the earliest declaration in history.
Phillip M. Crane, 59, was born in Chicago, the second of five children. When three Crane brothers ran for Congress in 1978 and 1980, they earned the title "Kennedys of the Right."
Congressman Crane attended De Pauw University and graduated from Hillsdale College in Michigan with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and history. He completed his studies at Indiana University, where he earned both a master of arts degree and a Ph.D. in history. He is one of only a handful of members of the House to hold a doctoral degree.
The congressman, who served in Europe in the U.S. Army, taught history at Indiana University for three years before joining the faculty of Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., and later serving as director of schools at Westminster Academy in Northbrook, Ill.
Congressman Crane is a member of the Board of Advisors of the John M. Ashbrook Center, as well as a trustee of Ashland University and Hillsdale College. He is a director of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a member of the advisory board of the Young Americans for Freedom and a former chairman of the American Conservative Union. Also, he is the founder and served as chairman in 1984 of the Republican Study Committee.
His professional affiliations have included the American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, International Platform Association, The Philadelphia Society, University Professors for Academic Order and The Capitol Historical Society.
Congressman Crane’s varied career as a farmer, teacher, soldier, historian, politician and author has brought him many honors and awards. He and his wife of 31 years, Arlene, are the parents of eight children.
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