Update from Washington: U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie
U.S. Representative Thomas Massie entered Congress in November 2012 after serving as Lewis County Judge Executive. He represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, which stretches across Northern Kentucky and 280 miles of the Ohio River. U.S. Representative Massie attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. During school, he invented a technology that enabled people to interact with computers using their sense of touch. He leveraged that technology to found SensAble Technologies, Inc., which raised over $32 million of venture capital, created 70 jobs, and obtained 29 patents. The hardware and software he developed are now used to design automobiles, jewelry, shoes, dental prosthetics, and even reconstructive implants for wounded soldiers. In Congress, Thomas serves on two committees: the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and the House Judiciary Committee. The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure has jurisdiction over roads, bridges, mass transit, railroads, aviation, maritime and waterborne transit. The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over laws that affect intellectual property, industrial hemp, civil liberties, firearms, and other topics that were among the reasons he ran for Congress.