Baron Hill has lived in Southern Indiana all his life. Baron’s wife of nearly 40 years, Betty Schepman Hill, recently retired from teaching math and social studies at Seymour Middle School. The Hills, both lifelong residents of Seymour, have raised their three grown daughters, Jennifer, Cara and Elizabeth, in a community that exemplifies the true definition of Hoosier values. They have also welcomed their first granddaughter into their family, Josie.

A standout athlete at Seymour High School, Baron set records in basketball, football and track. He is one of Seymour High School’s all-time leading basketball scorers. He won one of the highest honors any Hoosier basketball player can receive when he was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Basketball legend Larry Bird joined Baron in the Class of 2000 Hall of Fame inductees. Baron continued his education and basketball prowess at Furman University, where he graduated with a degree in history in 1975. After graduation, Baron and Betty returned home to Seymour.

Baron has also been a lifelong public servant. Before he was first elected to Congress in 1998, Baron ran a small business in Seymour, served his community in the Indiana General Assembly, headed up the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, and worked as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1982 and served there for eight years. In 1990, Baron left the Indiana legislature to run for the United States Senate and narrowly missed an upset victory. During that campaign, Baron walked the entire length of the State of Indiana, meeting and talking with Hoosiers along the way.

In 1992, then-Governor Evan Bayh named Baron the Executive Director to the Indiana State Student Assistance Commission, where he helped make college affordable for young Hoosiers. Baron later returned to the private sector as a financial analyst for Merrill Lynch until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1998. He represented Southern Indiana for three terms in Congress. During that period he served on three committees: the House Agriculture Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. As part of his duties on the House Armed Services Committee, Baron sat on the Anti-Terrorism Subcommittee and the Military Readiness Subcommittee, which oversaw military installations such as Crane Navel Surface Warfare Center, located in Southern Indiana, among other responsibilities.

During his first tenure in Congress, Baron authored the Smaller Schools, Stronger Communities Act. This legislation stems from a long-term effort by Baron to make schools safer and better learning environments, where principals and teachers know their students and parents have an active role. This initiative, which provides grants to local educational agencies to develop smaller schools, was included in H.R. 1, President Bush’s 2002 education reform bill. Baron returned to representing the people of Southern Indiana in Congress in 2006. He currently plays an active role on the following Committees: House Energy and Commerce, House Science and Technology and Joint Economic. His position on the Energy and Commerce Committee has afforded him the opportunity to tackle one of our nation’s biggest issues: energy. In fact, Baron authored the legislation that increased fuel efficiency standards (CAFE Standards) in vehicles for the first time in over thirty years. He has also worked with his colleagues on crafting legislation to encourage the development of alternative forms of energy and provide relief to farmers struggling with the high price of diesel fuel.

When Baron returned home for the district work period last August, he heard from folks all over the Ninth District about skyrocketing property taxes. Although primarily a state legislature issue, Baron returned to Washington determined to help folks any way he could. To that end, he introduced the Property Tax Relief Act, which was signed into law by the President in July of 2008. The bill provides an additional standard deduction for homeowners of up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families. At Baron's urging, this tax deduction was extended for another year under the Tax Extenders Act of 2009. In addition, Baron has made good on his campaign promise to strengthen ethics reforms. His bill was included in the final package that establishes an independent ethics body largely made up of former Members of Congress. And, Baron has been very active on the issue of Internet safety. He has successfully pushed two bills through Congress that streamline Internet safety resources and make more information available to parents regarding how best to protect their children from online predators and inappropriate Internet content.

As the father of three daughters, Baron is very concerned with issues affecting the next generation, such as our mounting federal budget deficit. Throughout his time in office, Baron has been a member of the Blue Dog Coalition – a group of conservative Democrats focusing primarily on reigning in federal spending. Hoosier families have to live within a budget, and Baron believes the federal government should have to as well. Both chambers of Congress recently passed his Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budgeting rules legislation, which will force Congress to offset any new or increased spending. Baron has been working on this bill for years now, introducing PAYGO as either standalone legislation or as part of a larger legislative package six times during the last sevent years. PAYGO is largely credited with creating the budget deficits our great nation experienced in the late 1990s, so it is an already-proven successful budget reform tool. Also active in his community, Baron is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Seymour and has participated in the Elks Club, the American Red Cross, and the Seymour Chamber of Commerce. He also served as the President of the Seymour Jaycees. Baron was born in Seymour on June 23, 1953.