DS News

66 to serve in public office to further the cause of compassion and fairness by enhancing our freedoms and strengthening free enterprise." at cause has been the driving force behind Hensarling's service since he was elected to Congress in 2002 to represent the 5th District in Texas, covering areas east and south of Dallas. In 2012, he was elected the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the lawmaking body that oversees the entire financial industry in the U.S. e heart of his mission, particularly since the crisis in 2008, has been to "replace the Washington top- down controlled society with a bottom-up 'We the People' opportunity society." How passionate is Hensarling about a free enterprise system? In a public address in March, he quoted U2 singer Bono, a noted global political activist: "In dealing with poverty here and around the world, welfare and foreign aid are a Band-Aid. Free enterprise is a cure." Lest anyone doubt the credibility, sincerity, or candor of Bono, Hensarling threw a curveball later in that same speech by reiterating rapper Kanye West's sentiment that "e only true freedom is economic freedom." Hensarling then lamented to the audience: "Seriously, if rock stars and rappers get it, why can't Washington elites?" "A PRETTY COOL JOB" Hensarling pointed to two mentors who have had the biggest influence on his life and his career—his father, Charles Hensarling, and his former economics professor and former U.S. Sen., Phil Gramm. Hensarling's father, Charles, instilled in Jeb at a very early age the core values that Jeb would live the rest of his life by: honesty, integrity, faith, devotion to one's family, the value of hard work, and personal responsibility. Charles Hensarling also taught Jeb the importance of giving back to his community through civic engagement. Charles also gave Jeb his first exposure to politics in 1968, when Jeb was 11. Charles, who at the time was president of the Texas Poultry Federation, was invited to Austin for a brief photo op with then-Texas Governor John Connally. "I thought, 'Wow, being a governor is probably a pretty cool job,'" Hensarling said. While his father gave him his first exposure to politics, it was Hensarling's other mentor— Phil Gramm, his former economics professor and former U.S. Senator—who gave him his first job in politics. During his term in the Senate in the mid-1980s, Gramm hired Hensarling as an intern in his Washington, D.C. office. Hensarling served as state director and later Senate campaign manager for Gramm. "My time in Sen. Gramm's office taught me what it meant to be a public servant, an effective legislator, and leader for the conservative cause," Hensarling said. DODD-FRANK'S BIGGEST CRITIC One topic that particularly rankles Hensarling is taxpayer-funded bailouts, which were aplenty at the onset of the crisis in 2008 and 2009. He has been one of the most vocal critics of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which many Republicans believe codifies 'Too Big to Fail' instead of ending it as it professed to do. Hensarling's strict opinion labels Dodd- Frank a "failure." He states that it has made the country "less prosperous than it should be," made the financial system "less stable than it should be," and has "made Americans less free." Hensarling told DS News that the Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee plan introduce a strategy in the coming months JUST THE FACTS BORN: May 29, 1957 in Stephenville, Texas CONGRESS: Represents 5th Congressional District in Texas since 2002; has served as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee since 2012 EDUCATION: BA in Economics, Texas A&M University, 1979; Juris Doctor, University of Texas, 1982 FAMILY: Wife, Melissa; Children, Claire and Travis HOBBIES: Spending time with family, fishing, watching the Texas A&M Aggies football team MISCELLANEOUS: Is an Eagle Scout Jeb Hensarling

• Cover