Nick Lampson

Nicholas V. Lampson (born February 14, 1945), American politician, was the four-term Democratic Member of Congress for the Texas 9th congressional district from 1997 until 2005.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, Lampson, earned his Bachelors Degree in Biology and Masters Degree in Education from Lamar University, served as the Jefferson County property tax assessor for nearly 20 years after he developed and taught a real estate management course at his alma mater.

Career in the U.S. House

While the U.S. House he fought for federal highway construction and repair funds, and the improvement of Houston and Southeast Texas airport facilities. He also served as the Science Committee, where he was Ranking Member of the Science Committee's Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

Just months into his first term, a family in his district suffered a terrible tragedy. A 12-year-old girl from Friendswood, Texas was abducted and found murdered two weeks later. Lampson was so moved by the family's courage and the caring response of the community in banding together to search for the child, that he established the first-ever Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus, which now numbers more than 120 members from both parties.

With the power of the Caucus behind him, the former high school science teacher fought in Congress to help families protect their children and aid communities and law enforcement searching for missing children. He sponsored legislation to fund law enforcement efforts to stop child pornography and exploitation on the Internet.

In addition to his own Caucus, Lampson was active in other issue-oriented Congressional caucuses, including Manufactured Housing, Correctional Officers, I-69 Highway, Coast Guard, Coastal, Human Rights, Spina Bifida, Cancer, Asian and Pacific American and Arts. He also served as the Chairman of the Congressional Study Group on Germany.

2004 Election & Redistricting

On May 4, 2005, Lampson announced that he was going to run in Texas' 22nd Congressional District to challenge Majority Leader Tom DeLay in the 2006 election.

Outside of Politics

Throughout his life, Lampson has shown a commitment to his community that goes well beyond elected office. He has been an advocate of seniors' issues at the local and national levels as a director of the Area Agency on Aging, and a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging.

The proud Italian-American has provided leadership to local groups such as the American Heart Association, Land Manor (a rehabilitation facility) and the Young Men's Business League. As an active member of St. Jude Catholic Church, Lampson chaired the 1995 Bishop's Faith Appeal and was recognized as the Outstanding Young Man of Beaumont in 1978 by the Texas Jaycees.

He is married to Susan Floyd Lampson, a special education teacher in Beaumont. The couple has two grown daughters, Stephanie and Hillary. Stephanie was recently married to Ryan Gertz and is a teacher in Beaumont. Hillary is married to Mark Shanning and also lives in Beaumont.

References

• Project Vote Smart – Representative Lampson
• Election Information – U.S. House Office of the Clerk
• Lampson for Congress