Harvard University
Which school did Tom Petri go to from 1958 to 1962?
Tom Petri Thomas Evert Petri ( born May 28 , 1940 ) is an American politician who was the U.S . representative for from 1979 to 2015 ; he is a member of the Republican Party . Early life . Petri was born in Marinette , Wisconsin . When he was a toddler , his father , a Navy flyer and lieutenant during World War II , was lost during a mission over the Atlantic . Petri , his infant brother , and his widowed mother moved to Fond du Lac , where Petris mother taught in the Fond du Lac public schools . He represented his high school as a delegate to the youth government and leadership program Badger Boys State in 1957 . He graduated from Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac . Petri then attended Harvard University , where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees . After graduating from law school he served as a law clerk to federal district judge James Doyle . He was one of the founders of the Ripon Society , a public policy organization aligned with the Republican Party . He served as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Somalia from 1966-1967 . From 1969 to 1970 he served as a White House aide during the Presidency of Richard Nixon . Early political career . Wisconsin Senate . Petri served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1973 to 1979 . 1974 U.S . Senate election . Petri ran for the U.S . Senate in 1974 . He won the Republican primary with 85% of the vote . During the campaign , Petri walked across the state of Wisconsin as part of his grassroots strategy . In the general election , incumbent Democratic U.S . Senator Gaylord Nelson defeated Petri 62%–36% . Petri took five of 72 counties in the state . U.S . House of Representatives . Elections . In 1979 , he won a special election to finish the term of the late U.S . Congressman William A . Steiger , who had died shortly after being re-elected in 1978 . He defeated fellow state senator Gary Goyke by only 1,200 voters . He won the seat in his own right in 1980 , taking 57 percent of the vote in a rematch with Goyke . Petri and was reelected 16 times . The only time he faced a race anywhere near as close as his 1979 contest came in 1992 . That year , he defeated State Representative Peg Lautenschlager 53% to 47% . It would be the only reelection contest in which he won less than 65 percent of the vote . He won ten of the districts thirteen counties . He lost Manitowoc , Brown , and Outagamie counties . He ran unopposed in 1990 , 1994 , 2002 , and 2006 . He faced no major-party opposition in 1986 and 1998 . In April 2014 , Petri announced he would not seek re-election in November 2014 . Tenure . Petri was a member of The Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research , although he generally opposes abortion . He called for a moratorium on the death penalty , but voted against other restrictions on it . Petri was a member of the moderate Republican conference , The Tuesday Group , and received a $10,000 contribution from the group in 2008 and $5,000 in 2012 . Petri was the author and sponsor of three surface transportation laws . He supported the laws that eliminated the 55-miles-per-hour speed limit and eliminated the Interstate Commerce Commission . Petris three largest contributors in the 2012 campaign cycle were labor unions . He voted for Project Labor Agreements ( PLAs ) and twice voted to allow the use of PLAs in government contracts . Petri also voted to permit the use of taxpayer funds to comply with the Davis-Bacon Act , voted to use federal funds for collective bargaining by the Transportation Security Administration , and voted in favor of $233 million in taxpayer funding for the National Labor Relations Board . In 1994 , Petri introduced H.R . 4469 , The Multicare Act of 1994 . This bill would have established federally funded government-run health insurance programs , and would have authorized states to require an individual to purchase insurance from one of these government-run insurance plans . Petri continued to push for the passage of Multicare until 2004 . In 2005 , Petri voted to fund the Gravina Island Bridge , and voted to prevent the drilling for oil in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge . In 2005 , Petri introduced the Direct Loan Reward Act , and in 2006 introduced the Student Aid Reward ( STAR ) Act . On November 2 , 2005 , Petri voted against the Online Freedom of Speech Act . On January 18 , 2007 Petri voted in favor of HR 6 , which made it more difficult to obtain a lease to drill for oil domestically . Petri endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2008 GOP presidential primary . He subsequently endorsed John McCain in the 2008 presidential election . In 2011 , Petri sponsored an amendment to allow Michigan-based Badger Ferry to continue operating on Lake Michigan dumping more than 500 tons of coal ash a year into the lake . He had received $14,751 in campaign donations from executives of Lake Michigan Carferry , the owner of Badger Ferry . The Environmental Protection Agency and Badger Ferry came to agreement in 2013 to modifying coal-dumping procedures within two years . Badger Ferry , the oldest continuously operating coal ferry in the United States , announced in 2015 that is would continue operating without dumping coal in Lake Michigan . On August 1 , 2011 , Petri voted for the Budget Control Act of 2011 , which raised the nations debt limit and created the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction . Petri headed the Congressional British-American Parliamentary Exchange Group , which coordinated annual meetings between members of Congress and Parliament . In the 112th Congress and the 113th Congress , Petri introduced the ExCEL Act , which would have created a universal income-contingent student loan repayment process , where students repaid loans based on their after college earnings . Petris bill received bipartisan and bicameral support . In 2012 , Petri introduced H.R . 4148 , the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway National Heritage Area Act of 2012 , which would place 1,444 square miles of land in Wisconsin under the control of the federal government . In 2014 , Petri was investigated for advocating for a constituent company , Oshkosh Corporation , in which he held stock . He was also under scrutiny in regard to another Wisconsin-based business , The Manitowoc Company , in which he had a financial interest . Although the Office of Congressional Ethics found reason to believe Petri violated House rules and standards , the House Ethics Committee disagreed , voting not to impose sanctions on him . Committee assignments in final term . - Committee on Education and Labor - Subcommittee on Early Childhood , Elementary and Secondary Education - Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training - Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure - Subcommittee on Aviation - Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ( Chairman ) - Caucus Membership - Congressional Arts Caucus Electoral history . ! Year ! Republican ! Votes ! Democratic ! Votes ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes Honors . Petri was honored by U.S . English , Inc . in May 2008 for his votes and co-sponsorships of official English legislation in the 110th Congress . Petri had previously sponsored legislation declaring English an official language in 1999 . In 2014 , Petri received the Order of the Rising Sun , Gold and Silver Star , Japans second highest civilian honor , for his work to improve relations between the United States and Japan . In 2015 , Petri was made an honorary officer in the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) for his work on trans-Atlantic issues . Personal life . Petri and his wife , nonprofit executive Anne D . Neal , are the parents of Washington Post humor columnist Alexandra Petri .