Ray Baum described himself as “just a small-town lawyer” but he went on to serve in a number of important public roles at the state and federal levels in Oregon and in Washington D.C. over the course of his career. Ray was a Commissioner and Chairman of the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (PUC), served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and as the Chair of NARUC’s Committee on Telecommunications.
Ray Baum joined U.S. Representative Greg Walden’s staff as Staff Director on the Energy and Commerce Committee in December 2016. In this role in Congress, Ray worked closely with the FCC on telecommunications issues. Sadly, Ray Baum passed away in February of 2018 after a long battle with cancer. In recognition of his important contributions to the telecommunications industry, Representative Greg Walden arranged to have RAY BAUM’S Act named in his honor.