Biography

Spencer Thomas Bachus III was born December 28, 1947, in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned a bachelor degree in 1969 from Auburn University and a juris doctor from the University of Alabama Law School in 1972. While at the University of Alabama, he also served in the Alabama National Guard (1969-1971). He was in private law practice until 1982, when he was elected to the Alabama Senate and served District 17 until 1984. He then represented District 46 in the Alabama State House of Representatives from 1984-1987. His next elected office was the state Board of Education, and he held the District 6 seat from 1987 to 1991. He served as the Alabama Republican Executive Commitee in 1991-1992 before running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Bachus represented Alabama's 6th Congressional District from 1993 to 2015 (in the 103rd through the 113th Congresses). He served on the Financial Services (1993-2015), Judiciary (1999-2007,2013-2015), Transportation and Infrastructure (1995-2007), and Veterans' Affairs (1993-1999) committees. He was ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee in the 110th and 111th Congresses (2007-2011) and therefore played a key role in the government's response to the 2008 housing and financial crisis. In the 112th Congress, he was Chairman of the Financial Services Committee (2011-2013). Bachus' accomplishments while in Congress included the creation of the Cahaba Netional Wildlife Refuge and the Alabama National Cemetery within District 6. He also succeeded in locating the National Forsenics Institute in Hoover. He pushed for the construction of the Northern Beltline around Birmingham and for the completion of Corridor X/I-22 from Birmingham to Memphis. As chair of the Financial Services Committee, he had great influence in the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He also helped oversee the reform of the Federal National Mortgage Assosciation (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mae), the failed government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in the housing market. Other issues he championed during his tenure were debt relief for impoverished nations, the prohibition of internet gambling, and the provision of tornado shelters and warnng systems for Alabama citizens. He and his wife, Linda, had five children. They lived in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, following his retirement from Congress in 2015.

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