George R. Nethercutt, Jr.

GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT, JR. was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1994 when he unseated then-Speaker of the House Thomas Foley. It was the first time a sitting Speaker had been defeated since 1860. Mr. Nethercutt served for ten years on the prestigious House Committee on Appropriations. He also served as a member of the House Science Committee and the Energy and Space & Aeronautics subcommittees.

Among Mr. Nethercutt’s legislative accomplishments are historic legislation to open trade with foreign countries, appropriations to bring high technology capability to the U.S. Defense Department, and modern improvements to American agriculture. He has been nationally recognized for his accomplishments relating to efforts to cure diabetes. He left Congress in January 2005.

Born in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Nethercutt received a BA in English at Washington State University and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Gonzaga University in 1971. He served as Law Clerk to a federal judge in the U.S. District Court, Anchorage, Alaska, and worked as chief of staff for a U.S. Senator in Washington, DC where he focused on issues of oil and gas, natural resources, mining and commerce. Mr. Nethercutt practiced law in Spokane, Washington, for 18 years, during which time he devoted himself to numerous community service organizations, including the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery for the prevention of child abuse (Co-Founder), the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Spokane Chapter (President), the Spokane Central Lions Club, and several Masonic organizations. He holds honorary degrees from Gonzaga University and Waynesburg University.

In April 2005, President George W. Bush appointed him to serve as U.S. Chairman, Permanent Joint Board on Defense-U.S./Canada. He also served as a member of a Congressionally-mandated defense advisory board reviewing the readiness of the United States to withstand a WMD attack.

Mr. Nethercutt is Chairman of Nethercutt Consulting LLC, a legislative consulting firm in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Hecla Mining Company, The Washington Policy Center, ARCADIS NV, IP Street, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2005-2011). He founded The George Nethercutt Foundation, a non-partisan charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the civics and leadership education of students. He also serves Of Counsel to Lee & Hayes, an international intellectual property law firm with offices around the world.

He is the author of a 2010 book, In Tune with America: Our History in Song, and lectures and writes on the subject of civics education in America and other topics. He produces and appears on television segments entitled “US History by the Minute.” In 2012, he was a Fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics where he led a Study Group on the topic, “Why Study America?”

Mr. Nethercutt has been married to Mary Beth S. Nethercutt since 1977, and they have two children, Meredith and Elliott.