On November 7, 2000, Representative Todd Akin was elected to the United States House of Representatives to serve the Second District of Missouri. At age 53, his election to Congress marks a continuation of his service to the Nation and the St. Louis area.
Representative Akin is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he earned a B.S. in Management Engineering. After graduation, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army with the Army Combat Engineers at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Virginia. He received an honorable discharge from the Army Reserves in 1980. Upon completing his active duty in the Army, Representative Akin spent four years with IBM, where he met his wife Lulli. He later moved into corporate management at Laclede Steel.
An avid student of the U.S. Constitution, Representative Akin was appointed by Governor Ashcroft to the Bicentennial Commission of the U.S. Constitution in 1987. In 1988, Representative Akin ran and won a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives. He served twelve years as a Republican State Representative and the ranking Republican on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. While serving in the Missouri House, Representative Akin drafted legislation on Roth IRAs and a tax limitation amendment currently in the Missouri Constitution. He also took a leading role in opposing gambling, resulting in more rigorous enforcement of gambling laws and regulations.
As a U.S. Congressman, Representative Akin serves on three committees: Armed Services, Science, and Small Business. As a Member of Congress, he is committed to promoting the principles of our Founders, the free enterprise system and the traditional values of the American family. Representative Akin has also taken a leading role in issues related to national security and international affairs.
Today, Representative Akin continues to write and lecture on the principles of America's Founding and Heritage. He is active in the Boy Scouts for America, a leader in his church, a former board member of Missouri Right to Life, and sits on the board of the Mission Gate Prison Ministry. He and his wife Lulli have six children: Wynn, Perry, Micah, Ezra, Hannah, and Abigail. Representative Akin commutes from St. Louis to Washington every week to be with his family and to meet with constituents, business leaders and other elected officials throughout the greater St. Louis community.