Oil on canvas, Dean Paules, 2007, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

GOODLATTE, Robert William, a Representative from Virginia; born in Holyoke, Hampden County, Mass., September 22, 1952; B.A., Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, 1974; J.D., Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., 1977; lawyer, private practice; staff aide for United States Representative M. Caldwell Butler of Virginia, 1977-1979; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Third and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1993-present) chair, Committee on Agriculture (One Hundred Eighth and One Hundred Ninth Congress).