Candidate Profile: Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania

Jason Altmire is a candidate for Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District in the 2006 November election. He was the Acting Vice President for Government Relations and Community Health Services for UPMC, an 18-hospital system with 40,000 employees and $5.5 billion in annual revenue. On June 30, 2005, he resigned his position to run for Congress, saying "I can no longer stand on the sidelines while Congress leads this country down the wrong path." He added, "National security, healthcare, jobs and the economy are not partisan issues. We need a Congress that represents all of America and not just one side of the partisan aisle."

Jason Altmire grew up in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, where he was a record-breaking two-sport letterman at Burrell High School. He attended Florida State University, where he was a member of the school's first Sugar Bowl championship football team.

After college, Jason worked as a Legislative Assistant in the Capitol Hill office of U.S. Congressman Pete Peterson of Florida. Peterson, a former prisoner-of-war in Vietnam and decorated 26-year military veteran, served three terms in Congress before being named United States Ambassador to Vietnam.

During his eight years in Washington, Jason was an active participant in the congressional debate on health care reform, helping to draft several major legislative initiatives in both the Democratic and Republican-led House of Representatives. He quickly became known on Capitol Hill for his bipartisanship and knowledge of health care policy. Although at the time he was only 25-years of age, in 1993 he was appointed to a working group for President Clinton’s Task Force on National Health Care Reform. Later, in 1995, he drafted and helped negotiate to the House floor the first Constitutional amendment regarding congressional term limits ever to receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. After leaving Capitol Hill he joined the Federation of American Hospitals, where he was a recognized expert on legislation regarding hospital changes of ownership and spoke about the issue before audiences around the country.

Jason returned to his roots in Western Pennsylvania to join UPMC in 1998. His duties at UPMC included oversight of UPMC’s Office of Charitable Giving, which has primary discretion over UPMC’s $6 million in annual charitable donations. He also represented UPMC in discussions with government officials and local community organizations.

He has served on many national professional boards, including the American Hospital Association’s Health Systems Advisory Board. He was a Government Relations Representative for the Association of American Medical Colleges and a member of the Advisory Board of the National Center for Early Defibrillation.

From the moment he returned home to Western Pennsylvania, he became actively involved in community affairs. He serves on the Legislative Committees for both the Allegheny Valley and the Northern Allegheny Chambers of Commerce, and has been active with the League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh, where he serves as a member of the Selection Committee for the League's annual Good Government Award. He was also co-chair of the League's 2003 Clean Campaign Committee, which issued public reports regarding the race for Allegheny County Executive. He is the only person to be named president of both the Northern Allegheny Lions Club and the McCandless Rotary Club.

Awards: In recognition of his countless volunteer hours, he was named winner of the 2005 Arcadia Award, presented annually by the Northern Allegheny Chamber of Commerce to the local businessman who most exemplifies community service. He has been named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of Pittsburgh’s “40 under 40” and is a resource faculty member for the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Health Policy and Management. He has also lectured before students at Pitt, CMU, Penn State and the Duke University School of Law.

Local Boards: Some of Jason's current and former board affiliations include: North Hills Community Outreach; La Roche College; Penn State Beaver; Northland Public Library Foundation; Heritage Health Foundation; Manchester Bidwell Development Trust; North Hills Jaycees; Oakland Business Improvement District and the Board of Fellows for University of Pittsburgh's Institute of Politics.