Official bio:
Senator Bob Jauch serves Wisconsin's twenty-fifth Senate District, comprised of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Douglas, Iron, Price and Washburn counties, along with parts of Burnett, Dunn, Polk, St. Croix, Sawyer and Vilas Counties . Senator Jauch’s district comprises most of Northwestern Wisconsin and at aver 7500 square miles, is geographically larger than the States of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware and larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
Bob Jauch was born in Wheaton, Illinois on November 22, 1945. After graduation from Wheaton's Central High, Jauch served four years in the military including tours in Vietnam and Japan. Following his discharge, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he was elected student body President in 1970 and President of Wisconsin's United Council of Student Governments in 1971.
The following year, Jauch moved to Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin to run the family printing business. In 1973, Jauch was selected as Northern Wisconsin field representative for U.S. Congressman David Obey. In 1977, Jauch became a field representative for EDS Federal.
In 1982, Jauch was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly from the seventy-third district. His legislative activity focused on Health Care (Vice-chair of the Health & Human Services Committee), Education (Vice-chair of the Higher Education Committee) and Rural Development. In 1983, Representative Jauch was appointed to the legislature's Committee on Joint Finance as a freshman legislator.
Re-elected in 1984, Representative Jauch continued to serve on the Committee on Joint Finance, chairing the Subcommittee on Education. He also served on several Legislative Council special study committees including Graduate Medical Education & Venture Capital. He chaired the Special Study Committee on the Municipal Collective Bargaining Law and the Nursing Home Level of Care Study Group. Jauch also served on the Governor's Task Force on Nursing Home Reimbursement.
In 1986, Bob Jauch was elected to the Wisconsin Senate. During the 1987-88 legislative session Senator Jauch served as Chair of the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems; Vice-chair of the Senate Agriculture, Health and Human Services Committee; and as a member of the Senate Aging, Banking, Commercial Credit & Taxation Committee; the Senate Education Committee; and the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules.
Bob won re-election to the Wisconsin Senate again in 1990. He retained his Chairmanship of the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems, along with his previous committee assignments, while adding membership to the Joint Committee on Finance.
In May, 1993 Bob Jauch was elected Senate Democratic Floor Leader in the State Senate and he maintained membership on the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules, the Senate Organization Committee, the Joint Committee on Employment Relations and the Legislative Council. That same year Senator Jauch was appointed to the President’s Advisory Council on International Trade by President Clinton.
In the 1999-2001 Legislative Session, Bob served on the Joint Committee on Finance, Joint Committee on Information Policy (Co-Chair), Senate Education Committee (Vice-Chair), Senate Committee on Insurance, Tourism and Rural Affairs (Vice-Chair), Special Committee on Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control (Chair), Special Committee on the School Aid Formula, and the Joint Legislative Council. He also was Wisconsin’s representative to the Education Commission of the States and the State Senate’s appointment to the Midwestern Higher Education Commission.
After his re-election in 2006, Senator Jauch was appointed to the Joint Committee on Finance. During the 2007-2008 legislative session, he also served as the Chairperson of the Committee on Tax Fairness and Prosperity as well as the C-Chair of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. During the 2009-2010 session, Jauch served as the Chairperson of the Children and Families and Workforce Development Committee.
During the 2011-12 session, Bob was once again appointed to both the Joint Committee on Finance and the Senate Education Committee.
In addition to the committees listed above, Bob has also served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Biennial Budget and as Co-Chairman of the Legislative Council Study Committee on Improving Wisconsin's Fiscal Management.
In the current Legislative Session, Senator Jauch is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Workforce Development, Revenue, Forestry and Mining, as well as a member of the Committee on Financial Institutions and Rural Issues. He is also the Vice-Chair of the Legislative Council Study Committee on 911 Emergency Communications.
Bob lives in Poplar, Wisconsin with his wife Cecelia, who is a retired elementary school teacher. They have two children, Jessica, who lives with her husband Jerry in Minnesota and Christopher, who lives and works in Madison.
