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Congressman Amory Houghton
Amory Houghton has served since 1987 as a United States Representative from the
State of New York, now representing the newly-drawn 29th Congressional District which
covers parts of eight counties from Cattaraugus County, along the Pennsylvania border to
Chemung County and north to southern Monroe County. The district's major population
centers include the cities of Olean, Hornell, Corning, Elmira, Canandaigua, and the
southern suburbs of the city of Rochester.

FAQs Houghton is the fifth-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means
Committee, chairs its Oversight Subcommittee, and is a member of the Trade
Subcommittee. He is also a member of the International Relations Committee, Vice
Chairman of its Subcommittee on Africa, was appointed Co-Chairman of the Canada-U.S.
Interparliamentary Group, serves as Chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Asia Pacific
Parliamentary Forum, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the
Congressional Delegate to the 58th General Assembly of the United Nations.

Houghton’s legislative accomplishments include enactment of several laws including the

Liberty Zone Act which provided US$5 billion in tax breaks and incentives to help New
Yorkers in lower Manhattan rebuild in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the Clean ↑ Grab this Headline Animator
Diamond Trade Act which curbs the trade in conflict diamonds from Africa, measures to
reform the campaign finance system, and the bill that awarded the Congressional Gold
Medal to then South African President Nelson Mandela. In addition, Houghton has Contact us
sponsored several proposals to simplify the tax code.
RSA Fellowship Team
Politically, Houghton has built a reputation as a results-oriented congressman who
espouses moderate social programs and conservative fiscal policy. He is the founder of 8 John Adam Street
the John Quincy Adams Society, an issues forum which brings together moderate London
officeholders with top business leaders, and is also a founding member of the Republican WC2N 6EZ
Main Street Partnership, which seeks to strengthen the political center. Houghton is also UK
Co-Chairman of the Washington-based Faith and Politics Institute.
fellowship@rsa.org.uk
The only former CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation to serve in the House, Houghton joined +44 (0)20 7451 6826
Corning Glass Works (now Corning, Incorporated) in 1951, after graduating from Harvard
University and serving as Marine during World War II. He is the recipient of numerous
awards and citations including the Electronic Industries Alliance Medal of Honor which
cited Houghton as the “father of fiber optics” for his support of research at Corning which
resulted in the revolutionary communications material. Corning, Inc., founded by the
Houghton family in 1851, is a world leader in glass and ceramics technology including
fiber optics and photonics. The firm supplied Thomas Edison with the housing for his first
light bulb and provided windshields for NASA's space shuttle fleet.

The Almanac of American Politics said of Houghton: " ... he may well be more what the
Founding Fathers had in mind ... " as the ideal congressman. In 2002, Houghton was
inducted into the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the group founded by John Adams and
John Hancock in 1780, “dedicated to advancing intellectual thought and constructive
action in American society.”

Before entering Congress, Houghton served on the boards of several major corporations
including Procter & Gamble, IBM, Citicorp, N.Y. Telephone, B.F. Goodrich, and
Genentech. Appointed by President Reagan to the Grace Commission in 1982, he served
as the panel's vice-chairman. He is a former trustee of St. Paul's School, the Brookings
Institution, a former member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, a past director of the
Episcopal Theological Seminary, and holds 14 honorary degrees.

Houghton's father Amory served as Ambassador to France from 1957 to 1961 following
his career at the Corning Glass Works. His grandfather, Alanson B. Houghton, was
Ambassador to Germany and Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Great Britain) after
serving two terms in the House of Representatives from 1918 to 1922.

Houghton is married to the former Priscilla B. Dewey.

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