James B. Longley, Jr.

Who is James B. Longley, Jr.?

James B. "Jim" Longley, Jr. is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a Republican politician from Maine.

The son of former Independent Governor Jim Longley, Sr. and former First Lady Helen Longley, Longley attended Phillips Andover Academy, received his B.A. from Holy Cross, and then returned to study law at the University of Maine. He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Before entering Congress, Longley served as a trial lawyer. He also managed several small businesses near Portland, Maine.

Longley was elected as part of the "Republican Revolution" of 1994, narrowly defeating Dennis L. Dutremble, the Democratic State Senate President from Biddeford.

Longley strongly supported national defense and he advocated in favor of stronger fiscal discipline within the federal government.

In one of his first actions in Congress, he offered testimony before a Congressional committee considering a minimum wage increase. In his testimony he presented the concept of cutting taxes paid by minimum wage workers to provide a greater increase in their take home pay. He pointed out that minimum wage increases cause small businesses to not only pay more in wages but that cutting the payroll taxes would actually increase the employees take home pay by a larger amount than raising the overall minimum wage. He presented charts, graphics and documentation to back up his testimony.