Story by Kimberly Marselas

Hoyer Takes No.2 Spot in the U.S. House

Steny Hoyer at work in his office days before being elected majority leader last Fall. Photo courtesy of Stephen Crowley/New York Times.

Since Congressman Steny Hoyer '63 rose to the rank of House Majority Leader in late 2006, much has been made of his brush with Sen. John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was campaigning for president in 1959 and delivered Maryland's convocation address, a speech that stirred Hoyer to change his major, follow his passion for politics and launch a career that has taken him to the highest ranks of state and federal government over the last 41 years. But he might have missed out on that fateful day had he had his way as a high school stand out in Suitland. Hoyer wanted to go to Princeton. A second university in Pennsylvania offered him a scholarship, but it wasn't enough. So he enrolled at Maryland, commuted and—with a generous scholarship—paid less than $100 his first semester. "I really was not very enthusiastic about going to the University of Maryland," Hoyer admits. But after a few rough semesters—and failing grades that convinced him to drop out temporarily—he recommitted to his education. "I had told myself if I didn't get down to brass tacks, I was going to be digging ditches," Hoyer says. "Next to marrying my wife, going to the University of Maryland was probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

Steny Hoyer at the podium with wife Judy by his side. Photo courtesy of Steny Hoyer.

Making Steady Progress

Today, Hoyer represents the university as both a proud alumnus and the highest-ranking member of Congress ever from Maryland. His district, redrawn dramatically in 1990 to include much of Southern Maryland and parts of Anne Arundel County, still includes the university and large swaths of Prince George's County.

He remains as dedicated to his constituents as he was when elected to the state senate for the first time in 1966 at the age of 27. Hoyer served 12 years there, the last four as senate president—the youngest person to hold the post.

Early on, he built a reputation as a consensus-builder, a tireless worker with an understanding of his district's issues and the strategy needed to accomplish his goals. In 1978, he ran unsuccessfully for Maryland lieutenant governor. For the next three years, he toiled as a lawyer and served on the State Board of Education.

The networks he'd established and the results he'd delivered for Prince George's helped him win a special election to Congress in 1981. It was a natural step for a one-time member of the university's Free State Party, motto: "For Steady Progress."

"I've never been surprised by his successes," says Philip Rever '64, a Hoyer classmate who has worked as a lobbyist and educational consultant. "My only surprise is that it took him until now to become majority leader. I think many of us who knew him then would not have been shocked if he'd become president."

Actually, it was Rever who was president when the men were in college. He and Hoyer campaigned to lead the Student Government Association together, and then voters split the ticket, putting Rever in charge and leaving Hoyer out of office. It was one of only two elections he would lose.

But he still had a chance to serve when the man who'd won left school early.

"There was no question who I would appoint," recalls Rever. "No one else that I've ever met in politics has such real purpose in his life to make other peoples' lives better. That's what his goal has always been."

Committed to the Team

Tom Carr, director of the university's Public Safety and Technical Assistance Program, has worked with Hoyer for more than a decade. Carr oversees the university-based Washington/ Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA), which uses federal, state and local resources to combat drug-related crime and treat offenders.

Hoyer was instrumental in founding the local HIDTA in 1994 and more recently led a battle against proposed budget cuts. Carr says Hoyer is always well prepared and has a strong vision for projects with which he is involved.

"He reminds me at times of an undergraduate student," says Carr, who has watched Hoyer work in Congress and state senate sessions. "He sits there with a wad of pencils and a legal pad. He's listening intently and taking notes. He's absorbing information like a sponge."

Hoyer sees university-based research as both a vehicle for local job creation and a smart move for the nation. Whether fighting to keep the nearby NASA Goddard Space Flight Center open or encouraging the Food and Drug Administration to locate new facilities at the university's research park, Hoyer champions teamwork.

"The university has such a wealth of resources it can offer in partnership with the federal government," he says. "We work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms … and certainly the National Archives is the No. 1 archival resource in the country, one of the most significant resources for researchers in our area."

Dedication to Education

Because of the opportunities he received at Maryland, Hoyer also continues to be an advocate for affordable education. He served 25 years on the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and, since becoming majority leader, has promoted an increase in Pell Grant funding and a 50 percent reduction in student loan interest rates.

"If we're going to be competitive in this global economy, it will be because we maintain the highest levels of education and we make it affordable and accessible," says Hoyer, who worked alongside every university president since Wilson Elkins in the 1960s.

But it's not just business that keeps Hoyer coming back. A basketball season-ticket holder and friend of coach Gary Williams'68, Hoyer followed tournament games as closely as he could between floor votes this March.

This spring, he planned to deliver his second Maryland commencement speech. Ever humble, he promised to keep it short and sweet. After all, as dedicated a Democrat as he was by graduation, Hoyer remembers virtually nothing of the speech then-Vice President Lyndon Johnson gave to his class.

"I do not delude myself," he says with a forgiving laugh. "Nobody is coming there to hear Steny Hoyer speak." TERP

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