BA in History, Belmont Abbey College. Former Special Assistant to the US Secretary of Labor under Bush Administration. 2004, elected to US Congress, representing North Carolina's 10th Congressional District. 2011-12, Chairman of Oversight and Government Reform's Financial Services Sub-Committee. Current Deputy Republican Whip, garnering support for legislative priorities being considered on the U.S. House floor. Member, House Financial Services Committee, serving as Chair of Oversight and Investigations Sub-Committee; Member of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. 2011, authored the primary legislation to legalize equity-crowdfunding in the United States, included in the JOBS Act and signed into law in April 2012. Recipient: Crowdfunding Visionary Award, Global Crowdfunding Convention (2013) for work on equity-crowdfunding legislation; Crowdfunding Leadership Award, University of California, Berkeley Fung Institute's Program for Innovation in Entrepreneurial Finance (2013).