US Senate
Senator Richard Burr was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on November 30, 1955. The son of a minister, Richard and his family moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina when he was a young child.
Richard graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem and attended Wake Forest University on a football scholarship. After graduating, he began his career far from the halls of Congress by spending seventeen years in business with Carswell Distributing, a wholesale commercial products company.
In 1994 Richard was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Republican in 20 years to represent the 5th Congressional District of North Carolina. During his time in the House of Representatives, Richard quickly established himself as a passionate legislator.
In 2004, Richard decided to run for the United States Senate and on January 4, 2005, Richard Burr was sworn-in to serve North Carolina in the United States Senate.
As Senator, Richard is dedicated to finding common-sense solutions to increase access to affordable, quality health care for all North Carolina families. He is committed to encouraging job growth by working to restore a strong economic environment in North Carolina. He is also a vocal advocate for the growing population of veterans across North Carolina, and for our men and women in the military and their families.
In the Senate, Richard serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee where he works to improve the quality of health care and service our nation's veterans receive. He is also a Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and the Intelligence Committee.
Richard commutes to Washington during the week and travels extensively throughout North Carolina when the Senate is not in session. Richard and his wife, Brooke, have two sons.
