... and a proud member for 1 year 21 weeks John J. Hall, born July 23, 1948, represents the 19th Congressional District in New York’s Hudson Valley. The district includes all or part of five counties – Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester. Elected in 2006, Congressman Hall serves on the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans’ Affairs, and The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He also serves as chairman of the Veterans' Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. Congressman Hall is also a musician and small business owner who co-founded the popular band Orleans. He previously was elected to the Ulster County Legislature and twice to the Saugerties School Board, on which he served as President. Since the 1970s he has been an active environmentalist, often combining his commitment to renewable energy, conservation and environmental protection with his music. Congressman Hall has lived most of his life in the Hudson Valley, and currently resides with his wife Pamela Bingham Hall in Dover Plains, Dutchess County, NY. Congressman Hall, a three-time National Science Foundation scholar in High School, studied physics at Notre Dame University and transferred to Loyola College before leaving to pursue his full-time career in music. By age 21 he was a successful songwriter, composing and directing music for Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. As a recording session artist, he worked with Janis Joplin, Seals & Crofts and Bonnie Raitt, among other artists, before founding Orleans in 1972 with musicians Wells Kelly, Larry Hoppen and Lance Hoppen. He has released 18 albums and CDs in the years since, with Orleans and as a solo artist. His latest album, “Rock Me on the Water,” was released in 2005. Congressman Hall opposes privatization of Social Security, and supports a swift and orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq combined with a renewed emphasis on diplomacy. He supports intensive efforts to produce more renewable energy, better funding of veterans’ programs, universal health care, and full funding of the No Child Left Behind legislation.