AL GORE: Biography SENATOR AL GORE In his l6 years representing the people of Tennessee, Senator Al Gore has been recognized as a national leader confronting America's most serious issues: including the environment, health care, arms control and strengthening America's economy by ensuring that American companies are competitive in the high technologies that mean jobs. An outspoken advocate for the environment who has gained international recognition for his leadership, Gore served as Chairman of the U.S. Senate delegation to the Earth Summit. He is the author of groundbreaking legislation and of a nationally best- selling book, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit, which outlines an innovative plan of action to confront the global environmental crisis. In what has been described as the single most important step America can take to become more competitive in the international marketplace, the high performance computing act is legislation Gore crafted and steered to passage that is creating the first national high-speed computer network--an "information superhighway," linking America's most powerful computers with schools and research centers. He also is the author of legislation to develop and disseminate new technologies to improve manufacturing and create jobs, improve health care and education, and to protect the environment. Gore has led the effort to provide real tax relief for middle income families, introducing the Gore-Downey Working Family Tax Relief Act. And, to protect American children, Gore has led investigations into the mislabeling of food and toys hazardous to children and the prevalence of inadequate nutrition. Gore's health care record includes groundbreaking legislation that has created the first national organ donor network to match organ donors and recipients. It is Gore's legislation that strengthened the warning labels on cigarettes and that for the first time placed warning labels on alcoholic beverages, to help warn pregnant women of the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. On arms control issues, Gore is recognized as a leading Congressional expert with his proposals now serving as the basis for key arms control agreements. Gore voted to authorize the use of force in the war against Iraq and was the first in Congress to call on the Bush-Quayle Administration to recognize and respond to the plight of the Kurds and the Shiites after the war ended. Gore was born March 31, 1948. After graduating from Harvard, he served in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. He worked as a reporter and editorial writer for The Tennessean in Nashville before being elected to Congress in 1976. He was elected to the Senate in 1984. He is married to the former Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Atcheson and they have four children Karenna, Kristin, Sarah, and Albert III.