About Me
Congressman Brown started his political career serving on the Hanahan Planning Commission and Hanahan City Council. He was elected to the SC House of Representatives in 1985, where he served continuously through 2000. He was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee in 1989 and in November 1994 became the first Republican ever elected to serve as Chairman of Ways and Means. As Chairman, Congressman Brown was responsible for a $4.6 billion budget and led the fight for the largest tax cut in the history of the state. In its fourth year, 1998, this property tax relief totaled $240 million. During his tenure on Ways and Means, Congressman Brown was also elected Chairman of the Joint Tax Study Commission and served as a member of the Budget and Control Board, the Legislative Audit Council and the Joint Bond Review Committee.
Since being elected to the US House of Representatives, Congressman Brown has been honored by numerous groups for his conservative, pro-business, pro-military, common sense voting record. In 2000, he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor a civilian can receive from the state of South Carolina. He has also received honorary doctorates from The Citadel, College of Charleston, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston Southern University, and Coastal Carolina University. In 2005, he received the College of Charleston's Founders' Medal.