Political Career
Jeffords entered politics in 1966, winning a seat in the Vermont State Senate. He followed that success in 1968 with a victory in the race for Vermont Attorney General. He was the Presidential Elector for Vermont in 1972.
In 1974, he won Vermont's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for 14 years and was the ranking Republican member of the House Education and Labor Committee. In 1988, Jeffords was elected to the U.S. Senate, and was reelected in 1994 and 2000.
Jeffords's work in Congress focused on legislation involving education, job training, and individuals with disabilities. In his later years in the Senate, his emphasis shifted somewhat, as Jeffords pushed several important pieces of environmental legislation through Congress. He was, together with Paul Simon, credited by Canadian Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire, Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) from 1993 to 1994, for actively lobbying the US administration into mounting a humanitarian mission to Rwanda during the Rwandan Genocide. According to Dallaire's book Shake Hands with the Devil, he "owe(s) a great debt of gratitude" to both senators.
Jeffords was one of the founders of the Congressional Solar Coalition and the Congressional Arts Caucus. Jeffords was frequently recognized for his performance as a legislator, receiving Parenting magazine's "Legislator of the Year" award in 1999, and the Sierra Club's highest commendation in 2002.
During part of his tenure in the Senate, Jeffords sat at the Candy desk.
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