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The Honorable Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., chairman of the board of directors, began serving as Komen's public policy committee chair in 2003 and became a board member in 2005. Bentsen is president and chief operating officer of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, a national trade association representing financial services companies and manufacturers. From 1995 to 2003, Bentsen represented the 25th District in Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives serving on the Budget, Financial Services and Small Business Committees. Bentsen's long-standing commitment to fighting the war against cancer includes co-sponsorship of the Access to Cancer Therapies Act, the Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, the Bipartisan Protection Act, the Screening Mammography Act and the Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act, among others. In addition, he was actively involved in the drafting and passage of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and helped to modernize the nation's banking and securities laws, the U.S. response to the Asian financial crisis and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which enhanced federal oversight of U.S. capital markets. He also authored and co-authored many measures related to healthcare, thrift savings plans, international trade and the nation's response to terrorism, particularly with respect to banking and insurance. Bentsen serves as a member of the development board of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the San Jacinto Museum of Texas History. He also serves as a board member for the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation. Bentsen earned a Master of Public Administration from American University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of St. Thomas. He is married to Tamra and they have two daughters. | 