Walsh represents the 25th district of New York State in the House of Representatives. Born June 19, 1947 and a native resident to the Syracuse area, Walsh attended Christian Brothers Academy and graduated in 1966. He then went on to study history at St. Bonaventure University, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1970. After completing college, he served in the United States Peace Corps in Nepal from 1970-1972. Following his volunteer work, Walsh worked in the Department of Social Services as a caseworker for two years. He was then hired as a business executive for a telephone company, only to move to a better job as Director of the Telecommunication Institute at SUNY Utica-Rome where he taught the telecommunication policy. During this same time period he also served as president on the City Council in Syracuse (1986-1988). From 1989 to the present, James Walsh has represented the 25th district of New York in the House of representatives. Serving on congresses 101 through 108, he has been involved in multiple committees. The first and foremost is the Committee of Appropriations where he is one of 13 chairmen. The committee is called the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies (VA/HUD) and is the third largest appropriations budget totaling 121.9 billion. This subcommittee is responsible for the spending budgets involving the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA and several other agencies. Walsh is also a subcommittee member of Military Construction, which covers funding for all four major defense agencies. In addition, he is a senior member of the subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Walsh is married to his wife Dede, from which they have 3 children. He is also actively involved in hunting, fishing and skiing in his spare time.