Mazzoli, Romano L.

Romano L. Mazzoli was born November 2, 1932 in Louisville, Kentucky where he attended Catholic schools. Upon graduation from the University of Notre Dame in 1954, he was drafted into the United States Army, where he served for two years. He then returned to Louisville and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Law. After a brief career practicing law, began his career in politics, running for the Kentucky State Senate from the 35th District in 1967. He served as a State Senator until his election to the United States House of Representatives from the Third Kentucky District in 1970. While in the Congress, Mazzoli chaired the Immigration, International Law and Refugees Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee for twelve years and was responsible, with Senator Alan Simpson, for the last major immigration legislation enacted in the U.S. to date, the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Act or Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Congressman Mazzoli retired from Congress in January 1995, and returned to Louisville, Kentucky to teach. He also served as a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2002, and earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School in 2004. He has been married to the former Helen Dillon of Louisville since 1959 and they have two children and four grandchildren.