For eight years, Ric Keller served the residents of Greater Orlando, representing them on Capitol Hill. First elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2001, he quickly joined the ranks in Washington, D.C., serving on four subcommittees within the Judiciary Committee and three under the Education & Labor Committee. Ric Keller authored several integral pieces of legislation and championed a number of issues for his Floridian constituents.
Most notably, Keller sponsored four pieces of legislation surrounding Pell Grants. A federal award designed to help low-income students pay for college, Pell Grants are distributed by the U.S. Department of Education. When Keller discovered that a loophole in the law allowed incarcerated sex offenders to receive Pell Grants, he went to work eliminating this wasteful spending and redistributing the grants to the intended recipients. Additionally, he sponsored legislation to increase Pell Grant funding.
At the end of his final term, Ric Keller joined Hill, Rugh, Keller & Main, P.L., a well-respected law firm in Orlando. Since 2009, he has served the group as a Senior Partner, focusing on commercial litigation, theme-park liability, and intellectual property litigation. Moreover, he shares his political expertise with clients, offering strategic governmental consulting.
Ric Keller has also participated in local education initiatives and served as the Chairman of COMPACT's Board of Directors. An in-school mentoring program for students in the Orlando area, COMPACT targets teenagers at high risk of dropping out of high school. When not at work, Keller stays active by jogging, biking, and spending time with his five children. Along with his wife, Dee Dee, he lives in Orlando and enjoys watching movies and college football.