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Senator Pat Browne was elected by his colleagues in the Senate Republican Caucus to serve as Senate Majority Whip for the 2011-12 Legislative Session.

As Majority Whip, Senator Browne serves as the Vice Chairman of the Senate Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. He also serves on four other Senate Committees: Banking and Insurance, Education, Finance, Labor and Industry. Senator Browne is Chairman of the Senate Early Childhood Education Caucus and serves as a board member of the Public Employee Retirement Commission, the Public School Employees’ Retirement System board, and the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority.

Senator Browne was re-elected in November 2010 to his second full term as state Senator for the 16th District, representing constituents in parts of Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe Counties. He was first elected to the Senate following a special election in April of 2005 and re-elected in the fall of 2006. Prior to joining the Senate, Senator Browne represented the 131st District for 10 years as a member of the state House of Representatives.

He is the author of numerous state laws and drafted key portions of Act 120 of 2010 which fundamentally reformed Pennsylvania’s public pension systems and created an independent office to monitor state spending and the budget process.

Senator Browne received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from Temple University. Prior to his legislative service, he was employed with the accounting firms of Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse as a tax manager and senior tax associate, respectively. In addition to being a CPA, he is also a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Born and raised in Allentown, Senator Browne attended Allentown Central Catholic High School. He resides in Allentown with his wife, Heather, and son, Alex.