Rep. Mike Oxley, who served 25 years in the House of Representatives representing a northwest Ohio district and rose to chair the influential House Financial Services Committee, died Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.

WASHINGTON � Former U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley, who served 25 years in Congress representing a northwest Ohio district and rose to lead the influential House Financial Services Committee, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.



Oxley, a Findlay native whose district also included Mansfield and Lima, was elected in 1981 after Rep. Tennyson Guyer died of a heart attack. He was re-elected 12 times after that and took the helm of the financial-services committee in 2001. He retired from the House in January 2007.



Oxley, a close golfing friend of former House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, was well-liked by Democrats and Republicans. He was known throughout the House for his ever-present smile and clever quips. In 1997, when Republican Sen. Bob Dole lent then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich $300,000 to pay a penalty for House ethics-rules violations, Oxley joked: �Hey, is that banking window still open?�



Boehner, who was friends with Oxley for more than 30 years, called him �a model statesman and an Ohio original.�



�He served his constituents and country with honor and courage, always with a twinkle in his eye and a heart full of love,� Boehner said. �He was as skilled as a legislator as he was quick with a smile. He loved to serve, and he loved those he served, and it was reflected in his work.�



Even after leaving the House, Oxley stayed deeply involved in Republican politics. Earlier this year over dinner in Washington with John Kasich, Oxley urged the Ohio governor to skip the Iowa caucuses and focus on the New Hampshire primary because �Iowa is a dead-end. It�s a killer of candidates. It�s a fraud.�



Although conservative in outlook, he was a pragmatic lawmaker who preferred accomplishments to loud arguments. He displayed that in 2002 when he teamed up with Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and ushered a bill through the House overhauling public accounting laws.



The sweeping Sarbanes-Oxley law was designed to make corporate executives accountable to shareholders and was a direct consequence of a series of corporate and accounting scandals, including Enron and WorldCom. Critics said compliance was too costly for many companies.



Eventually, Oxley became one of those critics. He told Fortune magazine years later that he wished the law had treated smaller companies differently from larger ones such as those in the Fortune 500. Still, he defended the overall impact of the law, arguing that it helped restore investors� confidence in the markets. �No law is perfect,� he said.



He also spearheaded the passage of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which helped improve credit-report accuracy and gave consumers more identity-theft protections. He worked to reform the nation�s deposit-insurance system and modernize the check-clearing process. And he worked on a series of voluntary ratings for the television industry.



He became chairman of the Financial Services Committee as the result of a battle with then-Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., to head the House Commerce Committee. The battle became so hard-fought that House Republicans ultimately reorganized the committee, taking its oversight of insurance and securities from the Commerce Committee and putting it in the former House Banking Committee. They renamed the panel the Financial Services Committee and put Oxley in charge. Tauzin became chairman of the Commerce Committee.



In 1996, Tauzin and Oxley had fought over who could head a key subcommittee overseeing telecommunications and finance. GOP leaders ultimately split the two jurisdictions; Oxley oversaw finance, and Tauzin telecommunications.



Affable and jovial � he was often known as �Ox� � he went on to be a lobbyist for BakerHostetler after he retired from Congress, focusing on corporate-governance and government-policy issues. He also was a senior adviser to the board of directors of NASDAQ OMX Group Inc.



Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called Oxley �a true policymaker, passionate about the intricacies of his work and always driven by what he believed was best for the country and his district. Yet for all his accomplishments, I will always remember Mike for being, above all, a genuinely good and decent man. Ox set an example for all of us, and he will be missed.�



When Oxley decided not to seek re-election in 2006, then-Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said the Financial Services Committee �enjoyed an unprecedented level of collegiality and comity that permitted us all to work together and get things done.�



�He was one of the most well-liked guys in Congress,� said former Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield. �He was just well-liked by everyone.�



Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township, said he was �inspired by the gracious way Mike Oxley treated his colleagues and constituents alike.�



Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, who succeeded Oxley in the House, called him a �friend, a mentor, and one of the finest public servants I�ve ever met.�



�We should all be thankful that decent people like Mike Oxley are willing to commit their lives to public service. Polly and I send our prayers and condolences to Pat, Chadd and the entire Oxley family,� Jordan said.



Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, called Oxley �a great leader and an outstanding representative of his constituents and the state of Ohio for 25 years.�



For years, Oxley managed the Republicans during the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. He played every position except pitcher and catcher. He managed the GOP team for eight years, winning seven of the eight games and raising more than a half-million dollars for charities during that time.



During the 1994 game as Oxley played first base, then-Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, accidentally broke Oxley�s left arm as he tried to beat out a ground ball to first.



�Mike was a tireless advocate for his constituents and a loyal colleague,� Brown said on Friday. �Knowing him for many years, I not only worked with him in Columbus and Washington, but used to play basketball with him and baseball against him. It was always better to be on the same side. He was a competitive and decent man who believed in fair play.�



Oxley entered politics after serving as student-body president of Miami University and receiving a law degree from Ohio State University. He worked on the staffs of U.S. Rep. Jackson Betts, Ohio Attorney General William Saxbe and Lt. Gov. John Brown in their days in office. .



He is survived by his wife, Pat; a son, Michael Chadd Oxley; and a grandson.



Dispatch Washington Bureau Chief Jack Torry contributed to this story.