Thomas Gilbert Loeffler (born August 1, 1946) is an American politician and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from central Texas. Loeffler was born in Fredericksburg in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and attended school in Mason in Mason County. He earned a BBA and a Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas School of Law. In 1971, after just one year of private practice, he was hired by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Republican U.S. Senator John Tower made Loeffler his chief counsel in 1972. Two years later, he became a deputy for the United States Department of Energy.