Tom Daschle
United States Senator from South Dakota
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	James Abdnor
Succeeded by	John Thune
Senate Minority Leader
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Deputy	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Succeeded by	Harry Reid
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Deputy	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Succeeded by	Trent Lott
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Deputy	Wendell H. Ford Harry Reid
Preceded by	Bob Dole
Succeeded by	Trent Lott
Senate Majority Leader
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Deputy	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Succeeded by	Bill Frist
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Deputy	Harry Reid
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Succeeded by	Trent Lott
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's At-large district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Tim Johnson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's 1st district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Larry Pressler
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	Thomas Andrew Daschle (1947-12-09) December 9, 1947 (age 64) Aberdeen, South Dakota
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Linda Hall
Alma mater	South Dakota State University (B.A.)
Religion	Roman Catholicism[note 1]

Thomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle (born December 9, 1947) is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

A South Dakota native, Daschle obtained his university degree there, and served in the United States Air Force. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1978 and served four terms. In 1986, he was elected to the Senate, becoming minority leader in 1994. Defeated for re-election in 2004, he took a position as a policy advisor with a lobbying firm, and also became a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He co-authored a book advocating universal health care.

Daschle was an early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, and was offered the position of Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services after the 2008 election. He was President Obama's nominee to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Cabinet,^[2] but withdrew his name on February 3, 2009, amid a growing controversy over his failure to accurately report and pay income taxes.^[3] He is currently working for the global law firm DLA Piper.^[4]

Family background[link]

Daschle was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, the son of Elizabeth B. (née Meier) and Sebastian C. Daschle, both of German descent. His paternal grandparents were Volga Germans.^[5] Daschle grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family as the eldest of four brothers.^[6] He became the first person in his family to graduate from college when he earned a B.A. in political science from South Dakota State University in 1969. While attending South Dakota State University, Daschle became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. From 1969 to 1972, Daschle served in the United States Air Force as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command.^[7]

In the mid-1970s Daschle was an aide to then Senator James Abourezk of South Dakota.

Daschle has been married to Linda Hall, Miss Kansas for 1976, since 1984, one year after his marriage to his first wife, Laurie, ended in divorce.^[8] Hall was acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the Clinton administration; she is now a Washington lobbyist. Her lobbying clients have included American Airlines, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, Senate lobbying records show.^[9][10][11] Daschle has three children from his first marriage: Kelly, Nathan, and Lindsay. His son, Nathan, is Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association.^[12]

Career in the House of Representatives[link]

In 1978, Daschle was elected to the United States House of Representatives, winning the race by a margin of 139 votes,^[13] following a recount, out of more than 129,000 votes cast. Daschle served four terms in the House of Representatives and quickly became a part of the Democratic leadership.

At the 1980 Democratic National Convention Congressman Daschle received 10 (0.30%)^[14] delegate votes for Vice President of the United States. Although he was not a candidate, Daschle (along with others) received votes against incumbent Walter Mondale, who was renominated easily.

Career in the Senate[link]

In 1986, Daschle was elected to the Senate in a close victory over incumbent Republican James Abdnor, becoming the nation's 1,776th senator. In his first year, he was appointed to the Finance Committee. In 1994, he was chosen by his colleagues to succeed the retiring Senator George Mitchell as Democratic Minority Leader. In the history of the Senate, only Lyndon B. Johnson had served fewer years before being elected to lead his party. In addition to the Minority Leader's post, Daschle also served as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. South Dakotans re-elected Daschle to the Senate by overwhelming margins in 1998. At various points in his career, he served on the Veterans Affairs, Indian Affairs, Finance and Ethics Committees.

When the 107th Congress commenced on January 3, 2001, the Senate was evenly divided—that is, there were 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Outgoing Vice President Al Gore acted in his constitutional capacity as ex officio President of the Senate, and used his tie-breaking vote to give the Democrats the majority in that chamber. For the next two weeks, Daschle served as Senate Majority Leader. Then, upon the commencement of the Bush administration on January 20, 2001, Dick Cheney became President of the Senate, thereby returning Democrats to the minority in that body; Daschle reverted to the position of Senate Minority Leader. However, on June 6, 2001, Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced in that he was leaving the Senate Republican caucus to become an independent and to caucus with Democrats;^[15] this once again returned control of the body to the Democrats and Daschle again became Majority Leader.

Democratic losses in the November 2002 elections returned the party to the minority in the Senate in January 2003 and Daschle once more reverted to being Minority Leader.

Daschle recounted his Senate experiences from 2001 to 2003 in his first book, Like No Other Time: The 107th Congress and the Two Years That Changed America Forever, published in 2003.^[16]

Anthrax case in 2001[link]

In October 2001, while he was the Senate Majority Leader, Daschle's office received a letter containing anthrax, becoming a target of the 2001 anthrax attacks.^[17] Many of his staffers were confirmed to have been exposed,^[17] as well as several of Sen. Russ Feingold's staffers and Capitol police officers.^[18]

Views on abortion[link]

Daschle has a mixed voting record on abortion-related issues, which led the pro-choice organization NARAL to give him a 50 percent vote rating.^[19] In 1999 and 2003, Daschle voted in favor of the ban on partial-birth abortion,^[20][21] and supported legislation making it a crime to harm a fetus when someone attacks a pregnant woman.^[22] (Investigators into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which included Senator Daschle's Capitol Hill office, suspect that alleged anthrax mailer Bruce Ivins may have chosen to target Daschle over his views on abortion, although Ivins's lawyer disputed this alleged motive.^[23]) In 2003, Daschle's stance on abortion was reportedly criticized by Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Carlson wrote to Senator Daschle as in conflict with Roman Catholic teaching, and that the should no longer identify himself as a Catholic.^[24]

2004 Senate election[link]

In the 2004 Senate election, John Thune defeated Daschle by 4,508 votes, or 50.5%-49.4%.^[25] It was the first time that a Senate party leader had lost a bid for reelection since 1952.^[26] Senate majority Leader Bill Frist visited South Dakota to campaign for Thune.

Throughout the campaign, Thune, along with Frist, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Cheney, frequently accused Daschle of being the "chief obstructionist" of Bush's agenda and charged him with using filibusters to block confirmation of several of Bush's nominees. The Republican candidate also drove home his strong support for the war. In a nationally televised debate on NBC's Meet the Press, Thune accused Daschle of "emboldening the enemy" in his skepticism of the Iraq war.^[27]

When the race began in early 2004, Daschle led by 7% in January and February. By May, his lead was just 2% and summer polls showed a varying number of trends: Daschle or Thune led by nomore than 2%, but some polls showed a tie. Throughout September, Daschle led Thune by margins of 2-5% while during the entire month of October into the November 2 election, most polls showed that Thune and Daschle were dead even, usually tied 49-49 among likely voters. Some polls showed either Thune or Daschle leading by extremely slim margins.

Post-Senate career[link]

Official Senate portrait by Aaron Shikler

Career and public service[link]

Following his reelection defeat, Daschle took a position with the lobbying arm of the K Street law firm Alston & Bird. Because he was prohibited by law from lobbying for one year after leaving the Senate,^[28] he instead worked as a "special policy adviser" for the firm.^[29][30]

Alston & Bird's health care lobbying clients include CVS Caremark, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, Abbott Laboratories and HealthSouth.^[9] The firm was paid $5.8 million between January and September 2008 to represent companies and associations before Congress and the executive branch, with 60 percent of that money coming from the health industry.^[10] Daschle was recruited by the former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.^[31] Daschle's salary from Alston & Bird for the year 2008 was reportedly $2 million.^[32]

Daschle was also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In addition, he served as National Co-Chair of ONE Vote ‘08 (an initiative of ONE.org), along with former Senator Bill Frist. He and former Senators George Mitchell, Bob Dole, and Howard Baker formed the Bipartisan Policy Center, dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions for policy disputes.^[7] Daschle is also a co-chair of BPC's Health Project.

In late September 2005, Daschle caught the attention of the media by reactivating his political action committee, changing its name from DASHPAC to New Leadership for America PAC and procuring a speaking slot at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. He has continued to keep a relatively high profile among Democratic interest groups. These moves were interpreted by the media as an exploration of a potential 2008 Presidential candidacy. On December 2, 2006, announced he would not run for President in 2008.^[33]

In an appearance on Meet the Press on February 12, 2006, former Senator Daschle endorsed a controversial warrantless surveillance program conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA); Daschle explained that he had been briefed on the program while he was the Democratic leader in the Senate.^[34]

In addition, Senator Daschle is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley.^[35] The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.^[36]

Obama campaign[link]

Daschle speaks during the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

On February 21, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Daschle, after ruling out a presidential bid of his own in December 2006, had thrown his support behind Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for the 2008 presidential election, saying that Obama "personifies the future of Democratic leadership in our country."^[37]

Daschle exited the Senate just as Obama entered in 2004 and suggested that Obama take on some of his staffers.^[38] These included Daschle's outgoing chief-of-staff Pete Rouse who helped to create a two year plan in the Senate that would fast-track Obama for the presidential nomination. Daschle himself told Obama in 2006 that "windows of opportunity for running for the presidency close quickly. And that he shouldn't assume, if he passes up this window, that there will be another." ^[38]

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Daschle served as a key advisor to Obama and one of the national co-chairs for Obama's campaign.^[39] On June 3, 2008, Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary in Daschle's home state of South Dakota, although that night Obama clinched his party's nomination anyway.

Two days later, sources indicated Daschle "is interested in universal health care and might relish serving as HHS secretary."^[40] In the general election campaign, Daschle continued to consult Obama, campaign for him across swing states, and advise his campaign organization until Obama was ultimately elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

Obama administration nomination[link]

Daschle, standing with then-President-elect Barack Obama, speaks to reporters after the announcement of his selection to be Obama's nominee for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. (December 11, 2008)

On November 19, 2008, the press reported that Daschle had accepted Obama's offer to be nominated for Health and Human Services Secretary. His selection was formally announced at a news conference with Obama on December 11, 2008.^[2]

Some organizations objected to Daschle's selection, arguing that his work at Alston & Bird was tantamount to lobbying and therefore his selection violated Obama's promise to keep special interests out of the White House. According to Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, Daschle technically complies with the transition rules against lobbyists but "many power brokers never register as lobbyists, but they are every bit as powerful".^[41] Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for the Obama transition, responded that Daschle's work "does not represent a bar to his service in the transition" since "he was not a lobbyist, and he will recuse himself from any work that presents a conflict of interest".^[41]

When Daschle was officially nominated for his Cabinet position on January 20, 2009,^[42] confirmation by the Senate was required. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing for Mr. Daschle on January 8, 2009.^[42][43] A second Senate committee, the Finance Committee, also traditionally reviews HHS Secretary nominees; the committee discussed his nomination behind closed doors on February 2, 2009.^[44][45]

Withdrawal[link]

On January 30, 2009, it was reported that Daschle's friendship and business partnership with businessman Leo Hindery could cause problems for Daschle's Senate confirmation. Daschle has been a paid consultant and advisor to Hindery's InterMedia Partners since 2005, during which time he received from Hindery access to a limousine and chauffeur. Daschle reportedly did not declare this service on his annual tax forms as required by law. A spokeswoman for Daschle said that he "simply and probably naively" considered the use of the car and driver "a generous offer" from Hindery, "a longtime friend".^{[32][44][46][47]} Daschle told the Senate Finance Committee that in June 2008—just as he was letting the press know he would like to be HHS secretary in an Obama administration^[40] -- that "something made him think that the car service might be taxable" and he began seeking to remedy the situation.^[48]

Daschle reportedly also did not pay taxes on an additional $83,333 that he earned as a consultant to InterMedia Partners in 2007; this was discovered by Senator Daschle's accountant in December 2008.^[48] According to ABC News, Daschle also took tax deductions for $14,963 in donations that he made between 2005 and 2007 to charitable organizations that did not meet the requirements for being tax deductible.^[49]

The former Senator paid the three years of owed taxes and interest—an amount totaling $140,167—in January 2009,^{[46][47][48][50]} but still reportedly owed "Medicare taxes equal to 2.9 percent" of the value of the car service he received, amounting to "thousands of dollars in additional unpaid taxes".^[51]

On Tuesday, February 3, 2009, Daschle withdrew his nomination,^[52] saying that he did not wish to be a "distraction" to the Obama agenda.^[3] He was forced to withdraw because, even though he had a sufficient number of Democratic votes for nomination, he became an untenable political liability for the President.^[52]

Health policy[link]

Daschle co-wrote the 2008 book Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.^[53] He and his co-authors point out that "most of the world’s highest-ranking health-care systems employ some kind of 'single-payer' strategy - that is, the government, directly or through insurers, is responsible for paying doctors, hospitals, and other health-care providers". They argue that a single-payer approach is simple, equitable, provides everyone with the same benefits, and saves billions of dollars through economies of scale and simplified administration. They concede that implementing a single-payer system in the United States would be "politically problematic" even though some polls show more satisfaction with the single-payer Medicare system than private insurance,^[54] and that it would be socialized medicine^{[citation needed]}.

A key element of the single-payer plan that Daschle and his co-authors propose in the book is a new "Federal Health Board" that would establish the framework and fill in the details. The board would somehow be simultaneously "insulated from political pressure" and "accountable to elected officials and the American people". The board would "promote 'high-value' medical care by recommending coverage of those drugs and procedures backed by solid evidence".^[55] This proposal has been criticized by conservatives and libertarians who argue that such a board will lead to rationing of health care,^[56][57] and by progressives who believe the board will, as one writer put it, "get defanged by lobbyists immediately".^[58]

One of Daschle's co-authors, Jeanne Lambrew, had been slated before his withdrawal to serve as his deputy in the White House Office of Health Reform.^[57]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Alston + Bird - Biography of Sen. Daschle
• Booknotes interview with Daschle on Like No Other Time: The 107th Congress and the Two Years That Changed America, November 30, 2003.

v t e United States Senators from South Dakota Class 2 Pettigrew Gamble Sterling McMaster Bulow H. Bushfield V. Bushfield Mundt Abourezk Pressler T. Johnson Class 3 Moody Kyle Kittredge Crawford E. Johnson Norbeck Hitchcock Pyle Gurney Case Bottum McGovern Abdnor Daschle Thune

v t e United States Senate Majority Leaders Lodge • Curtis • Watson • Robinson • Barkley • White • Lucas • McFarland • Taft • Knowland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Baker • Dole • Byrd • Mitchell • Dole • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Frist • Reid

v t e United States Senate Minority Leaders Underwood • Robinson • McNary • Austin • McNary • White • Barkley • Wherry • Bridges • Johnson • Knowland • Dirksen • Scott • Baker • Byrd • Dole • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Frist • Daschle • Reid • McConnell

v t e Democratic Party Leaders in the United States Senate Underwood • Robinson • Barkley • Lucas • McFarland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Mitchell • Daschle • Reid

Judd Gregg
United States Senator from New Hampshire
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Warren Rudman
Succeeded by	Kelly Ayotte
76th Governor of New Hampshire
In office January 4, 1989 – January 7, 1993
Preceded by	John H. Sununu
Succeeded by	Steve Merrill
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	James C. Cleveland
Succeeded by	Charles Douglas III
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget
In office January 4, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Don Nickles
Succeeded by	Kent Conrad
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Ted Kennedy
Succeeded by	Mike Enzi
Member of the Executive Council of New Hampshire
In office 1978–1980
Personal details
Born	Judd Alan Gregg (1947-02-14) February 14, 1947 (age 65) Nashua, New Hampshire
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kathleen MacLellan Gregg
Children	Molly Gregg Sarah Gregg Joshua Gregg
Residence	Nashua, New Hampshire
Alma mater	Columbia University Boston University School of Law
Occupation	Politician Attorney
Religion	United Church of Christ

Judd Alan Gregg (born February 14, 1947) served as the 76th Governor of New Hampshire and was a United States Senator from New Hampshire, who served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics. He currently serves as the Chair of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.^[1] Gregg was nominated for Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinet by President Barack Obama,^[2] but withdrew his name on February 12, 2009.^[3][4][5] He would have been up for re-election in 2010, but chose not to run.^[6] In the November 2010 elections, former State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, also a Republican, was elected to succeed Gregg in the Senate.^[7] On May 27, 2011, Goldman Sachs announced that Gregg had been named an international advisor to the firm.^[8]

Early life[link]

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, he is the son of Catherine Mitchell (née Warner) and Hugh Gregg, who was Governor from 1953 to 1955. Gregg graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1965. Gregg received his baccalaureate from Columbia University in 1969 and, from Boston University School of Law, a Juris Doctor in 1972 and a Master of Laws in 1975.^[9]

Early political career[link]

Then Governor Judd Gregg as painted by Richard Whitney

The first elective office held by Gregg was a seat on the Executive Council of New Hampshire, a post which he held from 1978 to 1980. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980, and was reelected in 1982, 1984 and 1986.^[10]

He declined to run for re-election in 1988, and ran for Governor of New Hampshire instead. He won that election and was re-elected in 1990, New Hampshire being one of two states (Vermont is the other) that continues to elect its governors to two-year, rather than four-year, terms. As Governor, he balanced the budget, leaving the office in 1993 with a $21 million surplus.^[11][12] Although, his political opponents in the 1990s attacked Judd for the state's weak economy and his Vietnam War deferments.^[13]

U.S. Senate tenure[link]

Elections[link]

In 1992, Gregg decided to run for a Senate seat. He defeated Democrat John Rauh, and took his seat as a United States Senator in 1993. He was re-elected to a second term in 1998 after defeating George Condodemetraky, and ran for a third term. That year, 2004, he defeated campaign finance activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock, the then 94-year-old Democratic nominee, by 66% to 34%.

After withdrawing from his nomination to become United States Secretary of Commerce in the presidential administration of Democrat Barack Obama on February 12, 2009, Gregg said he would "probably not" seek reelection in 2010, when his term of office is set to expire.^[14]

Leadership[link]

In January 2005, Gregg was elected to chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Budget by the Senate Republican Conference. While chairman of this committee Gregg has been a steadfast supporter of lower spending.^[15] Throughout his Senate career he has been highly supportive of lower taxes as well.

Gregg (left) at the commissioning ceremony for the USS New Hampshire (SSN-778).

On November 14, 2008 Gregg was appointed by United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to serve on the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Gregg "stepped aside" on December 1, citing his Senate workload:

I regret that due to the impending Senate schedule involving the potential of dealing with an extremely large stimulus package, coupled with the ongoing issues of developing fiscal policy relative to the budget and the continuing economic downturn and my responsibility for foreign operations appropriations, it has become difficult to continue service on the TARP oversight board. I have advised Senator McConnell I will need to step aside from this effort.^[16][17]

Platform[link]

Republicans for Environmental Protection issued Gregg an "environmental harm demerit" for sponsoring the 2006 S.C. Resolution 83, which according to REP "included only one revenue-raising instruction to Senate appropriations committees, an abuse of the congressional budget process in order to force oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge", and "would perpetuate America's dangerous oil dependence and damage the most scenic, wildlife-rich reserve in the circumpolar north."^[18] The organization also praised Gregg, together with John E. Sununu, for their work to pass the New England Wilderness act, which classified nearly 100,000 acres (400 km²) of New Hampshire and Vermont as wilderness.^[19] In 2006, Gregg received a score of 43% from the nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters.^[20]

The University of New Hampshire renamed its Environmental Technology Building Gregg Hall, because Gregg used earmarks to secure $266 million of federal funds for research and development projects for the university. The Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute (JGMI), established in 2003, is the center of meteorological and atmospheric research at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH, which offers the only meteorology degree program in the state. The Senator was also instrumental in the establishing of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in 1999.

The libertarian Cato Institute classifies Gregg as a "Free Trader", voting against trade barriers and trade subsidies 81% and 86% of the time, respectively.^[21]

In 2007, Gregg voted for the Clean Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639).

In October 2009, Gregg said, "You talk about systemic risk. The systemic risk today is the Congress of the United States...we’re creating these massive debts which we’re passing on to our children...(the figures) mean we’re basically on the path to a banana republic-type of financial situation in this country.^[22] "

Gregg has a moderate record on social issues. In June 2006, he joined six of his fellow Republicans in voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment. In April 2007, he was among the breakaway Republicans to support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. However, his record on the issue of abortion is a solidly pro-life one. Gregg has voted for some gun control measures and against others. He voted against the Brady Bill, but in recent years has voted for trigger control locks on firearms and in favor of the ban on assault weapons.

On December 17, 2009, Gregg voted to extend Chairman Ben Bernanke's term.^[23]

Presidential politics[link]

During the 2004 Presidential Election, Gregg stood in for John Kerry during practice sessions held by George W. Bush in preparation for the 2004 United States Presidential Election Debates. Four years earlier he had played the part of Al Gore for the same purpose.

On October 29, 2007, Gregg endorsed Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States.

Gregg has not foreclosed the possibility of running for President himself after he leaves the Senate but he has said it’s “not likely”:

"In New Hampshire we like to have a variety of candidates, so I would seriously doubt that. I expect to be actively involved in the presidential primary. That’s the fun on coming from New Hampshire and being in office,” Gregg said. “I don't rule out anything in my future. Let's face it -- that's not likely and I wouldn't expect to be doing that,” he added.^[24]

Attempted Interference with Spanish Justice System[link]

In April 2009, Senator Senator Gregg was sent to accompany a US Diplomat to speak with Spanish Diplomat Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña after a war crimes case was filed by Spanish NGO Association for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners to the Spanish National Court for crimes alleged in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.^[25] The case targeted six former US Government Officials for violating the Geneva Convention, the 1984 Convention Against Torture, and the 1998 Rome Statute.^[26] The six accused were: Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Douglas Feith, Jay Bybee, and John Yoo.^[27] A summary of the meeting as recorded in a confidential diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks stated:

Senator Gregg expressed his concern and dismay about reported Spanish judiciary desire to indict six former Bush administration officials for allegedly creating a legal framework that permitted torture. Fernandez de la Pena lamented this development, adding that judicial independence notwithstanding, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disagreed with efforts to apply universal jurisdiction in such cases.^[28]

Senator Mel Martinez had a similar diplomacy meeting during the same period with the same agenda discussed. Martinez noted that "the prosecutions would neither be understood nor accepted in the U.S. and would have an enormous impact on the bilateral relationship". Spanish Foreign Minister Angel Lossada retorted, "the National Court had broad jurisdiction for universal justice and that there was no political influence on the judicial process."^[29]

In an earlier cable days before the Senators arrived, a US diplomat commented:

We do not know if the [Spanish] government would be willing to take the risky step of trying behind the scenes to influence the prosecutor's recommendation on this case or what their reaction to such a request would be.^[30]

Controversies[link]

In the Senate, Gregg was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program, which bailed out financial institutions, while he had a multi-million dollar investment in Bank of America.^[31][32][33] After leaving the Senate Gregg became a highly paid employee of the investment bank Goldman Sachs.^[34]

In February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gregg and his family had profited personally from federal earmarks secured by the Senator Gregg for the redevelopment of the Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire into an industrial park.^[35][36] According to Senate records, Gregg has collected from $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments in Pease Air Force Base, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.^[35][36] Gregg has denied any wrongdoing in the matter and claimed that his withdrawal from consideration for the Commerce Secretary was unrelated to the White House's discovery during the vetting process of his involvement in his family's real estate investments in Pease. Gregg explained away his actions by saying, "I've throughout my entire lifetime been involved in my family's businesses and that's just the way our family works. We support each other and our activities."^[35][37]

Gregg as a member of President Barack Obama's deficit commission defended cutting Social Security by quoting Willie Sutton who, when asked why he robbed banks, replied, "because that's where the money is." ^[38]

Commerce Secretary nomination and withdrawal[link]

On February 2, 2009, Politico and CNN reported that Gregg accepted President Obama's offer to be the next United States Secretary of Commerce.^[39] If Gregg had been confirmed by the Senate, he would have had to resign his Senate seat and be replaced with an appointment by Democratic Governor John Lynch. Sources from both parties confirmed that Gregg's former chief of staff, Republican Bonnie Newman, would have been chosen to replace him.^[40] The Washington Post had alleged that Gregg would not accept the appointment unless Gov. Lynch agreed to appoint a Republican to fill his seat until 2010.^[41] In February 2009 many news outlets noted that Gregg had, in 1995, voted to abolish the United States Department of Commerce.^[42] Although he has stated that he supports the stimulus package promoted by President Obama, he has stated that he will recuse himself from voting on the package.^[43]

With reports that the Obama Administration would move the United States Census Bureau, typically run by the Commerce Department, out of Gregg's jurisdiction, Republican leaders urged Obama to allow Gregg to run the census or withdraw Gregg's nomination.^[44] On February 12, 2009, Gregg withdrew his name from consideration for the position of United States Commerce Secretary, citing disagreements with issues surrounding the census and the stimulus bill.^[45] White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement regarding Gregg's withdrawal in which he accused the senator of not following through on his alleged statements of support for Obama's economic agenda made during the vetting process:^[46]

Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President's agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama's key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.

While speaking to press afterward, Gregg acknowledged responsibility for his decision and accepted the blame for accepting and then rejecting the Commerce Secretary nomination.^[14]

In an interview response to the AP, Gregg was quoted as saying, "For 30 years, I've been my own person in charge of my own views, and I guess I hadn't really focused on the job of working for somebody else and carrying their views, and so this is basically where it came out."^[47]

In February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gregg and his family had profited personally from federal earmarks secured by the Senator Gregg for the redevelopment of the Pease Air Force Base into an industrial park.^[36] According to Senate records, Gregg has collected from $240,017 to $651,801 from his investments in Pease Air Force Base, while helping to arrange at least $66 million in federal aid for the former base.^[36] Gregg claimed that his withdrawal from consideration for the Commerce Secretary was unrelated to the White House's discovery during the vetting process of his involvement in his family's real estate investments in Pease.

Personal life[link]

Gregg belongs to the Congregationalist Church. He is married to Kathleen MacLellan Gregg. The couple have two daughters, Molly and Sarah, and a son, Joshua.

Gregg won more than $850,000 in 2005 after buying $20 worth of Powerball tickets at a Washington, D.C. convenience store.^[48]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Judd Gregg

• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances on Charlie Rose
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Judd Gregg in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Gregg as governor at New Hampshire's Division of Historic Resources
• Environmental Technology building named for Senator Gregg – The New Hampshire
• Judd Gregg Meteorology Institute

v t e Governors of New Hampshire Weare Langdon Sullivan Langdon Sullivan J. Bartlett Gilman Langdon J. Smith Langdon Plumer Gilman Plumer S. Bell Woodbury Morril Pierce J. Bell Pierce Harvey Dinsmoor Badger Hill Page Hubbard Steele Colby Williams Dinsmoor Jr. Martin Baker Metcalf Haile Goodwin Berry Gilmore Smyth Harriman Stearns Weston Straw Weston Cheney Prescott Head C. Bell Hale Currier Sawyer Goodell Tuttle J. B. Smith Busiel Ramsdell Rollins Jordan Bachelder McLane Floyd Quinby Bass Felker R. Spaulding Keyes J. H. Bartlett A. Brown F. Brown Winant H. Spaulding Tobey Winant Bridges Murphy Blood Dale Adams H. Gregg Dwinell Powell King Peterson Thomson Gallen Roy Sununu J. Gregg Merrill Shaheen Benson Lynch

v t e United States Senators from New Hampshire Class 2 Wingate Livermore Olcott Gilman Thompson Morril S. Bell Hubbard Woodbury Jenness Cilley Hale Atherton Williams Hale Cragin Rollins Pike Cheney Chandler Marston Chandler Burnham Hollis Keyes Bridges Murphy McIntyre Humphrey Smith Sununu Shaheen Class 3 Langdon Sheafe Plumer Parker Cutts Mason Storer Parrott Woodbury Hill Page Pierce Wilcox Atherton Norris Wells J. Bell Clark Fogg Patterson Wadleigh C. Bell Blair Gallinger Drew Moses Brown Tobey Upton Cotton Wyman Cotton Durkin Rudman Gregg Ayotte

v t e Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget Muskie • Hollings • Domenici • Chiles • Sasser • Domenici • Conrad • Domenici • Conrad • Nickles • Gregg • Conrad

Bernard Rapoport (July 17, 1917 – April 5, 2012)^[1] was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, and the founder of American Income Life Insurance Company. He had a passion for human rights, education, and literacy.

Background and Education[link]

Bernard Rapoport was born in San Antonio, Texas. His father, David Rapoport, and mother, Riva Feldman, immigrated to the United States from Russia in the early 1900s. Bernard Rapoport’s upbringing was very modest, and his father peddled blankets on the streets of San Antonio.

Rapoport grew up during the Great Depression, and times for his family proved to be very hard. When Rapoport was 6 years old, his family was evicted from their home, and they continued to face financial difficulties through the Depression. Yet, throughout his youth, Rapoport felt they had much to be grateful for, including books and music.^[2]

Rapoport valued his education, and worked his way through college at a jewelry store. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in 1939.^[3] Bernard met Audre Newman in January 1942, and they soon married. The couple lived in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Bernard continued his work in jewelry sales.

Career[link]

In 1949, Bernard and Audre moved to San Antonio, and Mr. Rapoport began his career selling insurance with Pioneer American Insurance. He realized that he had a talent for selling insurance. By the end of 1949, he had opened his own Pioneer American agency in Waco. In 1951, Harold Goodman, Audre’s uncle, was impressed with Bernard Rapoport’s success and introduced him to the idea of running American Income. American Income was chartered as a mutual assessment association in Indiana with $25,000 of borrowed capital. It was reinsured through American Standard as a new mutual reserve company in March 1951. The company’s home offices were located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

American Income originally sold low-cost hospital insurance plans. During its first year, the company took in about $95,000 worth of premium income. The company reached $1 million worth of insurance premiums in 1953. By 1954, the company was receiving 6,000 insurance policy applications a month.

In September 1954, with $200,000 in capital and $100,000 of surplus, Goodman and Rapoport formed a new company called American Income Life Insurance Company (AIL). American Income Life reinsured the policies of American Income and was transformed from a mutual reserve company to a stock company. American Standard, the company’s original insurer, was merged with American Income Life, and the company acquired about $400,000 worth of premiums. Between 1954 and 1955, AIL’s assets had doubled, its net reserve had tripled, its capital and surplus more than doubled, and it had about $15 million of insurance in force.^[4]

In 1956, Rapoport desired to take the Indiana-based company national. He obtained a license in Ohio and opened a central office in Columbus. By the close of 1956, American Income Life was operating in thirteen states with 300 sales personnel in the field operating out of 96 general agencies. In March 1958, the company’s home offices were moved from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Waco, Texas, where Rapoport lived until his death.

Philanthropy and Politics[link]

Bernard Rapoport has used his success to help others in need. With $46 million of his own money, he established the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation in 1987, benefiting childcare, education, the Waco community, and other enterprises.^[5] Bernard Rapoport was appointed to a six-year term on the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System by Governor Ann Richards in 1991,^[6] serving as chairman from 1993 until 1997. Mr. Rapoport was named by Fortune magazine as one of America’s “40 most generous philanthropists,” unstinting in his support for education, social justice, and liberal political causes.^[6] He has been praised by political and social dignitaries such as Chet Edwards, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Hillary Clinton, President Bill Clinton, and Senators Tom Daschle and Ted Kennedy.^[2] He also provided substantial support to The Texas Observer, the leading progressive/populist political magazine in the state.

Rapoport was appointed by former President Bill Clinton as a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). He was a member of the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, National Hispanic University Trustee Emeritus, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Economic Policy Institute, National Jobs For All Coalition, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• The Bernard & Audre Rapoport Foundation
• A Guide to the Bernard Rapoport Papers at the University of Texas at Austin
• Bernard Rapoport, 1917 - 2012, Texas Observer