Ron Kirk
16th United States Trade Representative
Incumbent
Assumed office March 18, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Peter Allgeier
Preceded by	Susan Schwab
57th Mayor of Dallas
In office June 5, 1995 – February 20, 2002
Preceded by	Steve Bartlett
Succeeded by	Laura Miller
97th Secretary of State of Texas
In office April 4, 1994 – January 17, 1995
Governor	Ann Richards
Preceded by	John Hannah
Succeeded by	Antonio Garza
Personal details
Born	(1954-06-27) June 27, 1954 (age 57) Austin, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Matrice Ellis
Children	2 daughters
Alma mater	Austin College University of Texas, Austin

Ronald "Ron" Kirk (born June 27, 1954) is the 16th United States Trade Representative, serving in the Obama administration. He served as mayor of Dallas, Texas from 1995 to 2002; he also ran for the United States Senate in 2002.

Early life and career[link]

Born in Austin, Texas, Kirk is the youngest of four children; his father was a U.S. postal worker and the family was politically active.^[1] He grew up in a predominantly black community, and attended Austin's public schools.^[1] He was a leader in high school, and was elected student council president in his senior year at John H. Reagan High School (Austin, Texas).^[1]

Kirk attended Austin College, graduating with a degree in both political science and sociology in 1976.^[1] He then went to the University of Texas School of Law. Upon receiving his Juris Doctor in 1979,^[1] he practiced law until 1981 when he left to work in the office of then-Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. In 1983, Kirk returned to Texas to lobby the state legislature in Austin, first as an attorney with the city of Dallas, and later with a law firm.

Texas political career[link]

In 1994, Kirk worked for then-Texas Governor Ann Richards as Secretary of State of Texas. The following year, Kirk ran for mayor of Dallas. With support of Dallas' business community and influential members of the city's African American community, Kirk was successful in his bid and became the first African American mayor of Dallas, Texas while winning 62 percent of the total vote.

During his tenure as mayor, Kirk earned the reputation of being a coalition-builder, managing to keep the always-tumultuous Dallas City Council and Dallas School Board together. Under his leadership, he proposed the "Dallas Plan," a vision for the next 25 years, which included the controversial Trinity River Project, a $246 million plan that called for constructing a network of parks and highways in the flood plain of the Trinity River. He also pushed the construction of the American Airlines Center, whose opening he oversaw in 2002.

In 1999, Kirk was re-elected as mayor of Dallas in a landslide with 74 percent of the vote. The only incident in the campaign consisted in one radio campaign ad that used music from Star Trek and described Kirk as the "captain of the Dallas Enterprise," citing the city's bond program, the new sports arena and new roads. The ad was pulled after Paramount's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter.^[2]

In 2001, Kirk resigned as mayor of Dallas in order to run for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Phil Gramm. Facing then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn; Kirk lost with 43 percent of the vote to Cornyn's 55 percent.

Post-mayoral career[link]

Following his failed bid for Senate, Kirk returned to the law firm of Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas, and was briefly a candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee after the 2004 election, and was a partner with the Houston-based law firm Vinson and Elkins, where, according to Texans for Public Justice, he was, as of March 2007, one of the four highest paid lobbyists for Energy Future Holdings Corporation, the group created by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs to acquire TXU.^[3]

During the Democratic National Convention, Kirk came out in favor of establishing the U.S. Public Service Academy as a civilian counterpart to the military service academies.^[4]

US Trade Representative[link]

Although there was speculation that Kirk would be appointed Secretary of Transportation by President Barack Obama, he was given the position of Trade Representative.^[5]

Nomination[link]

As a supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), his selection has drawn criticism from advocates of protectionist trade policies.^[6] His nomination ran into further controversy when it was revealed that he owed $9,975 in back taxes.^[7] As compensation for speeches he gave from 2004 to the present, he had $37,750 of payments made directly to a scholarship fund at Austin College.^[8] Kirk should have included the $37,750 payments with his gross income and then claimed a charitable deduction for the same amount.^[8] Kirk also claimed deductions for three years of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks as qualifying entertainment expenses.^[8] In order to claim a qualifying entertainment expense, the Internal Revenue Service requires written documentation of the time, place, business purpose, name, and business relationship of the person being entertained, records that Kirk did not keep for almost half of the basketball games.^[8] Kirk's deductions for tax and accounting fees were also too large.^[8]

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kirk as United States Trade Representative on March 18, 2009 with a vote of 92 in favor and five opposed and he was sworn in the same day.^[9] Kirk was formally sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on March 20, 2009.^[9] Kirk is the first person of African American descent to hold the position of United States Trade Representative.^[10]

Work as US Trade Ambassador[link]

Kirk speaking at a press conference at the end of the 7th WTO Ministerial Conference

As the US Trade Representative, Kirk receives the formal title of Ambassador and is a member of the President's Cabinet.^{[clarification needed]}

Much of his work, at least as publicly reported, focuses on issues relating to the development and enforcement of intellectual property law in the United States and abroad, especially as they relate to trade policy. This work includes the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) treaties.

China[link]

Kirk has repeatedly raised concerns of American businesses that China is not properly enforcing intellectual property rights of American companies doing business there. It has been alleged that the Chinese government takes IT secrets of international companies operating there and passes them on to local companies to boost their competitiveness^[11][12] Kirk has also been critical of China's internet censorship policies, and he is reported to be considering whether to challenge such censorship regulations in the WTO as an unfair barrier to trade; it would be the first case of its kind.^[13][14][15]

ACTA in South Korea[link]

Kirk meeting with President Obama before bilateral meetings in South Korea.

Kirk has been cited as the US agent who convinced South Korea to adopt and enforce an early draft of the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).^{[citation needed]} The impacts in South Korea have been dramatic; tens of thousands of citizens have had their websites taken off of the Internet because of copyright infringement.^{[citation needed]}

Trans-Pacific Partnership[link]

In May 2012, a group of 30 legal scholars, critical of the USTR's "biased and closed" Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) treaty negotiation process and proposed intellectual property-related provisions, publicly called upon Kirk to uphold democratic ideals by reversing the "dialing back" of stakeholder participation and to release negotiating texts for public scrutiny. The law professors claimed that leaked documents show that the USTR is "pushing numerous standards that [...] could require changes in current U.S. statutory law" and that the proposal is "manifestly unbalanced—it predominantly proposes increases in proprietor rights, with no effort to expand the limitations and exceptions to such rights that are needed in the U.S. and abroad to serve the public interest." The group claimed that the negotiations excluded stakeholders such as "consumers, libraries, students, health advocacy or patient groups, or others users of intellectual property" and that it only offered "minimal representation of other affected businesses, such as generic drug manufacturers or Internet service providers."^[16]

Kirk initially responded that he was "strongly offended by the assertion that our process has been non-transparent and lacked public participation" and that it was actually far more transparent than the negotiations for prior free trade agreements.^[17]

This prompted further criticism from the academic group that free-trade agreement negotiations, notorious for their secrecy, are "the wrong standard for assessing the legitimacy of the TPP intellectual property chapter negotiations. This is because the IP chapter in the TPP, like ACTA, is not a trade agreement. It does not adjust tariffs and quotas—it sets new international limits on domestic regulation, regardless of whether such regulation discriminates against, or even affects, trade."^[17] The group further reiterated its claim that the secretive process is antithetical to the ideals of democracy, and is "no way to engender trust and faith in international law making with such a broad impact."^[17] One critic pointed out that despite's Kirk's claim of transparency in the process, public-interest stakeholders have been completely excluded.^[18] Another accused Kirk of sidestepping the issue of transparency, and pointed out that transparency is less about the degree of public input, and more about "the flow of information the other way—information about the workings of government being visible to the people it is supposed to represent."^[19]

In a subsequent interview with Reuters, Kirk defended the secrecy, saying he believes the USTR has conducted "the most engaged and transparent process as we possibly could," but that "some measure of discretion and confidentiality" are needed "to preserve negotiating strength and to encourage our partners to be willing to put issues on the table they may not otherwise."^[20] He dismissed the "tension" as natural and noted that when the Free Trade Area of the Americas drafts were released, negotiators were subsequently unable to reach a final agreement.^[20]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ron Kirk

• Profile at the Office of the United States Trade Representative
• Ron Kirk at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Ron Kirk collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Ron Kirk in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• The Dynamic U.S. Trade Relationship with Asia, Presentation by USTR Ron Kirk at Engaging Asia 2011 (March 30, 2011)

v t e United States Trade Representative Christian Herter (1962) William M. Roth (1967) Carl J. Gilbert (1969) William D. Eberle (1971) Frederick B. Dent (1975) Robert S. Strauss (1977) Reubin Askew (1979) William E. Brock III (1981) Clayton K. Yeutter (1985) Carla A. Hills (1989) Mickey Kantor (1993) Charlene Barshefsky (1997) Robert Zoellick (2001) Rob Portman (2005) Susan Schwab (2006) Ron Kirk (2009)

v t e Cabinet of President Barack Obama (since 2009)   Cabinet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2009–present) Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (2009–present) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (2009–2011) Leon Panetta (2011–present) Attorney General Eric Holder (2009–present) Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (2009–present) Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (2009–present) Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (2009–2011) John Bryson (2011–present) Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis (2009–present) Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius (2009–present) Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (2009–present) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan (2009–present) Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (2009–present) Secretary of Energy Steven Chu (2009–present) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki (2009–present) Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (2009–present)   Cabinet-level Vice President Joe Biden (2009–present) White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (2009–2010) William Daley (2011–2012) Jacob Lew (2012–present) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson (2009–present) Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag (2009–2010) Jacob Lew (2010–2012) Trade Representative Ron Kirk (2009–present) Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice (2009–present) Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer (2009–2010) Austan Goolsbee (2010–2011) Alan Krueger (2011–present) Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta (2009–2011) David Petraeus (2011–present) Administrator of the Small Business Administration Karen Mills (2012–present)* * took office in 2009, raised to cabinet-rank in 2012 See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet

v t e Current members of the Cabinet of the United States Obama Biden Bryson Chu Clinton Donovan Duncan Geithner Holder Jacksonc Kirkc Kruegerc LaHood Lewc Millsc Napolitano Panetta Ricec Salazar Sebelius Solis Shinseki Vilsack Zientsca c - cabinet-level; a - acting

v t e Obama Administration personnel v t e Cabinet and cabinet-level Office Name Term Office Name Term Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 2009– Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner 2009– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta 2011– Attorney General Eric Holder 2009– Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar 2009– Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack 2009– Secretary of Commerce John Bryson 2011– Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis 2009– Secretary of Health and   Human Services Kathleen Sebelius 2009– Secretary of Education Secretary of Transportation Arne Duncan Ray LaHood 2009– 2009– Secretary of Housing and Urban   Development Shaun Donovan 2009– Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki 2009– Secretary of Energy Steven Chu 2009– Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano 2009– Vice President Joe Biden 2009– White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew 2012– Director of the Office of Management and   Budget Vacant 2012– Administrator of the Environmental   Protection Agency Lisa Jackson 2009– Ambassador to the United Nations Trade Representative Susan Rice Ron Kirk 2009– 2009– Chair of the Council of Economic   Advisers Alan B. Krueger 2011– Below solid line: Granted Cabinet rank although not automatically part of the Cabinet. See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet v t e Executive Office of the President Office Name Term Office Name Term White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy   Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jacob Lew Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle 2009–2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012- 2009-2011 2011- National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor   Jim Jones Tom Donilon Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough 2009–2010 2010- 2009–2010 2010- White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations   Senior Advisor to the President   Deputy Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco David Axelrod David Plouffe Stephanie Cutter Pete Rouse 2009–2011 2011- 2009–2011 2011- 2011- 2009- Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Douglas Lute† Ben Rhodes   2009– 2009– Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement Valerie Jarrett   2009–   Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security John O. Brennan 2009– Director of Public Engagement   Christina Tchen Jon Carson 2009–2011 2011-- Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff   Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson 2009-2010 2011- Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz 2009– White House Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer 2009- Director, National Economic Council   Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling 2009–2010 2011- Deputy White House Communications Director White House Press Secretary   Jennifer Psaki Robert Gibbs Jay Carney 2009– 2009–2011 2011- Deputy Director, National Economic Council Diana Farrell 2009– Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton 2009–2011 Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Jason Furman Brian Deese 2009– 2011- Director of Special Projects Stephanie Cutter 2010-2011 Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Paul Volcker 2009– Director of Speechwriting Jon Favreau 2009– Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors   Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee 2009–2010 2010- White House Counsel   Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs   Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors 2009–2011 2011- 2009–2011 2011- Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Katharine Abraham 2011- Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Lisa Konwinski 2009– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse 2009– Executive Clerk George T. Saunders† 2009– Director, Office of Management and Budget   Peter Orszag Jacob Lew 2009–2010 2010–2012 Director, Office of Political Affairs Chief Technology Officer Patrick Gaspard Aneesh Chopra Todd Park 2009–2011 2009–2012 2012- Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients   2009– Chief Information Officer Director, Office of Presidential Personnel Steven VanRoekel Nancy Hogan 2011– 2010– Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget   Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom* 2010–2010 2011- Director of Scheduling and Advance   Director, White House Military Office Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle Crutchfield George D. Mulligan, Jr. 2009–2011 2011- 2009– United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk 2009– Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu 2009– Director, Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes 2009– Deputy Cabinet Secretary Liz Sears Smith 2009– Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman 2009–2011 2011- Staff Secretary Lisa Brown 2009– Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois 2009– Director, Office of Management and Administration Bradley Kiley 2009– Director, Office of Health Reform Nancy DeParle 2009–2011 Director, Oval Office Operations Micaela Fernandez 2009– Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform Jeanne Lambrew 2009– Personal Aide to the President Reggie Love 2009– Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner 2009–2011 Personal Secretary to the President Katie Johnson Anita Decker 2009–2011 2011- Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal 2009– Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President Eugene Kang   2009– Director, Council on Environmental Quality Director, Office of National AIDS Policy Nancy Sutley Jeffrey Crowley 2009– 2009– Chief of Staff to the First Lady   Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen 2009 2009–2010 2011- Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske 2009– White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011– Director, Office of Urban Affairs Policy Adolfo Carrión, Jr. 2009– Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren 2009– *Senate-confirmation pending.   †Remained from previous administration(s). v t e Office of the Vice President Position Appointee Position Appointee Chief of Staff to the Vice President Bruce Reed Chief of Staff to the Second Lady Catherine Russell Counsel to the Vice President Cynthia Hogan Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President Moises Vela Counselor to the Vice President Mike Donilon Domestic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Terrell McSweeny Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison Evan Ryan Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to the Vice President Jared Bernstein Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications Jay Carney Press Secretary to the Vice President Elizabeth Alexander Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President Alan Hoffman Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President Annie Tomasini Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President Brian McKeon Director of Legislative Affairs Sudafi Henry Residence Manager and Social Secretary for the Vice President and Second Lady Carlos Elizondo Director of Communications for the Second Lady Courtney O’Donnell National Security Adviser to the Vice President Tony Blinken

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Olympia Snowe
United States Senator from Maine
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1995 Serving with Susan Collins
Preceded by	George J. Mitchell
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	John Kerry
Succeeded by	John Kerry
First Lady of Maine
In office February 24, 1989 – January 8, 1995
Preceded by	Constance Brennan
Succeeded by	Mary King
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	William Cohen
Succeeded by	John Baldacci
Personal details
Born	Olympia Jean Bouchles (1947-02-21) February 21, 1947 (age 65) Augusta, Maine
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	(1) Peter Snowe (deceased) (2) John R. McKernan, Jr.
Residence	Falmouth, Maine
Alma mater	University of Maine (B.A.)
Occupation	Senator
Religion	Eastern Orthodox Christian
Signature
Website	www.snowe.senate.gov

Olympia Jean Snowe (née Bouchles; born February 21, 1947) is the senior United States Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. Snowe has become widely known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters.^[1] She and her fellow Senator from Maine, Susan Collins, are regarded as leading moderates within their party.^[2][3] In 2006, she was named one of America's Best Senators by Time Magazine.^[4] On February 28, 2012, Snowe announced that she will not seek reelection in November 2012, and will retire when her third term ends on January 3, 2013.^[5]

Early life[link]

Official photo of then Representative Snowe from 1980

Snowe was born Olympia Jean Bouchles in Augusta, Maine, the daughter of Georgia (née Goranites) and George John Bouchles. Her father immigrated to the United States from Sparta in Greece, and her maternal grandparents were also Greek.^[6][7] She is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.^[8][9]

Snowe's early life had its share of tragedies; when she was nine, her mother died of breast cancer, and her father died of heart disease barely a year later. Orphaned, she was moved to Auburn, Maine, to be raised by her aunt and uncle, a textile mill worker and a barber, respectively, along with their five other children. Her brother John was raised separately, by other family members. Within a few years, disease would also claim her uncle's life.

Following her mother's death, Snowe was sent to St. Basil's Academy in Garrison, New York, where she remained from the third grade to the ninth. Returning to Auburn, she attended Edward Little High School, before entering the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, from which she earned a degree in political science in 1969. Shortly after graduation, Bouchles married her fiancé, Republican state legislator Peter Snowe.

Early political career[link]

State Senator Snowe

Snowe entered politics and rose quickly, winning a seat on the Board of Voter Registration and working for Congressman (later U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of Defense) William Cohen. Tragedy struck Snowe again in 1973, when her husband was killed in an automobile accident. At the urging of family, friends, neighbors and local leaders, Snowe ran for her husband's Auburn-based seat in the Maine House of Representatives at the age of 26 and won. She was re-elected to the House in 1974, and, in 1976, won election to the Maine Senate, representing Androscoggin County. That same year, she was a delegate to both the state and national Republican conventions.

Snowe was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, and represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District from 1979 to 1995. The district takes in most of the northern two-thirds of the state, including Bangor and her hometown of Auburn. She served as a member of the Budget and International Relations Committees.

Snowe married John "Jock" McKernan, then Governor of Maine, in February 1989. Tragedy struck Snowe yet again in 1991 when her stepson Peter McKernan died from a heart ailment at the age of 20. Snowe and McKernan had served together in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1986, when McKernan represented the 1st District. While Snowe was First Lady of Maine from 1989 to 1995, she served as a U.S. Representative and was elected and sworn in as a United States Senator.

U.S. Senate career[link]

Elections[link]

Senator Snowe and her husband enjoy a holiday reception at the White House from President and Mrs. Bush

In 1994, when Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell declined to run for re-election, Snowe immediately declared her candidacy for the seat. The Democratic nominee was her House colleague, 1st District Congressman Tom Andrews. Snowe defeated Andrews 60–36%, carrying every county in the state. Snowe was part of the Republican election sweep of 1994, when the Republican party captured both the House and Senate for the first time since 1954. Snowe was easily reelected in 2000 over State Senate President Mark Lawrence, increasing her winning margin to 69%-31%.

Tenure[link]

Olympia Snowe toured damaged areas of Maine in 2007

Snowe was an important voice during the Senate's 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton. She and fellow Maine Senator Susan Collins sponsored a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy — a "finding of fact" resolution. When the motion failed, Snowe and Collins voted to acquit, arguing that Clinton's perjury did not warrant his removal from office.

Senator Olympia Snowe and the Secretary of the Navy meet in the boardroom at Supervisor Shipbuilding, Bath Iron Works

Her occasional breaks with the Bush administration drew attacks from conservative Republicans; the Club for Growth and Concerned Women for America label her a "Republican In Name Only" (RINO).^[10] In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org named Snowe one of its "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run and/or be elected president in 2008.^[11]

In April 2006, Snowe was selected by Time as one of "America's 10 Best Senators."^[12] She was the only woman so recognized. Time praised Snowe for her sensitivity to her constituents, also noting that: "Because of her centrist views and eagerness to get beyond partisan point scoring, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington." She received an honorary degree from Bates College in 1998, and another from the University of Delaware in 2008.

Snowe did not miss any of the 657 votes on the Senate floor during the 110th Congress from 2007 to 2009.^[13] She was one of only eight senators who did not miss any votes during that session.^[13]

Snowe is the fourth woman to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the first to chair its seapower subcommittee, which oversees the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2001, Snowe became the first Republican woman to secure a full-term seat on the Senate Finance Committee.

Snowe was the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives; she is also the first woman to have served in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress. Additionally, she is the first Greek-American congresswoman. With her 1989 marriage to McKernan, she became the first person to simultaneously be a member of Congress and First Lady of a state. She has never lost an election in 35 years as an elected official, and in the 2006 midterm senatorial elections, Snowe won with a reported 73.99% of votes. On Tuesday February 27, 2012, citing excessive partisanship and a dispiriting political environment, the Senator said that she would not run for re-election in November 2012. Her surprise decision delivered a potential blow to Republicans who need just a handful of seats to regain control of the Senate; Ms. Snowe was considered one of their safer incumbents.^[14]

Gang of 14[link]

On May 23, 2005, Snowe was one of fourteen senators dubbed the Gang of 14, who defused a confrontation between Senate Democrats (who were filibustering several judicial nominees) and the Senate Republican leadership (who wanted to use the nominations as a flashpoint to eliminate filibusters on nominees through the so-called nuclear option). The Gang-brokered compromise precluded further filibusters and the implementation of the nuclear option for the remainder of the 109th Congress; under its terms, the Democrats retained the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee in an "extraordinary circumstance," and nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) received a simple majority vote by the full Senate.

The Gang later played an important role in the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, as they asserted that neither met the "extraordinary circumstances" provision outlined in their agreement. Snowe ultimately voted for both Roberts and Alito.

Committee assignments[link]

Olympia Snowe in a picture of the 16 female senators in the 110th US Congress.

• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-term Growth
  • Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Ranking Member)
• Select Committee on Intelligence

Caucus memberships[link]

• Dairy Farmer Caucus
• Health Technology Caucus (Co-Chair)
• International Conservation Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Senate Tourism Caucus
• Senate Women’s Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Senate Hunger Caucus
• Senate Oceans Caucus

Political positions[link]

Snowe shares a centrist ideology with Maine's junior Senator, Susan Collins, who is considered a "half-turn more conservative" than Snowe.^[15] Snowe supports legalized abortion and some gay rights, and though she previously voted to block the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, she was one of eight Republican senators to vote for the repeal on December 18, 2010. In her 2006 re-election campaign, she was one of two Republican Senate candidates endorsed by the prominent gay rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (the other was Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island).^[16] She also supports the death penalty and strongly supports the war on drugs and the United States embargo against Cuba.

Snowe supported both President Clinton's involvement in Kosovo and President George W. Bush's invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. On fiscal issues, she has voiced support for cutting taxes as economic stimulus, although she joined fellow Republican senators Lincoln Chafee and John McCain in voting against the Bush tax cuts in 2003. However, she voted for the extension in 2011. She opposes most free trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). She was the only Republican to vote for the Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Act of 1992. She is a strong supporter of environmental protections. Both Snowe and fellow Maine Senator Susan Collins have embraced strong gun-control measures following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.

Olympia Snowe and Chairwoman Mary Landrieu address the Small Business Committee

In the 110th Congress, Snowe worked to ensure passage of a genetic non-discrimination act, which she had previously worked to pass for nearly eight years; opposed cutting loans through the Small Business Administration; offered legislation aimed at reducing the price of prescription drugs and insurance costs for small businesses; and became a leading voice among Congressional Republicans expressing concerns over President Bush's plans for the privatization of Social Security.

Snowe is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem cell research. She is also a member of Republicans for Environmental Protection, the Republican Majority for Choice, Republicans for Choice and The Wish List (Women In the Senate and House), a group of pro-choice Republican women.

In 2008, Snowe endorsed Republican candidate John McCain for President of the United States.^[17]

In the 111th Congress, Snowe backed the release of additional Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. While she opposed President Obama's budget resolution, she pledged to work in a bipartisan manner on the issues of health care reform and energy.^[18]

On October 13, 2009, Snowe voted for the Finance Committee's health care reform bill. However, she stated that she might not support the final bill because of reservations.^[19] In December 2009, Snowe voted against cloture for two procedural motions and ultimately against the Senate Health Care Reform Bill.^[20] Snowe again voted against health care reform when she voted "no" on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.^[21]

Electoral history[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Townspeople and businesses in Bethel, Maine created "Olympia" the snow-woman, named after Maine senator Olympia Snowe

See also[link]

• Women in the United States Senate
• Rockefeller Republican

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Nine & Counting: The Women of the Senate, Boxer, Collins, Snowe et al., ISBN 0-06-095706-9.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Olympia Snowe

• U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe official U.S. Senate site
• Olympia Snowe for Senate official campaign site
• 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
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch
• U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe video clips from the Senate Republican Conference.
• U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe audio clips from the Senate Republican Conference
• "The Anguished Moderate," The Washington Post, July 15, 2007.

v t e United States Senators from Maine Class 1 Holmes Parris Holmes Shepley Dana Williams Fairfield Moor Hamlin Nourse Hamlin Morrill Hamlin E. Hale Johnson F. Hale Brewster Payne Muskie Mitchell Snowe Class 2 Chandler Sprague Ruggles Evans Bradbury Fessenden Farwell Fessenden Morrill Blaine Frye Gardner Burleigh Fernald Gould White Smith Hathaway Cohen Collins