Phil Hare

Name	Phil Hare
Image name	Phil Hare, official 110th CPD photo portrait.jpg
Date of birth	February 21, 1949
Place of birth	Galesburg, Illinois
State	Illinois
District	17th
Term start	January 3, 2007
Preceded	Lane Evans
Succeeded	Incumbent
Party	Democrat
Spouse	Rebecca Hare
Children	Amy Hare Louis Hare
Religion	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	Black Hawk College
Residence	Rock Island, Illinois
Occupation	political assistant, union leader
Branch	United States Army
Serviceyears	1969–1975
Unit	Reserves

Philip G. "Phil" Hare (born February 21, 1949) is currently the Democratic Congressman representing (map). The district is based in Illinois' share of the Quad Cities area and includes Rock Island, Moline, Quincy, Decatur, Galesburg and part of Springfield. He was elected in 2006 with 57% of the vote and was unopposed in 2008. He will face Republican nominee Bobby Schilling in 2010.

Early life, education and career

Hare was born in Galesburg but was raised in Rock Island. He graduated from Alleman High School in 1967. The son of a machinist, Hare went to work at Seaford Clothing Factory in Rock Island where he stayed for 13 years. He received his A.A. at Black Hawk College, in Moline, Illinois. While working there Phil served as a union leader and was President of the UNITE HERE Local 617. He also served 6 years as a reservist in the U.S. Army.

Political career

Hare began his political career in 1980 when he ran as an Alternate Delegate to the Democratic Presidential Convention in support of Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. He was one of 6 candidates running for alternate delegate but the three Kennedy delegates were defeated by the three candidates supporting President Jimmy Carter of Georgia. In 1982 Phil left his union position to help his longtime friend Lane Evans, who was making an attempt to unseat 16-year Republican Tom Railsback in the U.S. Congress. Hare first met Evans in 1976 when the two were volunteers in Senator Fred R. Harris's campaign for President. However, Railsback was upset by conservative State Senator Kenneth McMillan in the Republican primary. Evans defeated McMillan in November, and appointed Hare as district director.

For the next 24 years Hare worked as an aide to Evans, assisting the Congressman primarily on constituent issues and labor problems. During his tenure as an aide to Evans, Phil Hare oversaw the closings of Case International Harvestor plant in East Moline, and the Maytag plant in Galesburg. The closings of these major businesses and many others resulted in a loss of more than 2,200 jobs in the 17th district. In the last few years of Evans' time in Congress, Hare attended several speaking engagements and even debated Evans' opponents in 2002 and 2004 because of the Congressman's Parkinsons disease, which often prevented Evans from participating in the engagements.

In March 2006, after Evans announced his retirement, Hare announced his candidacy to succeed Evans. In a special Democratic caucus of precinct committee members from across the 17th Congressional District Hare prevailed over the four other candidates and received the endorsement of his former boss. Hare defeated his Republican opponent, Andrea Zinga, in November.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

Committee on Education and Labor

*Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

*Subcommittee on Workforce Protections

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

*Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

*Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Hare is also a founding member of the LGBT Equality Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which Evans was a founding member.

Political positions

Healthcare

Hare has been an advocate for healthcare reform since becoming Congressman on Memorial Day, May 29, 2006. During the summer of 2009, Hare took a hard line stance on the Public Option, saying, "I will not support any plan that does not contain a robust public option because, a plan without a public option is sort of like a car without a motor. It may look good on the outside, but in the end it will get you nowhere." After many local health care town halls and public polling, Hare has since backed off of his support of the public option. Hare is quoted as saying that, he ultimately supports a public option but that "It [the public option] is not a deal breaker."

Labor

Hare is a supporter of organized labor, including the living wage and card check.

Abortion

Hare has consistently supported access to and funding for contraception, as well as keeping most methods of abortion legal. He has received the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice America. He supported allowing coverage for abortion in the new health care bill and voted against the Stupak Amendment.

Controversies

Phil Hare found himself in a "sound-bite controversy" at an April 2010 town hall meeting when he stated on camera, "I don't worry about the Constitution on this to be honest," in relation to Congressional health-care reform efforts. The cameraman, who was affiliated with the St. Louis Tea Party, was heard to say "jackpot, brother!" after Hare said this, to which Hare responded, "Oh, please." Hare's communications director, Tim Schlittner, later explained that Hare's quote was "taken out of context" and he meant that "he is not worried about this health care law being ruled unconstitutional."

The cameraman's questioning began "Where in the Constitution does--," but Hare interrupted in an attempt to answer several questions at once. Hare later asked, "What's the question again?", and this time the questioner got the crux of his question out. He asked, "Where in the Constitution does it give you the authority to--," at which point the Congressman interrupted, saying, "I don't know! I don't know!... But at the end of the day I want to bring insurance to every person that lives in this country." After the Congressman stated that he had read the entire eight-thousand page health care reform bill three times, the Congressman was called a "liar" twice by the questioner. Hare then left. As Hare was leaving, the same man asked: "Where in the Constitution does it say I have to purchase health insurance, or says that you have the authority to make me? Answer the question! You have yet to answer that question, sir." Hare did not answer any further. However, a statement posted to his website on April 2, 2010, in response to the media attention generated by the exchange says, "Congressman Hare worries more about providing affordable insurance for families, small businesses, and seniors than whether this bill meets constitutional muster. He believes it does, or he would not have voted for it. He said several times during the meeting yesterday that he supports the Constitution, but that conveniently didn’t make the tape."

Hare also drew media attention for stating that he "believe[s] that [the U.S. Constitution] says that we have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" during the course of the same exchange. This phrase is actually from the United States Declaration of Independence. When he was corrected on this he said "It doesn't matter to me. Either one." Hare attempted to continue but was interrupted.

Hare attracted more criticism in October 2010 for saying the United States' $13 trillion national debt is a "myth" he plans to debunk: "And we will see a terrible price that we will pay years down the road for letting our children down when they need us the absolute most. I’m not going to be part of that, so every minute that I have here is going to be spent debunking the myth that this country’s in debt and we just can’t spend."

Election history

Nomination of precinct committeepersons U.S. House 2006

*Phil Hare — 17,011 — 64%

*John M. Sullivan — 7,530 — 28%

*Mark Schwiebert — 1,370 — 5%

*Michael Boland — 612 — 2%

*Rob Mellon — 98 — 0%

Election of November 7, 2006 for U.S. House Dist. 17

*Phil Hare (D) — 114,638 — 57%

*Andrea Zinga (R) — 85,734 — 43%

Election of November 4, 2008 for U.S. House Dist. 17

*Phil Hare (D) —- 220,961—99.77%

*Mark E. Lioen—517—0.23%

Personal life

Hare and his wife Beckie currently live in Rock Island and have two grown children, Amy and Louis.

Hare appeared on the March 15, 2007 episode of The Colbert Report in the show's "Better Know a District" series.

References

External links

U.S. Congressman Phil Hare official U.S. House site

Friends of Phil Hare official campaign site

Profile at SourceWatch

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Category:American labor leaders Category:UNITE HERE Category:United States Army soldiers Category:American Roman Catholic politicians Category:People from Knox County, Illinois Category:People from Rock Island, Illinois