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Louie Gohmert
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Max Sandlin
Personal details
Born	(1953-08-18) August 18, 1953 (age 58) Pittsburg, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kathy Gohmert
Children	Katy, Caroline, and Sarah
Residence	Tyler, Texas
Alma mater	Texas A&M University, Baylor University
Occupation	Congressman
Religion	Southern Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1978–1982
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps

Louis Buller (Louie) Gohmert, Jr. (born August 18, 1953) is an American politician and current Republican U.S. Representative from Texas's 1st congressional district.

Life and career[link]

Gohmert was born in Pittsburg, Texas. He received his B.A. from Texas A&M University in 1975. At A&M, he was a brigade commander of the Corps of Cadets and class president. He later received his Juris Doctor from Baylor University in Waco in 1977 where he also served as class president. Gohmert served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 1978 to 1982. The majority of his U.S. Army legal service was as a defense attorney.

Gohmert was elected as a state district judge for Texas's 7th Judicial District comprising Smith County (Tyler) in 1992 and was reelected two times before being appointed by Governor Rick Perry to fill a vacancy as Chief Justice on Texas's 12th Court of Appeals, where he served from 2002 to 2003. After Texas' 2003 mid-decade redistricting process, he defeated Democratic incumbent 1st District Congressman Max Sandlin for his seat in Congress, becoming the first Republican since Reconstruction to represent the 1st District of northeast Texas. In the Republican primary, Gohmert defeated State Representative Wayne Christian of Center, who thereafter returned to the state legislature.

Gohmert serves on two House committees: Judiciary (because of his judicial background) and Natural Resources (as his district sits on top of the East Texas oil field).

In 2006, Gohmert won his second term by defeating independent Roger L. Owen, a swimming pool builder from Hallsville. He faced no major party opposition in 2008.

Congressional activities[link]

2008–2009[link]

Gohmert offered an alternative plan to kick-start the economy with his tax holiday bill that would allow taxpayers to be exempt for two months from having federal income tax taken out of their paychecks.^[1]

On July 29, 2009, he signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503. This bill would "amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the principal campaign committee of a candidate for election to the office of president to include with the committee's statement of organization a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the office of president under the Constitution".^[2]

Political positions[link]

Taxes[link]

Gohmert has signed the Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge.^[3]

Abortion[link]

Gohmert has a pro-life voting record. He has stated that he believes that life begins at conception. Gohmert sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act. Gohmert voted for the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, a bill that prohibits the transportation of a minor across state lines for the purposes of an abortion without the consent of the minor's parents. He has 100% Pro-Life voting record rating from the NRLC.^[4][5]

Animal rights[link]

In a 2012 meeting of the House Natural Resources Committee, Gohmert stated his strong support of a trans-Alaskan pipeline, as a means for caribou to have more sex.^[6][7][8]

According to Gohmert, "When [the caribou] want to go on a date, they invite each other to head over to the pipeline. So [his] real concern now [is] … if oil stops running through the pipeline … do we need a study to see how adversely the caribou would be affected if that warm oil ever quit flowing?” Gohmert's comments were not favorably received by the rest of the committee; reportedly, Alaskan representative Don Young was forced to stifle his laughter in response.^[9][10]

Energy and the environment[link]

Gohmert does not believe in man made climate change, and has asserted that data supporting the theory is fraudulent. Gohmert has opposed cap-and-trade legislation, such as the one that was passed in the US House when it was Democratic controlled. Gohmert supports expanding drilling, and exploration and drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).^[11]

Education[link]

Gohmert has made statements and voted for legislation that support the use of school vouchers.^[12]

Debt[link]

Gohmert was one of a number of Republicans who voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011 on grounds it did not do enough to deal with the government's growing debt.^[13]

Comments on "terror baby" plots[link]

On August 12, 2010, Gohmert appeared on Anderson Cooper 360° to defend recent comments he made on the floor of the House regarding "terror babies". Initially, Gohmert had claimed (in a speech made on the House floor in June 2010) that an ex-FBI agent had told him about "terror baby" plots. On Fox Business News, Gohmert had later claimed that an airline passenger with a relative in Hamas had a grandchild who was to be intentionally born in the United States.^[14] In the interview, Gohmert asserted that pregnant women from the Middle East are traveling to the US on tourist visas, planning to deliver the child there. According to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, this automatically grants citizenship to the child. Gohmert asserted that the child would then be returned to the mother's home country and be submitted to a life of terrorist training. When repeatedly asked by the host for any evidence of this, Gohmert did not provide substantiation for either the ex-FBI agent story or the airline passenger story, but gave a description of a Washington Post article,^[15] which described so-called "birth tourism" packages, mainly directed at Chinese tourists. These packages (one was described in the article for $14,750) were described by Gohmert as a "gaping hole in the security of our country". When asked several times by Cooper for the connection and any corroborating evidence, Gohmert responded "If you don't think this is evidence, you have to believe that the terrorists are more stupid than these enterprising people".^[16] The Daily Show later parodied this incident.^[17]

Congressional committee assignments[link]

Committee on the Judiciary

• Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
• Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
• Task Force on Judicial Impeachment

Committee on Natural Resources

• Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
• Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands

In addition Gohmert is a member of the Republican Study Committee and the Tea Party Caucus.

Caucus memberships[link]

• Israel Allies Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Tea Party Caucus

Personal life[link]

Gohmert and his wife Kathy are parents to three daughters. Gohmert attends Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, where he has served as a deacon and teaches Sunday school.^[18]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official congressional website
• Official campaign website
• 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

Articles

• "Nine New Veterans Join Congress", Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine
• Video of Gohmert Criticizing Rep. John Murtha
• Video of Gohmert Blaming Stock Market Failures on Democrats and Murtha

Janet Napolitano
3rd Secretary of Homeland Security
Incumbent
Assumed office January 21, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Jane Lute
Preceded by	Michael Chertoff
21st Governor of Arizona
In office January 6, 2003 – January 21, 2009
Preceded by	Jane Dee Hull
Succeeded by	Jan Brewer
23rd Attorney General of Arizona
In office January 4, 1999 – January 6, 2003
Governor	Jane Dee Hull
Preceded by	Grant Woods
Succeeded by	Terry Goddard
Personal details
Born	(1957-11-29) November 29, 1957 (age 54) New York City, New York, United States
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	Santa Clara University University of Virginia
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Methodism

Janet Napolitano (/nəpɒlɨˈtænoʊ/;^[1] born November 29, 1957) is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person (including an acting Secretary) to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st Governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009. She was Arizona's third female governor, and the first woman to win re-election. Prior to her election as governor, she served as Attorney General of Arizona from 1999 to 2002. She was the first woman and the 23rd person to serve in that office. Napolitano is the 1977 Truman Scholar from New Mexico. Forbes ranked her as the world's 15th most powerful woman in 2011.^[2]

Early life[link]

Janet Napolitano was born on November 29, 1957, in New York City, the daughter of Jane Marie (née Winer) and Leonard Michael Napolitano, who was the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.^[3] She is of half Italian ancestry^[3][4] and is a Methodist.^[5] She was the eldest of three children; she has a younger brother and sister. She was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she graduated from Sandia High School in Albuquerque in 1975 and was voted Most Likely to Succeed. She graduated from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, where she won a Truman Scholarship, and was valedictorian. In 1978, she studied for a term at the London School of Economics as part of the Santa Clara's exchange programme through IES Abroad. She then received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school she served as a law clerk for Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then joined Schroeder's former firm, the Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca.^[6]

Early political career[link]

In 1991, while a partner with the private Phoenix law firm Lewis and Roca LLP, Napolitano served as an attorney for Anita Hill.^[6][7] Anita Hill testified in the U.S. Senate that then U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her ten years earlier when she was his subordinate at the federal EEOC.^[8]

In 1993, Napolitano was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.^[6] As U.S. Attorney, she was involved in the investigation of Michael Fortier of Kingman, Arizona, in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing. She ran for and won the position of Arizona Attorney General in 1998. Her tenure as attorney general focused on consumer protection issues and improving general law enforcement.

While still serving as attorney general, she spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention just three weeks after having a mastectomy. Napolitano recalls that the pain was so unbearable that she couldn't stand up. "Work and family helped me focus on other things while I battled the cancer," says Napolitano. "I am very grateful for all the support I had from family, friends and Arizonans."^[9]

In March 2009, Napolitano received the Council on Litigation Management's [1] Professionalism Award, which recognizes and commemorates an individual who has demonstrated the unique ability to lead others by example in the highest standard of their profession.

Governor of Arizona[link]

Napolitano speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

She narrowly won the Arizona gubernatorial election of 2002 with 46 percent of the vote, succeeding Republican Jane Dee Hull and defeating her Republican opponent, former congressman Matt Salmon, who received 45 percent of the vote. She was Arizona's third female governor and the first woman in the United States to be elected governor to succeed another elected female governor.^[10].In 2003, she introduced a new tradition of interfaith breakfasts - as Arizona Governor Elect- inviting clergies and community leaders for prayers before start of every session.^[11] In 2005, she gracefully accepted sprinkling of holy Ganges water on her forehead twice along with blessed garlands from Hare Krishna.^[12] Further, she was the first ever government official in the world to issue Proclamation for Krishna Janmashtami - the largest Hindu festival celebrating appearance of Lord Krishna. During the Sankirtan in Phoenix, she once stopped by to greet Hare Krishna devotees who were singing the Holy Names of the Lord.^[13]

She spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention^[14] after some initially considered her to be a possible running mate for presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election but Kerry selected Sen. John Edwards instead. In November 2005, Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in the U.S.^[15]

As Governor, Napolitano set records for total number of vetoes issued. In 2005, she set a single session record of 58 vetoes, breaking Jane Dee Hull's 2001 record of 28.^[16][17] This was followed in June 2006, less than four years into her term, when she issued her 115th veto and set the all-time record for vetoes by an Arizona governor. The previous record of 114 vetoes was set by Bruce Babbitt during his nine years in office.^[17][18] By the time she left office, the governor had issued 180 vetoes.^[19]

In November 2006, Napolitano won the gubernatorial election of 2006, defeating the Republican challenger, Len Munsil, by a nearly 2–1 ratio and becoming the first woman to be re-elected to that office. Arizona's constitution provides a two-consecutive-term term limit for its governors,^[20] meaning Napolitano would have been barred from seeking a third term in office in 2010.

In January 2006, she won the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. She was a member of the Democratic Governors Association Executive Committee. Furthermore, she has also served previously as Chair of the Western Governors Association, and the National Governors Association. She served as NGA Chair from 2006 to 2007,^[21] and was the first female governor and first governor of Arizona ever to serve in that position.

Secretary of Homeland Security[link]

Napolitano announcing a border security task force.

In February 2006, Napolitano was named by The White House Project as one of "8 in '08", a group of eight female politicians who could possibly run for president in 2008.^[22] On January 11, 2008, Napolitano endorsed then Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for president.^[23] On November 5, 2008, Napolitano was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.^[24] On December 1, 2008, Barack Obama introduced Napolitano as his nominee for United States Secretary of Homeland Security.^[25][26] On January 20, 2009, Napolitano was confirmed, becoming the first woman appointed Secretary in the relatively new department. Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer became the governor of Arizona, as the state does not have a lieutenant governor.

Napolitano discussing security at a Super Bowl XLIV press conference. The Super Bowl is designated as a National Special Security Event by Homeland Security.

In March 2009, Napolitano told the German news site "Spiegel Online" that while she presumes there is always a threat from terrorism: "I referred to 'man-caused' disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur."^[27] In April 2009 Napolitano, trying to defend her plans to thicken U.S.-Canadian border security, claimed incorrectly that September 11 attack perpetrators entered the United States from Canada. Her comments provoked an angry response from the Canadian ambassador, media, and public.^[28]

In response to criticism, she later said, "Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there". Though there has only been one case, that of Ahmed Ressam an Algerian citizen who was in Canada illegally.^[29]

Napolitano was a leading contender for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court when vacancies occurred in 2009 and 2010^[30] but was passed over by President Obama in favor of Judge Sonia Sotomayor and then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan, respectively.

Right-wing extremism memo controversy[link]

Napolitano was the subject of controversy after a Department of Homeland Security threat assessment report, one of two reports, the other focused on left wing extremism that was issued in January without any controversy,^[31] entitled "Rightwing [sic] Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,"^[32] was made public in April 2009. The report suggested several factors, including the election of the first black or mixed race President in the person of Barack Obama, perceived future gun control measures, illegal immigration, the economic downturn beginning in 2008, the abortion controversy, and disgruntled military veterans' possible vulnerability to recruitment efforts by extremist groups as potential risk factors regarding right-wing extremism recruitment.^[33]

Napolitano made multiple apologies for any offense veterans groups had taken at the reference to veterans in the assessment, and promised to meet with those groups to discuss the issue.^[32] The Department of Homeland Security admitted a "breakdown in an internal process" by ignoring objections by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to an unnamed portion of the document.^[34]

While the American Legion reportedly criticized the assessment, Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of the 2.2 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars, defended it generally, saying it "should have been worded differently" but served a vital purpose. "A government that does not assess internal and external security threats would be negligent of a critical public responsibility," he said in a statement.^[31]

"The system worked" controversy[link]

Napolitano was criticized^[35] for stating in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley that, "the system worked" with regard to an attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approaching Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. She later went on NBC's Today Show with host Matt Lauer and admitted that the security system had indeed failed.^[36]

The statement by Napolitano to Crowley that received criticism was as follows:

What we are focused on is making sure that the air environment remains safe, that people are confident when they travel. And one thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. Everybody played an important role here. The passengers and crew of the flight took appropriate action. Within literally an hour to 90 minutes of the incident occurring, all 128 flights in the air had been notified to take some special measures in light of what had occurred on the Northwest Airlines flight. We instituted new measures on the ground and at screening areas, both here in the United States and in Europe, where this flight originated. So the whole process of making sure that we respond properly, correctly and effectively went very smoothly.^[37]

In her interview with Lauer, Napolitano said that her earlier statement was "taken out of context" and maintained "air travel is safe," but admitted, "our system did not work in this instance" and no one "is happy or satisfied with that."^[36] Lauer asked her whether the system failed up until the moment the bomber tried to blow up the plane, and Napolitano answered, "It did [fail]."^[36]

Secure Communities[link]

Secure Communities is a deportation program managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a subdivision of Homeland Security. Napolitano came under scrutiny for contradicting herself publicly on whether the program is voluntary or mandatory for local jurisdictions to join. On September 7, 2010, Napolitano said in a letter to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren that jurisdictions that wished to withdraw from the program could do so. Yet an October 2010 Washington Post article quoted an anonymous senior ICE official asserting: “Secure Communities is not based on state or local cooperation in federal law enforcement…State and local law enforcement agencies are going to continue to fingerprint people and those fingerprints are forwarded to FBI for criminal checks. ICE will take immigration action appropriately.”^[38]

At a press conference days later, Napolitano modified her position: “What my letter said was that we would work with them on the implementation in terms of timing and the like…But we do not view this as an opt-in, opt-out program.”^[39] She did not provide legal justification. Meanwhile, in Arlington, Virginia, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution to opt out of SComm.^[40] A subordinate DHS employee David Venturella stated at a policy conference: "Have we created some of the confusion out there? Absolutely we have."^[41]

Printer bomb attempt[link]

Janet Napolitano has issued a ban for toner & ink cartridges weighing more than one pound on passenger flights, in response to the October 2010 Yemen bomb plot.^[42][43] In response to the printer bomb attempt and the "underwear" bomb attempt of 2009, Napolitano has instituted "enhanced pat downs". These pat downs may include the touching of sensitive areas such as breasts and genitals.^{[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]}

Walmart–DHS partnership[link]

On December 6, 2010, it was announced that Napolitano was again expanding her reach by creating a "partnership" with Walmart.^[52] This is a video message from Napolitano on TV screens in Wal-Mart stores playing a "public service announcement" to ask customers to report suspicious activity to a Wal-Mart manager. The rationale is that national security begins at home. Napolitano "compares the undertaking to the Cold War fight against communists."^[53]

Tucson memorial[link]

Napolitano stands next to Mark Kelly, husband of shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords, at the memorial event.

On January 12, 2011, along with President Barack Obama, Napolitano was one of many speakers selected to express sympathies to the community of Tucson, the State of Arizona, and the Nation in a televised memorial for the 2011 Tucson shooting. Napolitano confessed that she was at a loss for words during the painful memorial, and elected to read from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. Isaiah 40:1-5, 26-31.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Inside the DHS

Starting in the fourth quarter of 2011, Secretary Napolitano will appear on Inside the DHS, an AMC reality television program about the inner workings of her department.^[54]

Personal life[link]

Napolitano is an avid basketball fan and regularly plays tennis.^[55] Whitewater rafting and hiking are among Napolitano's hobbies. She has hiked in Arizona's Superstition Mountains and New Mexico's Sandia Mountains and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas.^[56] Napolitano survived breast cancer that was discovered in 1998.^{[citation needed]}

Electoral history[link]

See also[link]

	Arizona portal
	Biography portal

• AHCCCS: Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (state Medicaid program)
• AIMS: Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (state standardized test for high school students)
• Protect Arizona Now: Proposition 200
• Arizona-Mexico Commission

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Janet Napolitano

• Biography at the Department of Homeland Security
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Janet Napolitano on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about Janet Napolitano in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Janet Napolitano at the Internet Movie Database
• NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me guest on Not My Job segment

v t e United States Secretaries of Homeland Security Ridge Chertoff Napolitano

v t e Governors of Arizona Territorial (1863–1912) Goodwin McCormick Safford Hoyt Frémont Tritle Zulick Wolfley Irwin Murphy Hughes Franklin McCord Murphy Brodie Kibbey Sloan State (since 1912) Hunt Campbell Hunt Campbell Hunt Phillips Hunt Moeur Stanford Jones Osborn Garvey Pyle McFarland Fannin Goddard Williams Castro Bolin Babbitt Mecham Mofford Symington Hull Napolitano Brewer

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 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