Bart Stupak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Davis |
| Succeeded by | Dan Benishek |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the109th district | |
| In office January 11, 1989 – January 9, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Connors |
| Succeeded by | David Anthony |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bartholomew Thomas Stupak (1952-02-29)February 29, 1952 (age 73) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Laurie Stupak |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Northwestern Michigan College Saginaw Valley State University (BS) Thomas M. Cooley Law School (JD) |
Stupak supporting legislation to expand theThunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Recorded September 29, 2009 | |
Bartholomew Thomas Stupak (/ˈstuːpæk/; born February 29, 1952) is an American politician andlobbyist. A member of theDemocratic Party, Stupak served as theU.S. representative fromMichigan's 1st congressional district from 1993 to 2011.
Stupak chose not to seek re-election in 2010. He departed Congress in January 2011, and was succeeded byDan Benishek, aRepublican from theUpper Peninsula. Stupak is now alobbyist withVenable LLP.[1][2]
Stupak was born inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated fromGladstone High School inGladstone, Michigan in 1970. He is anEagle Scout.[3] He earned hisAssociate's degree fromNorthwestern Michigan College, a community college inTraverse City in 1972. He earned hisbachelor's degree in criminal justice fromSaginaw Valley State University in 1977, graduatingmagna cum laude, and he earned aJ.D. degree fromThomas M. Cooley Law School inLansing, Michigan in 1981. He worked as anEscanaba police officer in 1972. Stupak later served as aMichigan State Police Trooper from 1973 to 1984 and as a member of C-Street while in Congress. He also practiced law.
In 1988, Stupak was elected aMichigan State Representative, representingMenominee,Delta, andDickinson counties, defeating two-term Republican Jim Connors. In 1990, Stupak ran for state senator but lost a hotly contestedprimary to eventual general election winnerDon Koivisto.
In 1992, Stupak ran for the House of Representatives in the 1st District, covering the Upper Peninsula and the northernmost swath of the Lower Peninsula. The district had previously been the 11th, represented by retiring seven-term incumbent RepublicanRobert William Davis. Stupak won the heavily contested Democratic primary, and defeated RepublicanPhilip Ruppe, Davis' predecessor, in the general election. He was the first Democrat to represent this district since 1967, and only the third Democrat to win it in the 20th century. He was easily reelected in 1994 during a bad year for Democrats, becoming the first Democrat in 56 years to be elected to more than one term in the Northern Michigan district.
Stupak defeated Republican Don Hooper ofIron River in the2002,2004 and2006 elections, and RepublicanTom Casperson In 2008.[4]
On April 9, 2010, Stupak announced that he would not run for re-election, and that he would retire from Congress at the end of his then-current term.[5][6]
Electric utilities and health care professionals were among the top four industries contributing to his campaigns in 2006, 2008 and 2010.[7] Of his top 20 largest contributors throughout his political career, 16 were unions and associations, two were energy companies, one was an insurance company and one was a telecommunications firm.[8]
During his service in Congress, Stupak sponsored 36 bills, but none became law. He cosponsored 157 bills, 5 of which were enacted into law. He voted with the members of his party 96% of the time, and abstained from 5% of the votes. Because of the 1st District's extensive length ofGreat Lakes shoreline (over 1,600 miles), Stupak was very active on issues related to the protection of the Great Lakes, including opposing sale or diversion of Great Lakes water and drilling for oil and gas under the lakes.[9]
In 2009, Stupak voted against theDodd–Frank Act, which expanded Federal regulation and oversight of the US financial system in the aftermath of the US financial and banking crisis of that year.[10]
Stupak voted for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, which expanded the definition ofhate crimes to include crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity.[11]
Stupak expressed a desire to support the 2009health care reform bill put forth by PresidentBarack Obama,[12] but wanted restrictions on coverage forabortion.[13] Therefore, Stupak and Republican CongressmanJoseph R. Pitts submitted an amendment known as theStupak–Pitts Amendment to prohibit such payments. The Stupak–Pitts Amendment was adopted by the House of Representatives, but a similar provision was defeated in theSenate version of the legislation (known as thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act).[14] Stupak announced that he and several other Democratic representatives who supported health reform legislation but opposed abortion would not vote for the final version of the legislation unless the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was included.[15] The ensuing controversy made Stupak "perhaps the single most important rank-and-file House member in passing the bill."[1]
Abortion-rights advocates held a "Stop Stupak" rally on Capitol Hill in December 2009.[16] In the ensuing months, Stupak publicly stated that the pressure and opposition he received in regard to his abortion stance on the health reform legislation had caused him to unplug the phone at his house due to "obscene phone calls and threats" and had made his life a "living hell."[12][17] "My staff is overwhelmed and we're accosted basically wherever we go by people who disagree," Stupak added.[17]
In March 2010, President Obama and Stupak reached an understanding whereby the President promised to sign anExecutive Order barring federal funding of abortion through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,[18] and Stupak and several of his allies promised to withdraw their opposition to the bill.[19]Anti-abortion advocates accused Stupak of betraying their movement,[20][21] with theSusan B. Anthony List revoking an award it had planned to give to him and instead running $150,000 worth of radio advertisements against him.[20][22] Stupak was targeted by theTea Party movement in the wake of his compromise.[23] In April 2010, Stupak announced his intention to retire from Congress,[24] leading conservative groups to point to the political consequences of his compromise as a possible reason for his decision.[22][23] However, Stupak himself attributed his retirement to the exertion of constant travel back and forth from Washington, D.C.[25]
Stupak also supports apublic option andsingle-payer healthcare.[26]
Stupak rented a room at theC Street Center, a Washington, D.C. facility ofThe Fellowship (also known as The Family), a Christian fraternal organization.[27][28] The Fellowship has been the subject of controversy over its claimed tax status as a church, the ownership of the property and its connection to the Fellowship, and the reportedly subsidized benefits the facility provides to members of Congress.[29]
Jeff Sharlet, author of a book about The Fellowship, said, "When I lived with The Family at Ivanwald, a house for younger men being groomed for leadership, I was told that Stupak was a regular visitor to the Cedars." The Cedars, according to theWashington Independent, is also owned by The Family and hosts weekly prayer events.[30] Stupak has denied any affiliation with the Family and appeared to deny knowledge of the organization, stating "I don't belong to any such group" and that "I don't know what you're talking about, [The] Family and all this other stuff."[31]
Stupak lives inMenominee, Michigan, with his wife, Laurie, who is a former mayor ofMenominee, and unsuccessful candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives. Laurie Stupak was defeated byTom Casperson. In 2008 Casperson unsuccessfully challenged Bart Stupak, the incumbent for Michigan's1st Congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives.
The Stupaks' son Ken graduated fromPepperdine University's School of Law in 2006 and resides in California. Their other son, Bart Jr., died by suicide in May 2000. Congressman Stupak testified before theHouse Energy and Commerce Committee'sOversight and Investigations Subcommittee during a 2002 hearing on the safety ofAccutane, an acne medication, which he believes contributed to his son's death.[32]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 1st congressional district 1993–2011 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
