Jerry Lewis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Shirley Neil Pettis
Succeeded by	Paul Cook (Redistricting)
Constituency	37th district (1979–1983) 35th district (1983–1993) 40th district (1993–2003) 41st district (2003–2013)
Ranking Member of theHouse Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Dave Obey
Succeeded by	Norm Dicks
Chair of theHouse Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Bill Young
Succeeded by	Dave Obey
Chair of theHouse Republican Conference
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1993
Leader	Bob Michel
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Dick Armey
Chair of theHouse Republican Policy Committee
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989
Leader	Bob Michel
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Mickey Edwards
Member of theCalifornia Assembly
In office January 6, 1969 – November 30, 1978
Preceded by	L. Stewart Hinckley
Succeeded by	Bill Leonard
Constituency	73rd district (1969–1975) 67th district (1975–1978)
Personal details
Born	Charles Jeremy Lewis (1934-10-21)October 21, 1934 Seattle,Washington, U.S.
Died	July 15, 2021(2021-07-15) (aged 86) Redlands, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Arlene Willis
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Jerry Lewis's voice Jerry Lewis on the importance of bipartisan action afterHurricane Katrina Recorded September 2, 2005

Charles Jeremy Lewis (October 21, 1934 – July 15, 2021) was an American politician who was aU.S. representative, last servingCalifornia's 41st congressional district.^[1] He was first elected to Congress in 1978, and previously represented the 40th, 35th, and 37th districts. ARepublican, he was chairman of theHouse Appropriations Committee, serving in that role during the109th Congress. In January 2012, he announced that he was not running for re-election and would end his congressional career in January 2013.

Lewis was born inSeattle,Washington. In 1952, he graduated fromSan Bernardino High School inSan Bernardino, California, where he captained the swim team.^[2] In 1956, he received aBachelor of Arts degree fromUCLA. Lewis served as aCoro Foundation fellow inSan Francisco. After college, Lewis was in the insurance business.

Lewis died on July 15, 2021, inRedlands, California, at the age of 86.^[3]

He was a member of the San Bernardino City Unified School District from 1964 to 1968. He was on the staff of CongressmanJerry Pettis in 1966.

He was a member of theCalifornia State Assembly from 1969 to 1978. In January 1974, he ran in a special election for theCalifornia State Senate, losing to DemocratRuben Ayala.^[4] In the campaign, Ayala noted that two-thirds of the $130,000 that Lewis raised came from 43 donors — 22 of whom wereSacramento lobbyists.^[5]

In November 1978, Lewis was elected as a Republican to the96th United States Congress, in what was then the 37th Congressional district, with 61% of the vote. He was subsequently re-elected 16 times. He never won re-election with less than 61% of the vote. In fact, he only dipped below 65% four times (1990, 1992, 2006, and 2008).^[6]

In 2008, Lewis received his strongest challenge in decades from San Bernardino attorney Tim Prince, who won a 4-candidate Democratic primary. Lewis was forced to spend over a million dollars to retain his seat. He declined Prince's challenges for a debate. The incumbent defeated him with 62% of the vote.^[7]

On January 12, 2012, Lewis announced his retirement.^[8]

Lewis employed his wife, Arlene Willis, as the chief of staff in his office. Before they were married, Willis was her husband's top aide when he came toCapitol Hill in 1979.^[9]

In 1994, he was named chairman of the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee, where he worked until 1999 to improve oversight to uncover fraud and abuse in large housing programs and reduce spending on wasteful programs within a number of federal agencies.

He steered federal dollars to the state and to the region for projects such as the planning and construction of theSeven Oaks Dam nearHighland, California. Among his proudest achievements came early in his career as a state assemblyman, pushing for the establishment of the first air quality committee in the state Legislature, which led to the formation of theSouth Coast Air Quality Management District in the mid-1970s.^[10]

In 1998, he secured start-up funding forLoma Linda University's Proton Beam treatment center, which has led to the installation of similar cancer treatment centers across the U.S.^[11]

Lewis placed special riders in a series of appropriations bills that freed up nearly $100 million to theU.S. Forest Service, the state and the county to remove more than a million trees in theSan Bernardino National Forest killed by drought and bark beetle infestation. He worked with U.S. SenatorDianne Feinstein to secure an additional $500 million to reduce the fire danger in theSan Bernardino Mountains and throughoutSouthern California.^[11]

Lewis also secured $15 million for a pilot program to refurbish houses repossessed by theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development and providing them to qualified low income families. The program, according to Lewis' office at the time was successful in Redlands, Highland, and San Bernardino.^[11]

Lewis was a member of theRepublican Main Street Partnership and supportedstem-cell research. Lewis considered himself to bepro-life, opposed most public funding ofabortions, but encouragedfamily planning efforts which are opposed by manyRoman Catholics. He voted against banning adoption bysame-sex couples in theDistrict of Columbia.^[12] He thought gun-control efforts should center on stiff prison terms for repeat criminals who use firearms, but was open to considering requiringtrigger locks and other child safety measures for law-abiding gun owners. TheAmerican Conservative Union gave Lewis' 2008 voting record 84 out of 100 points. The liberalAmericans for Democratic Action gave him 0 out of 100 for 2005 (most recent available). Lewis was a signer of theTaxpayer Protection Pledge.^[13]

In its 2009 report,Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Lewis one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress, saying that his "ethics issues stem primarily from the misuse of his position as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to steer hundreds of millions of dollars inearmarks to family and friends in direct exchange for contributions to his campaign committee and political action committee."^[14]

Lewis was also included in the group's report in 2006, 2007, and 2008.^[14]

In 2010, theU.S. Department of Justice closed the case without filing charges. It was never submitted to federal prosecutors.^[10]

Lewis' aide in charge of tracking defense appropriations, Marine Lt. Col. Carl Kime, was "a military officer onThe Pentagon's payroll, an apparent violation of House rules and a possible conflict of interest".^[15]U.S. Department of Defense regulations state that military personnel can work on committee staffs but not on the personal staff of an individual member. Kime apparently worked for Lewis since 2001 while being on the Pentagon payroll. Congressional watchdogs call Kime's role a conflict of interest and defense experts state that his position may have given theUnited States Marine Corps greater leverage over contracts and earmarks on the Appropriations Committee.

On February 22, 2006,The Hill reported that the Pentagon was recalling Kime from Lewis's office. Kime's "service for Lewis appeared to violate the Members' Congressional Handbook issued by the Committee for House Administration, which defines a detailee as a 'non-congressional federal employee assigned to a committee for a period of up to one year.' The handbook also states that 'detailees may not be assigned to a member office' and cites the relevant section of U.S. law: 2 USC Section 72a(f)."^[16]

In July 2007,CBS News reported that since 2004, Lewis had earmarked $2.75 million for the "Barracks Row" area of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. "Neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project," Lewis said of the improvements being funded by the earmarks. But the congressman's wife, who was also his chief of staff, owns a three-bedroom home valued at $943,000 that is four blocks from the work being paid for by the earmarks. CBS also reported that Tip Tipton, a property owner in the area and a member of the board of directors of the redevelopment project receiving the earmarks, is a top Washington lobbyist who is also a longtime Lewis friend and campaign donor.^[17]

From 1998 to 2003,Loma Linda University received $167.2 million in congressional earmarks. That made it the number one academic recipient in the country, with its total nearly $60 million more than the runner up, theUniversity of South Florida.^[18] In 2000, Loma Linda University was the single largest recipient of higher education earmarks, at $36 million, largely brought in by Lewis. Several grants were from theU.S. Department of Defense, including $5 million fromNASA for space radiation research.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Loma Linda University received nearly $9.5 million, of which $5 million came from the Defense Department.^[19]

Lewis was chair of theHouse Republican Conference from 1989 to 1992. In January 1995, he became chairman of the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations subcommittee. He was the first representative from California to be chairman of the powerfulHouse Appropriations Committee. He also served as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee from 1999 to 2005.^[10]

Lewis was the chairman of appropriations committee during the109th Congress. In the110th congress and111th congress, he was the Ranking Member on the committee. He sought the chairmanship for the112th Congress, but it was instead given toHarold Rogers (R-KY).

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmens Caucus

• Official website
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Associated Press profile
• Join California Jerry Lewis

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