John Spratt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Holland |
| Succeeded by | Mick Mulvaney |
| Chair of theHouse Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Nussle |
| Succeeded by | Paul Ryan |
| Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Sabo |
| Succeeded by | Paul Ryan |
| House Democratic Assistant to the Leader | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Leader | Nancy Pelosi |
| Preceded by | Rosa DeLauro |
| Succeeded by | Xavier Becerra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John McKee Spratt Jr. (1942-11-01)November 1, 1942 |
| Died | December 14, 2024(2024-12-14) (aged 82) York, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Hugh McColl (brother-in-law) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Davidson College (BA) Corpus Christi College, Oxford (MA) Yale University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–1971 |
| Awards | Meritorious Service Medal |
John McKee Spratt Jr. (November 1, 1942 – December 14, 2024) was an American politician and attorney who served as theU.S. representative forSouth Carolina's 5th congressional district from 1983 to 2011. A member of theDemocratic Party, his district covered all or part of 14 counties in north-centralSouth Carolina. The largest cities areRock Hill andSumter.
Spratt was the dean of the South Carolina congressional delegation, chairman of theU.S. House Committee on the Budget, and the second ranking Democrat on theU.S. House Committee on Armed Services, where he served on three subcommittees: Oversight and Investigations, Strategic Forces, and Air and Land Forces. In addition to his committee work, he co-chaired the Textile Caucus, the Bearing Caucus, and the Nuclear Energy Caucus.
In 2010, Spratt lost his seat to Republican challengerMick Mulvaney.
Spratt was born inCharlotte, North Carolina, on November 1, 1942, and raised inYork, South Carolina.[1] His father founded the Bank ofFort Mill and the York law firm where he would eventually practice.[1] His only sibling is Jane Bratton Spratt McColl, wife ofHugh McColl, former chairman and chief executive officer ofBank of America Corporation.[2]
After graduating fromYork High School, he earned abachelor's degree in history fromDavidson College in 1964.[1] He served as student body president at both schools. Spratt then earned anMA degree in philosophy, politics, and economics fromOxford University (Corpus Christi College) in 1966 while studying on aMarshall Scholarship, and anLLB degree fromYale Law School in 1969.[1]
Spratt was a captain in theArmy from 1969 to 1971, serving in the Operations Analysis Group in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) at thePentagon, and was awarded theMeritorious Service Medal.[3]
Spratt returned to York in 1971 to practice at the law firm of Spratt, McKeown, and Spratt.[1] He was county attorney and school board attorney, and president of the Bank ofFort Mill. He also ran a small insurance agency and owned a farm in Fort Mill.[1]
For his work in Congress, Spratt won praise fromColumbia's newspaperThe State, which called him "one of his party's most reliable 'bridges' to the Republican side."[4]National Journal featured him on its cover as "a stand-out" in Congress, comparing his legislative skills to the "best infielders in baseball."[5] In aWashingtonian magazine survey, Congressional staff voted him a "Workhorse" and "House Member I'd Like to See Win the Presidency in 2008."[6]
Spratt co-authored theBalanced Budget Act of 1997, putting the federal budget in surplus for the first time in 30 years.[7] In 2003, Spratt engineered an amendment which shifted $30 million in the defense appropriations bill to the Airborne Laser program.[8]
In the111th Congress, Spratt supported legislation such as theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, extension of unemployment benefits, increased infrastructure and labor workforce funding, increased federal financial aid packages, increased home foreclosure and small business assistance, reduction inestate taxes for 99.8 percent of estates, clean water legislation, health insurance reform, expansion of theState Children's Health Insurance Program, reforming of medicare payment plans, clean energy legislation, pay as you go legislation, defense authorization for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and increased VA hospital investment.[9]
On March 21, 2010, Spratt joined a majority of his House colleagues in approving H.R. 3590, thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Senate version of the health care reform bill. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he made the floor motion which led to the vote on the bill. "I was where the action was when the bill had to be called from the clerk's desk," he toldThe Herald, aRock Hill, South Carolina newspaper. "It was like sharing a moment in history."[10]
On March 24, 2010, Spratt was appointed to the president'sNational Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In reporting on the appointment,Dow Jones Newswires called Spratt "one of the staunchest fiscal conservatives among House Democrats."[11] One of Spratt's last acts in Congress was helping compile a 65-page report on fixingthe country's financial deficit.[12]
Spratt became active in politics within the Democratic Party at an early age, and was elected delegate to the1964 Democratic National Convention, which he attended at the age of 22. Spratt was first elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1982, succeeding fellow DemocratKenneth Holland. He was reelected 13 more times. Although parts of the district were becoming friendlier toRepublican candidates at the national level, the GOP was more or less nonexistent in this part of South Carolina at the local level for some time; Spratt only faced a Republican opponent twice from 1984 to 1992, winning easily in both instances. In 1994, however, Spratt was nearly defeated by Republican Larry Bigham, only surviving by a margin of 6,300 votes. He defeated Bigham by a slightly larger margin in 1996, but from 1998 to 2008 Spratt usually won with relatively little difficulty due to his popularity and campaigning skills.[13]
Spratt typically stayed out of presidential politics while he was a congressman because the national party was not popular in his district. For instance, he did not endorse any candidate in the2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[14] Nonetheless, he was rumored to have been President Obama's pick as White House Budget Director, though President Obama instead chosePeter R. Orszag, whom Spratt had helped hire as the director of the Congressional Budget Office.[15]
In 2010, John Spratt's re-election chances was the subject of numerous articles. He was seen as particularly vulnerable due to his ties with the Democratic party leadership, his district's double-digit unemployment rate, and the district's growing Republican base.[16] He was defeated that year by Mick Mulvaney by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent—one of the largest margins of defeat for an incumbent in the2010 cycle.[citation needed]
Mulvaney successfully weaponized Spratt's bipartisan credentials against him during the election.[17] He lamented that Spratt was no longer fiscally conservative like he had once been in 1997 when he helped balance the nation's budget and criticized his relationship withNancy Pelosi.[18] The National Republican Congressional Committee called John Spratt an "amnesiac" and stated he was forgetting what was going on in Washington.[19] Notably,President Barack Obama flew into Charlotte with Spratt on Air Force One during the campaign.[20] Spratt was among three Democratic U.S. House chairmen who lost that year toTea Party candidates.[citation needed]
On May 31, 1968, Spratt married Jane Stacy ofFilbert, South Carolina.[1][21] They had three daughters, Susan Spratt, Sarah Spratt, and Catherine Spratt, along with five grandchildren, Lily Tendler, Jack Tendler, Max Tendler, Jane Grace Brennan, and James Brennan.[22][1] Spratt lived inYork, South Carolina, where he was a member of the local FirstPresbyterian Church. He was active in theUnited Way and other civic and charity organizations. He was brother-in-law toHugh McColl, CEO ofBank of America andNationsBank.[23] After his departure from Congress, Spratt served as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Public Policy atWinthrop University.[24]
In 2010, Spratt was diagnosed withParkinson's disease.[25] He died from the disease at his home on December 14, 2024, at the age of 82.[1][26] His funeral service was held on December 18, 2024, at York's First Presbyterian Church, followed by burial at Rose Hill Cemetery.[23][27] At the funeral service, a eulogy was delivered byJim Clyburn, congressman forSouth Carolina's 6th congressional district and Spratt's colleague in congress from 1993 to 2011.[27] Clyburn described Spratt as "an inconspicuous genius and the most ordinary, extraordinary person I have ever known."[28] GovernorHenry McMaster announced that flags would be flown at half-staff on the day of his funeral.[29][30][31]
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A 6 p.m. Friday wedding in Filbert Presbyterian Church united in marriage Miss Margaret Jane Stacy and John McKee Spratt Jr.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 5th congressional district 1983–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Budget Committee 1997–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the House Budget Committee 2007–2011 | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | House Democratic Assistant to the Leader 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on the Budget | ||
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