Robert Kastenmeier
Official portrait, 1983
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's2nd district
In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Donald E. Tewes
Succeeded by	Scott Klug
Personal details
Born	Robert William Kastenmeier (1924-01-24)January 24, 1924 Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, US
Died	March 20, 2015(2015-03-20) (aged 91) Arlington, Virginia, US
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Dorothy Chambers
Children	William Kastenmeier Andrew Kastenmeier Edward Kastenmeier
Alma mater	Carleton College University of Wisconsin Law School(LL.B.)
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	1st Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II Philippines Campaign (1944–45)

Robert William Kastenmeier (January 24, 1924 – March 20, 2015) was an AmericanDemocratic politician who represented centralWisconsin in theUnited States House of Representatives for 32 years, from 1959 until 1991.^[1] He was a key sponsor of theCopyright Act of 1976 and theElectronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.

Kastenmeier was born inBeaver Dam,Dodge County,Wisconsin, where he attended public school. After graduating fromBeaver Dam High School, he enlisted in theUnited States Army for duty inWorld War II. He was on his way to thePacific Theater as a2nd Lieutenant when the war ended in 1945. He was discharged from the Army on August 15, 1946, with the rank of1st Lieutenant, but opted to remain in thePhilippines until 1948, working as a branch office director handling war claims for theUnited States War Department.^[2]

After returning to the United States, he continued his education atCarleton College, inNorthfield, Minnesota, and at theUniversity of Wisconsin Law School, where he received hisLL.B. in 1952. After being admitted to thestate bar, he began the practice of law inWatertown, Wisconsin.^[3]

In 1955, Kastenmeier was electedjustice of the peace forJefferson andDodge Counties, and he served until 1959.

Kastenmeier made an unsuccessful bid for Congress inWisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 1956, losing toRepublicanDonald Tewes by 11 points. In a rematch in 1958 he defeated Tewes by 6,200 votes, and became the first Democrat to hold the seat in 28 years. He won a third race with Tewes in 1960, and faced another close contest in 1962. However, he romped to a fourth term in 1964 and was re-elected with comfortable majorities twelve more times over the next 24 years, serving from the86th United States Congress to the101st.^[1] Kastenmeier voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1964.^[4]

As a congressman, Kastenmeier was skeptical of American military intervention overseas, and was an early opponent of theVietnam War, coming out in opposition in 1965.^[5]

Kastenmeier was a member of theHouse Judiciary Committee for almost his entire congressional career. In this capacity, he played a key role in theimpeachment process against PresidentRichard Nixon, asserting that eacharticle of impeachment should be voted on separately in order to have a complete debate on each issue.^[5]

Kastenmeier was also Chairman of theJudiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice from 1969 until he left office. From this role, he worked as a key sponsor of theCopyright Act of 1976—the first major overhaul ofAmerican copyright law since 1909. The law remains the foundation of the modern American copyright law.^[5]

Kastenmeier was also active for many years in attempting to advanceprivacy laws, sponsoring or introducing 26 such bills between 1973 and 1991 to expand protections on communications privacy,financial privacy, rights of privacy fromvideo surveillance, and confidentiality ofmedical records, among other topics. His efforts culminated in the successful passage of theElectronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which expanded governmentwiretap restrictions tomobile phones andelectronic mail.^[5]

Also in 1986, Kastenmeier was one of theimpeachment managers appointed by the House in 1986 to prosecute the case in theimpeachment trial ofHarry E. Claiborne, a judge of theUnited States District Court for the District of Nevada who had been convicted of tax crimes but refused to resign his seat. Kastenmeier helped to frame the impeachment resolution against Claiborne which ultimately resulted in his conviction in theUnited States Senate and removal from office.^[6][5]

In 1990, Kastenmeier unexpectedly lost his re-election bid to RepublicanScott Klug, a former television anchor who was nearly 30 years his junior.^[7] After leaving Congress, Kastenmeier served briefly on a judicial reform commission before retiring.^[5]

Kastenmeier lived inSun Prairie, Wisconsin, and thenArlington, Virginia, where he died on March 20, 2015.^[8] A week before his death in 2015, in an interview with Madison'sCapital Times, Kastenmeier warned of American overseas interventions, saying, "There are far too many trouble spots in the world. And we must always remember what history has taught us, that it's always very easy to get in, but terribly hard to get out."^[9] In eulogizing his former colleague, CongressmanDave Obey said of Kastenmeier, "I never saw him cast a vote for political reasons. I never saw him cast a vote that was contrary to his beliefs."^[5]

The Robert W. Kastenmeier United States Courthouse inMadison, Wisconsin, one of the courthouses of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, was named in his honor.^[10]

• Borders, Rebecca and C. C. Dockery. "You Can't Go Home Again: Bob Kastenmeier". InBeyond the Hill. New York: University Press of America, 1995, pp. 41–44.
• Kidwell, John A. "Congressman Robert Kastenmeier and Professor John Stedman: A Thirty-five Year Relationship".Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 55, no. 2: 129–137.
• Patterson, L. Ray and David Lange.Copyright and Legislation: The Kastenmeier Years. Durham, N.C.: Duke University School of Law, 1992.
• Remington, Michael J. "Robert W. Kastenmeier: Copyright Legislatorpar Excellence".Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 55, no. 2: 297–310.

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• Robert W. Kastenmeier U.S. Courthouse

• 1924 births
• 2015 deaths
• Politicians from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
• Politicians from Arlington County, Virginia
• Carleton College alumni
• Wisconsin state court judges
• United States Army officers
• Military personnel from Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• Politicians from Watertown, Wisconsin
• People from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
• Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin
• 20th-century Wisconsin state court judges
• United States Army personnel of World War II
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

• CS1 errors: periodical ignored
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• People appearing on C-SPAN