Spencer Bachus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Financial Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Barney Frank |
| Succeeded by | Jeb Hensarling |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Financial Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Barney Frank |
| Succeeded by | Barney Frank |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's6th district | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Ben Erdreich |
| Succeeded by | Gary Palmer |
| Chair of theAlabama Republican Party | |
| In office 1991–1992 | |
| Preceded by | Elbert Peters |
| Succeeded by | Elbert Peters |
| Member of theAlabama State Board of Education from the 6th District | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Martin |
| Succeeded by | Bettye Fine Collins |
| Member of theAlabama House of Representatives from the 46th district | |
| In office January 3, 1984 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Bryant Melton |
| Succeeded by | William Slaughter |
| Member of theAlabama Senate from the17th district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Doug Cook |
| Succeeded by | Mac Parsons |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Spencer Thomas Bachus III (1947-12-28)December 28, 1947 (age 77) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Linda Bachus |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Auburn University (BA) University of Alabamal (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–1971 |
| Unit | Alabama Army National Guard |
Spencer Thomas Bachus III/ˈbækəs/ (born December 28, 1947) is an American politician. He is a formerU.S. Representative for the state ofAlabama, serving from 1993 to 2015. A member of theRepublican Party, he served as ranking member (2007–2011) and chairman (2011–2013) of the House Financial Services Committee. On September 30, 2013, Bachus announced his retirement from Congress. His term ended in 2015.[1]
Born and raised inBirmingham, Bachus graduated fromAuburn University and theUniversity of Alabama Law School.[2] He served in theAlabama National Guard before being elected to the Alabama State School Board in 1986 and holding the position ofAlabama Republican Party Chairman in 1991. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, and was re-elected by wide margins. From 2006 to 2012, Bachus was the leading Republican on theHouse Financial Services Committee, serving as committee chairman when his party held a House majority during the112th Congress. Due to House Republican term limits on committee leadership positions,[3] Bachus was succeeded by CongressmanJeb Hensarling in 2013.
Bachus was born inBirmingham, Alabama,[2] the son of Edith (née Wells) and Jim Bachus Jr.[4] He graduated fromAuburn University in 1969[5] where he became a member of thePhi Kappa Tau fraternity.[6] He served in the AlabamaNational Guard from 1969 to 1971, during theVietnam War, while attending law school; Bachus earned aJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Alabama Law School in 1972.[7] Prior to his political career, he owned a sawmill and practiced law until 1992.[8]
In 1982, Bachus was elected to theAlabama Senate.[7] Because new legislative elections were scheduled for 1983, he served only one year. In 1983 he was elected to theAlabama House of Representatives. In 1986, he was elected as the first Republican to theAlabama State Board of Education, serving one four-year term representing the 6th District. In 1990, he ran unsuccessfully forAttorney General of Alabama. In 1991, he became Chairman of theAlabama Republican Party, serving in that position until his campaign for Congress.[9]
From 2006 to 2012, Bachus was the leading Republican on theHouse Financial Services Committee, serving as committee chairman when his party held a House majority during the 112th Congress. Due to House Republican term limits on committee leadership positions, Bachus was named Chairman Emeritus of the Financial Services Committee and rejoined theJudiciary Committee, which he had to take leave of when named Financial Services Chair.[10]
On September 30, 2013, Bachus announced his retirement from Congress. His term ended in January 2015.[9]
Upon his retirement in 2014,Norman Ornstein wrote a column in theNational Journal lamenting the "Exodus of Problem Solvers on Capitol Hill."[11]
Alabama's 6th congressional district was redistricted based on the1990 United States census. In the 1992 election, Bachus defeated incumbent DemocratBen Erdreich. Bachus was endorsed byThe Birmingham News.[12] Bachus got a major assist from redistricting, which drew most of Birmingham's black neighborhoods into the majority-black7th district, replacing them with suburban and Republican territory around Birmingham andTuscaloosa.[13] The new 6th was almost 97 percent white; in contrast, the old 6th was 35 percent black. Despite being outspent almost 2 to 1, the 7th's more Republican bent was enough to give Bachus the victory by seven points. He was undoubtedly helped byGeorge H. W. Bush winning the district by over 30 points.
Bachus would never face another contest nearly that close. No Democrat even filed from 2000 to 2010;[13] before then, he defeated three nominal Democratic challengers with over 70 percent of the vote each time.
In the 2004 Republican primary, Bachus defeated Phillip Jauregui, a member of former Alabama Chief JusticeRoy Moore's legal team. Bachus was unopposed in the 2004 general election.[14]
In the2010 midterm elections, Bachus easily turned back a challenge from pastor Stan Cooke in the Republican primary, winning 75% of the vote.[13]
Bachus sought reelection in 2012 after the 6th was redrawn to cut out its share ofTuscaloosa. In the Republican primary, he drew three challengers, most notably State SenatorScott Beason. Beason ran well to Bachus's right and called for "true conservative leadership."[15] Bachus heavily outspent him. The incumbent spent over $1.5 million, outspending Beason 45–1.[16][17] Bachus defeated him 59%–27%. He won every county in the district except forBlount County.[18]
For the first time since 1998, Bachus faced a Democratic challenger. Colonel Penny Bailey defeated William Barnes to become the Democratic nominee.[19] However, the new 6th was as heavily Republican as its predecessor, and Bachus turned back this challenge fairly easily, defeating Bailey with 71 percent of the vote.
Bachus had a conservative voting record, with a lifetime rating of 92 from theAmerican Conservative Union. He was a signer ofAmericans for Tax Reform'sTaxpayer Protection Pledge.[20]
Bachus was an active legislator, engaged in many important issues over the course of his congressional career. He helped amend theFair Credit Reporting Act to curtail identity theft and ease consumer access to their credit reports. Bachus also had a reputation for good constituent service.
In the late 1990s, during his tenure as Chairman of the Banking Oversight Committee, he uncovered the Community Development Financial Institute (CDFI), which led to the resignation of the top two CDFI officials.
In the 1990s he became an advocate of international debt relief for the Third World, and joined a broad coalition of activists in a one-day fast to demand action, which was ultimately successful. He criticized the Bush administration over negotiations with the genocidal regime in Sudan, and urged Bush to stop payment of oil revenues to the Sudanese government.[21] Bachus was credited when the Bush Administration decided, in 2007, to place sanctions on Sudan.[22]
In 1995, Bachus pushed for the creation of theAlabama National Cemetery, aUnited States National Cemetery located inMontevallo, Alabama. Bachus said, "The Alabama National Cemetery will always be the thing I'm most proud of.... It was the second one built, and I'm so thankful for it. We now (have) veterans from every war buried there."[23]
On November 4, 1999, Bachus voted in favor of theGramm-Leach-Bliley Act.[24] This law repealed part of the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, removing barriers in the market among banking companies, securities companies and insurance companies that prohibited any one institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and an insurance company. With the passage of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, commercial banks, investment banks, securities firms, and insurance companies were allowed to consolidate. The legislation was signed into law by PresidentBill Clinton.
While Bachus was Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit (2001 – 2006), the House of Representatives passed and the President signed into law theFair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-159), which contained the strongest federal identity theft protections enacted into law to that date and entitled consumers to annual free credit reports from each of three major credit bureaus.
Additionally, while Bachus was Subcommittee Chairman, enacted into law wasThe Check Clearing for the 21st Century (CHECK) Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-100). This law authorized the use of digital versions of paper checks for transfer by financial institutions, saving money and eliminating delays and losses caused by the transportation of physical checks.
Again, as Subcommittee Chairman, Bachus played a leading role in passing theFederal Deposit Insurance Reform Conforming Amendments Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-173), which reformed the federal deposit insurance system and raised the FDIC coverage limit for retirement accounts to $250,000.
On July 26, 2002, he voted for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which created theUnited States Department of Homeland Security.[25]
Bachus also was active in advancing the search forNatalee Holloway, who went missing while on a senior trip to Aruba. Holloway attended high school in Mountain Brook, an affluent Birmingham suburb in the congressman's district.
In 2005,Bill Maher commented about the Army missing its recruiting goal by 42% in April, saying, "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lyingLynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." Bachus responded to Maher's comments, saying "I think it borders on treason. In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country."[26]
On December 14, 2005, he voted for the reauthorization of the USAPatriot Act. The USA PATRIOT Act is an act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. On May 26, 2011, President Barack Obama signed the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011.
In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, theGoodlatte-LeachInternet Gambling Prohibition Act[27] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[28] In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, thePayment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of theUnlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while theU.S. Treasury Department and theFederal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").
In 2006, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Bachus worked on bipartisan draft subprime mortgage reform legislation to address abuses in the lending market. According to the bookAct of Congress byRobert G. Kaiser, "Bachus thought that if it had passed in 2005, subprime lending would have dried up, and the Great Crash could have been avoided or at least made much less serious."[29]
In 2008, Bachus proposed the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing, an addition to theHousing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that required licensing for mortgage brokers.[30]
During deliberations on the legislative response to the2008 financial crisis, Bachus, as Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee, was one of the original proponents of the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) that the U.S. Treasury eventually adopted as the primary method of stabilizing the U.S. banking system.
As described inRobert G. Kaiser's bookAct of Congress:
Spencer Bachus...had another idea. Instead of the complicated plan for auctioning off toxic assets, why not just inject capital directly into the troubled banks by buying their shares? This had been done successfully in similar situations, in Sweden, for example, in a banking crisis there in 1992...Bachus and [Senior Aide Larry] Lavender had been discussing the possibility for months as they watched the American crisis unfold, and Bachus asked about it now.
Paulson shot it down....
(Months later) Paulson asked his staff to figure out how to do what Spencer Bachus had suggested on September 18 – use government money to invest directly in troubled banks.[31]
At a forum entitledFive Years Later: A Financial Crisis Symposium co-hosted by theUniversity of Chicago and the Paulson Institute on October 29, 2013, former Financial Services ChairmanBarney Frank stated, "Spencer Bachus gets some credit for this. In the meeting, he was the senior Republican, the leader of the Republican minority at the time, and when it was presented as buying up the assets, he was one of the first in our meetings to raise the notion of, well, how about a capital injection."[32]
The capital purchase provision was included in theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. According to the U.S. Treasury, in exchange for the capital funding made available to participating institutions, "Treasury received stock or debt securities in exchange for those investments. Most financial institutions participating in CPP pay Treasury a five percent dividend on preferred shares for the first five years and a nine percent rate thereafter. In addition, Treasury received warrants to purchase common shares or other securities from the banks at a time of the CPP investment. The purpose of the additional securities was to enable taxpayers to recap additional returns on their investments as banks recover."[33]
On April 9, 2009, Bachus said "Some of the men and women I work with in Congress are socialists,"[34] later stating that 17 members of the House of Representatives are socialists.[35]
In a 2010 interview with theBirmingham News, Bachus spoke about the outlook he would bring to his chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee, saying "In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks." The comment was criticized in a blog post byThinkProgress.[36][37]
On November 4, 2010, while in the midst of a battle for the chairmanship of theHouse Financial Services Committee with Rep.Ed Royce (R-CA) and immediately following the 2010 general election, Bachus told the South Shelby (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce that formerAlaska GovernorSarah Palin and candidates she endorsed cost the Republican Party control of the U.S. Senate, saying: "The Senate would be Republican today except for states (in which Gov. Palin endorsed candidates) likeChristine O'Donnell in Delaware. Sarah Palin cost us control of the Senate." He went on to say that Tea Party candidates did well in U.S. House races, but in the U.S. Senate races, "they didn't do well at all."[38]
Conservative commentatorHugh Hewitt[39] and SenatorJames Inhofe[40] (R-OK) immediately defended both Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement, crediting them with gains in both the House and the Senate. Hewitt and Muny further demanded that Bachus not be awarded chairmanship of the House Financial Services Committee. Palin responded with criticism of the "Bachus bigger government agenda," citing Bachus's support for theTroubled Asset Relief Program and "Cash for Clunkers."[41]
In 2010, Bachus stated that "ending the bailout of Fannie [Mae] and Freddie [Mac]" was his top priority as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee. He said that "using taxpayer money to subsidize the mortgage market is an addiction" and that "House Republicans want to reform the housing finance system in a way that does not rely on government guarantees, that does not make private investors and creditors wealthy while saddling taxpayers with losses, and that does not set the stage for the next financial crisis."[42]
In 2011, the FBI and American Football Coaches Association honored Bachus for his advocacy and support for the National Child Identification Program. The National Child Identification Program tries to help combat cases of missing or abducted children by providing identification kits to parents that allow the parents or other guardians to keep their children's fingerprints and other identifying characteristics on file at their home.[43]
In 2012, Bachus called on Veterans Affairs SecretaryEric Shinseki to speed up veterans claims processing. In a letter to the Secretary, Bachus wrote that the benefit claims backlog facing veterans nationwide is causing veterans to face growing debt or postpone plans to pursue college education. He demanded that the Department outline the specific steps being taken to reduce the backlog.[44]
In 2013, Bachus was the only member of Alabama's congressional delegation to vote in favor of defunding theNational Security Agency's collection of phone records. Bachus has been an outspoken critic of the NSA program since news of it was leaked byEdward Snowden.[45]
Bachus was a lead House sponsor of legislation offering federal protection to the American flag, prohibiting its desecration. On Flag Day 2013, he joined Rep.Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) to co-sponsor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that says "Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
Bachus was credited with being a lead advocate for locating and maintaining the National Computer Forensics Institute in the City of Hoover Public Safety Building inHoover, Alabama: "The National Computer Forensics Institute was created in 2007 with money from local, state and federal entities. Since opening in 2008, it has trained 932 state and local law enforcement officers from more than 300 agencies in all 50 states, according to congressional testimony from Pablo Martinez, deputy special agent in charge of the criminal investigation division, cyber crimes operations for the U.S. Secret Service."[46]
In a May 2013 report, the Government Accountability Office stated, "As of March 31, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury had received about $222 billion from its Capital Purchase Program investments, exceeding the approximately $205 billion it had disbursed. Treasury estimated at the end of December 2012 that CPP would have an approximate lifetime income of $15 billion after all institutions had exited the program."[47]
In 2007, Bachus was accused of insider trading. The Congressional Ethics inquiry stemmed from an allegation byPeter Schweizer and later reported by 60 Minutes that Bachus made trades with a number of short-term stock options, betting that stocks would fall, after receiving sensitive non-public information on the state of the economy.[48] Schweizer claimed that from July through November 2008, Bachus traded in options at least forty times. During this period, Bachus was one of the congressional leaders getting private briefings from Secretary of the TreasuryHank Paulson and Federal Reserve Bank ChairmanBen Bernanke about the worsening financial crisis. Bachus said that he "never trades on non public information, or financial services stocks".[49] He was subsequently cleared by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which on April 30, 2012, the announced that they had found no evidence of violations of insider-trading rules and recommended that the case against him be closed.[50] Roderick Hills and Harvey Pitt, former Chairmen of the Securities and Exchange Commission who reviewed the accusations, wrote "the original source for these allegations was a sensational, but factually inaccurate, book, followed by an adulatory (but equally inaccurate) '60 Minutes' segment about it. The allegations in the book, vis-à-vis Mr. Bachus, are inaccurate; far worse, however, is that these allegations are laughable to serious students of insider trading law."[51]
Bachus and his wife, Linda, have been recognized by multiple organizations for their support and contributions to medical research.
Bachus has been called a "champion for cancer patients";[53] he and Mrs. Bachus were awarded the National Distinguished Advocacy Award for Excellence in Cancer-Fighting Public Policy by The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the group's highest legislative honor.[54]
Bachus was a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease.[55] During his Congressional tenure, he was also a member of the Cancer Caucus, Autism Caucus, Alzheimer's Task Force, Biomedical Research Caucus, Immigration Reform Caucus, Pro-Life Caucus.
In October 2014, Mr. and Mrs. Bachus were honored at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Ambassadors Ball for their efforts on behalf of the organization's Alabama-Mississippi chapter.[56]
In September 2014, Linda Bachus was awarded Congressional Families Leadership Award for her role as the first executive director of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program.[57]
Bachus sponsored legislation prioritizing palliative care.[58]
Bachus was nominated by PresidentDonald Trump to be a member of the board of directors of theU.S. Export-Import Bank and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2019.[59] He served until July 2023 when his term expired.[60] He was nominated for a second term by PresidentJoe Biden and confirmed in December 2023.[60]
Bachus has three children and two step-children with his wife, Linda.[61]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus | 146,599 | 52.4 | |
| Democratic | Ben Erdreich (incumbent) | 126,062 | 45.0 | |
| Independent | Carla Cloum | 4,521 | 1.6 | |
| Libertarian | Mark Bodenhausen | 2,836 | 1.0 | |
| Total votes | 280,018 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 155,047 | 79.1 | |
| Democratic | Larry Fortenberry | 41,030 | 20.9 | |
| Total votes | 196,077 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 180,781 | 71.0 | |
| Democratic | Mary Lynn Bates | 69,592 | 27.3 | |
| Libertarian | T. Franklin Hayes | 2,293 | 0.9 | |
| Natural Law | Diane Susan Vogel | 2,113 | 0.8 | |
| Total votes | 254,779 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 154,761 | 71.8 | |
| Democratic | Donna Wesson Smalley | 60,657 | 28.2 | |
| Total votes | 215,418 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 212,751 | 88.3 | |
| Libertarian | Terry Reagin | 28,189 | 11.7 | |
| Total votes | 240,940 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 178,171 | 90.1 | |
| Libertarian | J. Holden McAllister | 19,639 | 9.9 | |
| Total votes | 197,810 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 264,819 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 264,819 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 163,514 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 163,514 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 280,902 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 280,902 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 205,288 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 205,288 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 63,359 | 61.5 | |
| Republican | Scott Beason | 28,671 | 27.9 | |
| Republican | David Standridge | 8,120 | 7.9 | |
| Republican | Al Mickle | 2,929 | 2.7 | |
| Republican | Stan Pate (write-in) | 33 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 103,112 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Spencer Bachus (incumbent) | 219,262 | 71.2 | |
| Democratic | Penny H. Bailey | 88,267 | 28.6 | |
| Write-in | 573 | 0.2 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant Title last held by Don Collins | Republican nominee forAttorney General of Alabama 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Elbert Peters | Chair of theAlabama Republican Party 1991–1992 | Succeeded by Elbert Peters |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromAlabama's 6th congressional district 1993–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Financial Services Committee 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Chair of theHouse Financial Services Committee 2011–2013 | 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 |
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
