Tim Roemer | |
|---|---|
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| United States Ambassador to India | |
| In office August 11, 2009 – July 1, 2011 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Peter Burleigh (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Peter Burleigh (acting) |
| Chair of theNew Democrat Coalition | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 Serving with Cal Dooley,Jim Moran | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Jim Davis Ron Kind Adam Smith |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's3rd district | |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | John Hiler |
| Succeeded by | Chris Chocola (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Timothy John Roemer (1956-10-30)October 30, 1956 (age 69) South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | J. Bennett Johnston (father-in-law) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of California, San Diego (BA) University of Notre Dame (MA,PhD) |
Timothy John Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American diplomat and politician fromIndiana who, a member of theDemocratic Party, served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 inIndiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was later the president of theCenter for National Policy (CNP), aWashington, D.C.–basednational securitythink tank. He served asUnited States Ambassador to India from 2009 to 2011. Roemer later served on the advisory board of Washington, D.C.–based non-profitAmerica Abroad Media.[1]
Tim Roemer was born in 1956 inSouth Bend, Indiana. His grandfather, William F. Roemer, was a philosophy professor at theUniversity of Notre Dame; and his grandmother was an elementary school teacher. Roemer's parents, James and Mary Ann Roemer, also worked at Notre Dame as dean of students and coordinator of volunteer activities, respectively. His uncle,William F. Roemer Jr., was an agent for theFederal Bureau of Investigation who battledorganized crime. Roemer graduated fromPenn High School in 1975 and worked at various jobs from the age of 14 to help pay for college.
Tim Roemer graduated from theUniversity of California, San Diego with aB.A.degree in 1979. He earned hisMaster of Arts andDoctor of Philosophy degrees from theUniversity of Notre Dame; his 1985dissertation was titledThe Senior Executive Service: Retirement and Public Personnel Policy.
Tim Roemer entered politics by serving on the staff ofUnited States Houses of Representatives memberJohn Brademas ofIndiana (1978–1979) while still in college. After completing his doctorate, he served on the staff ofUnited States Senate memberDennis DeConcini ofArizona (1985–1989).
In 1990, Roemer ran and won as a Democrat in1990 to representIndiana's 3rd congressional district, his boss' former district, serving six terms in Congress from 1991 to 2003. While in the House, Roemer served on theUnited States congressional committees of theUnited States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, theUnited States House Committee on Education and Workforce, and theUnited States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He did not run for reelection in2002.
Tim Roemer voted in favor of theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), theAfrican Growth and Opportunity Act, and theCaribbean Basin Initiative. He opposed theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), feeling it provided incentives for businesses to move out of the country (as may have happened in his district). Roemer voted againstpresidentialfast-track trade promotion authority, believing that the United States should have been stricter in its enforcement of existing agreements.
Much of Roemer's efforts during his congressional career were related to improvingEducation in the United States. He was the principal author of the Ed-Flex bill, which encouraged states to seek innovative approaches to education. Roemer was the chief sponsor of the "Transition to Teaching" bill that helped address teacher shortages by recruiting and trainingprofessionals to becometeachers. Roemer was also the lead sponsor of the five-year reauthorization ofHigher Education Act of 1965, which reduced rates ofinterest onstudent loans, increasedPell Grants, increased funding for teacher training, and expanded aid to families.
Tim Roemer was a principal sponsor of theAmeriCorpsnational service program, and a co-author of a bill to expandHead Start services to provide childcare coverage for women moving from welfare to work. He co-wrote legislation on reauthorizing theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act and wrote an amendment to tax relief legislation for teacher certification of professionals in outside fields. He co-authored "School-to-Work" legislation to help non-college-bound high school students learn skills to prepare them for the workforce.
In his final term in Congress, Roemer was instrumental in passing theNo Child Left Behind Act and pushed forfull funding for the program.
Roemer was one of the firstmembers of Congress to call for aCabinet-level federal executive department to overseenational security, and was an original sponsor of the legislation to create theUnited States Department of Homeland Security. Eventually he opposed the revisions proposed by the Bush administration, because of concerns about bureaucratic inefficiencies, and voted against the creation of DHS. Roemer advocated a "civilian reserve corps" to train more fluent speakers inforeign languages for theUnited States Intelligence Community. Roemer was an original sponsor ofbioterrorism legislation and legislation aimed at creating the9/11 Commission, upon which he later served.
Tim Roemer was appointed as a member of the9/11 Commission to investigate the terrorist attacks on the US. He was acandidate for chair of theDemocratic National Committee (gaining the support of Democratic leadersNancy Pelosi andHarry Reid). He lost toHoward Dean, who had unsuccessfully sought the2004 Democratic presidential nomination.
Roemer was criticized as tooconservative for the post, due to hisanti-abortion stance and his oft-mentioned vote in 1993 against the PresidentBill Clinton economic plan. Roemer is a moderate Democrat, voting more liberally on some foreign policy issues and conservatively on social issues.
Roemer endorsedBarack Obama in the2008 Democratic presidential primaries and campaigned vigorously for him, particularly in his home state of Indiana, where he joined former U.S. House of Representatives memberLee Hamilton in support of Obama. Roemer's moderate, bipartisan politics, and national security experience led to speculation (fromChris Cillizza andBen Smith) that Roemer was considered a possiblevice presidentialrunning mate for Obama.[2][3]
Roemer served as a distinguished scholar at theMercatus Center atGeorge Mason University. He became a partner at Johnston and Associates, a public and legislative affairsconsultancy. He was later selected as the president of the Center for National Policy. After leaving his post as U.S. Ambassador to India in 2011, he became a senior executive at the Washington, D.C.–based public affairs firm APCO Worldwide.[4]
Roemer served on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2007. This was one of the reforms recommended by the 9/11 Commission to examine how the United States can best address this threat to national security.
In addition, Roemer served on the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Presidential Task force on Combating the Ideology of Radical Extremism, and the National Parks Second Century Commission.
Roemer was nominated byPresidentBarack Obama as the 21stU.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India on May 27, 2009. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2009, he was sworn in on July 23, 2009, in the State Department's ceremonial Benjamin FranklinTreaty Room and he presented his credentials toPresident of IndiaPratibha Patil on August 11, 2009.[5][6][7]
During his tenure as Ambassador, several policies and initiatives were announced. President Obama stated during his visit to India in November 2010 that the U.S. would support India as a permanent member to a reformed United Nations Security Council.[8] The United States also removed India's defense and space-related entities from the U.S. "Entity List," opening the door for increased cooperation, technology transfer, and commercial sales in the defense and space industries.[9] The United States agreed to set up a Global Disease Detection Center.[10] and will work with India on its new Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership.[11] The United States and India will partner globally to support food security in Africa and reconstruction in Afghanistan.
On July 23, 2010, Ambassador Roemer and Indian Home Affairs Secretary G.K. Pillai signed the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative.[12] This agreement expands cooperation in several areas such as transportation security, border security, money laundering and terrorist financing, and megacity policing. The U.S. government also agreed to give the Government of India access to David Headley, one of the planners of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.[13]
Ambassador Roemer presided over several high level visits including visits by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The first annual strategic dialogue meeting between the United States and India was held in June 2010 in Washington D.C.,[14] with the second scheduled for July 2011 in New Delhi.
During his two-year tenure, India moved up to be the 12th leading trade partner of the United States. In 2010, exports in goods from the United States to India were up 17 percent and two-way trade in goods increased 30 percent. During President Obama's visit to India, the United States announced 20 deals totaling $10 billion in U.S. exports that will lead to more than 50,000 jobs in America.[15]During his tenure, the United States also pushed to make the G-20 the premier international economic body[16] and reformed the IMF to give India greater representation.[17]
Ambassador Roemer travelled throughout India during his two years, visiting 17 states. He was the first Ambassador in over 10 years to visit Jammu and Kashmir, including a September 20, 2010, visit to the city of Leh to bring relief supplies to 400 rural families affected by a recent flash flood.[18]
In May 2011, Roemer received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Notre Dame and gave the commencement address to The Graduate School.[19]
On April 26, 2011, he announced his resignation as Ambassador and returned to the U.S.[20]A press release from the U.S. embassy in India stated ambassador Roemer leaving by June citing family reasons.[21] Indian politicianShashi Tharoor wrote that Roemer resigned the post following India's decision to reject two American aircraft manufacturing tenders worth US$10 billion for theIndian MRCA competition.[22]
Tim Roemer married Sally Johnston of Louisiana in 1989. They have four children: Patrick Hunter Roemer, Matthew Bennett Roemer, Sarah Kathryn Roemer, and Grace Elizabeth Roemer. Roemer is the son-in-law ofJ. Bennett Johnston and Mary (Gunn) Johnston. His father-in-law Johnston was a Democratic politician who served as a member of theUnited States Senate fromLouisiana from 1972 to 1997.
The Roemers areRoman Catholic. When in Washington, they attend St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church inReston, Virginia.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 3rd congressional district 1991–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| New office | Chair of theNew Democrat Coalition 1997–2001 Served alongside:Cal Dooley,Jim Moran | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Peter Burleigh Acting | United States Ambassador to India 2009–2011 | Succeeded by Peter Burleigh Acting |
| 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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