Gregg Harper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Administration Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Candice Miller |
| Succeeded by | Zoe Lofgren |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's3rd district | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Chip Pickering |
| Succeeded by | Michael Guest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregory Livingston Harper (1956-06-01)June 1, 1956 (age 69) Jackson,Mississippi, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Mississippi College (BS) University of Mississippi (JD) |
Gregory Livingston Harper (born June 1, 1956) is a formerAmerican politician who served as theU.S. representative forMississippi's 3rd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. He is a member of theRepublican Party. The district includes the wealthier portions of the state capital,Jackson, along with most of that city's suburbs. Other cities in the district includeMeridian,Natchez,Starkville, andBrookhaven.
In January 2018, Harper announced he would retire fromCongress and not run for re-election.[1]
Harper was born inJackson, Mississippi. He spent eight years working as chairman of theRankin County, MississippiRepublican Party and served as a delegate to the2000 Republican National Convention. He was appointed by the party as an observer during the2000 Florida presidential recount.
Harper graduated fromMississippi College in 1978 with a degree in chemistry and from theUniversity of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He has worked as a private practice attorney since receiving this degree. He was the prosecuting attorney for the cities ofBrandon, Mississippi andRichland, Mississippi.[2]
Harper introduced theGabriella Miller Kids First Research Act (H.R. 2019; 113th Congress) into the House on May 16, 2013.[7] The bill, which passed in both the House and the Senate, would end taxpayer contributions to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and divert the money in that fund to pay for research intopediatric cancer through theNational Institutes of Health.[8][9] The total funding for research would come to $126 million over 10 years.[8][9] As of 2014, thenational conventions got about 23% of their funding from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.[10]
Harper was ranked as the 89th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi) in the Bipartisan Index created byThe Lugar Center and theMcCourt School of Public Policy.[11]
In December 2017, as chairman of the House Committee on Administration, Harper supported a review of overhauling the Congressional Accountability Act which makes it harder for victims of sexual harassment to come forward with allegations than victims in the private sector.[12] Harper said a review was "long overdue".[12]
Harper won the Republican nomination in Mississippi's 3rd congressional district on April 1, 2008, with 57% of the vote.[13] This was tantamount to election in this heavily Republican district. He defeated his Democratic opponent,Joel Gill in theNovember general election winning 63% of the vote.[14]
He is a deacon of Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon, Mississippi, where he had also been a Sunday School teacher.[citation needed]
He has a son withFragile X syndrome. Harper started a congressional internship program for students with developmental disabilities through the Mason Life Program atGeorge Mason University.[15]
Harper and his wife have a 28-year-old son with Fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that can lead to intellectual and developmental impairment. Harper started a congressional internship program for students with intellectual disabilities from the Mason Life Program at George Mason University.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMississippi's 3rd congressional district 2009–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Library Committee 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Chair of theJoint Printing Committee 2015–2017 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Administration Committee 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Library Committee 2017–2019 | 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 | |
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| National | |
| People | |
