Joe Pitts | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2013 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's16th district | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Walker |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Smucker |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the158th district | |
| In office January 2, 1973 – November 30, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Chris Ross |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Russell Pitts (1939-10-10)October 10, 1939 (age 86) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Asbury University (BA) West Chester University (MEd) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1963–1969 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 346th Bombardment Squadron[1] |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Air Medal |
Pitts introducing legislation to clarify requirements forEssential Air Service funding. Recorded April 29, 2003 | |
Joseph Russell Pitts (born October 10, 1939) is a former American politician who served as theU.S. representative forPennsylvania's 16th congressional district from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of theRepublican Party. The district was based inLancaster andReading and included much of theAmish country. It also included the far southwestern suburbs ofPhiladelphia in Chester County.
In December 2015, Congressman Pitts announced he would not run for reelection in 2016.[2]
Pitts was born inLexington, Kentucky and graduated fromAsbury College. Pitts served five and a half years in theUnited States Air Force, with three tours inVietnam. Initially commissioned as asecond lieutenant, he was promoted tocaptain by the time he left the service. He graduated second in his class from Navigator School, after which he was trained as anelectronic warfare officer. As an EW officer, he served onB-52 Stratofortresses out ofWestover Air Force Base,Massachusetts, with payloads ofnuclear bombs. In all, he completed 116 combat missions in theVietnam War and earned anAir Medal with fiveoak leaf clusters.
After leaving the Air Force in 1969, Pitts moved toKennett Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia and the hometown of his wife, Ginny. They built a house there, where they still live today.
Pitts was elected to thePennsylvania House of Representatives in 1972, representing Kennett Square and surrounding areas of southeastern Chester County.
After 10-term Republican congressmanBob Walker decided to retire in 1996, Pitts jumped into the crowded five-candidate Republican primary—the real contest in what has long been a strongly Republican district. He won the primary with 45% of the vote, defeating the second place candidate by 19 percentage points.[3] In the general election, he defeated Democrat James G. Blaine 59%–38%.[4]
He won re-election easily in 1998 (71%), 2000 (67%), 2002 (88%), and 2004 (64%).
Pitts originally promised to serve only 10 years (five terms), but announced he would run again in 2006 amid considerable controversy. Despite the controversy, Pitts won re-election to a sixth term, defeating Democratic businesswomanLois Herr 57%–40%. The seventeen-point margin was the second smallest margin in his career.[5]
In 2008, Pitts decided to seek a seventh term. He was challenged by Navy veteran and construction contractor Bruce Slater. Pitts defeated him 56%–39%. The sixteen-point margin was the smallest margin in his career.[6]
Pitts was challenged by Democrat Lois Herr for a third rematch. He won re-election to an 8th term, defeating her 65%–35%.[7]
Pitts was challenged by Democrat businesswoman Aryanna Strader[8] and Independent Jim Bednarski[9] In the general election, Pitts won re-election to a ninth term, defeating Strader 55%–39%. The sixteen-point margin is tied for 2008 in being the smallest margin in his career. He lost in Berks County by 12,000 votes (35%) and won Chester County by only 500 votes (1%). He won Lancaster handily with over 60% of the vote.[10][11]
Pitts has a very conservative voting record, which is not surprising given that his district has historically been one of the most Republican districts in the Northeast. However, redistricting made the 16th somewhat less Republican. The old 16th had aCook Partisan Voting Index of R+8, but since the 2010 round of redistricting, it had a PVI of R+4. He received 100% ratings from theAmerican Conservative Union in 2005 and theChristian Coalition of America in 2004.
In 2002, after a federal judge ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Chester County courthouse, Pitts released a press statement that said, "I think that religion and the Ten Commandments in particular should have a role in our public life" and supported The Ten Commandments Defense Act (H.R. 2045). Since his first term Pitts has been chairman of the Values Action Team, a subgroup of theRepublican Study Committee that coordinates legislation with theChristian right.[12]
Over the years Pitts has received 100% ratings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and 0% ratings from Public Citizens Congress Watch. In 2008 the ACLU gave him an 18% rating, the Human Rights Campaign gave him a score of 0%, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights gave him a score of 4%. In 2007–08 theJohn Birch Society gave him a score of 67%, and theAmerican Conservative Union gave him a 100% rating, as did the Christian Coalition. Others: American Association of University Women, 2007–08, 16%; Republicans for Environmental Protection, 7% in 2007; and the Children's Health Fund, 2007–08, 0%; National Rifle Association, 2008, A; Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 2003, 0%; National Breast Cancer Coalition, 2007–08, 0%; Children's Health Fund 2007–08, 0%. Ratings from labor groups are consistently at or near 0%; the Alliance for Worker Freedom, 2008, 100%.[13]
Pitts visitedAfghanistan after the fall of theTaliban andPakistan in 2002. He visited Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel in 2008 as part of a Congressional Delegation.[14] He is a leading congressional advocate ofnuclear power, and "introduced a bill in 2009 to fast-track the regulatory process for approving new reactors, he called it the 'Streamline America's Future Energy (SAFE) Nuclear Act.'"[15]
Pitts is an advocate of a federal prohibition of onlinepoker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, theBob Goodlatte-Jim Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[16] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[17]
TheStupak–Pitts Amendment is an amendment toAmerica's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 written by Pitts and DemocratBart Stupak of Michigan, and it inserted abortion into the national health overhaul debate. This amendment continues his longtime opposition to abortion. According toJeff Sharlet, a contributing editor for Harper's, Pitts is a documented member of the Bible-oriented Christian group "The Fellowship (Christian organization)" and the C Street group in Washington, D.C.
In the112th Congress, Pitts introduced the Protect Life Act, which would place additional restrictions on abortion access.
In July 2011, Pitts was revealed, in course of anFBI investigation, to have accepted tainted funds traced to the intelligence services ofPakistan.[18] These funds were routed through the so-called Kashmiri American Council (KAC), run bySyed Ghulam Nabi Fai, who was convicted of several felonies by the Federal government.
In October 2015, Pitts was named to serve on theSelect Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.[19]
On March 26, 2014, Pitts introduced theProtecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (H.R. 4302; 113th Congress) into the House. The bill would delay until March 2015 the pending cut toMedicare, a cut that has been regularly delayed for over a decade.[20][21] The bill would not offset this spending with increased revenue or cuts to spending in other places, a source of controversy.[21][22] Pitts said he still supports a permanent fix to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and is "sponsoring this bill today because it is my earnest hope that this is the last patch we will have to pass."[22]
On May 29, 2014, Pitts introduced into the House theDesigner Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2014 (H.R. 4771; 113th Congress), a bill that would expand the list of anabolic steroids regulated by theDrug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to include about two dozen new substances and would establish new crimes relating to falselabeling ofsteroids.[23] This type of steroid enhances muscles.[24] The bill would establish a penalty of up to $500,000 against those found to be falsely labeling their anabolic steroid products.[24]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | Third Party | Votes | Pct | Third Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | James Blaine | 78,598 | 38% | Joe Pitts | 124,511 | 59% | Bob Yorczyk | 6,485 | 3% | ||||||||
| 1998 | Bob Yorczyk | 40,092 | 29% | Joe Pitts | 95,979 | 71% | |||||||||||
| 2000 | Bob Yorczyk | 80,177 | 33% | Joe Pitts | 162,403 | 67% | |||||||||||
| 2002 | Joe Pitts | 119,046 | 89% | Will Todd | 8,720 | 7% | Kenneth Brenneman | 6,766 | 5% | ||||||||
| 2004 | Lois Herr | 98,410 | 35% | Joe Pitts | 183,620 | 64% | William Hagen | 3,269 | 1% | ||||||||
| 2006 | Lois Herr | 80,915 | 40% | Joe Pitts | 115,741 | 57% | John Murphy | 7,958 | 4% | ||||||||
| 2008 | Bruce Slater | 120,193 | 39% | Joe Pitts | 170,329 | 56% | John Murphy | 11,768 | 4% | Daniel Frank | 2,877 | 1% | |||||
| 2010 | Lois Herr | 70,994 | 35% | Joe Pitts | 134,113 | 65% | |||||||||||
| 2012 | Aryanna Strader | 111,185 | 39% | Joe Pitts | 156,192 | 55% | John Murphy | 12,250 | 4% | James Bednarski | 5,154 | 2% | |||||
| 2014 | Tom Houghton | 74,513 | 42.3% | Joe Pitts | 101,722 | 57.7% |
Joe and his wife Ginny have three children as well as four grandchildren.[29]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Media related toJoe Pitts at Wikimedia Commons
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 16th congressional district 1997–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Human Rights Commission 2015–2017 | 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 |
