Rick Boucher | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2005 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's9th district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | William Wampler |
| Succeeded by | Morgan Griffith |
| Member of theVirginia Senate from the39th district | |
| In office November 28, 1975 – December 27, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | George M. Warren Jr. |
| Succeeded by | James Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick Carlyle Boucher (1946-08-01)August 1, 1946 (age 79) Abingdon, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Amy Hauslohner |
| Education | Roanoke College (BA) University of Virginia (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Frederick Carlyle Boucher (/ˈbaʊtʃər/; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as theU.S. representative forVirginia's 9th congressional district from 1983 to 2011. The district, which is massively rural, covers the majority ofsouthwest Virginia. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was defeated in his bid for re-election byRepublicanMorgan Griffith in2010.
Boucher is a native ofAbingdon, Virginia, where he currently lives. He earned hisBA fromRoanoke College where he was a member ofKappa Alpha Order fraternity. He received hisJ.D. degree from theUniversity of Virginia School of Law. He has practiced law onWall Street initially as an associate atMilbank Tweed in the firm'sNew York City office, and later in Virginia. Prior to his election toCongress, he served for seven years as a member of theSenate of Virginia, initially taking office in 1975, after defeating conservative incumbentGeorge M. Warren Jr. to win the Democratic nomination for the seat.[1] He is a former member of the Law and Justice Committee of theNational Conference of State Legislatures, the Board of Directors of the First Virginia Bank of Damascus, Virginia, and the Board of Directors of Client Centered Legal Services of Southwest Virginia.[2] He also formerly served on the Advisory Board of Virginia Cares Inc.[2]
Boucher was first elected to Congress in 1982, defeating 16-year Republican incumbentBill Wampler by 1,100 votes. He was narrowly reelected in 1984, defeating DelegateJefferson Stafford by four points, even asRonald Reagan carried the 9th in a landslide. However, he was completely unopposed for a third term in 1986, and was reelected 11 more times without serious difficulty.
Boucher remained very popular in his district even as its socially conservative tint made it friendlier to Republicans. The GOP won most of the area's seats in theVirginia General Assembly in 2001, and has held them ever since. From 2002 to 2006, he fended off three reasonably well-funded Republican challengers with relative ease. In 2002, he defeated state delegateJay Katzen with 66 percent of the vote. In 2004, he defeated NASCAR official Kevin Triplett with 59 percent of the vote even asGeorge W. Bush easily carried the district. In 2006, he defeated state delegateBill Carrico with 68 percent of the vote. He was reelected unopposed in 2008 even asJohn McCain carried the district with his largest margin in the state. It was generally thought that Boucher would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired.
In 2010 Boucher faced his strongest opponent to date in House of Delegates Majority LeaderMorgan Griffith. Boucher charged that Griffith lived outside of the 9th (Griffith's home inSalem was indeed just outside the 9th's borders), though members of the House are only required to live in the state they represent. However, it was not enough to overcome Griffith's attacks that Boucher was an ally ofBarack Obama andNancy Pelosi. Ultimately, Griffith unseated Boucher with 51 percent of the vote to Boucher's 46 percent.[3] No Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in the district since Boucher left office.
Boucher served in the House Democratic leadership as an assistantwhip from 1985 to 2010.
Boucher has been active onInternet-relatedlegislation, including cosponsoring theHigh Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991.[4] He chaired the Science Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology and through hearings oversaw the transition of the Internet from a National Science Foundation managed government research project (known as NSFnet) to the private sector. In that role, he authored the legislation which permitted the first commercial use of the Internet.[5] His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of theTelecommunications Act of 1996.[citation needed]
Boucher originated the House Internet Caucus and served as its co-chairman (1996-2011).[citation needed] He also authored theDigital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA) legislation and introduced theFAIR USE Act. He was named Politician of the Year for 2006 by the Association of American Libraries'Library Journal, largely due to his efforts to protect thefair use doctrine and expand Internet technologies to rural areas.[6]
Boucher voted in favor of theAuto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act, as well as theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Boucher has received a rating of "A+" and endorsement from theNRA Political Victory Fund between 2004 and 2010.[7][8] He is one of the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing theinvasion of Iraq.[citation needed]
Boucher is a strong opponent oftax patents and has introduced bills to either have them banned or to exempt tax attorneys and tax payers from liability ininfringing them.[9]
In June 2009, Boucher voted in favor of theAmerican Clean Energy and Security Act which, if enacted, would establish acap-and-trade system.[10] Boucher was chairman of the energy sub-committee of the previous Congress which first drafted the legislation, and was deemed to be instrumental in the bills development. Boucher opened his pre-vote remarks on the bill by saying that he was in "strong support of the bill."[11]
In November 2009, Boucher, along with 39 other Democratic members of the House, voted against theAffordable Health Care for America Act.[12] Also, on March 21, 2010, Boucher voted against thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act[13] and theHealth Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
Rick Boucher endorsedBarack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president, while his district went solidly forHillary Clinton.[citation needed]
In 2007, Congress.org ranked Rick Boucher as the 10th most powerful member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[14]
In May 2011, Boucher joined prominent Washington law firmSidley Austin and was charged with leading their government strategies practice.[15] The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), an industry advocacy group, also announced that Boucher has joined as the honorary chair.[16] The IIA includes among its members AT&T andAmericans for Tax Reform and has focused on expanding broadband access and adoption with particular emphasis on increased mobile connectivity for underserved and rural communities.[17][18]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Rick Boucher | 76,227 | 50% | William Wampler | 75,009 | 50% | ||||||||
| 1984 | Rick Boucher | 102,446 | 52% | Jefferson Stafford | 94,510 | 48% | ||||||||
| 1986 | Rick Boucher | 59,864 | 99% | no candidate | Write-ins | 602 | 1% | |||||||
| 1988 | Rick Boucher | 113,309 | 63% | John Brown | 65,410 | 37% | ||||||||
| 1990 | Rick Boucher | 67,215 | 97% | no candidate | Write-ins | 2,015 | 2% | |||||||
| 1992 | Rick Boucher | 133,284 | 63% | Gary Weddle | 77,985 | 37% | ||||||||
| 1994 | Rick Boucher | 153,311 | 59% | Steve Fast | 72,133 | 41% | ||||||||
| 1996 | Rick Boucher | 122,908 | 65% | Patrick Craig Muldoon | 58,055 | 31% | Tom Roberts | Virginia Reform | 8,080 | 4% | ||||
| 1998 | Rick Boucher | 87,163 | 61% | Joe Barta | 55,918 | 39% | ||||||||
| 2000 | Rick Boucher | 137,488 | 70% | Michael Osborne | 59,335 | 30% | ||||||||
| 2002 | Rick Boucher | 100,075 | 66% | Jay Katzen | 52,076 | 34% | ||||||||
| 2004 | Rick Boucher | 150,039 | 59% | Kevin Triplett | 98,499 | 39% | Seth Davis | Independent | 4,341 | 2% | ||||
| 2006 | Rick Boucher | 129,705 | 68% | Bill Carrico | 61,574 | 32% | ||||||||
| 2008 | Rick Boucher | 207,306 | 97% | no candidate | Write-ins | 6,264 | 3% | |||||||
| 2010 | Rick Boucher | 86,743 | 46% | Morgan Griffith | 95,726 | 51% | Jeremiah Heaton | Independent | 4,282 | 2% | ||||
Boucher announced his engagement at age 59 to Amy Hauslohner, an editor of theGalax Gazette inGalax, Virginia. Said Boucher of the engagement "We have decided since I will be 60 in August and she just turned 50 last week, we probably are mature enough to handle marriage."[21]Boucher and Houslohner were married on June 3, 2006.
The National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) has proudly announced its endorsement of Rick Boucher in his reelection bid in Virginia's Ninth Congressional District. Boucher has also received an 'A+' rating from the Association.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 9th congressional district 1983–2011 | 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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| National | |
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