Duncan L. Hunter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Armed Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Ike Skelton |
| Succeeded by | John McHugh |
| Chair of theHouse Armed Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Stump |
| Succeeded by | Ike Skelton |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Lionel Van Deerlin |
| Succeeded by | Duncan D. Hunter |
| Constituency | 42nd district (1981–1983) 45th district (1983–1993) 52nd district (1993–2009) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Duncan Lee Hunter (1948-05-31)May 31, 1948 (age 76) Riverside, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Lynne Hunter |
| Children | 2 (includingDuncan) |
| Education | University of Montana University of California, Santa Barbara Western State University (BS,JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–1971 |
| Rank |  First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards | Bronze Star Air Medal Vietnam Service Medal |
Hunter, as chair of theHouse Armed Services Committee, speaks on the FY2006National Defense Authorization Act Recorded May 25, 2005 | |
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was aRepublican member of theHouse of Representatives fromCalifornia's 52nd,45th and42nd districts from 1981 to 2009.
Hunter was the chairman of theHouse Armed Services Committee during the108th and109th Congress. Hunter sought theRepublican Party nomination forPresident of the United States for 2008,[1] but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states,[2] and he dropped out after theNevada Republican caucuses.[3]
He was succeeded as representative for the 52nd district by his son,Duncan D. Hunter.
Hunter was born inRiverside, California, the son of Lola Lee (née Young) (d. 2004) and Robert Olin Hunter (1915–2006).[4] He graduated fromRubidoux High School in Riverside in 1966.[5] He attended theUniversity of Montana from 1966 to 1967,[6] and then briefly theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara,[6] before being commissioned into theUnited States Army in 1969.[7]
He served inSouth Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 during theVietnam War[8] in theArmy Rangers'75th Infantry Regiment, attached to the173rd Airborne Brigade.[9] He participated in 24helicopterassaults[7] as well as in a number of night-timereconnaissance patrols.[10] He held the rank offirst lieutenant,[8] and was awarded theBronze Star,[7]Air Medal,[8] and service ribbons such as theVietnam Service Medal.[8] He has said, "I didn't do anything special in the U.S. Army, but I served with very special soldiers I will never forget."[8]
Making use of theG.I. Bill in 1973, he enrolled at theSan Diego campus of theWestern State University College of Law (nowThomas Jefferson School of Law) and earned aBachelor of Science in Law andJuris Doctor in 1976. Hunter worked farming and construction jobs to supplement his income while finishing his degree. He was admitted to theState Bar of California on December 22, 1976,[11] but has held inactive status since January 1, 1983.[11][12]
Hunter married Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son,Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1976), a major in theUnited States Marine Corps Reserve, was deployed toIraq in2003 and2004 and Afghanistan in 2007. On November 4, 2008, Duncan D. Hunter was elected to succeed his father as the congressional representative of the California's 52nd congressional district. On August 21, 2018, Duncan D. Hunter and his wife Margaret, were indicted for criminal activity.[13] In June 2019, federal prosecutors showed that from 2009 to 2016, Hunter had spent campaign funds on extramarital affairs with five women, including lobbyists and congressional staff. In December 2019, Hunter changed his plea to guilty on one count of misusing campaign funds. On March 17, 2020, Hunter was sentenced by the U.S. District Court Southern District of California to 11 months in prison.
Hunter's family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San DiegoSouthern Baptist Association.[citation needed] Hunter'sAlpine, California home burned down during the October 2003Cedar Fire. The loss was over $500,000, but insurance covered most of it.[14] Hunter was critical of GovernorGray Davis's response to the fire.[15]
Hunter has another son, Samuel. He has a brother,John Hunter, who has worked as a weapons scientist.
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Duncan L. Hunter" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.jpg)
In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent DemocratLionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially an underdog in a district where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 2 to 1. However, his attacks on Van Deerlin's record onnational defense gained traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of the "Reagan revolution"; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963.
After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he was reelected 13 more times with no substantive opposition. During this time, he only won less than 60 percent of the vote once, when he was held to 53.8 percent in 1992. His district was renumbered as the 45th District in 1983 and the 52nd in 1993.[16]
In the 2006 general election, he defeated Navyveteran/minister John Rinaldi, aDemocrat, and Michael Benoit,[17] aLibertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi.
On March 20, 2007, Hunter announced that, as part of his presidential bid, he would not seek a 15th term in the House of Representatives in 2008.[18] After his son,Duncan D. Hunter, announced his candidacy for his father's seat, the younger Hunter was recalled by theUnited States Marine Corps to serve in theOperation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan. During Duncan D. Hunter's active service, his wife, Margaret Hunter, campaigned on his behalf. On June 3, 2008, Duncan D. Hunter won 72% of the Republican Primary vote and became the Republican nominee to replace his father representing the 52nd District.[18]
.jpg)
Hunter became chairman of theHouse Armed Services Committee in 2002. As such, he sponsored legislation authorizing defense department fiscal year activities from FY2004 to FY2007. During consideration of the FY2006Defense Authorization Act, Hunter offered an amendment to the bill clarifying enacted policy restricting women from direct combat units. Hunter's amendment codified existing Army policy enacted in 1994 under formerDefense SecretaryLes Aspin that prohibited women from submitting or migrating into combat units or operations. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn in order for a study to be conducted on the rationale and future implementation of the policy.[19]
In November 2004, Hunter andWisconsin CongressmanJim Sensenbrenner withheld their support for a bill creating aDirector of National Intelligence (DNI) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a DNI, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. TheIntelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the DNI position, was passed by Congress and signed by PresidentGeorge W. Bush later that year.
In a House Armed Services Committee hearing on November 9, 2005, Hunter strongly criticized aDefense Logistics Agency "prime vendor" buying program that led to the purchase of $20 ice cube trays and a tiny refrigerator for $22,797 (initially exposed byThe State). Hunter stated that he wanted explanations from the companies in question and the government purchasing agents who had approved the purchases, accusing the latter of "absolute incompetence." He further stated that the purchases are "a real slap in the face to the guy making $13,000 a year who is engaged in a firefight inRamadi," and claimed that "A fairly large amount of incompetence is embedded into the system."[20][21]
On November 18, 2005, in response toPennsylvania CongressmanJohn Murtha's resolution to terminate the deployment of United States forces inIraq, to redeploy the forces already involved in Iraq, and to "pursue security and stability in Iraq throughdiplomacy",[22] Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence counter-resolution that read:
Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt; they made much of the fact that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. The bill was defeated, 3–403, in the House of Representatives.
Hunter became ranking member of the committee when Democrats took control of the House in 2007.
On January 31, 2007, Hunter held a press conference on the2007 Chinese anti-satellite missile test, stating that it "represents the commencement of a new era of military competition in space." He contended that the United States' ability to engage in warfare depends heavily on its space assets, and opined that the country must take steps to "ensure our forces cannot be targeted through an adversarial space strike."[23]
On April 25, 2007, afterSenate Majority LeaderHarry Reid declared "the war is lost", Hunter wrote "my highest obligation is, like yours, owed to our forces in uniform, especially during this time of war... Given your position of leadership within the United States Government, I find your pronouncement of failure irresponsible and disserving to America's armed forces. In light of the fact that this statement has both been used by our adversaries and has exhibited a marked lack of leadership to U.S. troops, I call on you to resign your leadership position".[24] Hunter further wrote that Reid's declaration "can have no effect but to demoralize the brave men and women, who are honorably fulfilling their mission in Iraq, and to encourage our adversaries... Even if you sincerely believe it to be true, your pronouncement of failure will undoubtedly be used by terrorist leaders to rally their followers – inevitably leading to increased attacks on U.S. and coalition forces".
According to the July 2007 edition ofPacific Flyer, Hunter and Cunningham had pressured theDepartment of Defense to "... adviseDARPA to put an immediate halt to bureaucratic delays and get on with the DuPont Aerospace DP-2 testing." The DP-2 is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing, orVTOL, aircraft designed by DuPont Aerospace to transport special operations forces, but has been repeatedly rejected by theUnited States Navy,United States Army,United States Air Force,NASA, and DARPA. The design, of which all four constructed models have crashed, has had $63 million appropriated to it since 1991, not including a suggested $6 million for fiscal year 2008. Despite the rejections and reports by multiple military and civilian experts that the aircraft will not fly or hover and will incinerate Special Operations forces rappelling out of the aircraft, Hunter has allegedly repeatedly added funding for the DP-2 in "earmarks" and defended the aircraft in recent testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology. Hunter received $36,000 in donations from DuPont Aerospace.[25]According to his testimony before Congress,[26]Hunter compared the lack of success of the DP-2 to the trials of perfecting the V-22 Osprey. He alleged that such long-term testing is necessary to keep American forces equipped with the best technology.
In April 2023 NPR reported on a "friendly fire" mortar incident in Iraq that occurred in 2004, but had been covered up. Hunter's son Duncan D. Hunter was serving at the command center that ordered the mortar fire, and may have been responsible for the order. Lt. Gen. James Conway, top Marine officer in Iraq, signed off on the report that declined to exact punishments from those responsible for the incident. He did so two days after a personal visit from Hunter. The report was only disseminated to family members three years later, by order of a congressional investigation carried out after Hunter had left the committee. The Marine Corps claimed to be unable to fulfill NPR's FOIA request for the report, as it was said to be "missing."[27]
In November 1997, Hunter was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsora resolution byBob Barr that sought to launch animpeachment inquiry into PresidentBill Clinton.[28][29] The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.[29] This was an early effort toimpeach Clinton, predating the eruption of theClinton–Lewinsky scandal. The eruption of that scandal would ultimately lead to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.[30] On October 8, 1998, Hunter voted in favor of legislation that was passed to openan impeachment inquiry.[31]On December 19, 1998, Hunter voted in favor of all four proposedarticles of impeachment against Clinton (only two of which received the needed majority of votes needed to be adopted).[32][33][34][35]
On December 8, 2006, Hunter introduced H.R. 6375, which would have required the defense department to post the purpose of all congressionalearmarks in annual defense bills, along with the location and a grade according to the utility of the earmark.
Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors.[36] Hunter states that The Right to Life Act "would legally define "personhood" as the moment ofconception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment."[37] Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.[38]
On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity."[39] HR 6390 IH, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act",[40] would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors", or specifically, "any pornographic communication, picture, image, graphic image file, article, recording, writing, or otherpornographic matter of any kind",[41] if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."[42]
In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles (23 km) of security fencing on the international land border separatingSan Diego County andTijuana,Mexico. In 2005, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of areinforced fence along the entireU.S.-Mexico border, citing crime statistics as measures of San Diego-Tijuana fence's success.[43]After successfully adding an amendment to a House-passed[44] bill that ultimately stalled in House–Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced byNew York CongressmanPeter T. King.[45] He has said that if he becomes president, the 754-mile (1,213 km) double layer border fence will be built in less than 12 months.
Hunter repeatedly voted against internationaltrade agreements such as theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), theCentral America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and theWorld Trade Organization (WTO).[46]
Hunter was not implicated in theDuke Cunningham /Brent R. Wilkes congressionalbribery scandal. In December 2005, Hunter directed that the contributions his campaign received from Wilkes and Wade be given to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.[47] "We had options," said Bruce Young, treasurer for Hunter's re-election campaign. "We could keep the money, send it back, send it to the government or send it to a charity. We just felt that because of the situation, we would rather not have the money."[48] More than 100 members of the House and Senate – Republicans and Democrats – accepted money from Wilkes, former MZM Inc. president Mitchell Wade, their relatives, employees orpolitical action committees, according toOpenSecrets, a campaign watchdog group.
On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for theRepublican nomination forPresident in2008. Throughout 2006, hisPeace Through StrengthPAC raised funds and ran advertising expressing his issues of border security and fair trade.Hunter formally announced his presidential candidacy inSpartanburg, South Carolina, on January 25, 2007.[49]
During 2007, Hunter did well in some county- and state-levelstraw polls, including a victory at the first GOPTexas Straw Poll on September 1,[50] but those results did not transfer to regular polls at national or state levels.
Conservative commentatorAnn Coulter and aviation legendChuck Yeager both endorsed Hunter as their choice for President, but Hunter received little support from the Republican establishment. GovernorMike Huckabee ofArkansas, who was also seeking the Republican nomination for President, stated that Hunter might play a role in a potential Huckabee administration, noting that he is "extraordinarily well qualified to beSecretary of Defense."[51]
As the caucus and primary season got underway, Hunter began being excluded from Republican debate forums. On January 7, 2008, he held a press conference where reporters thought he would announce his withdrawal. Instead, he surprised pundits by first lambastingABC News andFox News not allowing him to participate in previous days' televised debates and then declaring that he would not withdraw from the presidential race: "I am not going to let some arrogant knucklehead executive in a glass office 10 stories above a mall in New York City decide the outcome of this election."[52][53]
In theIowa caucuses Hunter finished in seventh place with 524 votes, or one percent of the total. In theNew Hampshire primary he finished in seventh and last place again with 1,220 votes, or less than one percent of the total votes cast. In theWyoming caucuses he had his best showing, coming in third and scoring 1 delegate to theRepublican National Convention. However, in theMichigan primary, Hunter once again placed last, coming in eighth behind "Uncommitted" (which received 15,000 more votes than Hunter). On the last day of his campaign, Hunter won just two percent of the vote in theNevada caucuses, and in theSouth Carolina primary he received only 0.2 percent of the vote, putting him in last place in both states. He withdrew from the race that night, on January 19, 2008. Hunter subsequently endorsed Huckabee for the Republican nomination.[54]
Hunter voted with a majority of the Republicans 88.7 percent of the time.[55] He was a member of the conservativeRepublican Study Committee. Hunter is a member of theUnited States Congressional International Conservation Caucus.[56] Hunter is a staunchconservative.[57] In January 2007, when he announced his presidential candidacy, Hunter had a lifetime rating of 92% from theAmerican Conservative Union, indicating a highly conservative voting record.[58]
Hunter was a supporter of theFairTax plan, which would replace allfederal income taxes with a federalsales tax.[59]
On environmental issues, Hunter score a 9% (out of 100%) lifetime voting score from theLeague of Conservation Voters, an environmental group.[60] He supportingdrilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR),[59] voting twice to open the area to drilling.[60] Hunter also voted for legislation reducing protections forendangered species.[59] Hunter twice co-sponsored legislation to end the moratorium onoffshore drilling in American waters.[60] Hunter acknowledged the occurrence ofclimate change, but called the position of former Vice PresidentAl Gore, who agrees with thescientific consensus on climate change, "doomsday alarmism".[60]
During his tenure in the House and his unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, Hunter was a staunch supporter of theIraq War.[58][59] Although Hunter generally favoredfree trade,[58] he condemned Chinese currency devaluation and expressed a desire to protect the U.S. manufacturing sector,[57] and proposed imposingtariffs on imports from China.[59]
Hunter voted for the2003 legislation that createdMedicare Part D, a partialprescription drug benefit for seniors.[59]
Hunter opposedsame-sex marriage, and proposed aconstitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman.[59]
As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Hunter "developed a reputation for never meeting a weapons system he didn't like."[61] Hunter usedcongressional earmarks to "steer money" to defense projects that the Defense Department did not want, including theL-3 CommunicationsSea Fighter and theDuPont Aerospace DP-1.[61] Hunter defended the use of earmarks by saying that it was the constitutional prerogative of Congress to decide how specifically federal monies should be spent.[62]
He isopposed to abortion in all cases and proposed a constitutional amendment to make abortion illegal.[59][61] He also introduced a number of bills in the House to restrict abortion.[59] Hunter also opposedembryonic stem cell research,[58] and voted against theStem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005.[59]
Hunter was outspoken in his opposition toillegal immigration, favoring strict measures to combat it.[57][58] He was a leading voice pushing for faster and more extensive construction of aU.S.–Mexico border fence, naming the border "our biggest homeland security problem" and listing a fence as a top priority.[63] Hunter criticized theU.S. Department of Homeland Security under theGeorge W. Bush administration for planning to build just half of the 700 miles of U.S.–Mexico border barrier authorized by theSecure Fence Act of 2006.[63]
Hunter supported thedeath penalty and voted against legislation to restrict its use.[59]
Hunter was a major supporter of thecontroversial Mount Soledad cross, clashing with advocates forseparation of church and state over the issue.[59]
Hunter favoredschool vouchers andhomeschooling.[59]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Media related toDuncan Hunter at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 42nd congressional district 1981–1983 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 45th congressional district 1983–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 52nd congressional district 1993–2009 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Armed Services Committee 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Armed Services Committee 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on Armed Services | ||
|---|---|---|
| Military Affairs Committee (1822–1947) |  | |
| Naval Affairs Committee (1822–1947) | ||
| Armed Services Committee* (from 1947) | ||
*Alternately namedNational Security in 104th and 105th Congresses. | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
