Mark Souder

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Mark Souder

United States Representative from Indiana's 3rd district
In office 1995-present
Preceded by	Tim Roemer
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	July 18, 1950 Grabill, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Diane Souder
Religion	United Brethren in Christ

Mark Edward Souder (born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who is serving his sixth term in the United States House of Representatives (map), currently representing Indiana's Third Congressional District. The Third District lies in northeast and north central Indiana and includes all of DeKalb, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties as well as major portions of Allen and Elkhart counties.

Souder was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended Leo High School, Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) and the University of Notre Dame. While in college, he was a member of the Young Americans for Freedom. Souder is the only Congressman at present to be a member of Church of the United Brethren in Christ, but was raised in the Apostolic Christian Church.^[1]

1 Congressional career
2 Political positions and actions
- 2.1 Influence of religion
- 2.2 Illegal drug use
3 2006 re-election
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Congressional career

Souder is a member of the Republican Party. His only elected office began when his first term in Congress began in January of 1995.

Souder is a member of the Government Reform Committee and chairs its Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources. The subcommittee has authorizing jurisdiction over the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (known popularly as "the Drug Czar's Office"), and it oversees all U.S. Government anti-narcotics operations, foreign and domestic. In addition, the panel has broad oversight authority (covering the National Park Service, public health programs, the Smithsonian Institution, etc.). Souder is also a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee. Along with U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), he is cofounder and cochairman of the Congressional National Parks Caucus.

In 2006, President Bush signed into law the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination Act, which represented the most comprehensive anti-meth legislation ever passed by Congress. Souder authored much of this law, which targets meth trafficking at local and state, national, and international levels.

In 2003, Souder introduced the "Ronald Reagan Dime Act", to put Reagan's image on the dime in place of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "I believe he represents conservative values as we would see them implemented through a president better than anybody else we've had in American history," Souder said. "He, to conservatives, represents kind of the reverse of FDR, who is kind of the liberal icon. Ronald Reagan is the conservative icon." ^[2]

[edit] Political positions and actions

[edit] Influence of religion

In 2004, Souder said in an interview that "the closer to the clearness of the Bible, the less ability I should have to compromise. So I view, on abortion, there's really not much room to compromise." He said, regarding Israel, "[T]he bottom line is, they're God's chosen people. He's going to stand with them. The question is: Are we going to stand with them?"^[1]

[edit] Illegal drug use

Souder was the author and champion of the Drug-Free Student Loan amendment, enacted in 1998 as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The provision suspends eligibility for federal financial aid to college students convicted of drug-related offenses. The law has thus far affected more than 175,000 students, including 9,000 Indiana students — one in every 200 applicants from that state. (This is the highest percentage of students affected among all 50 U.S. states.) In almost all cases, the suspensions of eligibility for aid are based on applicants checking a box saying that they have a drug conviction, or failing to check the box saying that they do not, rather than an actual check of criminal records. Only students who are enrolled in college at the time of their conviction may have their aid suspended. Students may resume eligibility after a period of time (for example, after one year if convicted of possession of a controlled substance) or if they complete a drug rehabilitation program approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Before the 2006-2007 academic year, the provision could also apply to high-school students, but this changed with the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act in 2001.^[3]

In early 2006, Souder added, to a bill about the office of the drug czar, a provision calling for the fungus Fusarium oxysporum to be used as a biological control agent against drug crops in foreign countries. Several federal and state agencies have previously rejected such use of the fungus because it is highly prone to mutation.^[4]

[edit] 2006 re-election

In his initial campaign for Congress in 1994, Souder pledged that he would not serve more than six terms.^[5] He first served four terms representing Indiana's Fourth Congressional District. Since 2002, he has represented Indiana's Third Congressional District. Souder ran successfully for a seventh House term in the 2006 election.

Because he believes that an actual voting record in Congress is more valuable than claimed positions on issues, Souder has repeatedly refused to report his issue positions at Project VoteSmart, despite requests by John McCain (R), Geraldine Ferraro (D), Michael Dukakis (D), Bill Frenzel (R), and support for the project by over 100 news organizations.^[6] However, his 1994 issues profile is still available in the project archives.^[7]

Souder's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 general election was Fort Wayne City Councilman and veteran Tom Hayhurst, an M.D. who contributed $200,000 to his own campaign. Despite a Democrat tide that swept much of the United States, Souder won all eight counties in his congressional district and defeated Hayhurst by a margin of eight points. However, Hayhurst held Souder to an unimpressive 54%-46% margin. Despite the fact that IN-3 is decidely Republican; voting 68%-32% for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004 and at the same time re-electing Souder 69%-31%. The results were redolent of the change that saw three GOP incumbent congressman defeated statewide, in IN-2, IN-8 and IN-9 - all Republican districts picked up by the Democrats.

[edit] Notes

^ ^a ^b "Interview: Congressman Mark Souder", Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, April 23, 2004
^ "Conservatives want Reagan to replace FDR on U.S. dimes", Associated Press, December 5, 2003
^ Just Check No?: A lie college students might want to tell, Slate, April 13, 2006
^ Call for biowar on drugs, New Scientist, April 29, 2006
^ Andrea Stone, "Term-limit pledges get left behind", USAToday, April 12, 2006
^ Representative Mark Souder's current page on the National Political Awareness Test, Project VoteSmart, accessed October 29, 2006
^ Souder's responses to the 1994 Congressional National Political Awareness Test, Project VoteSmart, accessed October 29, 2006

[edit] External links

Preceded by Jill L. Long	United States Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Indiana 1995-2003	Succeeded by Steve Buyer
Preceded by Tim Roemer	United States Representative for the 3th Congressional District of Indiana 2003-present	Succeeded by Incumbent