Bud Shuster

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Elmer Greinert "Bud" Shuster (born January 23, 1932) is an American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1972 to 2001. He is best known for his advocacy of transportation projects which critics deride as "pork barrel" spending.

Shuster was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Glassport, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1954, an M.B.A. from Duquesne University in 1960, and a Ph.D. from American University in 1967. Shuster served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956. After leaving behind college and military life, Shuster entered the business world. He became a vice-president at RCA, and he made a fortune when he started his own computer business. In 1972, he defeated a state senator in the Republican primary for Congress and was elected that November.

In Congress, Shuster was one of the opponents of the automobile airbag and ran for the position of Minority Whip in 1981, losing to Trent Lott. Shuster chaired the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure from 1995 to 2001.

Shuster was frequently unopposed for re-election. His most notable challenger came in 1984 when Nancy Kulp, the actress who played Miss Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies won the Democratic nomination. Kulp, a native of Pennsylvania, had returned to her home state upon her retirement from acting and received support from her friends in Hollywood. This prompted Shuster to recruit Kulp's Hillbillies co-star Buddy Ebsen, a Republican, to record radio spots declaring "Hey Nancy, I love you dearly but you're too liberal for me--I've got to go with Bud Shuster." Shuster would win with two-thirds of the vote and Kulp would never forgive Ebsen, complaining about it bitterly for the rest of her life.

During his time as chairman numerous transportation projects were funded, including Interstate 99, the only Interstate highway to have its route number (a violation of the usual Interstate numbering standard) written into law. The route was later named the "Bud Shuster Highway" by Governor Robert Casey. When the transportation authorization bill known by its initials as "BESTEA" was under consideration, his fellow members joked the letters stood for the "Bud E. Shuster Transportation for All Eternity Act" for its many "pork barrel" projects.

In 1996, Shuster was the focus of an ethics investigation by the Congressional Accountability Project stemming from the complex relationship between Representative Shuster and former Shuster aide turned lobbyist Ann Eppard, and Rep. Shuster's interventions with federal agencies on behalf of a business partner of his sons.

Shuster resigned from Congress on February 3, 2001, claiming health problems but also due to a Republican policy of term limitations on House Committee chairs, meaning that he could no longer chair the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. He was succeeded by his son Bill, elected in a special election that May.

[edit] References

• Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa. The Almanac of American Politics, 1994. Washington, D.C.: National Journal, 1993. ISBN 0-89234-058-4
• Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa. The Almanac of American Politics, 1998. Washington, D.C.: National Journal, 1997. ISBN 0-89234-080-0
• Michael Barone, Richard E. Cohen, and Grant Ujifusa. The Almanac of American Politics, 2002. Washington, D.C.: National Journal, 2001. ISBN 0-89234-099-1
• Congressional Quarterly. Politics in America, 1992: The 102nd Congress. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1991. ISBN 0-87187-599-3
• United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Printing. 1987-1988 Official Congressional Directory, 100th Congress. Duncan Nystrom, editor. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1987.
• United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Printing. 1991-1992 Official Congressional Directory, 102d Congress. Duncan Nystrom, editor. S. Pub. 102-4. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1991.

[edit] External link

• Ethics Committee complaint (1996)

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Preceded by John H. Ware III

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district 1972-2001

Succeeded by Bill Shuster