Henry Waxman

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Henry Waxman

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 30th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 1975
Preceded by	None (District Created)
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	September 12, 1939 (age 67) Los Angeles, California
Political party	Democrat
Spouse	Janet Waxman
Religion	Jewish

Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician. He has represented California's 30th congressional district (map) in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975. Waxman, a Democrat, is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress. He serves the famous cities of West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, and parts of the city of Los Angeles.

With the Democrats' victory in the 2006 midterm elections, Waxman became chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the principal investigative committee of the House. He was the committee's ranking Democrat from 1997 to 2007.

1 Life
2 The Oversight Committee
3 Waxman and the Red Line
4 Jewish identity and politics
5 District information
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Life

Waxman was born in Los Angeles. He attended college at UCLA, earning a bachelor's degree in political science in 1961. Waxman also attended UCLA law school, receiving his law degree in 1964. After graduating, he worked as a lawyer and member of the California Assembly before being elected to the House. In 2003, Waxman delivered the keynote address to the Political Science graduating class at UCLA in Pauley Pavilion.

Before the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in 1995, Waxman was a powerful figure in the House as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health and the Environment from 1979. In this role he conducted investigations into a range of health and environmental issues, including universal health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid coverage, AIDS and air and water pollution.

According to his Web site, his legislative priorities are health and environmental issues. These include universal health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid coverage, tobacco, AIDS, air and water quality standards, pesticides, nursing home quality standards, women's health research and reproductive rights, the availability and cost of prescription drugs, and the right of communities to know about pollution levels.

[edit] The Oversight Committee

Waxman had a reputation for a vigorous approach to oversight long before becoming ranking Democrat on what was known as the Government Reform Committee in 1997. He was well known for insisting that witnesses appearing before his subcommittee testify under oath, thus exposing them to perjury charges if they didn't tell the truth. For example, in 1994, he forced the chief executives of the seven major tobacco companies to swear under oath that nicotine was not addictive. He learned from the example of the longtime chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell.

In 1998, he created a "Special Investigations Division" to investigate matters that he felt the full committee had neglected. This was possible because the committee has broad powers to investigate any matter with federal policy implications, even if another committee has jurisdiction over it. [1] He has also harshly criticized the Republicans for ignoring their "constitutional responsibility" to conduct oversight over the government. [2].

On the day after the 2006 elections, Waxman directed his aides to draw up an "oversight plan" for the panel. He had already let it be known that he wanted to investigate Halliburton, as well as its alleged malfeasance related to government contracts in Iraq. It is very likely that he could also investigate the numerous scandals surrounding Jack Abramoff. This led to concerns among Democrat aides that the Government Reform Committee under Waxman would stage a repeat of the committee's performance under the Clinton administration, when it issued over 1,000 subpoenas.^{[citation needed]} However, Waxman told Newsweek that he is interested in accountability and not retaliation. [3] On January 4, Waxman changed the committee's name to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, or the Oversight Committee for short.

[edit] Waxman and the Red Line

In 1985, Waxman sponsored a bill to ban federal funding for the Red Line subway in his district supported by affluent homeowners groups in response to a methane gas explosion in the Fairfax District. In 2005, a robust real estate market, multi-dwelling construction boom, and lack of public mass transit planning on the westside caused by Waxman's bill resulted in gridlock throughout Waxman's district.^[1] At the request of Los Angeles Mayor and LACMTA Board President Antonio Villaraigosa, Waxman agreed to lift the ban if a panel of five engineers found tunneling under the Miracle Mile stretch of Wilshire Boulevard to be safe. In October 2005, the panel decided that tunneling was possible, and on December 16, Waxman responded by announcing he would introduce a bill to the U.S. House which would lift the ban on federal money for subway tunneling in the district. This bill passed the House via unanimous vote on September 20, 2006.^[2]

Waxman maintains that the 1985 bill was sponsored in the interest of public safety and not, as some allege, to hinder access of the working classes in South and East Los Angeles to his affluent district. In a letter to the Los Angeles Times, Waxman cites the 2005 study: "The panel concurred as well that in 1985, the decision to hold further tunneling in abeyance was prudent, given the circumstances and extent of information and technology at that time. Much has changed since then to significantly improve tunneling and operation safety."^[3]

[edit] Jewish identity and politics

Waxman, who represents a dominantly liberal district with a relatively high concentration of Jews in number and proportion, is proud of his "strong Jewish identity" and has drawn political conclusions from his exploration of the religion. "Judaism is about acting and doing the right thing, not simply believing in it or mindlessly following ritual," he said in a speech presented by the University of Southern California's Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life.^[4] Waxman said he applies Jewish ethical values to his congressional service. He further said that the "Jewish values" of "human rights, social justice, and equal opportunities [...] are synonymous with American values," and that such values "are in my opinion closer to a democratic position." Saying it suffers from "a culture of corruption" and "has become obsessed with secrecy," he accused the American government of having abandoned these values. "(The) Republican leadership ignores presidential rules and norms and has no consideration for custom," he said.

Critics believe Rep. Waxman did not follow his own advice of "acting and doing the right thing, not simply believing in it or mindlessly following ritual" when he supported the war in Iraq. In 2002, he voted for the resolution that gave President Bush the power to invade Iraq. In an official statement before his vote, he called Saddam Hussein "the patron saint of the homicide bombers in Israel" and added "(w)hether he is tied in with al-Qaeda is still subject to debate, but they share an intense hatred for the United States, Israel, and our allies, and in their willingness to attack civilians to achieve their purposes."^[5] Rep. Waxman's vote for the Iraq War disappointed many of his progressive supporters and constituents. When a number of veteran anti-war activists met with Rep. Waxman in 2005, he was described as "a relatively defensive man who professed to have been “fooled” into voting for the Iraq War by the Bush Administration."^[6]

[edit] District information

Waxman's district includes the complete cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu, West Hollywood and Woodland Hills, as well as such areas of Los Angeles as Beverly-Fairfax, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Beverlywood, Topanga, Agoura, Chatsworth, Westside Village and Westwood.

[edit] See also

Hatch-Waxman Act
Politicization of science for a brief discussion of Waxman's work on the subject
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 for Waxman's take on whether that bill became law or not

[edit] References

^ http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/red-line-to-somewhere/881/ Christine Pelisek, Red Line to Somewhere, LA Weekly, 3 March 2005
^ In boost to LA subway extension, House lifts tunneling ban. San Francisco Chronicle.
^ Henry Waxman (2006-01-03). The facts about Red Line safety. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2006-01-03.
^ Meier, Gretchen. "Congressman lambastes Bush, Republicans on ethical issues", Daily Trojan, 2006-04-24. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
^ Waxman, Rep. Henry. "Statement Regarding the Possible War with Iraq", Henry Waxman's Congressional Website, 2002-10-10. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
^ Moriarty, Andrew. "PDA Activists Lobby Waxman: Peace Activists Take it to Waxman", Progressive Democrats of America, 2005-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.

[edit] External links

U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman official House site
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Federal Election Commission - Henry A. Waxman campaign finance reports and data
New York Times - Topics: Henry A. Waxman collected news and commentary
On the Issues - Henry Waxman issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org - Henry A. Waxman campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Representative Henry A. Waxman (CA) profile
SourceWatch Congresspedia - Henry A. Waxman profile
Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Henry Waxman voting record
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Henry A. Waxman, Chairman
The Democratic Commitment Henry A. Waxman, Honorary Chairman

Articles

The Scariest Guy in Washington Karen Tumulty, Time, November 27, 2006
Congressman writes White House: Did President knowingly sign law that didn't pass? , The Raw Story, March 15, 2006
On Chalabi, Congress, and Getting Back to Work Rep. Henry Waxman, Huffington Post, November 12, 2005
Rep. Henry Waxman on Karl Rove: "The President Said He Would Fire Anybody He Found Responsible", Democracy Now, July 12, 2005
Red Line to Somewhere Christine Pelisek, LA Weekly, Thursday, March 3, 2005, interview on subway proposal
Waxman: Democrats' Eliot Ness David Corn, The Nation, January 27, 2005
BuzzFlash Interviews Congressman Henry Waxman January 31, 2002
BuzzFlash Interviews Congressman Henry Waxman December 24, 2001
Los Angeles Times Interview: Henry Waxman Robert Scheer. LA Times, October 10, 1993

Preceded by John H. Rousselot	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 24th congressional district 1975 – 1993	Succeeded by Anthony C. Beilenson
Preceded by Maxine Waters	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 29th congressional district 1993 – 2003	Succeeded by Adam Schiff
Preceded by Xavier Becerra	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 30th congressional district 2003 – present	Incumbent