Jim Sensenbrenner

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Jim Sensenbrenner
Jim Sensenbrenner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 5th district
In office
1979-present
Preceded by Tom Barrett
Succeeded by Incumbent
Born June 14, 1943 (age 63)
Chicago, Illinois
Political party Republican
Spouse Cheryl Warren Sensenbrenner
Religion Episcopalian

Frank James (Jim) Sensenbrenner, Jr. (born June 14, 1943), American politician, has been Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1979, representing Wisconsin's 5th congressional district (map). The district, the state's richest, includes most of Milwaukee's suburbs, including Waukesha, West Bend, Brookfield, Delafield, Mequon and Wauwatosa. It was numbered as the 9th District until 2003.

He is the former Chairman of the House Science Committee and the former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; with the Republican loss of control of the House he was not chosen as the Judiciary Committee's ranking minority member (that honor went to Lamar S. Smith of Texas[1]). He is also a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Sensenbrenner was most recently in the news for his introduction of a controversial immigration bill, H.R. 4437, in 2006.

Contents

[edit] Background

Sensenbrenner was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. His great-grandfather Frank J. Sensenbrenner worked for Kimberly Clark and was a partner in Cellucotton Co. that produced feminine hygiene products including Kotex, Kleenex and Kurbs, then used the money from that venture to become Kimberly Clark's largest single shareholder and eventually its CEO. He was sued for how some of the stock was acquired. [1]

Sensenbrenner was raised in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and attended the private Milwaukee Country Day School, from which he graduated in 1961. He matriculated at Stanford University and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science in 1965. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1968.

In 1977, Sensenbrenner married Cheryl Warren, daughter of the influential Wisconsin Republican, former state attorney general and U.S. District Court Judge Robert Warren. The couple has two sons, Frank (born 1981), and Bob (born 1984). When not in Washington, Sensenbrenner resides in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. His family also owns a summer home on Pine Lake near Delafield, Wisconsin.

[edit] Political career

While at Stanford, Sensenbrenner served as staff assistant to California Congressman J. Arthur Younger. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1968, the same year he graduated from law school. He was there until 1975, and in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1975 to early 1979. When 9th District Congressman Bob Kasten vacated his seat to run for governor in 1978, Sensenbrenner ran in the election to succeed him, defeating his primary opponent, Susan Engeleiter, by 589 votes. [1] He was handilly elected in November and has been reelected 14 more times with no substantive opposition, and sometimes running unopposed. His district was renumbered as the 5th District after the 2000 census, when Wisconsin lost a district.

In the November 2006 general election, Sensenbrenner faced for the second consecutive time the Democrat Bryan Kennedy, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from Glendale. [2] but defeated him again.[3]

According to a May 9, 2005, article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sensenbrenner and his family racked up $203,175 in travel costs covered by various lobbyist groups and think tanks since 2000. He is the reigning congressional champ when it comes to taking free trips - a title he has held for at least two years, according to data by Political Money Line. Private groups footed the bill for him to hopscotch the globe, allowing him to travel to, among other places, Paris, once; Singapore and Germany, twice each; and Las Vegas and Tokyo, both four times. Frequently at his side - and on the sponsor's expense account - was his wife. [2]

[edit] Legislative record and stance on issues

In 1998, Sensenbrenner had an important role in the impeachment of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, acting as one of the House managers.

Sensenbrenner introduced the USA PATRIOT Act to the House on October 23, 2001. Sensenbrenner did not write the USA PATRIOT Act; the primary author was Assistant Attorney General of the United States Viet Dinh. In November 2004, Sensenbrenner and California Congressman Duncan Hunter objected to provisions of a bill that, among other things, created a Director of National Intelligence, a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.

In 2005, Sensenbrenner authored the Real ID Act which requires additional scrutiny of citizenship before issuing drivers' licenses and creates a federal database of state-issued identification. He attached the controversial act as a rider on military spending bill HR418. Subsequently, it was passed by the Senate without debate. [4]

Sensenbrenner believes in criminal prosecution of broadcasters and cable operators who violate decency standards as opposed to the current FCC regulatory methods.[5]

On June 17, 2005, Sensenbrenner, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, abruptly ended a meeting where Republicans and Democrats were supposed to be debating the renewal of the PATRIOT Act and walked out in response to Democratic members raising issues regarding human rights violations at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay and the ongoing Iraq war. He ordered the court reporter to halt transcriptions of the proceedings, C-SPAN cameras covering the meeting be shut off, and that discussion on the issue be halted. Sensenbrenner defended his actions by claiming that the Democrats and witnesses had repeatedly violated House Rules in discussing issues he believed to be unrelated to the subject of the meeting.[6] His abrupt walkout was contrary to House parliamentary procedure, which is to adjourn either on motion or without objection.

Sensenbrenner was the main sponsor of H.R. 4437, a bill passed by the House in 2005 that would provide additional criminal penalties for aiding and abetting illegal immigration.[7]

On December 16, 2005, Sensenbrenner introduced the Digital Transition Content Security Act.

In 2006, it was reported that Sensenbrenner would help lead the effort to pass the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006, which is supported by large copyright holders and opposed by fair use activists.[8]

Sensenbrenner receives high marks from the National Taxpayers Union, an anti-tax non-profit organization.[9]

In 2006, Sensenbrenner joined with House Speaker Dennis Hastert in expressing outrage concerning the FBI raid of the congressional office of Representative William J. Jefferson, asserting constitutional concerns over separation of powers. He held Judiciary Committee hearings in May 2006 on this issue. Many Republican and conservative pundits, including Rush Limbaugh took a dim view of this stance, deeming it politically damaging to the Republican Party, and a June 1, 2006 ABC news poll found 86% of Americans supported the right of the FBI to search a congressional office when they obtain a warrant.

In Fall of 2006, The Animal Fighting Prohibition Act bill unanimously passed the Senate, but Sensenbrenner used his position to block final House consideration of the legislation, even though the bill had 324 cosponsors. The Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act, S. 382 and H.R. 817, creates felony-level penalties for animal fighting activities.

In Fall of 2006, H.R. 552 The Right to Life Act had hearings scheduled for December 12, 2006 at 10am, but Sensenbrenner cancelled them right before the House adjourned on December 9 at 3:17am. [3]. The purpose of H.R. 552 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.[10]

In 2006, Sensenbrenner was rated the second-worst member of the House by Rolling Stone magazine and dubbed "the dictator" [4].

[edit] Other

  • Sensenbrenner has a net worth of about $10 million. He has put his money into stocks, detailing his investments down to the penny each year in the Congressional Record. [1]
  • Sensenbrenner was the top-ranking House member in terms of travel costs paid by private interests from 2001 to mid-2005.[1] In 2005, he reported more privately funded travel than any other member of Congress. Between January 2000 and July 2006, he took about $200,000 worth of privately funded travel.[11]
  • In January 1998, Sensenbrenner won $250,000 on a lottery ticket, purchased on December 18, 1997 at Congressional Liquors, the liquor store in Capitol Hill.[12]
  • Sensenbrenner is an Episcopalian.[13]
  • Before his 2006 re-election bid, Sensenbrenner received $492,511 (or 67.5% of his campaign funds) from political action committees (PACs) and $233,903 (32%) from individual contributions. He donated little of the money to his own campaign.[14] Despite his spending amount, he was able to win heavily and donated $100,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.[15]
  • In March 2005, Sensenbrenner sided firmly with the parents and siblings of the late Terri Schiavo, who fought unsuccessfully in the federal courts to secure home care of their mentally-damaged daughter. Schiavo's estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, of Florida secured her death through the removal of a tube for hydration and food amid a national controversy.
  • Sensenbrenner was named the 2006 "Man of the Year" by the conservative publication Human Events because of his opposition to open-borders immigration policies. [16]
  • Sensenbrenner is often called "Senselessbrenner" by Milwaukee-area liberals.[5] The Capital Times of Madison called him by this nickname in a 2006 editorial. [6]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Goldman, T.R., "The Man With The Iron Gavel", Legal Times May 2, 2005
  2. ^ Bryan Kennedy for Congress website
  3. ^ Kagen pulls off upset over Gard
  4. ^ Barrett, Ted. CNN"House, Senate agree on $82 billion war spending bill"
  5. ^ Boliek, Brooks. "Sensenbrenner to cable execs: Indecency is criminal act" The Hollywood Reporter, April 5, 2005.
  6. ^ United States House Committee on the Judiciary press release"Sensenbrenner Floor Statement Regarding Question of Personal Privilege", June 16, 2005
  7. ^ "H.R. 4437: Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005", GovTrack.us
  8. ^ McCullagh, Declan. "Congress readies broad new digital copyright bill" CNET News.com, April 23, 2006
  9. ^ "Representative Sensenbrenner - Interest Group Ratings", vote-smart.org
  10. ^ Right to Life Act 2005 list of co-sponsors and text of bill, accessed October 30, 2006
  11. ^ "Sensenbrenner tops list of privately funded travel", Associated Press, August 3, 2006
  12. ^ "National News Briefs; Wisconsin Congressman Wins Big Lottery Prize" New York Times, December 31, 1997
  13. ^ "Bishop says immigration bill is wrong" Episcopal News Service, March 16, 2006
  14. ^ Profile of F. James Sensenbrenner from OpenSecrets.org
  15. ^ Safe GOP House Members Fund Effort to Hold Back Dems $100,000 contribution, retrieved 11-09-06
  16. ^ [http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18622

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Bob Kasten		 United States Representative for the 9th Congressional District of Wisconsin
1979 – 2003		 Succeeded by
District Eliminated
Preceded by
Tom Barrett		 United States Representative for the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin
2003 – Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Bob Walker		 Chairman of the House Committee on Science
1997 – 2001		 Succeeded by
Sherwood Boehlert
Preceded by
Henry Hyde		 Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
2001 – 2007		 Succeeded by
John Conyers



Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators: Herb Kohl (D), Russ Feingold (D)

Representative(s): Paul Ryan (R), Tammy Baldwin (D), Ron Kind (D), Gwen Moore (D), Jim Sensenbrenner (R), Tom Petri (R), Dave Obey (D), Steve Kagen (D)

All delegations: Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands
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