Richard Burr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richard Burr | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005– Serving with Elizabeth Dole |
|
| Preceded by | John Edwards |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent (2011) |
|
|
|
| Born | November 30, 1955 (age 51) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Brooke F. Burr |
| Religion | Methodist |
Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is a United States Senator from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A Republican, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for five terms, and was elected to represent North Carolina as a U.S. Senator in the 2004 election. He defeated Democratic Party nominee Erskine Bowles in the open seat contest.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Burr graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 1974 and earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University in 1978. Burr was on the school football team at both Reynolds High School and Wake Forest. He is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
He was first elected to Congress in 1994 as part of the "Gingrich Revolution", promising term limits. Burr has strong ties to the North Carolina Piedmont Triad Research Park, involving bio-hazard and chemical, vaccines research.
Burr cited concern for America's future as a motivator for his entry into politics. The son of a prominent minister, Burr was first elected to Congress in 1994. Burr was a businessman in Winston-Salem prior to his political career.
In 1984, Burr married Brooke Fauth; the couple have two sons.
Burr is a distant cousin of Aaron Burr; perhaps because of Burr's notorious reputation, he is only the second person with his last name to win election to Congress (the first was the presumably unrelated Albert G. Burr) -- and the first Burr in the Senate -- since Aaron.[1]
[edit] Election to Senate
In July 2004, Burr won the Republican primary to seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat John Edwards. He faced Democrat Erskine Bowles and Libertarian Tom Bailey.
Burr won the election by five percentage points. Bowles's and Burr's combined campaign expenditures totaled over 26 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive Senate races in the country. Burr raised more money from political action committees, $2.8 million, than any other Senate candidate in 2004, primarily from the business community. Of the 100 largest companies in America, at least 72 contributed to Burr. Those included the PACs for such corporations as Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Ford, General Electric and ChevronTexaco.
A political conservative, Burr has strongly supported the policies of the Bush administration, publicly saying that President Bush "is right 96% of the time." [2] Like Bush, Burr is pro-life, supports the death penalty, and favors a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
According to www.congress.org, in 2007 Burr was the 86th most powerful Senator out of 100 (37th among Senate Republicans).[3]
[edit] Endorsements
Sen. Burr endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), for the 2008 Presidential Election, stating his confidence in McCain's leadership and style of governing.[1] Burr's endorsement was considered to be ironic, since his views on tobacco related issues are completely opposite to McCain; as tobacco is the main crop of North Carolina.
[edit] Bioshield Two
Burr is the sponsor of Senate bill 1873, the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005, nicknamed "Bioshield Two", which he says will give the Department of Health and Human Services "additional authority and resources to partner with the private sector to rapidly develop drugs and vaccines." Critics have stated that this bill would eliminate current regulatory and legal safeguards applied to vaccines. In addition, they state the bill is being pushed through Congress without giving voters the chance to make their objections known to their elected officials.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Durham Herald-Sun
- ^ http://ontheissues.org/NC/Richard_Burr.htm
- ^ Burr Senator Ranking
- ^ MediaMonitors.net - 'Pharma To Republicans - Time To Pay Up Again', Evelyn Pringle (November 24, 2005)
[edit] External links
- United States Senator Richard Burr official Senate site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission - Richard M. Burr campaign finance reports and data
- Inside.Pisd Biography and Blog on Inside.pisd
- On the Issues - Richard Burr issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org - Richard Burr campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Richard M. Burr (NC)
- SourceWatch Congresspedia - Richard Burr profile
- Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Richard Burr voting record
- Burr for Senate official campaign site
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stephen L. Neal |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 5th congressional district 1995–2005 |
Succeeded by Virginia Foxx |
| Preceded by John Edwards |
United States Senator (Class 3) from North Carolina 2005-Present Served alongside: Elizabeth Dole |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
