Milton Robert Carr

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Milton Robert Carr, commonly known as Bob Carr, (born March 27, 1943) is a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Carr was born in Janesville, Wisconsin and was educated in public schools of Janesville. He received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison in 1965 and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1968. He did graduate work at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan and was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1968 and to the Michigan bar in 1969. He commenced practice in Lansing, Michigan and served as Michigan assistant attorney general, 1970–1972.

Carr was elected as a Democrat from Michigan's 6th congressional district to the U.S. House for the 94th and to the two succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1981. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1980 to the 97th Congress, being defeated by Jim Dunn. Two years later, he defeated Dunn and was elected to the 98th and subsequently re-elected to the five succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1995. The last two years he represented Michigan's 8th congressional district after the redistricting in 1993. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1994, but was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate, losing to Spencer Abraham.

Carr began his career in Congress with a reputation as a rebel and self-described "angry young man." Shortly after his election in 1974, he called for the resignation of Democratic U.S. House Speaker Carl Albert. Carr later expressed public regret for his early attacks on the Congressional leadership and called them "sheer, naive stupidity." After taking office in 1975 Carr was named to the House Armed Services Committee, where he focused his attention on ending U.S. involvement in the war in Southeast Asia. On March 12, 1975 with the influential help of House Democratic Caucus Chairman Phillip Burton, Carr authored a resolution that passed the Caucus by 189-49 effectively cutting off further military assistance to South Vietnam or to Cambodia in fiscal year 1975.

After losing and regaining his seat in the 1980 and 1982 elections, respectively, he was named to the House Committee on Appropriations, lowered his profile and focused his attention on budget and spending issues. He became chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, where he pioneered the use of an economic based criteria and ranking system to earmarks requested by members of Congress for their districts.

In 2005 Carr became Of Counsel at DowLohnes PLLC, a communications law firm in Washington, DC where he works in the firm's Government Relations and Legislation practice as an lawyer and a lobbyist. He is a member of the board of directors of the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. He is married to Kate Carr, a foundation executive, and has one child, Alexandra Anne, a stepdaughter Jennifer Smith McCloskey, and a stepson Christopher Smith McCloskey.

[edit] References

[1] The Broken Branch, Mann & Ornstein, Oxford Press, 2006, ISBN 0195174461 link title

Preceded by
Charles E. Chamberlain		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 6th congressional district
1975–1981		 Succeeded by
Jim Dunn
Preceded by
Jim Dunn		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 6th congressional district
1983–1993		 Succeeded by
Fred Upton
Preceded by
Bob Traxler		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 8th congressional district
1993–1995		 Succeeded by
Dick Chrysler