Pete Stark

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Pete Stark

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1973
Preceded by	George P. Miller

Born	November 11, 1931 (1931-11-11) (age 76) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Deborah Stark
Residence	Fremont, California
Alma mater	MIT University of California, Berkeley
Religion	Unitarian Universalist (atheist)

Fortney Hillman "Pete" Stark, Jr. (born November 11, 1931) is an American politician from the state of California. A Democrat, he has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1973, representing California's 13th congressional district in southwestern Alameda County.

The 13th district includes Alameda, Union City, Hayward, Newark, San Leandro and Fremont, as well as parts of Oakland and Pleasanton. Stark lives in Fremont.

Peter Stark is the first, and so far only, openly atheist member of the United States Congress.

1 Early life and education
2 Congressional career
- 2.1 Committee assignments
- 2.2 Controversial statements
3 Political views
4 Atheism
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life and education

Stark was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received an Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953.^[1] He served in the United States Air Force from 1955 to 1957. After leaving the Air Force, Stark attended the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and received his MBA in 1960. Stark enjoyed living in the Bay Area so much that he decided to settle there after graduating.

In 1963, Stark founded Security National Bank, a small bank in Walnut Creek. Within 10 years it grew to a $100 million company with branches across the East Bay.

Stark grew up as a Republican, but his opposition to the Vietnam War led him to switch parties in the mid-1960s. He printed checks with peace signs on them and placed a giant peace sign on the roof of his bank's headquarters.

[edit] Congressional career

In 1972, Stark ran in the Democratic primary against ten-term incumbent U.S. Representative George Paul Miller in what was then the 8th district. He won the nomination by a shocking 34-point margin. In the 1972 general election he won by a narrow 5-point margin. Since that election he has not faced a contest nearly that close and has been reelected 16 times. He has only dropped below 60 percent of the vote once (in 1980). Due to redistricting his district has changed numbers three times, from the 8th (1973–75) to the 9th (1975–93) to the 13th (since 1993).

Today Stark is the longest-serving member of Congress from California. He has been a ranking member of the Banking and Currency Committee and powerful Ways and Means Committee. He also served as chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia in the 103rd Congress. His voting record is generally very liberal, as indicated in the ratings section below, and he has been voted the most liberal member of Congress for two consecutive years. He was a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

He is running for re-election in 2008 and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.^[2]

[edit] Committee assignments

Committee on Ways & Means
- Subcommittee on Health (Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support

[edit] Controversial statements

Stark has long been known to make controversial statements through his political career.

In August 1990, Stark drew controversy for calling Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Wade Sullivan, an African American, "a disgrace to his race" for "supporting Bush Administration policies that Mr. Stark called "bankrupt and damaging to minority members". Stark was criticizing a speech by Sullivan who opposes proposals for federally-sponsored national health insurance (Stark had introduced legislation for national health insurance). Stark said that Sullivan had been influenced by George H. W. Bush administration officials such as Office of Management and Budget Director Richard Darman and White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu to change his positions on both abortion and health care. Stark later apologized for the controversy.^[3]

On October 18, 2007, Stark made the following comments on the House floor during a debate with Congressman Joe Barton of Texas: "Republicans sure don't care about finding $200 billion to fight the illegal war in Iraq. Where are you going to get that money? Are you going to tell us lies like you're telling us today? Is that how you're going to fund the war? You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement."^[4]^[5] Following the initial criticism to his statements, when asked by a radio station if he would take back any of his statements, Stark responded "Absolutely not. I may have dishonored the commander in chief, but I think he’s done pretty well to dishonor himself without any help from me."^[6] Five days later on October 23, 2007, Stark said, "I apologize for this reason: I think we have serious issues before us, the issue of providing medical care to children, the issue about what we’re going to do about a war that we’re divided about how to end."^[7]

Other controversies include calling Congressman Scott McInnis of Colorado a "little wimp" and a "little fruitcake" and challenging him to a fight during a Ways and Means Committee meeting.^[8] In a 2001 debate, he falsely stated that all of the children of Congressman J. C. Watts of Oklahoma were "born out of wedlock."^[8] In another debate, he called Congresswoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut a "whore for the insurance industry" and suggested that her knowledge of health care came solely from "pillow talk" with her husband, a physician.^[8]

The San Francisco Chronicle editorialized on Stark, "Only a politician who assumes he has a job for life could behave so badly on a semi-regular basis by spewing personalized invective that might get him punched in certain East Bay taverns. Would-be challengers sometimes sense a whiff of opportunity, but the reality of taking on a 16-term Democrat in solidly liberal terrain is nothing short of daunting. Surely there must be someone along the shoreline between Alameda and Fremont who could represent the good citizens of the district with class and dignity. It's not the case now."^[9]

[edit] Political views

[edit] Budget

Along with John Conyers, in April 2006 Stark brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. ^[10] The case, Conyers v. Bush, was ultimately dismissed.^[11]

Stark voted against the bipartisan May 2008 farm subsidy bill, which was supported by over half of House Democrats and over half of House Republicans, in part because of its cost.[1]

[edit] Health care

Stark is known to have a longstanding interest in health care issues and has been critical of the fate of the uninsured under the current administration.^[12]

[edit] Iraq War

Pete Stark was an early opponent of the Iraq War, speaking on the House floor against the resolution authorizing military force against Iraq, on October 10, 2002. In part he said, "Well then, who will pay? School kids will pay. There'll be no money to keep them from being left behind — way behind. Seniors will pay. They'll pay big time as the Republicans privatize Social Security and rob the Trust Fund to pay for the capricious war. Medicare will be curtailed and drugs will be more unaffordable. And there won't be any money for a drug benefit because Bush will spend it all on the war. Working folks will pay through loss of job security and bargaining rights. Our grandchildren will pay through the degradation of our air and water quality. And the entire nation will pay as Bush continues to destroy civil rights, women's rights and religious freedom in a rush to phony patriotism and to courting the messianic Pharisees of the religious right."

In January 2003 Stark supported a reinstatement of the draft, partly in protest against the call to war but also saying, "If we're going to have these escapades, we should not do it on the backs of poor people and minorities."^[13] In October 2004, Stark was one of only two members of Congress to vote in favor of the Universal National Service Act of 2003 (HR 163), a bill proposing resumption of the military draft.

Stark voted against authorizing the Iraq war and has opposed every funding bill for the war while the Republicans controlled Congress. However, he chose not to stand against the Democratic legislation to continue funding the war on March 23, 2007, despite other liberal Democrats voting against the bill. In a statement posted on his website he stated, "Despite my utmost respect for my colleagues who crafted this bill, I can't in good conscience vote to continue this war. Nor, however, can I vote 'No' and join those who think today's legislation goes too far toward withdrawal. That's why I'm making the difficult decision to vote 'present'."^[14] Stark was the only member of Congress to take this position.

[edit] Atheism

Stark is the first openly atheist member of Congress, as announced by the Secular Coalition for America.^[15] Stark acknowledged his atheism in response to an SCA questionnaire sent to public officials in January 2007. In a statement, Stark said he is a "Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social service."^[16]

On September 20, 2007, Stark reaffirmed his atheism by making a public announcement in front of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, the Harvard Law School Heathen Society, and various other atheist, agnostic, secular, humanist, and nonreligious groups.^[17]

[edit] References

^ MIT 'Loses' One Seat in US Congress November 14, 1990
^ "County finalizes primary ballots", Insidebayarea.com, March 11, 2008.
^ Lawmaker Says His Racial Insult of Health Secretary Was Mistake 4 August 1990. Associated Press.
^ YouTube video, October 18, 2007.
^ The John Ziegler Show, KFI, October 18, 2007 (7PM hour) and October 19, 2007 (7PM hour) (podcast retrieved October 22, 2007)
^ KCBS, "Stark Stands Behind GOP Accusations", October 18, 2007.
^ Stark apologizes, calls on Congress to provide health care to children and end the war in Iraq, October 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Weisman, Jonathan. "Stark's Latest Gaffe Is Just One In a Long Line", Washington Post, 24 October 2007, pp. A17. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
^ Pete Stark's tiring tirades, San Francisco Chronicle, July 23, 2003 (retrieved January 9, 2007)
^ "11 House Members to Sue Over Budget Bill", USA Today, Associated Press, 28 April 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ "Judge Dismisses Budget Bill Lawsuit", ABC News, Associated Press, 6 November 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ Benjamin, Matthew; Kerry Young. "46 Million Live in U.S. Without Health Insurance", New York Sun, August 30, 2006, p. 2. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ Epstein, Edward. "Stark Joins Call to Restore Draft", Common Dreams NewsCenter, 23 January 2003. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ "Congressional Record: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007". GovTrack.us. Joshua Tauberer (23 March 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
^ "Congressman Holds No God-Belief", Secular Coalition for America, March 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
^ "Stark's atheist views break political taboo", San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
^ Phillips, Amanda. "U.S. Rep. Pete Stark "Comes Out" as an Atheist", Common Dreams NewsCenter, 27 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.

[edit] External links

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