| Vernon Ehlers | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd district |
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| In office December 7, 1993 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Paul Henry |
| Succeeded by | Justin Amash |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 6, 1934 Pipestone, Minnesota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Johanna Ehlers |
| Residence | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Alma mater | Calvin College, University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | college professor |
| Religion | Christian Reformed Church |
Vernon James "Vern" Ehlers (born February 6, 1934) is the former U.S. Representative for Michigan's 3rd congressional district, serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The district is based in Grand Rapids, and had once been represented by former President Gerald Ford (the district was numbered as the 5th District at the time). Ehlers was the first research physicist to be elected to Congress;[1] he was later joined by Rush Holt, Jr. (D-NJ) and Bill Foster (D-IL)
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Born in Pipestone, Minnesota, Ehlers attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids for three years before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an undergraduate degree in physics and, in 1960, a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. His doctoral dissertation "The nuclear spins and moments of several radioactive gallium isotopes" is available from University Microfilms International as document number 0227304. After six years of teaching and research at Berkeley, he moved back to Michigan and took employment at Calvin College in 1966 where he taught physics for 16 years and later served as chairman of the Physics Department.
Ehlers began his political career in 1974 while still at Calvin, when he was elected to the Kent County board of commissioners where he served four terms.
Ehlers served ten years in the Michigan state legislature — two years in the state house and eight in the state senate.
Ehlers served as chairman of the House Administration Committee in the 109th Congress after Bob Ney resigned from the position.
Ehlers is a moderate Republican. According to the National Journal, in 2006 his votes split 50-50 between "liberal" and "conservative." While strongly anti-abortion and supportive of lowering taxes, he is willing to break with his party on environmental and government spending issues. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection. He was the only member of the Michigan Congressional delegation of either party to vote to raise fuel economy standards for automobiles in 2001[3] and 2005.[4]
Ehlers is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[5] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[6]
In December 2010, Ehlers was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.[7][8][9]
In 1993, Ehlers won a special election for the 3rd District, which had been vacant since Congressman Paul B. Henry died six months into his fifth term. He won a full term in 1994 and had been reelected six times with little significant Democratic opposition. Ehlers retired from Congress in 2010.[10]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul B. Henry |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd congressional district 1993–2011 |
Succeeded by Justin Amash |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Bob Ney Ohio |
Chairman of the House Administration Committee 2006–2007 |
Succeeded by Juanita Millender-McDonald California |
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