Vin Weber

John Vincent Weber (born July 24, 1952 in Slayton, Minnesota) is a former Republican Congressman from Minnesota. Weber attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1970 to 1974. He had been the co-publisher of Murray County newspaper and the president of Weber Publishing Company. He was press secretary to Representative Tom Hagedorn from 1974 to 1975, a senior aide to Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1977 to 1980. Weber had also been a delegate to the Minnesota State Republican conventions in 1972 and 1978. In 1980, at the age of 28 he was elected to the Sixth Congressional District, defeating Archie Baumann by 53 to 47 percent. Baumann had been an aide to former congressman Richard Nolan. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992, and is now a resident of Walker, Minnesota.

Weber retired from congress in 1992, two years before the "Republican revolution", after being caught up in the House banking scandal which revealed the bank had repeatedly paid overdrafts for 125 checks on his account.^[1] However, as secretary of the House Republican caucus and key adviser to incoming Speaker Newt Gingrich, he was considered one of the architects of the Republican's success in 1994. He briefly was a commentator on National Public Radio the following year about developments in Congress after the Republicans took control of the House, providing commentary on the "revolution" he had helped create. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting reported that Weber frequently offered his opinions on NPR about health care issues, but never revealed that he was a paid lobbyist for several health insurance giants.^[2]

He is a member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the PNAC Letter sent to US President Bill Clinton dated January 26, 1998, advocating "the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power" along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and 29 other notable Republicans.^[3]

Currently, Weber is managing partner of the Washington, D.C. branch of lobbying firm Clark & Weinstock. In 2006, Weber's firm received $360,297 from home mortgage giant Freddie Mac to lobby on their behalf.[3]

Weber also serves as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization designed to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. He is a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, where is co-director of the Policy Forum. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School.^[4] Weber is a board member of several private sector and nonprofit organizations, including ITT Educational Services, Department 56, and the Aspen Institute. He also serves on the Board of The Council on Foreign Relations and co-chaired the Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy toward Reform in the Arab World with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In addition, Weber is a member of the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board.

Weber served as the Bush-Cheney '04 Plains States Regional Chairman. On January 16, 2007, Weber became Policy Chairman for the Romney for President Exploratory Committee.^[5] He had been advising potential 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty but as of September 6, 2011 he is advising potential 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a member of his Economic Policy Team.^[6]

He currently serves as president of the Association for Mature American Citizens.

References

External links

• Vin Weber Papers, including extensive records of his congressional service, are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society.

• Vin Weber at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress