Tom Rice

Tom Rice
Official portrait of Congressman Tom Rice (R–SC)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	District re-established Hampton P. Fulmer before district abolished in 1933
Personal details
Born	Hugh Thompson Rice Jr. (1957-08-04) August 4, 1957 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Wrenzie Rice
Children	3
Residence	Myrtle Beach
Alma mater	University of South Carolina (B.A., M.A., J.D.)
Profession	Businessman, Lawyer
Religion	Episcopalian
Website	Representative Tom Rice

Hugh Thompson "Tom" Rice Jr. (born August 4, 1957) is the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district. Elected to the 113th Congress in November 2012, he is a conservative Republican, supports the right to life movement and thinks the U.S. government has strayed from tenets of the Constitution.^[1] He will be a member of the freshman class chosen to sit at the House Republican leadership table. Rice was chair of the Horry County Council until he resigned from the position on December 31.^[2]

Early life and education

Rice was born in Charleston on August 4, 1957. He was four years old when his parents divorced, and his teacher mother took him and his brother Clay to Myrtle Beach. Rice’s first job was a busboy when he was 12, and he was variously a night shift fry cook, a grocery store bag boy and miniature golf course manager while still in high school. Rice was 16 when his father died.

Rice had a scholarship to Duke University but enrolled at USC in Columbia where he earned a masters degree in accounting in 1979 and a law degree in 1982.

Pre-congressional career

After college, he worked at accounting/consulting firm of Deloitte & Touche in Charlotte where he earned his CPA certificate. In 1985 he returned to Myrtle Beach to practice tax law with the Van Osdell law firm, then established his own practice, Rice & MacDonald, in 1997. He was elected chair of Horry County Council in 2010.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Rice won election in the U.S. Congress elections, 2012 for the U.S. House, representing South Carolina's South Carolina's 7th congressional district. Rice defeated Jay Jordan, Randal Wallace, Dick Withington, James Mader, Chad Prosser, Katherine Jenerette, and Renee Culler in the Republican primary on June 12, 2012 to advance to a runoff. He defeated major rival Andre Bauer in the run-off election on June 26, 2012 Rice defeated Gloria Bromell Tinubu (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.^[3][4]

Tenure

Rice has co-sponsored 31 pieces of legislation including Safe Schools Act of 2013, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and others.^[5]

Rice has pushed changes to port funding,^[6][7] offered victims help to replace Social Security cards, and other federal documents after massive fire destroys 26 condo buildings,^[8] made statements on President Obama's press conferences,^[9] made a statement on the passage of the Require a PLAN Act,^[10] statement on the Presidents State of The Union Address,^[11] among other things ^[12]

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

In early December 2012, Rice was appointed by the United States House of Representatives to the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, United States House Committee on the Budget and United States House Committee on Small Business of the 113th Congress.^[13][14]

On January 8, 2013, Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) appointed Rice chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access. Graves said that Rice would be a "great fit" because of his knowledge about the challenges facing small business owners. Rice said he would "work to limit government overreach, enact serious tax reform, and lower the cost of doing business in America, so our small business owners—America’s economic engine—can compete in our economy and the global marketplace."^[15]

On January 22, 2013, Rice was appointed to the following subcommittees: Highways and Transit, Water Resources and Environment, and Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Rice said the appointments would allow him to work for the funding amd construction of Interstate 73 as well as the dredging of the Georgetown Port.^[16][17]

On November 11, 2013, Rice was appointed to the water resources conference committee which is to help resolve differences between the U.S. House and Senate versions of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. The version that has recently passed the House would allow for the dredging of the Georgetown port which is a $33 million project and would bring an estimated $30 million annual economic boost to the local economy. In a press release from his office Congressman Rice stated “My district sent me to Washington to work on our infrastructure needs and the needs of the state,” and also “Since joining the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I have made it my goal to do whatever it takes to champion South Carolina’s ports.” ^{[18][19][20][21]}

Issues

National Defense Authorization Act

Rice voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.^[22]

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations

Rice voted in support of HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.^[22]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Rice voted in opposition of House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.^[22]

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

Rice voted in support of HR 624 - the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.^[23] The bill was largely supported by Republicans but divided the Democratic Party.^[22]

Farm Bill

Rice voted for the Farm Bill on July 11, 2013. The bill passed in a 216-208 vote.^[24] The bill passed included farm policy, but did not include food stamps.^[25]

Government shutdown

See also: United States federal government shutdown of 2013

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.^[26] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.^[27] Rice voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.^[28]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.^[29] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Rice voted against HR 2775.^[30]

Morton Memos Enforcement Prohibition

Rice voted in favor of House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.^[31] The vote largely followed party lines.^[32]

Repealing Obamacare

Rice has supported all attempts to repeal or delay the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[33]

Abortion

Rice supported HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196. The purpose of the bill is to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.^[34]

Electoral history

Personal life

Rice and his family reside in Myrtle Beach where he remains involved in various community activities. One of his most notable community achievements was helping raise over 1 million dollars to build a new facility for The Haven, a Myrtle Beach area homeless shelter. In his free time he enjoys fishing, hunting, golfing and spending time with his family and friends. He is currently married to his wife of 31 years, Wrenzie, and they have three adult sons; H.T., Jacob, and Lucas.

References

External links

• Congressman Tom Rice official U.S. House site
• Tom Rice for Congress

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress