Howard Coble

Howard Coble
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th district
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Robin Britt
Succeeded by	Mark Walker
Personal details
Born	(1931-03-18) March 18, 1931 Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Appalachian State University Guilford College University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Religion	Presbyterianism
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1952–1956 1960–1982
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Korean War

John Howard Coble (born March 18, 1931) was the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all or portions of ten counties in the northern-central part of the state, including portions of Greensboro and Durham.

Early life, education, and pre-political career

Coble was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. After high school, he initially attended Appalachian State University, but after a year joined the United States Coast Guard, serving for over 5 years and staying on as a reservist for an additional 18 years. Upon discharging from military service, he attended Guilford College, from which he received a history degree. He is a member of the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Coble then moved on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a degree in law.

After graduating from college, Coble first worked as an insurance agent. He then spent nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney, and he was also Secretary of Revenue under North Carolina Governor James Holshouser. In 1979, Coble was elected to the state House of Representatives, serving until his election to Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Coble was first elected to Congress in 1984, narrowly defeating Walter Cockerham in the primary 51%–49%.^[1] In the general election, he defeated one-term Democratic incumbent Robin Britt 51%–49%.^[2] Coble was likely the beneficiary of long coattails from Ronald Reagan, who carried the district by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. In 1986, he defeated Britt in a rematch, which was an even closer 50.03%–49.97% and Coble won by only 79 votes (closest margin of victory that year). Since then, he has never won re-election with less than 61% of the vote.^[3] In July 2008, Coble won the Republican primary unopposed and became North Carolina's longest-serving Republican U.S. congressman, surpassing former U.S. Congressman Jim Broyhill (who was also elected to 12 terms but left the House in July 1986 to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat). Coble announced in 2013 that he would not run for another term in 2014, and would retire after 30 years in Congress.^[4]

Tenure

In the 105th United States Congress Coble moved to suspend the rules and pass the NET Act on November 4, 1997, which removed the requirement of financial gain for criminal prosecution of copyright violation.^[5] NET Act was passed only after the House suspended the rules.^[6]

Coble is a strong supporter of agriculture and has voted in favor of bills to protect agriculture. Coble opposes further regulation of tobacco because he believes it will hurt North Carolina tobacco planters.

Coble takes a hard-line position on illegal drugs, and co-sponsored a resolution to oppose the legalization and use of medical marijuana.^[7] He also voted for an amendment to authorize drug testing on federal employees.^[8] However, he authored a resolution to celebrate the passage of Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States.^[9] Coble is also a member of the Tea Party Caucus, joining Sue Myrick and Walter B. Jones as the sole members of the North Carolina Congressional delegation to join the group.

Coble has pledged not to receive any pension from the United States government. He told CBS Up to the Minute, "I figured taxpayers pay my salary – not a bad salary, and I figure that's sufficient. Let me fend for myself after the salary's collected." He also stated to CBS, "I've pledged my assurance I won't take the pension. That's between my constituents and me. As far as convicted felons, I guess that's between their constituents and themselves." He is one of two Congressmen, with Ron Paul, to have pledged to decline his pension.^[10]

However, during the government shutdown in October 2013. Coble said that although 800,000 federal workers are furloughed and not receiving a paycheck, he will still collect his salary due to a requirement of law.^[11] Coble was one of the 87 Republicans who voted for the bill to end the shutdown on October 16.^[12]

In June 2013, Coble announced introduction of new legislation to reform the congressional pension program. Coble has refused to participate in the current congressional pension program, stating that reforming congressional pensions is long overdue and that the bill would lengthen the time of service required before a member would be eligible for participation in the pension program.^[13]

Legislation sponsored

The bill To extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for 10 years (H.R. 3626; 113th Congress) was introduced in the House on December 2, 2013 by Coble.^[14] The bill would extend the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 for an additional 10 years, but not expand any of its provisions (related to plastic guns).^[15] The bill passed the House on December 3, 2013.

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
• International Conservation Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Tea Party Caucus

Personal life

Coble is a member of the Guilford College Board of Visitors and of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Visitors.

He is a Freemason and member of Guilford Lodge number 656 in Greensboro.^[16]

Electoral history

North Carolina's 6th congressional district: Results 1984–2012^[17][18][19]

Year		Republican	Votes	%		Democratic	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
1984		Howard Coble	102,925	51%		Robin Britt	100,263	49%
1986		Howard Coble	72,329	50%		Robin Britt	72,250	50%
1988		Howard Coble	116,534	62%		Tom Gilmore	70,008	38%
1990		Howard Coble	125,392	67%		Helen Allegrone	62,913	33%
1992		Howard Coble	162,822	71%		Robin Hood	67,200	29%
1994		Howard Coble	98,355	100%		No candidate
1996		Howard Coble	167,828	73%		Mark Costley	58,022	25%		Gary Goodson	Libertarian	2,693	1%
1998		Howard Coble	112,740	89%		No candidate				Jeffrey Bentley	Libertarian	14,454	11%
2000		Howard Coble	195,727	91%		No candidate				Jeffrey Bentley	Libertarian	18,726	9%
2002		Howard Coble	151,430	90%		No candidate				Tara Grubb	Libertarian	16,067	10%
2004		Howard Coble	207,470	73%		William Jordan	76,153	27%
2006		Howard Coble	108,433	71%		Rory Blake	44,661	29%
2008		Howard Coble	221,008	67%		Teresa Bratton	108,873	33%
2010		Howard Coble	156,252	75%		Sam Turner	51,507	25%
2012		Howard Coble	222,116	61%		Tony Foriest	142,467	39%		Hugh Chauvin	Libertarian	4,847	2%		Brandon Parmer	Green	2,017	1%

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Howard Coble.

• Howard Coble at DMOZ
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Robin Britt	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th congressional district 1985–2015	Succeeded by Mark Walker