Jim Saxton
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| Jim Saxton | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Pallone (D) |
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| In office November 6, 1984 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Edwin B. Forsythe (R) |
| Succeeded by | Bob Menendez (D) |
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| Born | January 22, 1943 Nicholson, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | divorced |
| Religion | Methodist |
Hugh James "Jim" Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American Republican Party politician. He has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1984. He represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district from 1984 to 1993. Since 1993, he has represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, (map), which is essentially a renumbering of his previous district due to reapportionment after the 1990 census.
Born in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania) and Temple University. He then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and small business owner. Saxton served in the New Jersey General Assembly (the lower chamber of the New Jersey Legislature) from 1976 to 1981 and in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 1984. In 1984, he was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of then 13th District Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe.
He is a high ranking member of the Armed Services Committee and the Resources Committee and Ranking Republican Member of the Joint Economic Committee made up of U.S. Senators and U.S. House members.
In the United States House elections, 2006, Saxton was challenged by Democrat Rich Sexton, a lawyer and U.S. Navy veteran from Mount Laurel. Saxton won reelection by a 58%-41% margin.
Saxton is widely praised across South Jersey for his efforts to remove Fort Dix from the Pentagon's base realignment and closure lists in 1989 and 1991, McGuire Air Force Base from the list in 1993, and Lakehurst Naval Air Station from the list in 1995. From 1993 to 2005, he worked to foster joint military facilities at the three installations. Saxon's efforts were rewarded when Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005. In addition to saving the bases' 17,000 jobs, the legislation merged the three bases, creating a "megabase" (the first of its kind in the United States). Furthermore, 1,500 jobs and additional aircraft were directed to the new joint base. Saxton also saved the New Jersey National Guard's 108th Air Refueling Wing from oblivion by working to provide it with a squadron of newer planes.
His other recent accomplishments include a beach erosion repair project on popular tourist destination Long Beach Island (which saw a 2006 groundbreaking) and a hospital Medicare funding initiative that brought $80 million to New Jersey hospitals in 2005 and 2006.
On May 26, 2006, Saxton reported hearing a loud gunfire-type noise in the Rayburn House Office Building that led to the building being shut down for several hours. It was later determined that the noise was a construction worker discharging a pneumatic hammer in an elevator shaft near the garage. Capitol police officers who subsequently asked the workers to recreate the noise agreed it sounded like gunfire.[1]
On November 9, 2007, Saxton announced that he would not seek reelection in 2008, citing prostate cancer.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Armed Services Committee
- Air and Land Forces Subcommittee (Ranking Member)
- Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans
- Joint Economic Committee (Ranking Member)
[edit] Political positions
Saxton is best characterized as a moderate. The American Conservative Union counts his lifetime score[3] as similar to conservative Democrat Gene Taylor's.[4] In 2006, the nonpartisan National Journal listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. He supports taking action to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security.
He is conservative on right to life issues, which earned him a 100% rating by the Christian Coalition from 2003 to 2005[5]. He has voted against bills that would authorize partial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded human embryo experimentation, and human cloning.
However, he has supported liberal issues, such as gun control (Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban). Saxton is supportive of environmentalism, which led him to be one of the few Republicans that the Sierra Club endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006.[6] He has received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups.[7] He was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, Ocean Champions and the New Jersey Environmental Federation in his 2006 refelection bid. The Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Nature Conservancy have regularly given him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. Saxton also co-founded the bi-partisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.
Saxton is a Member of both the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection
He has also supported bipartisan issues, such as federal campaign finance reform (Shays-Meehan and McCain-Feingold). He voted against NAFTA, but voted for CAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.[8]
As a former public school teacher, he does not support school vouchers.
Saxton has endorsed Duncan Hunter for president in 2008.
[edit] References
- ^ Rayburn Reopens After Gunfire Report: Police Say Construction Probably Caused the Noise of Shots, The Washington Post, May 26, 2006.
- ^ Hernandez, Raymond. "Citing Health, Lawmaker Announces Plan to Retire", The New York Times, November 10, 2007. Accessed December 1, 2007. "Representative Jim Saxton of New Jersey, a Republican who has served in Congress since 1984, said Friday that he would not seek re-election next year because he had prostate cancer."
- ^ American Conservative Union rating for Jim Saxton, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ American Conservative Union rating for Gene Taylor, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart: Representative H. James 'Jim' Saxton (NJ), accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart: Sierra Club endorsements, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ Vote Smart — Jim Saxton; Environmental Issues, accessed June 28, 2006
- ^ On the Issues: Jim Saxton, accessed June 28, 2006
[edit] External links
- Congressman Jim Saxton official U.S. House site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Staff salary data at LegiStorm.com
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
| Preceded by Edwin B. Forsythe |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 13th congressional district 1984–1993 |
Succeeded by Bob Menendez |
| Preceded by Frank Pallone, Jr. |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district 1993–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Saxon, Hugh James |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saxon, Jim |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States Congressman from New Jersey |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nicholson, Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
