Bart Gordon

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Bart Gordon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 6th Congressional district district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Al Gore, Jr.
Born	January 24, 1949 (1949-01-24) (age 60) Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Alma mater	Middle Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee
Occupation	attorney
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1971-1972

Barton Jennings "Bart" Gordon, (born January 24, 1949) is a United States Representative from Tennessee, representing the state's 6th Congressional district (map). He is a Democrat. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. With the Democrats' victory in the 2006 midterm elections, Gordon has been named as chairman of the House Science Committee.

[edit] Biography

Gordon was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he has lived all of his life. He served in the United States Army Reserve in 1971 and 1972.^[1] He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1971, earning a law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1973. He then entered private practice in Murfreesboro.

Active in Democratic politics early on, he was briefly executive director of the Tennessee Democratic Party in 1979 and state party chairman from 1981 to 1983. When 6th District Congressman Al Gore announced in 1983 that he would run for the United States Senate in 1984, Gordon stepped down as state party chairman to run for the seat. He initially faced a hard-fought race against the brother of the publisher of Nashville's former conservative newspaper, the Nashville Banner. However, he won handily in November 1984, riding Gore's coattails in the midst of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in that year's presidential election. Gordon is regarded as a moderate. He has favored the repeal of the inheritance tax and the "marriage tax penalty".

Gordon was reelected by huge margins until 1994, when his Republican opponent was attorney Steve Gill, a former basketball player at the University of Tennessee who is now a radio talk show host. Gordon only won by one percentage point, but managed to defeat Gill more handily in 1996. Gordon was re-elected in 1998 and 2000 by margins similar to those he scored in the 1980s and early 1990s. He faced no significant opposition in 2002, 2004 and 2006 and was unopposed in 2008. This is largely because the 2002 reapportionment by the Democratic-controlled Tennessee General Assembly removed Williamson County, a wealthy and heavily Republican suburban area south of Nashville, from the Sixth District and added it to the already heavily Republican Seventh District. Ironically, that district is now represented by Marsha Blackburn, who in 1992 became Gordon's first well-financed Republican opponent since his initial 1984 race.

Gordon has posted one diary at Daily Kos.^[2]

In March 2007 it was reported that Rep. Gordon, chairman of the U.S.House science committee, said that NASA is headed for "a train wreck" if the space agency isn't better funded to finish building the international space station and develop the next-generation spacecraft.^[3]

In December 2008, Gordon came under fire from Tennessee conservatives for failing to vote on the auto bailout, stating that his failure to vote was due to a "technical glitch" in the voting system. ^[4]

Gordon has been the fastest member of Congress for 20 years. Most recently, he defeated Congressman Aaron Schock, 33 years his younger at the Capital Challenge Charity Race.^[5]

[edit] Congressional committee assignments

[edit] Current

• Committee on Energy and Commerce (1995-present)
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Health
• Committee on Science and Technology (1985-1987; 1997-present) (Ranking Member, 2005-2007; Chairman, 2007-present)
  • As Chair of the full committee, Rep. Gordon may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

Rep. Gordon's Committees and Subcommittees

[edit] Past

• Committee on the Budget (1993-1995)
• Committee on Rules (1987-1995)
• Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (1985-1987)
• Select Committee on Aging (1985-1987)

Rep. Gordon's Previous Committee Assignments

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bart Gordon

• Congressman Bart Gordon 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
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• U.S. House of Representatives — Committee on Science and Technology