Howard Coble

Howard Coble
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Robin Britt
Personal details
Born	March 18, 1931 (1931-03-18) Greensboro, North Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Single
Residence	Greensboro, North Carolina
Alma mater	Guilford College, University of North Carolina
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Presbyterian
Military service
Service/branch	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1952-1956 1960-1982

John Howard Coble (born March 18, 1931) is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 6th congressional district, serving since 1985. He is a member of the Republican Party.

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 Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. 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%. In the general election, he defeated one-term Democratic incumbent Robin Britt 51%-49%. 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 62% of the vote. 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.

Tenure

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

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. He also voted for an amendment to authorize drug testing on federal employees. However, he authored a resolution to celebrate the passage of Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States. 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.

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 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 also helping to take down the "Downfall Parodies" internet meme off of YouTube alongside Abraham Foxman and Martin Moskowicz through the use of DMCAs. As a result, he becomes a subject of mockery in the parodies. One example showed Hitler's generals and Goebbels confronting Coble himself.

External links

• Congressman Howard Coble official U.S. House site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• 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–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Barton R-Texas	United States Representatives by seniority 30th	Succeeded by Peter Visclosky D-Indiana