Jason Altmire

Jason Altmire
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Melissa Hart
Personal details
Born	March 7, 1968 (1968-03-07) Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Kelly Altmire
Residence	McCandless, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	Florida State University George Washington University
Occupation	Political assistant Health care executive
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jason Altmire (born March 7, 1968) is the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life, education, and early political career

Altmire was born in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, raised by his single mother, Arlene L. Altmire. His ancestry includes German, Scottish-Irish, and Polish. He was a record-breaking two-sport letterman at Burrell High School. He set a school record in track and field that stood for many years and was recognized as an all-star wide receiver in football. A serious knee injury kept him off the athletic field as a high school senior, and in 1986 he matriculated at Florida State University, in Tallahassee. Following a lengthy rehabilitation of his knee injury, he tried out for and made the Seminole football team as a walk on. He graduated in 1990 with a B.S. in Political Science and worked in the Tallahassee campaign office of Douglas "Pete" Peterson, then a candidate for Congress in Florida's Second Congressional District. He later earned a Master's in Health Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC.

After Peterson won the 1990 congressional race against incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Grant, he hired Altmire to work in his Capitol Hill office. Altmire worked as a legislative assistant during Peterson's three terms in office (1991–1996), specializing in domestic policy issues. He gained an expertise in health care issues and helped Peterson draft several major health care proposals. In 1993, Altmire was appointed to a working group for President Clinton's Task Force on National Health Care Reform. In 1996, when Peterson was named U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Altmire continued his work in health care policy by taking a job with the Federation of American Hospitals.

Business career

In 1998, Altmire returned to Western Pennsylvania to work for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), a 20-hospital health care system with 45,000 employees and more than $7 billion in annual revenue. By 2005, he was the acting Vice President for Government Relations and Community Health Services. His duties at UPMC included oversight of UPMC’s Office of Charitable Giving, which has primary discretion over UPMC’s then $6 million in annual charitable donations. He also represented UPMC in discussions with government officials and local community organizations. During this time, Altmire was a frequent volunteer and community activist, serving on the boards of more than a dozen community and civic organizations. In recognition of his community service, in 2003 he was named by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of Pittsburgh's "40 under 40", and in 2005 he was awarded the Arcadia Award by Northern Allegheny Chamber of Commerce. The Arcadia Award is presented annually to the local business leader who most exemplifies dedication to community service.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2006#4th Congressional district

Altmire had never before been a candidate for public office when he left UPMC on June 30, 2005, to run against three-term incumbent Republican Congresswoman Melissa Hart, who was considered by most observers to be invulnerable. On May 17, 2006 Altmire won the Democratic nomination in a hard-fought primary against millionaire businesswoman Georgia Berner, then set his sights on Hart in what was widely considered to be a long-shot campaign. Altmire campaigned relentlessly and raised over $1 million to help fund his race against a well-known incumbent. After polling well behind Hart early in the race, he eventually closed the gap heading into the final weeks before the election. On November 7, 2006, Altmire defeated Hart with 52 percent of the vote.

After again defeating Hart with 56 percent of the vote in their 2008 rematch, Altmire was challenged in the 2010 election by Republican nominee Keith Rothfus, an attorney from Edgeworth, Pennsylvania. In an historic wave election that saw Democrats lose 63 seats in the U.S. House, including 5 in Pennsylvania, Altmire was able win re-election to a third term with 51 percent of the vote.

Tenure

Altmire has a moderate voting record and is regularly identified as a centrist in Congress by non-partisan publications. Altmire has introduced 41 bills or amendments that have passed the House, 24 of which have been signed into law. He gained national attention with his effort to guarantee enlistment bonuses of combat-wounded veterans and was the principal author of the law that expands the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover military guard and reserve families. Altmire was actively involved in the 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and served on the House-Senate conference committee that finalized the bill before it was sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. Altmire was also named to the conference committees for the 2007 College Cost Reduction Act and the 2007 Defense Authorization bills, each of which became law. From 2007 to 2010, he served as chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, during which time he took the lead in passing through the House his legislation to help small businesses acquire private capital investment. As Chairman, he convened a number of congressional hearings to study the impact of federal laws and regulations on American small businesses.

In 2007, Altmire played a leadership role in stopping the use of Chinese-made steel in the construction of the U.S.- Mexico border fence. In 2009, he authored the successful amendment that broke a long-running congressional stalemate that had for years delayed passage of an omnibus land conservation bill that combined dozens of different bills and covered millions of acres of public land. Following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Altmire helped lead a high-profile rescue of two constituents and the 54 orphans under their care. In March 2010, Altmire received national attention during the congressional debate on health care reform. As a former health care executive, his vote was sought after by both sides and he withstood heavy pressure from the White House and Democratic party leaders before voting against the bill on March 21, 2010. In 2011, Altmire helped lead the successful effort to suspend the United States Department of Transportation's International Scan program following revelations about exorbitant spending within the program.

Altmire has never missed a House vote since taking office in 2007, a span of more than 4400 consecutive votes. He is the only member of the House to have made every vote cast during the past three sessions of Congress. He is a frequent guest on national political and cable news programs and has been profiled in a variety of publications and media outlets, including Time Magazine, Good Morning America and Comedy Central's popular political satire program The Colbert Report.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
  • Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommitee (HELP)
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Personal life

Altmire is married to the former Kelly Lynn Fagan of Winter Haven, Florida, and is the father of two school-aged daughters.

External links

• U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire official U.S. House site
  • Committees: Education and Labor, Small Business Transportation and Infrastructure
• Altmire for Congress official campaign 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
• KBR questioned over fatal accidents in Iraq David Ivanovich, March 20, 2008, Jason Altmire helps mother of soldier killed by electrocution

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Melissa Hart	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district 2007–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Steve Pearce R-New Mexico	United States Representatives by seniority 262nd	Succeeded by Michele Bachmann R-Minnesota