Jerrold Nadler

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Jerrold Nadler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  November 3, 1992
Preceded by	Jim Scheuer
Born	June 13, 1947 (1947-06-13) (age 62) New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Joyce Miller
Children	Michael Nadler
Residence	Manhattan, New York City, New York
Alma mater	Stuyvesant High School, Columbia University, Fordham University
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Judaism

Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Nadler, (born June 13, 1947) is an American politician from New York City. A liberal Democrat, Nadler represents New York's 8th congressional district, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City.

Nadler's district includes the west side of Manhattan from the Upper West Side down to Battery Park, including the site where the World Trade Center stood. It also includes the Manhattan neighborhoods of Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and Greenwich Village, as well as parts of Brooklyn such as Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Bay Ridge. His district includes many of New York City's most popular tourist attractions, including the Empire State Building, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and New York Stock Exchange.^[1][2] In 2006, Nadler was interviewed by Stephen Colbert for The Colbert Report's recurring feature, "Better Know a District".

[edit] Early life

Nadler was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1965^[3] (where his debate team partner was the future philosopher of science, Alexander Rosenberg, and his successful campaign for student government president was managed by Dick Morris).^[4] Nadler graduated from Columbia University and Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He worked for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential campaign and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1976.

[edit] Freedom of Information Act Precedent

Nadler became involved in a controversy with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 1995, when he wanted the release of data concerning a bank for which the FDIC was then the receiver.

The result of the dispute was a key 2d Circuit precedent on the applicability of the Freedom of Information Act to circumstances in which a public agency possesses "trade secrets and commercialor financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential."

[edit] Congressional career

In 1992, Ted Weiss was expected to run for reelection in the 8th District, which had been renumbered from the 17th after the 1990 U.S. Census. However, Weiss died a day before the primary election. Nadler was nominated to replace Weiss. He was elected easily that November, winning the seat in his own right and a special election to serve the rest of Weiss' term. He has been reelected with little serious competition in one of the most Democratic districts in the country; a Republican has not represented this district or its predecessors in over a century.^[5]

In Congress, Nadler is a member of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure committees. He is the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.^[6] Despite earlier efforts to bring impeachment charges against George W. Bush,^[7] and more recent requests from fellow representatives, he did not schedule hearings on impeachments for Bush or Dick Cheney, saying in 2007 that doing so would be pointless and would distract from the presidential election.^[8] In a July 15, 2008, Washington Journal interview, the Congressman again reiterated the timing defense [1] while stating the President had committed impeachable offenses but that nothing could be done because the system is "overly political." Ten days later, following upon submission of Articles of Impeachment by Representative Dennis Kucinich, the full House Judiciary Committee held hearings covered solely by C-SPAN [2]regarding the process. A top Reagan Justice Department official, Bruce Fein, was among those testifying for impeachment.

Nadler said in an a December 2008 interview that he was interested in the Senate seat that Hillary Clinton was planning to resign to become Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. He cited his opposition to the war in Iraq, the PATRIOT Act, and the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005 as among his principal qualifications.^[9]

Nadler has also vowed to re-introduce the legislation called Freedom of Choice Act during the Obama administration. ^[10]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

[edit] Voting record

Nadler has a liberal voting record in the House. He gained national prominence during the impeachment of Bill Clinton, when he described the process as a "partisan railroad job."^[11] Jerrold Nadler has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 97.5% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Nadler did not vote.^[12]

[edit] Personal life

Nadler lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife Joyce Miller and son Michael.

In 2002, Nadler had laparoscopic duodenal switch surgery, helping him lose more than 100 pounds.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jerrold Nadler

• U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler official House site
• Congressman Jerry Nadler official campaign site

• Jerrold Nadler at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Jerrold Lewis Nadler campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Jerrold Nadler issue positions and quotes
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Jerrold L. Nadler (NY) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jerry Nadler profile
• Article on the impeachment of Dick Cheney
• 504 Democratic Club — Jerrold Nadler 2008 congressional screening questionnaire response