Kevin Brady

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Kevin Brady
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th district
In office 1997–present
Preceded by	Jack Fields
Born	April 11, 1955 (1955-04-11) (age 54) Vermillion, South Dakota
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Cathy Brady
Residence	The Woodlands, Texas
Alma mater	University of South Dakota
Occupation	public affairs director
Religion	Roman Catholic

Kevin Patrick Brady (born April 11, 1955) is a Republican politician from the state of Texas. He is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 8th congressional district (map). The district includes a large swath of suburban and rural territory around Houston and Beaumont.

[edit] Early life

Brady was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, one of five children of William and Nancy Brady. His father, a lawyer, was killed in 1967 in a courtroom shooting in Rapid City when Brady was 12 years old. Brady now calls The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston, his home.

Brady graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he also became a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. A chamber of commerce executive who also served on the Rapid City Common Council, Brady moved to Texas to work for the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce and later the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.

He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1990, the first Republican to hold the seat since Reconstruction. He served three terms.

[edit] Congressional career

Congressman Jack Fields chose not to run for re-election in 1996, and Brady ran in the Republican primary to succeed him. Brady faced fellow Republican Eugene Fontenot four times in 1996 due to court-ordered redistricting. Fontenot led Brady in the primary in March, but Brady won the runoff election in April and two subsequent elections that stretched into December. Brady has won reelection six times without serious opposition and serves as a deputy minority whip.

As a Congressman, Brady has been a reliable conservative. He has advocated victims' rights and free trade, and called for replacing the income tax with a federal sales tax. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, in 2004 he restored the sales tax deduction, which had been eliminated in 1986. Recently, Brady acted as the point man for President George W. Bush to steer the Central America Free Trade Agreement through the House. However, he is best known for supporting a federal "sunset" law that would require every federal program not specifically written into the Constitution to justify its existence to taxpayers within 12 years or face elimination. He has introduced this bill at the beginning of every Congress. It was approved overwhelmingly by the House as an amendment in 2004 but did not progress further. In 2006 it passed the Government Reform Committee but did not reach a floor vote.

In the 111th Session of Congress (2009-10) he serves as the ranking Republican on the Trade Sub-Committee of the House Ways & Means Committee and the senior House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee.

Brady's district was hard hit by Hurricane Rita and again by Hurricane Ike, and he has helped lead the Texas recovery effort in the House for both disasters.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Trade (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Social Security
• Joint Economic Committee (Ranking House Republican)

[edit] Arrest

On October 7, 2005, Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol while in South Dakota to receive the University of South Dakota's Distinguished Alumni award. He was returning from a reception with his mother, wife, sister and brother-in-law in the rental car, which was stopped for a non-working tailight. He faced a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail. ^[1] He pleaded no contest. Upon his misdemeanor conviction on November 8, he was fined $350, and his right to drive in South Dakota was suspended for 30 days. ^[2] Before his sentencing, Brady had stated that "no one is above the law" and he would accept "every consequence" of his actions, even if that meant a jail sentence. "To me, regardless of how this turns out, what it says is that you don't get behind the wheel." ^[3]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, 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
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Kevin Brady profile