Kevin Brady
| Kevin Brady | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Jack Fields |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 11, 1955 Vermillion, South Dakota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | 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 the U.S. Representative for Texas's 8th congressional district, serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes a large swath of suburban and rural territory around Houston and Beaumont.
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[edit] Early life, education and career
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 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.
[edit] Texas House of Representatives
Brady began his political career in 1990 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, representing The Woodlands and other parts of Montgomery County.
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Leadership Post
Deputy Whip, House Majority
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Ways and Means
- Subcommittee on Trade (Chairman))
- Subcommittee on Social Security
- Joint Economic Committee (Vice Chairman)
[edit] Caucus memberships
- Army Caucus
- Congressional Missing and Exploited Children Caucus
- Congressional Rural Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus
- Sportsmen's Caucus
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 as the author of 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.[1] 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.
As the ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, Brady and his staff developed the "Organizational Chart of the House Democrats Health Plan", the complex chart that showed the creation of at least 31 new federal agencies, commissions and mandates included in the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. He has also called on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to step down, citing rising unemployment, exaggerated stimulus job claims, unsustainable debt and "failed economic policies" of the Obama administration.
Brady's district was hit hard by Hurricane Rita and again by Hurricane Ike, and he has helped lead the Texas recovery effort in the House for both disasters.
[edit] Political campaigns
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.
[edit] Personal life
Brady lives in The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston.
On October 7, 2005 Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol while in South Dakota. He faced a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail. 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. 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." Conroe (Texas) Courier.
[edit] References
- ^ "U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady". The Texas Tribune. 1955-11-04. http://www.texastribune.org/directory/kevin-brady/. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady 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
| Texas House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike McKinney |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 15 (The Woodlands) 1991–1997 |
Succeeded by Tommy Williams |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Jack Fields |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 8th congressional district 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Leonard Boswell D-Iowa |
United States Representatives by seniority 119th |
Succeeded by Danny Davis D-Illinois |
