Rick Boucher
| Rick Boucher | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 9th district |
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| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | William Wampler |
| Succeeded by | Morgan Griffith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1, 1946 Abingdon, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Amy Boucher |
| Residence | Abingdon, Virginia |
| Alma mater | Roanoke College University of Virginia School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Methodist |
Frederick Carlyle "Rick" Boucher (
/ˈbaʊtʃər/ bow-chər; born August 1, 1946) is the former U.S. Representative for Virginia's 9th congressional district, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
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[edit] Early life, education and career
Boucher is a native of Abingdon, Virginia, where he currently lives. He earned his BA from Roanoke College where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has practiced law on Wall Street in New York and in Virginia. Prior to his election to Congress, he served for seven years as a member of the Senate of Virginia.
In May 2011, Mr. Boucher joined prominent Washington law firm Sidley Austin and will be leading their government strategies practice.[1] The Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), an industry advocacy group, also announced that Boucher has joined as the honorary chair.[2] The IIA includes among its members AT&T and the Americans for Tax Reform and has focused on expanding broadband access and adoption with particular emphasis on increased mobile connectivity for underserved and rural communities.[3][4]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Committee assignments
Boucher served as an assistant whip from 1985 to 2010.
[edit] Political positions
Boucher has been active on Internet-related legislation, including cosponsoring the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991[5] which led to the development of the Mosaic web browser credited by most scholars as beginning the Internet boom of the 1990s. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Boucher originated the House Internet Caucus and served as its co-chairman. He also created the Digital Media Consumer's Rights Act (DMCRA) legislation and co-authored the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. He was named Politician of the Year for 2006 by Library Journal, largely due to his efforts to protect the fair use doctrine and expand Internet technologies to rural areas.[6]
Boucher voted in favor of the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act, as well as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In contrast, Boucher has received a rating of "A+" from the National Rifle Association and is one of the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.
Boucher is a strong opponent of tax patents and has introduced bills to either have them banned or to exempt tax attorneys and tax payers from liability in infringing them.[7]
In June 2009, Boucher voted in favor of the American Clean Energy and Security Act which, if enacted, would establish a cap-and-trade system.[8] Boucher was chairman of the energy sub-committee of the previous Congress which first drafted the legislation, and was deemed to be instrumental in the bills development. Boucher opened his pre-vote remarks on the bill by saying that he was in "strong support of the bill."[9]
In November 2009, Boucher, along with 39 other Democratic members of the House, voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act.[10] Also, on March 21, 2010, Boucher voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act[11] and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.
Rick Boucher endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president, while his district went solidly for Hillary Clinton.
In 2007, Congress.org ranked Rick Boucher as the 10th most powerful member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[12]
[edit] Political campaigns
Boucher was first elected to Congress in 1982, defeating Republican incumbent William (Bill) Wampler. He then went on to defeat Virginia House of Delegates member Jefferson Stafford, of Pearisburg, Giles County in 1984. Running unopposed, the Democrat won re-election in November 2008.
[edit] 2010
Boucher lost the election to Republican nominee Morgan Griffith.[13]
[edit] Electoral history
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Rick Boucher | 76,227 | 50% | William Wampler | 75,009 | 50% | ||||||||
| 1984 | Rick Boucher | 102,446 | 52% | Jefferson Stafford | 94,510 | 48% | ||||||||
| 1986 | Rick Boucher | 59,864 | 99% | no candidate | Write-ins | 602 | 1% | |||||||
| 1988 | Rick Boucher | 113,309 | 63% | John Brown | 65,410 | 37% | ||||||||
| 1990 | Rick Boucher | 67,215 | 97% | no candidate | Write-ins | 2,015 | 2% | |||||||
| 1992 | Rick Boucher | 133,284 | 63% | Gary Weddle | 77,985 | 37% | ||||||||
| 1994 | Rick Boucher | 153,311 | 59% | Steve Fast | 72,133 | 41% | ||||||||
| 1996 | Rick Boucher | 122,908 | 65% | Steve Fast | 58,055 | 31% | Tom Roberts | Virginia Reform | 8,080 | 4% | ||||
| 1998 | Rick Boucher | 87,163 | 61% | Joe Barta | 55,918 | 39% | ||||||||
| 2000 | Rick Boucher | 137,488 | 70% | Michael Osborne | 59,335 | 30% | ||||||||
| 2002 | Rick Boucher | 100,075 | 66% | Jay Katzen | 52,076 | 34% | ||||||||
| 2004 | Rick Boucher | 150,039 | 59% | Kevin Triplett | 98,499 | 39% | Seth Davis | Independent | 4,341 | 2% | ||||
| 2006 | Rick Boucher | 129,705 | 68% | Bob Carrico | 61,574 | 32% | ||||||||
| 2008 | Rick Boucher | 207,306 | 97% | no candidate | Write-ins | 6,264 | 3% | |||||||
| 2010 | Rick Boucher | 86,743 | 46% | Morgan Griffith | 95,726 | 51% | Jeremiah Heaton | Independent | 4,282 | 2% |
[edit] Personal life
Long considered "married to his job", Boucher announced his engagement at age 59 to Amy Hauslohner, an editor of the Galax Gazette in Galax, Virginia. Said Boucher of the engagement "We have decided since I will be 60 in August and she just turned 50 last week, we probably are mature enough to handle marriage." [16] Boucher and Houslohner were married on June 3, 2006.
[edit] References
- ^ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55254.html. Retrieved 26 May 2011. - ^ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". Internet Innovation Alliance. http://internetinnovation.org/press-room/broadband-news-press-releases. Retrieved 26 May 2011. - ^ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". TheHill.com. http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/162849-boucher-joins-atat-backed-advocacy-group. - ^ "Error: no
|title=specified when using {{Cite web}}". Internet Innovation Alliance. http://internetinnovation.org/. Retrieved 26 May 2011. - ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d102:HR00656:@@@P%7C/bss/d102query.html%7C
- ^ Politician of the Year 2006: Rick Boucher-Fighter for Access , John N. Berry III, Library Journal, September 15, 2006
- ^ Dennis Crouch "Tax Patent Legislation: Excusing Infringement of Patented Tax Planning Methods" Patently O blog, June 20, 2008
- ^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball". Centerforpolitics.org. 2010-07-08. http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "Broadcast Yourself". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2xwW08yc1w. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll165.xml
- ^ https://ssl.capwiz.com/congressorg/power_rankings/index.tt
- ^ "GOP's Griffith ousts 14-term Va. Democratic Rep. Boucher". The Virginian-Pilot. Associated Press. November 2, 2010. http://hamptonroads.com/2010/11/gops-griffith-ousts-14term-va-democratic-rep-boucher.
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ "Election results". Virginia State Board of Elections. http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/Election_Information/Election_Results/Index.html. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
- ^ The big secret is out: Rick Boucher is engaged, Roanoke Times, March 17, 2006
[edit] External links
- Rick Boucher 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
- Rick Boucher speaks of Hulu, Boxee, gains major tech cred at Comcast-NBC hearing, Top of the Ticket, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2010
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Creed Wampler |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 9th congressional district January 3, 1983 - January 3, 2011 |
Succeeded by Morgan Griffith |
