Timothy J. Roemer
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| Timothy J. Roemer | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 10, 2009 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
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| Preceded by | David Mulford |
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| In office 1991–2003 |
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| Preceded by | John Hiler |
| Succeeded by | Chris Chocola |
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| Born | October 30, 1956 South Bend, Indiana |
| Nationality | United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Sally Roemer |
| Children | Patrick Hunter Roemer, Matthew Bennett Roemer, Sarah Kathryn Roemer, Grace Elizabeth Roemer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Timothy John "Tim" Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American political figure currently serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India. He was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama as the 21st U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of India on May 27, 2009. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2009, he was sworn-in on July 23, 2009 in the State Department's ceremonial Benjamin Franklin Treaty Room and he presented his credentials to Indian President Pratibha Patil on August 11, 2009.[1][2][3][4]
Roemer served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991–2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd Congressional district before becoming the president of the Center for National Policy (CNP), a Washington, D.C-based national security think tank. He resigned the position following his appointment as Ambassador to India.
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[edit] Early life and education
Tim Roemer was born in 1956 in South Bend, Indiana. His grandfather, William F. Roemer, was a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame; and his grandmother was an elementary school teacher. Roemer's parents, James and Mary Ann Roemer also worked at Notre Dame as Dean of Students and Coordinator of Volunteer Activities, respectively. Roemer graduated from Penn High School in 1975 and worked at various jobs from the age of 14 to help pay for college. He is the son-in-law of Bennett Johnston Jr., Democrat who served as a U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1972 to 1997.
Tim Roemer graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. degree in 1979. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame; his 1985 dissertation was titled "The Senior Executive Service: Retirement and Public Personnel Policy."
[edit] Political career
Tim Roemer served on the staffs of U.S. Representative John Brademas of Indiana (1978–1979) and U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini of Arizona (1985–1989).
He won election to the House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1990, served in the from 1991 to 2003 from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. While in the House, Roemer served on the Intelligence, Education and Workforce, and Science committees. He did not run for reelection in 2002.
Tim Roemer voted in favor of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and the Caribbean Basin Initiative. He opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), feeling it provided incentives for businesses to move out of the country (as may have happened in his district). Roemer voted against presidential fast-track trade promotion authority, believing that the United States should have been stricter in its enforcement of existing agreements.
Much of Roemer's efforts during his congressional career were related to improving education. He was the principal author of the Ed-Flex bill, which encouraged states to seek innovative approaches to education. Roemer was the chief sponsor of the "Transition to Teaching" bill that helped address teacher shortages by recruiting and training professionals to become teachers. Roemer was also the lead sponsor of the five-year reauthorization of Higher Education Act, which reduced interest rates on student loans, increased Pell Grants, increased funding for teacher training, and expanded aid to families.
Tim Roemer was a principal sponsor of the AmeriCorps national service program, and a co-author of a bill to expand Head Start services to provide childcare coverage for women moving from welfare to work. He co-wrote legislation on reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and wrote an amendment to tax relief legislation for teacher certification of professionals in outside fields. He co-authored "School-to-Work" legislation to help non-college-bound high school students learn skills to prepare them for the workforce.
In his final term in Congress, Roemer was instrumental in passing the No Child Left Behind Act and pushed for full funding for the program.
Roemer was one of the first members of Congress to call for a Cabinet-level federal executive department to oversee national security, and was an original sponsor of the legislation to create the Department of Homeland Security. Eventually he opposed the revisions proposed by the Bush administration, because of concerns about bureaucratic inefficiencies, and voted against the creation of DHS. Roemer advocated a "civilian reserve corps" to train more fluent speakers in foreign languages for the Intelligence Community. Roemer was an original sponsor of bioterrorism legislation and legislation aimed at creating the 9/11 Commission, upon which he later served.
[edit] Post-House of Representatives
Tim Roemer was a member of the 9/11 Commission. He was a candidate for chair of the Democratic National Committee (gaining the support of Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid) but lost to Howard Dean, who had unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.
Roemer was criticized as too conservative for the post, due to his pro-life stance on abortion and his oft-mentioned vote against the Clinton economic plan in 1993. Roemer is a moderate Democrat, voting more liberally on some foreign policy issues and conservatively on social issues.
Roemer endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries and campaigned vigorously for him, particularly in his home state of Indiana, where he joined Lee H. Hamilton in support of Obama. Roemer's moderate, bipartisan politics, and national security experience led to speculation (from Chris Cillizza and Ben Smith) that Roemer was considered a possible vice presidential running mate for Obama. [1] [2]
Roemer served as a distinguished scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He was a partner at Johnston and Associates, a public and legislative affairs consultancy, before he became president of the Center for National Policy.
Roemer serveed on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, a bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2007 as an outgrowth of the reforms put forth by the 9/11 Commission to examine how the United States can best address this threat to our national security.
In addition, Roemer served on the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Presidential Task force on Combating the Ideology of Radical Extremism, and the National Parks Second Century Commission.
[edit] Diplomatic career
Following his May 27, 2009 nomination by U.S. President Barack Obama and his July 10, 2009 Senate confirmation, he was sworn in on July 23, 2009 in the U.S. Department of State ceremonial Benjamin Franklin Treaty Room.
Roemer presented his credentials to Indian President Pratibha Patil on August 11, 2009.
[edit] Personal life
Tim Roemer married the former Sally Johnston, the daughter of former U.S. Senator for Louisiana Bennett Johnston Jr., in 1989. They have four children: Patrick Hunter Roemer, Matthew Bennett Roemer, Sarah Kathryn Roemer, and Grace Elizabeth Roemer.
The Roemers are Roman Catholic and when in Washington attend St. Thomas a' Becket Catholic Church.
[edit] External links
- Official bio from the Embassy of the United States in New Delhi
- Official profile from the Center for National Policy
- Obama pick has ear of White House from The Hindu
- 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
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
[edit] Citations
- ^ "U.S. Ambassador to India, Timothy Roemer:Bio". http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/ambroemertjbio.html. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^ "Timothy Roemer will be new US envoy to India". Washington: Prokerala News. May 28, 2009. http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a55146.html. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
- ^ Former Ind. congressman to be ambassador to India: AP
- ^ "Roemer, former lawmaker for South Bend area, confirmed as ambassador to India". http://southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090710/News01/907109920/1129/News. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by John Hiler |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 3rd congressional district 1991–2003 |
Succeeded by Chris Chocola |
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