Alan Grayson

Alan Grayson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Ric Keller
Personal details
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Lolita Grayson
Children	Skye, Star, Sage, Storm, Stone.
Residence	Orlando, Florida
Alma mater	Harvard College (A.B.) John F. Kennedy School of Government (M.P.P.) Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney
Website	Congressman Alan Grayson

Alan Mark Grayson (born March 13, 1958) is an American attorney and businessman who is currently serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 8th congressional district. A progressive Democrat, Grayson defeated four-term incumbent Republican Ric Keller in the 2008 congressional election.

Early life and education

Grayson was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up in the tenements. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science and worked his way through Harvard University, graduating in three years, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He worked as an economist for two years, but then returned to Harvard for graduate studies. Within four years, he earned a law degree with honors from Harvard Law School, a masters in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and completed the course work and passed the general exams for a Ph.D. in government.

After writing his master's thesis on gerontology, Grayson founded the Alliance for Aging Research, and served as an officer of the organization for more than 20 years.

Legal and business career

Grayson was employed as a law clerk at the Colorado Supreme Court in 1983, and at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals from 1984 to 1985, where he worked with such judges as Abner Mikva, Robert Bork, and two judges who later joined the U.S. Supreme Court: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. He was an associate at the Washington D.C. firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson for five years, where he specialized in contract law. In 1991 he founded the law firm Grayson, Kubli which concentrated on government contract law. He was a lecturer at the George Washington University government contracts program and a frequent speaker on the topic.

Grayson also was the first President of IDT Corporation, a publicly traded billion-dollar telecommunications company. Grayson was ranked as the 12th-wealthiest member of Congress based on financial disclosure forms with a minimum net worth of $31.12 million, according to Roll Call.

Whistleblower cases

In recent years, Grayson specialized in war profiteer and whistleblower cases aimed at Iraq war contractors. One contractor, Custer Battles, billed the government $15 million for inspecting allegedly non-existent civilian flights at Baghdad Airport, and $10 million on a time and materials contract that had cost $3.5 million. The contractor received payment in newly printed cash direct from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Grayson was enabled to prosecute fraud through the False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions.

While pursuing the whistleblower cases, Grayson worked from a home office in Orlando where he lived with his wife and five children. In 2006, a Wall Street Journal reporter described Grayson as "waging a one-man war against contractor fraud in Iraq" and as a "fierce critic of the war in Iraq" whose car was "emblazoned" with bumper stickers such as "Bush lied, people died".

Electoral history

In 2006, Grayson made his first foray into electoral politics, and lost the 2006 Democratic primary for Florida's 8th Congressional District to Charlie Stuart, a prominent local businessman and center-right Democrat. Stuart went on to lose the general election to incumbent Republican Congressman Ric Keller.

In late 2007, Grayson announced that he would run again for the 8th District seat, and again faced Stuart in the primary. During the primary, his campaign retained the services of Bill Hillsman, an advertising executive whose previous political clients include the U.S. Senate campaigns of Democrats Paul Wellstone and Ned Lamont, the gubernatorial campaigns of Independents Jesse Ventura and Kinky Friedman, and the 2000 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader. Hillsman's first ad for Grayson, entitled “Case Closed”, focused on Grayson's fight against military contractor fraud, dramatizing the amounts of money involved with a suitcase containing $1 million in cash and an airplane hangar that could be filled with the $9 billion in taxpayer dollars allegedly stolen by contractor fraud in Iraq. The ad spread over the Internet via various liberal blogs, including the widely-read FireDogLake and The Huffington Post, a second ad, "Empty", also referenced contractor fraud, this time listing faulty products, such as empty fire extinguishers and defective parachutes, that were sold to the government. Other ads produced by Hillsman for the campaign included "Important Part" in which Grayson blasted Keller for voting against an appropriation for prosthetic limbs for veterans; and “Taxpayer Robbery”, which likened the loosening of regulations on the financial industry and the resulting 2008 bank bailout to an armed robbery.

In the August 26, 2008 Democratic primary, Grayson prevailed, receiving 48.5% of the vote. Stuart trailed with 27.5%, with three other candidates splitting the remaining 24%. During the general election campaign, Grayson maintained a consistent lead over Keller, who had barely eked out renomination in the Republican primary over attorney Todd Long after breaking a voluntary term limits pledge. On Election Day, he received 172,854 votes, or 52%, to Keller's 159,490 votes, or 48%. Although Keller won three out of four counties in the district, Grayson won by a margin of 55% to 45% in Orange County, home to Orlando and by far the largest county in the district.

Grayson is only the second Democrat to represent his district since its formation after the 1970 census. Although the Florida 8th district was historically a Republican district, Grayson was elected as a progressive Democrat, and is a Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus..

Congressional career

Federal Reserve transparency

During his first term in office, Grayson gained attention for an exchange with Federal Reserve System Vice Chairman Donald Kohn on the disposition of the $1.2 trillion that the Fed had lent as part of the 2008 bank bailout, during which Grayson said (to Kohn), “...Have people ever said we won't take your $150 billion because people might find out about it?” and questioned the authority of the Fed in funds dispersal. After the exchange received attention from various national media outlets, Grayson was the subject of an interview on the subject by Salon.com writer Glenn Greenwald. A later hearing, during which Grayson had an exchange with Elizabeth A. Coleman about spending by the Federal Reserve, became widely reviewed on YouTube, receiving nearly 3,000,000 views in the first few months after posting.

On March 23, 2009, following the AIG bonus payments controversy, Grayson joined with fellow freshman Democrat Jim Himes of Connecticut to introduce the Grayson-Himes Pay for Performance Act, legislation to require that all bonuses paid by companies that had received funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to be "based on performance". The bill was co-sponsored by eight other members of the House. On March 26, the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 38-22 and pm April 1, the bill was passed by the full House of Representatives by a vote of 247-171. The bill is viewed by some as giving Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies that have received taxpayer bailout money

Grayson is a co-sponsor of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, which would audit the Federal Reserve.

On September 2009, Alan Grayson went on the Alex Jones Show radio program and said:

[The banks] hired Enron's lobbyists…if you're doing Enron accounting why wouldn't you hire Enron's lobbyists?…and this lobbyist issued a statement saying 'These people who support this bill to audit the Federal Reserve…don't understand economics.' Well, its a funny thing to say to me, because I actually worked four years as an economist before I graduated from law school. [Linda Robertson] was saying, 'Oh, they don't know the difference between monetarism and fiscal policy and this, that, and the other thing', and here I am, the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist, and this lobbyist, this K-Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics!

In the interview he referred to the credit line the Federal Reserve made in the name of the US taxpayer, that comes out to $3,000 to every person in New Zealand.

Grayson's use of the word "whore" was criticized by some of Grayson's Democratic colleagues. Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the comment "inappropriate and unfair" to Robertson and noted that such comments interfere with the ability to solve problems. Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell stated, “There’s no call for that language. No call for it. That’s absurd. If he was standing here now, I’d say that to him.” Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner said, “Is this news to you that this guy’s one fry short of a Happy Meal?” Democratic Representative Joe Sestak stated, "I think he's gone well overboard." Todd Jurkowski, Grayson's congressional spokesman, clarified Grayson's intent behind the remark by stating that the "attack was on her professional career, not her personal life." Grayson subsequently apologized for his characterization of Roberts.

Health care

See also: Mass media coverage of Alan Grayson's comments on the Republican's health care plan

On September 29, 2009, Grayson made a speech regarding health care proposals in the U.S. House. During it he said, "The Republican health care plan is this: 'Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.'" His remarks drew immediate calls for an apology from Republicans and condemnation from media sources, and, according to Grayson, resulted in positive emails from constituents which outweighed negative ones four to one and over five thousand supporting campaign contributions. Grayson raised $347,000 for his reelection campaign during the third quarter, much of it attributed to his remarks. Republican Congressman Jimmy Duncan called Grayson's speech “the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I've ever heard made on this floor”. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Sere said, “This is an unstable man who has come unhinged. The depths to which Alan Grayson will sink to defend his indefensible comments know no bounds.”

Grayson described these comments as “Republican hissy fits”, and the next day gave a speech from the House Floor, saying “I would like to apologize: I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven't voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.” He cited a September 2009 Harvard study that found 44,000 Americans die each year due to being uninsured. Grayson, who is Jewish, apologized to the Anti-defamation League for those offended by his generic use of the word 'holocaust'.

On September 30, 2009, Grayson called Congressional Republicans "nattering nabobs of negativism" and "foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who think they can dictate policy to America by being stubborn" despite having lost the election. He argued that on the issue of health care "the Republicans have been insulting … [and] disserving America," and that "some thoughtful opposition" has been missing in the debate. He responded to criticism of his comments about the Republicans by saying he was speaking "the honest truth", because he contends that Republican leaders have offered no feasible counter-proposal to that of the Democrats, and that when the minority is not compromising, few alternatives exist from which to draw conclusions. During the interview, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos responded to Grayson with four initiatives that he believed Congressional Republicans have proposed: (1) enacting tort reform, (2) expanding health insurance portability, (3) permitting consumers to shop for health insurance across state lines, and (4) ensuring access to health care regardless of pre-existing health conditions. Grayson maintained his position that Congressional Republicans have failed to offer a feasible plan, and in his rebuttal to the second and fourth points asserted, "What you just described is the Democratic plan. You think you can steal the emperor's clothes that way?"

On October 21 Grayson released a website, NamesOfTheDead.com, which, "aims to memorialize Americans who die because they don’t have health insurance." Shortly after his site was announced, the names listed on the website's roatating list included fraudulent names. The name rotator was shortly removed. On October 28, Grayson honored the dead on the House floor, reading stories of the dead submitted through his Names of the Dead website.

Grayson criticized Senator Jon Kyl who said, “I'm not sure that it's a fact that more and more people die because they don't have health insurance.″ Republicans accused Grayson of violating campaign ethics guidelines because the website links to Grayson's campaign website. However, according to Grayson, no formal complaint has been lodged against him, and such allegations, including similar ones over another speech, are “Republican propaganda” and “lie[s] to distract people from the truth”. Grayson has called "Fox News and the Republican collaborators" the "enemy of America," because, in his estimation, they lack altruistic concern about health care policy reform in America, among other issues.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

Controversial statements

YahooNews described Grayson as a "political provocateur". Grayson refers to himself as "a Congressman with guts" who is unintimidated by controversy and criticism, saying, "They call me nuts, they call me stupid, they call me ugly. They might be right about ugly. ...All that I've done is to say what's on other peoples' mind."

News outlets have repeatedly described as "controversial" certain public statements by Grayson, both when directed at organizations and when directed personally at individuals. Some in politics and the media have referred favorably to Grayson amid the aftermath of his controversial statements.

Regarding the Republican Party

As a member of the Democratic Party, Grayson views the GOP as the opposition party; his comments about Republicans include:

• "If you get sick, America, the Republicans’ health care plan is this: Die quickly."–September 29, 2009
• "What the Republicans have been doing is an insult to America. ...These are foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging neanderthals." [Questioned, 'Why are you name-calling?'] "I didn't call names, what I said is true."–September 30, 2009
• "Republican Party, you're a lie factory, that's all you do."–October 1, 2009
• "Fox News and their Republican collaborators are the enemy of America, ...the enemy of anybody who wants anything good for this country."–October 21, 2009

Regarding Dick Cheney

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is an outspoken, longtime Republican; Grayson's comments about Cheney include:

• "I have trouble listening to what he says sometimes because of the blood that drips from his teeth while he's talking"
• "He's just angry because the president [Obama] doesn't shoot old men in the face."
• "When he was done speaking, did he just then turn into a bat and fly away?"–October 23, 2009

Regarding Rush Limbaugh

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is a self-described "conservative" who tends to deride proposals and policies advocated by the Democratic Party. Grayson comments as follows:

• "Rush Limbaugh is a has-been hypocrite loser, who craves attention. His right-wing lunacy sounds like Mikhail Gorbachev, extolling the virtues of communism. Limbaugh actually was more lucid when he was a drug addict. If America ever did 1% of what he wanted us to do, then we'd all need pain killers."–January 2009
• "I’m sorry... I’m sorry that Limbaugh is one sorry excuse for a human being."–March 4, 2009

Regarding others

Grayson has made controversial statements about other individuals, such as fellow Congressman Joe Wilson, Federal Reserve System senior advisor Linda Robertson, and Fox News Senior Vice President (and anchor) Neil Cavuto.

• "What Joe Wilson did is like a belch."–October 12, 2009
• "This lobbyist [Linda Robertson, a current senior advisor to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke], this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics."–September 2009
• "Neil [Cavuto], I'm not the one using profanity on the air. I'm not the one interrupting the guest to show incredible rudeness on the air. I'm simply the one trying to answer your questions and make America a better place."–March 31, 2009

Comments supporting Grayson

Persons in politics and the media have made comments which tend to support Grayson; their comments are listed here in approximate chronological order.

• MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews – "Let's start tonight with Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida. Sir, I have to hand it to you. I think you are a Martin Luther."
• Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) – "Alan Grayson is a friend and an extraordinary member of Congress."
• Pres. Obama – "Three outstanding members of Congress from Florida are here: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Kendrick Meek, and Alan Grayson."

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2008#District 8

External links

• Congressman Alan Grayson Official U.S. House website
• Alan Grayson for U.S. Congress Official campaign website
• Congressman with Guts
• Names of the Dead
• Alan Grayson on YouTube
• Alan Grayson on twitter
• Alan Grayson campaign on YouTube
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Grayson's Voting record on GovTrack.us
• Congressman Grayson Wins Another Round by The Nation
• 30 Second TV Spot Shakes Up A Congressional Campaign In Orlando -- Meet Alan Grayson Howie Klein, Huffington Post, 2008-07-27