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Add new section to list controversial statements. Grayson himself cultivates this aspect of his public persona. See Alan Grayson#List of controversial statements
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**[[United States House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight|Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight]]
**[[United States House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight|Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight]]
**[[United States House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics|Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics]]
**[[United States House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics|Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics]]

==List of controversial statements==
{{anchor|Controversy}}''YahooNews'' described Grayson as a "political provocateur",<ref>"Controversial Congressman Alan Grayson continues to make news" by Brett Michael Dykes, ''YahooNews'', October 29, 2009, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts961 news.yahoo.com]</ref> and Grayson refers to himself as "a Congressman with guts".<ref>[http://CongressmanWithGuts.com CongressmanWithGuts.com]</ref> 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.




==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 19:16, 5 November 2009

Alan Grayson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 8th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
Preceded byRic Keller
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic Party
SpouseLolita Grayson
ChildrenSkye, Star, Sage, Storm, Stone. [1]
ResidenceOrlando, Florida
Alma materHarvard College (A.B.)

John F. Kennedy School of Government (M.P.P.)

Harvard Law School (J.D.)
ProfessionAttorney
WebsiteCongressman 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.[2][3]

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.[1]

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.[3]

Grayson also was the first President of IDT Corporation, a publicly traded billion-dollar telecommunications company.[1][4] 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.[5]

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.[3] Grayson was enabled to prosecute fraud through the False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions.[6]

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".[6]

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.[7] Stuart went on to lose the general election to incumbent Republican Congressman Ric Keller.[8]

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.[9] The ad spread over the Internet via various liberal blogs, including the widely-read[10] 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.[11] Other ads produced by Hillsman for the campaign included "Important Part"[12] in which Grayson blasted Keller for voting against an appropriation for prosthetic limbs for veterans; and “Taxpayer Robbery”[13], 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%.[14] 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%.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17].

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.[18] 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.[19][20]

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".[21] 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.[22] 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 [23][24][unbalanced opinion?]

Grayson is a co-sponsor of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, which would audit the Federal Reserve.[25]

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![26]

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.[26][20]

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?”[27] Democratic Representative Joe Sestak stated, "I think he's gone well overboard."[28] 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."[29] Grayson subsequently apologized for his characterization of Roberts. [30][31]

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.'"[32] His remarks drew immediate calls for an apology from Republicans and condemnation from media sources,[33] and, according to Grayson, resulted in positive emails from constituents which outweighed negative ones four to one and over five thousand supporting campaign contributions.[34][35] Grayson raised $347,000 for his reelection campaign during the third quarter, much of it attributed to his remarks.[36][37] Republican Congressman Jimmy Duncan called Grayson's speech “the most mean-spirited partisan statement that I've ever heard made on this floor”.[38] 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.”[39]

Grayson described these comments as “Republican hissy fits”,[34] 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.”[40] He cited a September 2009 Harvard study[41] 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[42] of the word 'holocaust'.[43]

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?"[44][45]

On October 21 Grayson released a website, NamesOfTheDead.com, which, "aims to memorialize Americans who die because they don’t have health insurance."[46] Shortly after his site was announced, the names listed on the website's roatating list included fraudulent names. The name rotator was shortly removed.[47] On October 28, Grayson honored the dead on the House floor, reading stories of the dead submitted through his Names of the Dead website.[48][49][50][51]

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.″[46][52] Republicans accused Grayson of violating campaign ethics guidelines because the website links to Grayson's campaign website.[53] 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”.[54] 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.[55]

Committee assignments

List of controversial statements

YahooNews described Grayson as a "political provocateur",[56] and Grayson refers to himself as "a Congressman with guts".[57] 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.


See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Congressman Alan Grayson Biography, graysonhouse.gov, accessed 2009-10-04.
  2. ^ About Alan Grayson, graysonforcongress.com, accessed 2009-09-30
  3. ^ a b c An Oversight Hearing on Waste, Fraud and Abuse in U.S. Government Contracting in Iraq - Witness Biographies, U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee, 2005-02-14, accessed 2009-09-30.
  4. ^ SEC Info - Idt Corp - 10-Q/A - For 4/30/03 - EX-10.69, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2000-10-10, accessed 2009-09-30
  5. ^ Who is Alan Grayson Anyway, Wall Street Journal blogs, 2009-10-01
  6. ^ a b Dreazen, Yochi Attorney Pursues Iraq Contractor Fraud, Wall Street Journal., 2006-04-19, accessed 2009-10-03.
  7. ^ Florida Election Results, 2006 Democratic Primary, Florida Dept of State, 2006-09-05
  8. ^ Florida Election Results 2006 General Election, Florida Dept of State, 2006-11-07
  9. ^ "Case Closed TV Ad", YouTube.com, 2008-07-27, accessed 2009-10-04
  10. ^ http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/politics/uspolitics/
  11. ^ "Empty" Campaign Ad, YouTube.com, 2008-08-21, accessed 2009-10-20
  12. ^ Campaign Ad "Important Part"[dead link]
  13. ^ Campaign Ad: "Taxpayer Robbery"[dead link]
  14. ^ D Primary Race Detail, ourcampaigns.com
  15. ^ 2008 General Election Results, Florida Dept of State, 2008-11-04
  16. ^ Fl District 8 General Election Race Detail, ourcampaigns.com
  17. ^ Member List, Website of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, 2009-02-20, accessed 2009-10-03
  18. ^ Greenwald, Glenn Salon Radio: Rep. Alan Grayson on bailout transparency, (transcript and audio), Salon.com, 2009-01-26
  19. ^ Is Anyone Minding the Store at the Federal Reserve?: Rep. Alan Grayson asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve, YouTube
  20. ^ a b Alan Grayson (May 06, 2009). "Alan Grayson: Is Anyone Minding the Store at the Federal Reserve?". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ A Better Way For Wall Street, grayson.house.gov, 2009-03-24
  22. ^ Grayson gets his bill through the House, Orlando Sentinel, 2009-04-01
  23. ^ Feldman, Clarice Outrageous federal power grab, American Thinker Blog, 2009-03
  24. ^ Grayson Pay Performance Act, themiddleclass.org[dead link]
  25. ^ "Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009". 2009-10-22.
  26. ^ a b "Congressman Alan Grayson-K Street Whore is Going to Teach Me about Economics". [[Alex Jones (radio host)|]]. September 24, 2009.
  27. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28763.html
  28. ^ "The O'Reilly Factor, Interview with Joe Sestak, October 27, 2009". Fox News Channel. Retrieved November 4th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28763.html
  30. ^ A Statement from Congressman Alan Grayson, grayson.house.gov, 2009-10-27
  31. ^ http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&oi=news_result&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAkQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fblogs%2F2009%2F10%2F27%2Fpolitics%2Fpoliticalhotsheet%2Fentry5427087.shtml&rct=j&q=grayson+apologizes&ei=j1zvSv63IoLDlAfhhdT_BA&usg=AFQjCNHJLlElWkBC69ZCln6mzCbqpHOImg
  32. ^ "Alan Grayson on the GOP Health Care Plan: 'Don't Get Sick! And if You Do Get Sick, Die Quickly!'", YouTube.com, 2009-09-29
  33. ^ Jonathan Allen Grayson: GOP wants 'you to die', Politico.com, 2009-09-29, accessed 2009-09-30
  34. ^ a b Rep Alan Grayson on Hardball: We can't run this country based on Republican hissy fits,YouTube.com, 2009-10-02.
  35. ^ Alan Grayson (October 20, 2009). "Rep. Alan Grayson on Rachel Maddow: No One Cares About Bipartisanship".
  36. ^ [url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28395.html "Cha-ching! Campaign cash tops and flops"], Politico.com, 2009-10-16
  37. ^ GOP looks to cash in on Grayson's comments, 2009-10-01, USA Today blogs
  38. ^ Is Alan Grayson the Democrats' Joe Wilson?, Yahoo newsroom blog, 2009-10-01
  39. ^ Jonathan Alter Grayson likens health crisis, holocaust, Politico.com, 2009-09-30, accessed 2009-10-01
  40. ^ Rep. Alan Grayson: "I apologize to the dead and their families", YouTube.com, 2009-10-02
  41. ^ Wilper, Andrew MD, Woolhandler, Steffie, MD, et. al.."Health Insurance and Mortality in US Adults", American Journal of Public Health Peer Reviewed, December 2009 issue, Vol 99, No. 12/
  42. ^ Alan Grayson (2009-10-29). "Alan Grayson Enters Rebel Headquarters!". The Young Turks.
  43. ^ "Alan Grayson Unlikely to Face GOP Reprimand", CBSNews Blogs, 2009-10-06
  44. ^ Grayson calls Republicans knuckle dragging Neanderthals,CNN.com, 2009-09-30, accessed 2009-10-01
  45. ^ House Republicans Offer Health Care Plan,CBS News, 2009-06-17, accessed 2009-10-02
  46. ^ a b "Alan Grayson Honors Those Who Died for Lack of Health Insurance, Launches NamesOfTheDead.com". October 21, 2009.
  47. ^ "Alan Grayson Unveils 'Names of the Dead' Web Site -- And Gets Punked With Joke Names". October 21, 2009.
  48. ^ "Rep. Alan Grayson Honors the Dead: Part One". October 28, 2009.
  49. ^ "Rep. Alan Grayson Honors the Dead: Part Two". October 28, 2009.
  50. ^ "Rep. Alan Grayson Honors the Dead: Part Three". October 28, 2009.
  51. ^ "Rep. Alan Grayson Honors the Dead: Part Four". October 28, 2009.
  52. ^ "Kyl: 'I'm Not Sure It's A Fact' That Lack Of Health Insurance Causes People To Die". October 18, 2009.
  53. ^ http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2009/10/grayson-unveils-website-runs-afoul-of-ethics-rules-.html
  54. ^ "Alan Grayson on Hardball: Is Dick Cheney a Vampire?". October 22, 2009.
  55. ^ "The Ed Show, Interview with Alan Grayson, October 21, 2009". MSNBC. Retrieved November 4th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  56. ^ "Controversial Congressman Alan Grayson continues to make news" by Brett Michael Dykes, YahooNews, October 29, 2009, news.yahoo.com
  57. ^ CongressmanWithGuts.com

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alan Grayson.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 8th congressional district
2009–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Grayson&oldid=324131975"