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Frank Wolf (politician)

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Frank Wolf
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1981
Preceded byJoe Fisher
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarolyn Stover
ResidenceVienna, Virginia
Alma materPenn State University, Georgetown University
OccupationAttorney
CommitteesHouse Appropriations Committee
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1962-1967

Frank Rudolph Wolf (born January 30, 1939) is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia's 10th congressional district. He is a career politician and the most senior of Virginia's eleven Congressmen, having served since 1981.

Early life

Wolf was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Pennsylvania State University where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and earned a degree in political science. He received a law degree from Georgetown University.

Wolf overcame a speech issue, a stutter, early in life. [1]

After graduating from college, Wolf joined the United States Army as a reservist and became a lawyer for the military. He got his start in politics when he became a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative Edward Biester, beginning in 1968. From 1971 to 1975, Wolf served as an assistant to Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton.

Congressional career

1981, Congressional Pictorial Directory, Wolf as a first term Congressman

Wolf first ran for Congress in 1976, losing in the Republican primary. He won the Republican nomination, but lost the election in 1978. In 1980, Wolf was finally elected to Congress narrowly defeating Democrat Joseph L. Fisher. The Tenth District has seen extensive changes since Wolf took office. Initially a purely Northern Virginia district covering Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun, the 1990 redistricting by a Democratic Virginia General Assembly moved the district away from Arlington to the west and south to allow for the creation of a new congressional district and also to gerrymander Wolf and Congressman George Allen into the same District. Allen chose not to challenge Wolf, instead running for and winning the Virginia Governorship in 1993. The Tenth kept approximately the same complexion after the 2000 apportionment by a Republican Virginia General Assembly, but lost territory in the outlying areas of the district to allow for population growth in Fairfax and Loudoun. Today (November 2006) the Fairfax portion of the district holds about 40% of the population, Loudoun 30% and the remainder of the district at 30%.

Representative Wolf is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. In the 109th Congress he was chairman of Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs, and its ranking minority member in the 110th. Wolf is co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus with Jim McGovern, who replaced the late Tom Lantos.[2]

Wolf has been especially prominent in three areas: transportation, human rights, and gambling.

In his bid for re-election in 2006, he faced Democrat Judy Feder, and was once again re-elected 57%-41%.

Committee assignments

Political positions

Representative Wolf has traveled extensively to places around the world where people are suffering, including five times to the Sudan since 1989. He has advocated for relief of the genocide in Darfur.[3] He has also convened conferences in his district to address human rights issues around the world.

In a breach with President of the United States George W. Bush, Wolf established the Iraq Study Group by inserting an earmark into a supplemental appropriation bill.[4][5]

Wolf has a variety of ratings from advocacy groups. The National Rifle Association gives him a B+ and the American Civil Liberties Union gives him a 0%. Some other rankings include 0% from Clean Air Flow Energy, 100% from National Right to Life, 0% from the Human Rights Coalition, 17% from the National Educational Association, 5% from the League of Conservation Voters, 92% from the United States Border Control and 10% by the Alliance for Retired Americans. During the Bush administration, Wolf voted consistently the President's positions. For example, Wolf voted in favor of military action in Iraq in 2002. He also voted to make the Patriot Act permanent, opposed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants for wiretaps within the United States[citation needed], and supported the president in restricting congressional oversight for CIA interrogations.[3]

In March 2006, Congress, at Wolf's suggestion, and to the annoyance of the Bush administration, announced the creation of the Iraq Study Group to reassess the US strategy in Iraq.[4]

Wolf believes abortion should be illegal and he opposes subsidized birth control for federal employees. Congressman Wolf has also voted to deny funding to Planned Parenthood. He also opposes funding for international family planning in developing countries.

Wolf has vocally criticized the human rights record of China[6]. Around the time of the 1995 International Women's Conference in Beijing, Wolf called for the MFN status of China to be revoked alleging that human fetuses were considered a delicacy in China [7]. He was one of the leading congressman trying to stop the grant of permanent MFN status to China in 1999. [8] When Wolf and Congressman Chris Smith were in Beijing shortly before the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Chinese security service prevented them from a dinner meeting with local human rights lawyers.[9]

After the trial of the leadership of the Bahá'í community of Iran was announced on February 11, 2009[10] Wolf voiced he was deeply disturbed over the "systematic persecution" of the Bahá'ís.[11] On February 13 Wolf offered a resolution on the subject of the trial of the Iranian Bahá'í leadership co-sponsored by seven others in H. RES. 175 - "Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights" which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[12] The situation has gathered international attention including defense of Nobel Laureate attorney Shirin Ebadi in June[13] after she received threats in April warning her against making speeches abroad, and defending Iran's minority Baha'i community[14] - see Arrest of Bahá'í leaders.

2008 re-election campaign

On June 10, 2008, Wolf defeated Republican primary challenger Vern McKinley with 91.74% of the vote to McKinley's 8.25%,[15] securing the 2008 Republican nomination for the 10th district House seat. He then defeated Democratic health care expert Judy Feder in the general election.

Staffer assault controversy

On October 26, 2008, a YouTube video surfaced of Frank Wolf witnessing an assault of two young employees of Judy Feder by Wolf staffer Benjamin Dutton with his cane. Dutton was 88 years old at the time of the assault.[16] The video was featured on a number of blogs and Wolf was criticized for not intervening, rather ignoring the situation and continuing to walk away. The Wolf campaign offered a qualified apology for the assault through the Washington Post,[17] but never apologized to the campaign staffer who was struck, claiming that the Congressman had been provoked by the Feder staffers' questions – regarding namely, the Congressman's plan to fund Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health care plan, which Wolf endorsed.[18] The staffers suffered only minor injuries and charges against Dutton are still pending.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Presence TeleCare Telepractice - Frank Wolf Interview
  2. ^ Barr, Andy (2008-06-12). "McGovern Replaces Lantos as Human Rights Co-Chair". The Hill. Washington, D.C.: Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  3. ^ a b "Frank Wolf on the Issues". OnTheIssues.Org. Retrieved 2008-11-05. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b Barone, Michael (2008). The Almanac of American Politics. Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group and Atlantic Media Company. pp. 1688–1692. ISBN 9780892341177. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (2006-12-05). "An Earmark With an Impact". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Congressman Frank R. Wolf : Home
  7. ^ Cannibalism and the Chinese Body Politic: Hermeneutics and Violence in Cross-Cultural Perception
  8. ^ Wolf, Frank (March 24, 2004). "U.S.– China trade debate filled with questions". Association for Asian Research. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  9. ^ Yardley, Jim (2008-07-02). "China Blocks U.S. Legislators' Meeting". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ "Iran to try Bahais for spying for Israel". AFP. 2009-02-11.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ^ "Iran Continues Systematic Persecution of Baha'is" (Press release). House of Representatives, Congressional Record. 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  12. ^ "Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. (Introduced in House)" (Press release). House of Representatives, Congressional Record. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  13. ^ "Local Baha'is worry about their fellow believers in Iran" (Press release). The Chatham News. 2009-02-24. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  14. ^ BBC NEWS. Top Iranian dissident threatened
  15. ^ "View Results for Democratic June Primary". 2008 June Republican Primary Unofficial Results. Virginia State Board of Elections.
  16. ^ "RaisingKaine" (October 26, 2008). "Congressman Wolf's Goons Attack". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  17. ^ Somashekhar, Sandhya (October 26, 2008). "Wolf Campaign Apologizes for Staffer who Struck Feder Worker". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  18. ^ "Lowell" (October 17, 2008). "Frank Wolf Advocates 'Largest Middle Class Tax Increase in History'". RK. Raising Kaine. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
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