Jim Inhofe

Jim Inhofe
United States Senator from Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office November 16, 1994 Serving with Tom Coburn
Preceded by	David L. Boren
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st district
In office January 3, 1987 – November 15, 1994
Preceded by	James Robert Jones
Succeeded by	Steve Largent
32nd Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma
In office 1978–1984
Preceded by	Robert J. LaFortune
Succeeded by	Terry Young
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jim Jeffords
Succeeded by	Barbara Boxer
Personal details
Born	James Mountain Inhofe (1934-11-17) November 17, 1934 Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kay Kirkpatrick Inhofe
Children	Four children, including: Dr. Perry Inhofe (deceased)
Residence(s)	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Alma mater	University of Tulsa
Occupation	Insurance Executive
Website	www.inhofe.senate.gov
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1956-1958
Rank	Specialist 4

James Mountain "Jim" Inhofe (/ˈɪnhɒf/; born November 17, 1934) is the senior United States senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1994, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007. Inhofe served eight years as the United States representative for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district before his election to the Senate in 1994 and also previously served as both an Oklahoma state representative and senator.

Early life, education, and business career

Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Blanche (née Mountain) and Perry Dyson Inhofe. He moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was a child. He was a member of the Class of 1953 at Tulsa Central High School, and served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1958. Inhofe received a B.A. degree from the University of Tulsa in 1973.

Inhofe worked as a businessman for three decades before becoming a full-time politician. He worked in the field of aviation, as a real estate developer, and in insurance, eventually becoming the president of the Quaker Life Insurance Company. During the time he worked for Quaker Life, the company went into receivership; it was liquidated in 1986.

Early political career

State legislature

Inhofe became active in Oklahoma Republican politics in the mid-1960s. He was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969, and a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 1969 until 1977, the last four of those years as minority leader.

1974 gubernatorial election

Main article: Oklahoma gubernatorial election, 1974

In 1974, he ran for Governor of Oklahoma in 1974. He lost 57 pounds during the campaign and was down to 148 pounds. In October, President Gerald Ford came to help campaign with him. A late October poll by the Daily Oklahoman showed Boren leading 74%-25%. He lost to Democrat State Representative David Boren 64%-36%. Inhofe won only four counties in the election.

1976 congressional election

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 1976

In 1976, he ran for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district in 1976. In the Republican primary, he defeated State Senator Frank Keating and Mary Warner 67%-25%-8%. In the general election, he lost to incumbent Democrat James R. Jones 54%-45%.

Mayor of Tulsa

In 1978, he ran for mayor of Tulsa, defeating Democrat Rodger A. Randle 51%-46%. In 1980, he won re-election unopposed. In 1982, he won re-election with 59%.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1986, when Congressman Jones decided to retire to run for the U.S. Senate. Inhofe ran for the 1st District and won the Republican primary with 54%. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Gary Allison 55%-43%. In 1988, he won re-election against Democrat Kurt Glassco, Governor George Nigh's legal counsel, 53%-47%. In 1990, he defeated Glassco in a rematch 56%-44%. After redistricting, the 1st District contained only two counties, all of Tulsa and some parts of Wagoner. In 1992, he won re-election with 53% of the vote.

Tenure

In 1987, he voted against President Ronald Reagan's budget, which included tax increases and no increase in defense spending.

He first came to national attention in 1993, when he led the effort to reform the House's discharge petition rule, which the House leadership had long used to bottle up bills in committee.

U.S. Senate

Elections

In 1994, incumbent Senator David Boren, who had been serving in the Senate since 1979, agreed to become president of the University of Oklahoma and announced he would resign as soon as a successor was elected. Inhofe was elected Senator Boren's successor in this nationally historic election cycle that saw the Republican Party take both houses of Congress and the Oklahoma governorship (the latter for only the second time in state history). Inhofe took the office on November 16 and took the next day, his 60th birthday, giving him a bit more senatorial seniority than the incoming class of senators. After serving the last two years of Boren's term, he won his first full term in 1996. He was reelected in 2002 and 2008.

Tenure

Fundraising

In the 2008 election cycle, Inhofe’s largest campaign donors represented the oil and gas ($446,900 in donations), leadership PACs ($316,720) and electric utilities ($221,654) industries/categories. In 2010, his largest donors represented the oil and gas ($429,950) and electric utilities ($206,654).

The primary PACs donating to his campaigns were: Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association $55,869, United Parcel Service $51,850, National Association of Realtors $51,700, National Rifle Association $51,050, American Medical Association $51,000. Additionally, if company-sponsored PACs were combined with employee contributions, Koch Industries would be Inhofe's largest contributor, with $90,950 (less than 0.6% of total contributions), according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Earmarks

Inhofe sponsored or co-sponsored 95 earmarks totaling $151.5 million in fiscal 2009, ranking him 45th out of 100 senators.

Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse revelations

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he was among the panelists questioning witnesses about the 2004 Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, stating he was "outraged by the outrage" over the revelations of abuse. Although he believed that the individuals responsible for mistreating prisoners should be punished, he stated that the prisoners "are not there for traffic violations . . . they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents". In 2006, Inhofe was one of only nine senators to vote against the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 which prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of individuals in U.S. Government custody.

Committee assignments

Inhofe, as of the 111th Congress, is a member of the following committees:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Environment and Public Works (Ranking Minority Member)

Caucus memberships

• International Conservation Caucus
• Senate Army Caucus
• Senate Diabetes Caucus
• Senate General Aviation Caucus
• Senate Rural Health Caucus
• Senate Tourism Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Ideology and opinions

Inhofe is one of the most conservative members of either house of Congress (the eighth-most conservative senator, according to the March 2007 National Journal rankings of Liberal/Conservative members of Congress.)

Environmental issues

Inhofe, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, does not believe that human activities cause climate change. In The Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney stated that Inhofe "politicizes and misuses the science of climate change".

Inhofe often repeats his claim that human influenced climate change is a hoax and impossible because “God’s still up there.” and that it is “outrageous” and arrogant for people to believe human beings are “able to change what He is doing in the climate.”

In a July 28, 2003, Senate speech, Inhofe stated, "I have offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists." He cited as support for this the 1992 Heidelberg Appeal and the 1999 Oregon Petition, as well the opinions of individual scientists that he named including John Christy, Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen, Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas. In his speech, Inhofe also discussed the then current Soon and Baliunas controversy, and said that "satellite data, confirmed by NOAA balloon measurements, confirms that no meaningful warming has occurred over the last century." However the satellite temperature record corroborates the well-documented warming trend noted in surface temperature measurements.

In a 2006 interview with the Tulsa World newspaper, Inhofe said regarding the environmentalist movement, "It kind of reminds... I could use the Third Reich, the Big Lie... You say something over and over and over and over again, and people will believe it, and that's their [the environmentalists'] strategy... A hot summer has nothing to do with global warming. Let's keep in mind it was just three weeks ago that people were saying, 'Wait a minute; it is unusually cool....Everything on which they [the environmentalists] based their story, in terms of the facts, has been refuted scientifically."

Inhofe had previously compared the United States Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo and he compared EPA Administrator Carol Browner to Tokyo Rose. Inhofe had previously stated that Global Warming is "the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state." Inhofe, while indicating he believed there are uncertainties related to climate science and that that mandatory emissions reductions would have an adverse impact on the U.S. economy, voted on June 22, 2005 to reject an amendment to an energy bill that would have forced reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and created a mandatory emissions trading scheme.

Inhofe has similarly criticized ozone depletion, particularly in relation to the Arctic.

In 2006, Inhofe gave a speech in the Senate in which he argued that the threat of global warming was exaggerated by "the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture." Inhofe asserted that "From the late 1920s until the 1960s they [the media] warned of global warming. From the 1950s until the 1970s they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate's fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years." He also accused the media of ignoring scientists such as Roger A. Pielke and William Gray who, Inhofe asserts, disagree with global warming. Pielke has explicitly denied the assertion that he is skeptical of the human impact on climate change.

In 2006, Inhofe introduced Senate Amendment 4682 with Kit Bond (R-MO). This bill would have modified oversight responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers. According to the League of Conservation Voters, a political advocacy organization, analyses for corps projects "have been manipulated to favor large-scale projects that harm the environment." During the 109th Congress, Inhofe voted to increase offshore oil drilling, to include provisions for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the House Budget Amendment, and to deny funding for both low-income energy assistance and environmental stewardship, citing heavy costs and unproven programs. As of 2006, the League of Conservation Voters has given Inhofe the lowest possible score on environmental issues.

In December 2009, Inhofe appeared on the CNN program The Situation Room and said that the Climatic Research Unit e-mails show that the science behind climate change "has been pretty well debunked." The fact checking organization Politifact concluded Inhofe's statement to be false: "Independent of CRU's data, agencies and academics all over the world are coming to essentially the same conclusion: Climate change is happening." That same month, Inhofe said he would lead a three man "truth squad" consisting of himself and fellow senators Roger Wicker and John Barrasso to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. However, Inhofe was unable to secure meetings with any negotiators or delegations to the conference and only met with a small group of reporters.

In July 2010 Inhofe stated, "I don't think that anyone disagrees with the fact that we actually are in a cold period that started about nine years ago. Now, that's not me talking, those are the scientists that say that." The Union of Concerned Scientists stated that Inhofe stated was in error, pointing to the report by NOAA's report that through July, 2010 has been the hottest summer on record since 1880. Inhofe added that "People on the other side of this argument back in January, they said, 'Inhofe, it has nothing to do with today's or this month or next month. We're looking at a long period of time. We go into twenty year periods.'" "We're in a cycle now that all the scientists agree is going into a cooling period."

In February 9, 2011 sworn testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Inhofe stated, "I have to admit—and, you know, confession is good for the soul... I, too, once thought that catastrophic global warming was caused by anthropogenic gases—because everyone said it was." Under questioning from committee member Jay Inslee Inhofe dismissed the notion that he was less knowledgeable than climate scientists, saying that he’d already given “five speeches on the science.” His testimony included mention of a book of his which he claimed was forthcoming, saying, "I won’t tell you what it’s about, but it’s titled The Hoax." His book which makes claims about a Global warming conspiracy theory was called The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future and was published on February 28, 2012.

Israel

In a Senate speech on March 4, 2002, Inhofe presented his position on the "seven reasons that Israel has the right to their land."

These are summarized as follows:

1. Archeological evidence. Excerpt: "Every time there is a dig in Israel, it does nothing but support the fact that Israelis have had a presence there for 3,000 years."
2. Historic right. Inhofe's case includes the historic presence of Israel prior to the Roman Empire, and the promise given to the Jews by Britain in 1917 to provide a Jewish homeland.
3. Agricultural development. Inhofe argues that Israel has been "able to bring more food out of a desert environment than any other country in the world."
4. Humanitarian concerns. Inhofe argues that due to the extent of their persecution - he cites Russia - and their slaughter - during World War II by the Nazis - the Jews are entitled to a homeland, and that this is not an unreasonable demand.
5. Strategic ally of the United States. "They vote with us in the United Nations more than England, more than Canada, more than France, more than Germany — more than any other country in the world."
6. Israel acts as an effective roadblock to terrorism. In this part of his speech, Inhofe refers to four wars which Israel has fought and won (as of the date of his speech, dated 2002): "The 1948 War of Independence, the 1956 Sinai campaign, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War." And he states that "In all four cases, Israel was attacked. They were not the aggressor ... In regard to their effectiveness, they are great warriors. They consider a level playing field being outnumbered 2-to-1." He also states at this point that, "One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."
7. Biblical references. Inhofe states, "I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel, and that it has a right to the land, because God said so."

In a Senate speech, Inhofe said that America should base its Israel policy on the text of the Bible:

I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason: Because God said so. As I said a minute ago, look it up in the Book of Genesis. It is right up there on the desk.

In Genesis 13:14–17, the Bible says:

The Lord said to Abraham, "Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward and westward: for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. . . . Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee." That is God talking.

The Bible says that Abraham removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar before the Lord. Hebron is in the West Bank. It is at this place where God appeared to Abram and said, "I am giving you this land — the West Bank". This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true.

In March 2002, Inhofe also made a speech before the U.S. Senate that included the explicit suggestion that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a form of divine retribution against the U.S. for failing to defend Israel. In his words: "One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our Government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."

Syria

Inhofe, while offering no specific alternatives himself, has condemned President Barack Obama's “inaction” on Syria.

Immigration

Inhofe wrote the Inhofe Amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which was debated in Congress in May 2006. The amendment would make English the national language of the United States and require that new citizens take an English proficiency test. The amendment was passed on May 18, 2006 with 32 Democrats, one independent, and one Republican dissenting. The measure had 11 cosponsors, including one Democrat.

In the debate, Inhofe cited a 2005 Zogby Poll showing 84% of Americans support making English the official language of governmental operations, including 71% of Hispanics. He also noted that 27 states and 51 nations have made English their official language and that the Office of Management and Budget estimated that it costs taxpayers between $1–2 billion to provide language assistance under President Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 13166 that created the entitlement to services provided in any language other than English.

LGBT rights

Inhofe points at large photograph of his family, proclaiming none have been divorced or LGBT

Inhofe has generally been seen as overtly hostile by LGBT advocacy groups, earning a 0% in every one of his terms on Human Rights Campaign's position scorecard. Inhofe is in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, against adding sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes, and voted against prohibiting job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Inhofe’s office has said he “does not hire openly gay staffers due to the possibility of a conflict of agenda.”

Inhofe campaigned for his Senate seat in 1994 using the phrase "God, guns, and gays," reflecting his ability to master political support in opposition to gay rights in general (and gays in the military in particular). This phrase came to be a popular term for GOP campaign strategy, with Howard Dean and other politicians using it in the 2004 election cycle. In 2008, his campaign was noted by the Associated Press for running an ad with "anti-gay overtones" featuring a wedding cake with two male figures on top, fading into his opponent's face.

On June 6, 2006, in a speech on the Senate floor about the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, Inhofe said, pointing at a large photograph of his family:

...As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we’ll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship.

GI Bill reform

Inhofe, an initial sponsor of Senator Jim Webb's Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, subsequently withdrew support for this bill to support S 2938, a competing bill that would have provided benefits beyond those offered in Webb's bill. However, Inhofe nevertheless did vote to enact Webb's legislation in June 2008.

Misconduct while piloting an aircraft in 2010

Trained by the US Navy, Inhofe is one of the few members of Congress who is licensed as a commercial pilot. In 1994, when he first ran for the U.S. Senate, he used his plane as a daily campaign vehicle to crisscross Oklahoma and visit almost every town in the state. He has been influential in Senate and Congressional debates involving aircraft regulation.

On October 21, 2010, at the age of 75, Inhofe landed his Cessna on a closed runway at a south Texas airport, scattering construction workers who ran for their lives. In a recorded telephone call, the men's supervisor told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that Inhofe "scared the crap out of" the workers, adding that the Cessna "damn near hit" a truck. And the airport manager, also speaking to the FAA in a recorded telephone call, opined, “I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam, and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life. Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations.”

In response to the incident, Inhofe stated that he "did nothing wrong", and accused the FAA of "agency overreach" and causing a "feeling of desperation" in him. He agreed to take a remedial training program, and the FAA agreed not to pursue legal action against him if he took the program. In July 2011, Inhofe introduced a bill to create a "Pilot's Bill of Rights" which he said would increase fairness in FAA enforcement actions. The bill was passed in 2012.

Taxpayer-funded travel

Inhofe has made multiple foreign trips, especially to Africa, on missions that he described as "a Jesus thing" and that were paid for by the U.S. government. He has used these trips for activities on behalf of The Fellowship, a Christian organization. Inhofe has said that his trips included some governmental work but also involved "the political philosophy of Jesus, something that had been put together by Doug Coe, the leader of The Fellowship...It's all scripturally based." Inhofe used his access as a Senator to pursue religious goals.

Federal Disaster Relief

Inhofe has consistently voted against federal disaster relief, most notably in the case of relief for the 24 states affected by Hurricane Sandy. However, he argues for federal aid when natural disasters hit Oklahoma. In defense of his decision to vote against a relief fund for Hurricane Sandy, but not in Oklahoma after tornadoes ravaged the state in May 2013, he claimed the situations were "totally different" the difference being the Sandy funding involved "Everybody getting in and exploiting the tragedy that took place. That won't happen in Oklahoma." Inhofe pointedly did not thank President Obama for his attention to the tragedy in his state, so as to not be compared to Chris Christie.

Personal life

In 1959, Inhofe married Kay Kirkpatrick, with whom he has four children.

On November 10, 2013, Inhofe's son, Dr. Perry Inhofe, died in a plane crash in Owasso, Oklahoma. It is unclear whether Perry Inhofe was piloting the plane when it went down.

Electoral history

See also: United States Senate election in Oklahoma, 2008

Oklahoma's 1st congressional district: Results 1986–1992

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1986		Gary D. Allison	61,663	43%		James Inhofe	78,919	55%
1988		Kurt G. Glassco	93,101	47%		James Inhofe	103,458	53%
1990		Kurt G. Glassco	59,521	44%		James Inhofe	75,618	56%
1992		John Selph	106,619	47%		James Inhofe	119,211	53%

In the 1986 first district election, a minor party candidate gained 2% of the vote.

Oklahoma Senator (Class II): Results 1990–2008

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1994		Dave McCurdy	392,488	40%		James Inhofe	542,390	55%
1996		James Boren	474,162	40%		James Inhofe	670,610	57%
2002		David Walters	369,789	36%		James Inhofe	583,579	57%
2008		Andrew Rice	527,736	39%		James Inhofe	763,375	57%

Minor party candidates not shown.

See also

• U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works
• Politics of Oklahoma
• List of U.S. Senators from Oklahoma

External links

• United States Senator James Inhofe official Senate site
• Jim Inhofe at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• "Catastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science", July 28, 2003
• “Hot & Cold Media Spin: A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming” Speech on Senate Floor, September 25, 2006 with followup, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
• Inhofe Says Boxer, Hillary Clinton Discussed Reining in Conservative Talk Radio Three Years Ago, Liza Porteus, Fox News June 26, 2007
• Plane Carrying U.S. Lawmakers Is Shot At in Iraq, The New York Times, August 31, 2007