Cynthia Lummis

Cynthia Lummis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming's at-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Barbara Cubin
Succeeded by	Liz Cheney (elect)
34th Treasurer of Wyoming
In office January 1999 – January 2007
Governor	Jim Geringer Dave Freudenthal
Preceded by	Stan Smith
Succeeded by	Joe Meyer
Member of the Wyoming Senate from the 5th district
In office January 14, 1993 – January 10, 1995
Preceded by	Gary Yordy
Succeeded by	Donald Lawler
Personal details
Born	Cynthia Marie Lummis September 10, 1954 Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alvin Wiederspahn (1983–2014)
Children	Annaliese
Alma mater	University of Wyoming (BS, JD)
Website	Government website

Cynthia Marie Lummis Wiederspahn (born September 10, 1954) is the U.S. Representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district, serving since 2009. She is a member of the Republican Party. She previously served as a State Representative (1979–1983, 1985–1993), State Senator (1993–1995), and State Treasurer (1999–2007).

She did not seek reelection in 2016.^[1]

Early life

Lummis is one of four children born in Cheyenne to Doran Lummis and the former Enid Bennett (1928–2013), a native of Denver, Colorado, who was reared in Cheyenne and was highly active in Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Republican Party. Lummis' maternal grandparents were Clarence "Buck" Bennett, the head mechanic at the Greyhound Bus Lines in Cheyenne, and Eda Erickson Bennett. In a statement upon her mother's death, Lummis said, "I carry with me so many lessons my mother taught me; chief among them is the quiet grit she displayed in the face of pain and adversity."^[2]

After high school, Lummis enrolled in the University of Wyoming in Laramie, obtaining two Bachelor of Science degrees in animal science in 1976 and in biology in 1978.^[3] While she was a legislator, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wyoming in 1985 and also clerked for the Wyoming Supreme Court.^[3]

Legislature

Lummis was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1979 to 1983 and 1985 to 1993, and then the Wyoming Senate from 1993 to 1995.

U.S. House of Representatives

Cynthia Lummis is one of three female U.S. Representatives in Congress who identifies as a "congressman"; the others are Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black of Tennessee.^[4]

Elections

2008

Lummis, who carried the support of pro-life and economic conservative voters in Wyoming, won the November 4, 2008, general election to succeed Barbara Cubin of Casper. In the August primary election, Lummis defeated businessman and rancher Mark Gordon of Buffalo in Johnson County.

In the general election, Lummis faced Democratic Teton County School Board Trustee Gary Trauner of Wilson, who had run against Cubin in 2006 and nearly won.^[5] Trauner criticized Lummis because she has supported privatization of Social Security and has also suggested raising the retirement age for receiving such benefits; Trauner has called instead for consideration of imposing the FICA tax on income over $100,000, which is currently exempt.^[6]

2010

Lummis won re-election with 71% against Democratic challenger David Wendt.^[7]

2012

Lummis again won re-election with 69% of the vote against Democratic challenger Chris Henrichsen.

2014

In October 2013, corrections officer Jason Adam Senteney announced that he would challenge Lummis in the 2014 Republican primary. Senteney opposed the 2013 government shutdown: "You should never shut down essential programs for people. ... Whether it's a negotiation tactic or not, you shouldn't punish the American people for your own failure to work together in Washington."^[8]

Tenure

Lummis is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.^[9]

Timothy P. Carney of the Washington Examiner has called Lummis one of Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake's "posse of anti-appropriators" on the Appropriations Committee.^[10] According to Carney, Lummis "is the league leader in bucking the committee leadership."^[10]

Legislation supported

Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis with colleagues Eric Cantor and Mary Fallin

• Ranch A Consolidation and Management Improvement Act (H.R. 1684; 113th Congress) – a bill that would transfer 10 acres of federal lands to the state of Wyoming for use at the historic Ranch A.^[11] Lummis introduced the bill.^[12]
• Protecting States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act (H.R. 2728; 113th Congress) – a bill that would require the federal government to defer to individual states about regulations governing hydraulic fracturing.^[13] If a state has laws or regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, those regulations would be the rules that applied in that state, not any regulations created by the federal government. Lummis supported this bill.^[11]
• Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act (H.R. 1526) – a bill that would direct the United States Department of Agriculture to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from System lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area).^[14] Lummis supported this bill.^[11]
• Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act (H.R. 2919; 113th Congress) – a bill that would require the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to prepare a report each year on the amount of fees and other expenses awarded by federal courts to nonfederal entities when they prevail in a case against the United States.^[15] Lummis introduced this bill on August 1, 2013. Lummis said that "requiring agencies to keep track of what they pay attorneys will help Congress determine if EAJA is working well or not."^[16] According to Lummis, the EAJA was meant to the help the "little guy" but "was later co-opted by large environmental groups so their litigation shops could get reimbursed for filing expansive litigation on environmental issues."^[17]

Committee assignments

Current

United States House Committee on Natural Resources (2009–2011; 2013–present)

• • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (2013–present)
  • Subcommittee on National Security
  • Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Job Creation and Regulatory Affairs
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology (2013–present)
  • Subcommittee on Energy (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Research

Past

• Committee on Appropriations (2011–2013)

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Western Caucus (Vice-Chairman)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus
• Women's Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Freedom Caucus^[18]

Electoral history

Wyoming state treasurer, 1998 – general election:^[19][20]

• Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 105,322 (62.69%)
• Charyl "Butch" Loveridge, Democrat – 52,655 (31.34%)
• James Blomquist, Libertarian – 10,024 (5.97%)

Wyoming state treasurer, 2002 – Republican primary:^[21]

• Cynthia Lummis – 79,557 (100.00%)

Wyoming state treasurer, 2002 – general election:^[22]

• Cynthia Lummis – 152,583 (100.00%)

Wyoming's At-large congressional district, 2008 – Republican primary:^[23]

• Cynthia Lummis – 33,149 (46.18%)
• Mark Gordon – 26,827 (37.37%)
• Bill Winney – 8,537 (11.89%)
• Michael S. Holland – 3,171 (4.56%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2008 – general election:^[24]

• Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 131,244 (52.62%)
• Gary Trauner, Democrat – 106,758 (42.81%)
• W. David Herbert, Libertarian – 11,030 (4.42%)
• Write-in candidates – 363 (0.15%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2010 – Republican primary:^[25]

• Cynthia Lummis – 84,063 (82.82%)
• Evan Liam Slafter – 17,148 (16.89%)
• Write-in candidates – 289 (0.28%)

Wyoming's at-large congressional district, 2010 – general election:^[26]

• Cynthia Lummis, Republican – 131,661 (70.42%)
• David Wendt, Democrat – 45,768 (24.48%)
• John V. Love, Libertarian – 9,253 (4.95%)
• Write-in candidates – 287 (0.15%)

Wyoming's At-Large Congressional District, 2012 – General Election:^[27]

• Cynthia M. Lummis, Republican – 166,452 (68.89%)
• Chris Henrichsen, Democrat – 57,573 (23.83%)
• Richard P. Brubaker, Libertarian – 8,442 (3.49%)
• Don Wills, Country Party – 3,775 (1.56%)
• Daniel Clyde Cummings, Constitution – 4,963 (2.05%)
• Write-in Candidates – 416 (0.17%)

Personal life

In 2008, Lummis reported her wealth as ranging from $20 million to $75 million. She ranked in 2010 as the twenty-ninth wealthiest member of Congress. Most of Lummis’ wealth is derived from her family-owned Arp and Hammond Company, Lummis Livestock Company, and Old Horse Pasture Inc.^[28]

References

1. dougrandall (28 January 2016). "Stubson Touts Wyoming Experience In Run For Congress". KGAB 650AM.
2. "Rep. Lummis' Statement on the Passing of Her Mother, October 10, 2013". lummis.house.gov. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
3. "Biography - Congressman Cynthia Lummis".
4. Ostermeier, Eric (June 13, 2013). "Meet the Three House Women Who Go by "Congressman"". Smart Politics.
5. "Zwonitzer withdraws from House race". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 8 May 2008.
6. Joyce, Matt (2008-10-10). "Trauner, Lummis camps debate Social Security". Casper Star-Tribune.
7. "State Results – Election Center 2010 – Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN.
8. "Trevor Brown, Yoder man challenging Lummis in 2014 primary: Jason Senteney says Congress isn't working to solve budget issues, October 24, 2013". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
9. "The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List" (PDF). Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
10. Carney, Timothy (2011-04-03) GOP anti-appropriators break up the spending party, Washington Examiner
11. Hancock, Laura (5 August 2013). "Lummis-supported bills move forward". Casper Star-Tribune Online. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
12. "H.R. 1684 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
13. Kasperowicz, Pete (19 November 2013). "House advances drilling, fracking bills". The Hill. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
14. "H.R. 1526 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
15. "CBO – H.R. 2919". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
16. D'Amico, Christine (1 August 2013). "Lummis, Cohen Draft Bill to Track Equal Access to Justice Act Payments Bipartisan legislation restarts agency tracking obligations; modernizes record-keeping with online database.". House Office of Cynthia Lummis. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
17. Hancock, Laura (9 February 2014). "House committee endorses bill targeting environmental group lawsuits". Casper Star Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
18. Bialik, Carl; Bycoffe, Aaron (25 September 2015). "The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 2015-09-28.
19. "Statewide Issues Abstract" (Portable Document Format). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 5. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
20. Foster, Deidre (November 4, 1998). "Lummis trumps Loveridge". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
21. "Statewide Candidates' Abstract – Official Primary Election Results – August 20, 2002" (Portable Document Format). Wyoming Elections Division. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
22. "Statewide Candidates' Abstract – Official General Election Results – November 5, 2002" (Portable Document Format). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
23. "Republican Statewide Candidates Official Summary: Wyoming Primary Election – August 19, 2008" (PDF). Wyoming Elections Division. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
24. Miller, Lorraine C. (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the presidential and congressional election of November 4, 2008" (Portable Document Format). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 68. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
25. "Statewide Candidates Official Summary: Wyoming Primary Election – August 17, 2010" (Portable Document Format). Wyoming Elections Division. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
26. Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the congressional election of November 2, 2010" (Portable Document Format). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 56. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
27. "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives – Election Information" (PDF). Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
28. "Rep. Cynthia Lummis among Richest Members of Congress". wyofile.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.

External links

• Congressman Cynthia Lummis official U.S. House site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN