Jerry Lewis (California politician)

Jerry Lewis
Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Leader	John Boehner
Preceded by	Dave Obey
Succeeded by	Norm Dicks
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Speaker	Dennis Hastert
Preceded by	Bill Young
Succeeded by	Dave Obey
Chairman of the House Republican Conference
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1993
Leader	Bob Michel
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Dick Armey
Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989
Leader	Bob Michel
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	Mickey Edwards
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 41st district
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Gary Miller
Succeeded by	Mark Takano
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 40th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Christopher Cox
Succeeded by	Ed Royce
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 35th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	David Dreier
Succeeded by	Maxine Waters
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 37th district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Shirley Neil Pettis
Succeeded by	Al McCandless
Member of the California State Assembly from the 67th district
In office 1974–1978
Preceded by	Paul Bannai
Succeeded by	Bill Leonard
Member of the California State Assembly from the 73rd district
In office 1969–1974
Preceded by	L. Stewart Hinckley
Succeeded by	Robert H. Burke
Personal details
Born	October 21, 1934 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Arlene Lewis
Residence	Redlands, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Insurance broker
Religion	Presbyterianism

Charles Jeremy "Jerry" Lewis (born October 21, 1934), is an American politician who was a U.S. Representative, last serving California's 41st congressional district. He was first elected to Congress in 1978, and previously represented the 40th, 35th, and 37th districts. A Republican, he is a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in that role during the 109th Congress. In January 2012 he announced that he was not running for re-election and would end his congressional career in January 2013.

Early life, education, and business career

Lewis was born in Seattle, Washington. In 1952 he graduated from San Bernardino High School in San Bernardino, California, where he captained the swim team and was a basketball star; his basketball jersey was later retired.^[1] In 1956 he received a B.A. from UCLA. Lewis served as a Coro Foundation fellow in San Francisco. After college, Lewis was in the insurance business.

Early political career

He was a member of the San Bernardino School Board from 1964 to 1968. He was on the staff of Congressman Jerry Pettis in 1966.

He was a member of the California State Assembly from 1969 to 1978. In January 1974, he ran in a special election for the California State Senate, losing to Democrat Ruben Ayala.^[2] In the campaign, Ayala noted that two-thirds of the $130,000 that Lewis raised came from 43 donors — 22 of whom were Sacramento lobbyists.^[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

Lewis speaking about wildfire prevention

Elections

In November 1978, Lewis was elected as a Republican to the 96th United States Congress, in what was then the 37th Congressional district, with 61% of the vote. He has been re-elected 16 times since then. He has never won re-election with less than 61% of the vote. In fact, he has only dipped below 65% four times (1990, 1992, 2006, and 2008).^[4]

In 2008, Lewis received his strongest challenge in decades from San Bernardino attorney Tim Prince, who won a 4-candidate Democratic primary. Lewis put up campaign signs all over the district and was forced to spend over a million dollars to retain his seat. He declined Prince's challenges for a debate. The incumbent defeated him with 62% of the vote.^[5]

On January 12, 2012, Lewis announced his retirement.^[6]

Tenure

Lewis employed his wife, Arlene Willis, as the chief of staff in his office. Before they were married, Willis was her husband's top aide when he came to Capitol Hill in 1979.^[7]

In 1994, he was named chairman of the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies Subcommittee, where he worked until 1999 to improve oversight to uncover fraud and abuse in large housing programs and reduce spending on wasteful programs within a number of federal agencies.

He steered federal dollars to the state and to the region for projects such as the planning and construction of the Seven Oaks Dam near Highland. Among his proudest achievements came early is his career as a state assemblyman, pushing for the establishment of the first air quality committee in the state Legislature, which led to the formation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in the mid 1970s.^[8]

In 1998, he secured start-up funding in 1998 for Loma Linda University's Proton Beam treatment center, which has led to the installation of similar cancer treatment centers across the U.S.^[9]

Lewis placed special riders in a series of appropriations bills that freed up nearly $100 million to the U.S. Forest Service, the state and the county to remove more than a million trees in the San Bernardino National Forest killed by drought and bark beetle infestation. He worked with Sen. Dianne Feinstein to secure an additional $500 million to reduce the fire danger in the San Bernardino Mountains and throughout Southern California.^[9]

Lewis also secured $15 million for a pilot program to refurbish houses repossessed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and providing them to qualified low income families. The program, according to Lewis' office, has been successful in Redlands, Highland and San Bernardino.^[9]

In 2011, Lewis voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.^[10]

Political positions

Lewis is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research. Lewis considers himself pro-life, opposes most public funding of abortions, but encourages family planning efforts which are opposed by many Catholics. He voted against banning adoption by same-sex couples in Washington D.C.^[11] He thinks gun-control efforts should center on stiff prison terms for repeat criminals who use firearms, but is open to considering requiring trigger locks and other child safety measures for law-abiding gun owners. The American Conservative Union gave Lewis' 2008 voting record 84 out of 100 points. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 0 out of 100 for 2005 (most recent available). Lewis is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.^[12]

Controversies

In its 2009 report, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Lewis one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress, saying that his "ethics issues stem primarily from the misuse of his position as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks to family and friends in direct exchange for contributions to his campaign committee and political action committee."^[13]

Lewis was also included in the group's report in 2006, 2007, and 2008.^[13]

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice closed the case without filing charges. It was never submitted to federal prosecutors.^[8]

Military lobbyist relationships

Lewis' aide in charge of tracking defense appropriations was "a military officer on the Pentagon's payroll, an apparent violation of House rules and a possible conflict of interest".^[14] Department of Defense regulations state that military personnel can work on committee staffs but not on the personal staff of an individual member. Lewis' aide, Marine Lt. Col. Carl Kime, has apparently worked for Lewis since 2001 while being on the Pentagon payroll. Congressional watchdogs call Kime's role a conflict of interest and defense experts state that his position may give the Marines greater leverage over contracts and earmarks in the Appropriations Committee.

On February 22, 2006, The Hill reported that the Pentagon was recalling Kime from Lewis's office. Kime's "service for Lewis appeared to violate the Members' Congressional Handbook issued by the Committee for House Administration, which defines a detailee as a 'non-congressional federal employee assigned to a committee for a period of up to one year.' The handbook also states that 'detailees may not be assigned to a member office' and cites the relevant section of U.S. law: 2 USC Section 72a(f)."^[15]

Barracks Row earmarks

In July 2007, CBS News reported that since 2004, Lewis has earmarked $2.75 million for the "Barracks Row" area of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. "Neither I nor my spouse has any financial interest in this project," Lewis said of the improvements being funded by the earmarks. But the congressman's wife, who is also his chief of staff, owns a three-bedroom home valued at $943,000 that is four blocks from the work being paid for by the earmarks. CBS also reported that Tip Tipton, a property owner in the area and a member of the board of director of the redevelopment project receiving the earmarks, is a top Washington lobbyist who is also a longtime Lewis friend and campaign donor.^[16]

Loma Linda University

From 1998 to 2003, Loma Linda University received $167.2 million in congressional earmarks. That made it the number one academic recipient in the country, with its total nearly $60 million more than the runner up, the University of South Florida.^[17] In 2000, Loma Linda University was the single largest recipient of higher education earmarks, at $36 million, largely brought in by Lewis. Several grants were from the U.S. Department of Defense, including $5 million from NASA for space radiation research.

In 2008, Loma Linda University received nearly $9.5 million, of which $5 million came from the Defense Department.^[18]

Committee assignments

Lewis was chair of the House Republican Conference from 1989 to 1992. In January 1995, he became chairman of the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations subcommittee. He was the first representative from California to be chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. He also served as chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee from 1999 to 2005.^[8]

Lewis was the chairman of appropriations during the 109th Congress. In the 110th and 111th, he was the Ranking Member on the committee. He sought the chairmanship for the 112th Congress, but it was instead given to Harold Rogers (R-KY).

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Defense (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Fire Services Caucus
• Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmens Caucus

Electoral history

California's 37th congressional district: Results 1978–1980^[19]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democrat	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1978		Jerry Lewis	106,581	61%		Dan Corcoran	60,463	35%		Bernard Wahl	American Independent	6,544	4%
1980		Jerry Lewis	165,371	72%		Don Rusk	58,091	25%		Larry Morris	Libertarian	7,615	3%

California's 35th congressional district: Results 1982–1990^[19]

Year		Republican	Votes	Pct		Democratic	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1982		Jerry Lewis	112,786	68%		Robert Erwin	52,349	32%
1984		Jerry Lewis	176,477	85%		No candidate				Kevin Akin	Peace and Freedom	29,990	15%
1986		Jerry Lewis	127,235	77%		Sarge Hall	38,322	23%
1988		Jerry Lewis	181,203	70%		Paul Sweeney	71,186	28%		Jeff Shuman	Libertarian	4,879	2%
1990		Jerry Lewis	121,602	61%		Barry Norton	66,100	33%		Jerry Johnson	Libertarian	13,020	6%

California's 40th congressional district: Results 1992–2000^[19]

Year		Republican	Votes	%		Democratic	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
1992		Jerry Lewis	129,563	63%		Don Rusk	63,881	31%		Margie Akin	Peace and Freedom	11,839	6%
1994		Jerry Lewis	115,728	71%		Don Rusk	48,003	29%
1996		Jerry Lewis	98,821	65%		Bob Conaway	44,102	29%		Hale McGee	American Independent	4,963	3%		Joseph Kelley	Libertarian	4,375	3%
1998		Jerry Lewis	97,406	65%		Bob Conaway	47,897	32%		Maurice Maybena	Libertarian	4,822	3%
2000		Jerry Lewis	151,069	80%		No candidate				Frank Schmit	Natural Law	19,029	10%		Marion Lindberg	Libertarian	18,924	10%

California's 41st congressional district: Results 2002–2010^[19][20][21]

Year		Republican	Votes	%		Democratic	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
2002		Jerry Lewis	91,326	67%		Keith Johnson	40,155	30%		Kevin Craig	Libertarian	4,052	3%
2004		Jerry Lewis	216,682	71%		No candidate				Peymon Mottahedek	Libertarian	37,332	17%
2006		Jerry Lewis	109,761	67%		Louie Contreras	54,235	33%
2008		Jerry Lewis	159,486	62%		Tim Prince	99,214	38%
2010		Jerry Lewis	127,857	63%		Pat Meagher	74,394	37%

References

1. William Heisel and Richard Simon, "Inland Empire Pays Firm for D.C. Clout: Why local entities hired the concern when Rep. Jerry Lewis has long delivered U.S. funds to his district isn't clear. The lobbyist is one of his key donors.", Los Angeles Times, June 18, 2006
2. Woo, Elaine (2012-01-07). "Ruben S. Ayala dies at 89; known as a maverick state senator". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
3. George Watson, "Issue revisits Lewis: Lobby concern raised in 1974", San Bernardino Sun, July 5, 2006
4. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=815
5. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=334939
6. http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20120112/jerry-lewis-political-career-timeline#.UjndcW2H_pc.email
7. "It's all in the family as lawmakers hire", AP, April 15, 2006.
8. http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20120112/congressman-jerry-lewis-to-retire#.Ujnc9w_Xw4g.email
9. http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20120112/jerry-lewis-major-accomplishments-over-the-years#.UjneWZ2dy9k.email
10. http://www.ibtimes.com/ndaa-bill-how-did-your-congress-member-vote-384362
12. Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
14. Alexander Bolton, "Lewis’s use of military aide may break the rules", The Hill, February 2, 2006 Archived November 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
15. Alexander Bolton, "Pentagon recalled Lewis’s approps staffer", The Hill, February 22, 2006 Archived May 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
16. Sharyl Attkisson, "Controversial Boon For D.C. Neighborhood: Ritzy Barracks Row Benefiting From Congressman's Earmark Boost — From Your Tax Dollars", CBS Evening News, July 20, 2007
17. Quan, Douglas (July 9, 2006). "Funds for Colleges Raise Objections". Press-Enterprise. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
18. "Congressional Earmarks for Higher Education, 2008". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
19. "Office of the House Clerk – Electoral Statistics". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30.
20. "Election Results". Federal Election Commission. pp. 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008.
21. California Secretary of State official report of 2010 elections results

External links

• Official website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Associated Press profile

As of this edit, this article uses content from SourceWatch, a source licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License which was imported into Wikipedia before November 2008 and is therefore validly licensed for use on Wikipedia. All relevant terms must be followed. The original article was at "Jerry Lewis".