Biography of U.S. Representative Bart Stupak
Bart Stupak was elected in 1992 to represent Michigan's First Congressional
District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thirty one counties make up the
sprawling Northern Michigan district. It contains the entire Upper Peninsula as
well as the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, making it one of the largest
Congressional Districts in the nation. Michigan's First Congressional District
contains approximately half of the state’s land mass and has more shoreline -
1,613 miles - than any other Congressional District in the nation except Alaska.
Stupak became the first Democrat in the 20th Century to serve successive terms
in this Congressional District by winning re-election in 1994, 1996, and 1998.
He was re-elected again in 2000 and 2002.
Stupak is a member of the prestigious
House Energy and Commerce Committee. Since the Commerce Committee is an
exclusive committee, it is the only committee on which Stupak serves. The
Commerce Committee, the first U.S. House committee, was formed in 1795 and is
the only Committee referenced in the United States Constitution. It was
originally formed to protect the commerce clause and regulate foreign commerce.
Within the Commerce Committee, Stupak serves on four Subcommittees: Health;
Telecommunications & the Internet; Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection; and
Environment and Hazardous Materials. A national publication has estimated that
at least 60 percent of legislation that goes through the U.S. House passes
through the Commerce Committee. Congressman Stupak's committee assignments allow
him to have a substantial impact on legislation considered by the U.S. House of
Representatives, from Medicare and prescription drugs to investigations of Enron
and Firestone tires, as well as
Homeland Security issues.
A northern Michigan native and the representative of the congressional district
with the longest shoreline within the continental United States, Stupak has
been the leader in Congress on Great Lakes issues. He was the first U.S. House
member to raise the issue of combating bulk sales or diversions of Great Lakes
water, which he raised during the 1993 NAFTA debate. He was also the first House
member to oppose drilling for oil and gas beneath the Great Lakes, a position he
began publicly advocating in 1997, and he was the first to author legislation to
ban this procedure. He has been invited to speak to national forums on water
diversion issues, most recently at the University of Toledo College of Law in
November 2001. In 2001 and 2002 he gained a victory in a long-running
legislative effort to ban drilling for oil and gas in and under the Great Lakes,
when the U.S. Congress imposed a temporary ban on the practice. The Michigan
House and Senate followed Stupak's lead and voted to ban drilling at the state
level. Stupak also has pressed the state of Michigan for adoption of a
comprehensive water use plan for the entire state that includes all surface and
groundwater sources.
On May 7, 2003, The Great Lakes
Maritime Task Force presented its Great Lakes Legislator of the Year award to
Stupak for his support of Great Lakes water and Great Lakes shipping over the
course of his ten year career.
In presenting the award, the
President of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, John Baker, said, “Great Lakes
deserve great legislators, and Congressman Stupak certainly fills that bill.
From his first days in Congress, he has recognized the important contributions
Lakes shipping makes to Michigan’s economy and the country’s national defense
capabilities. Baker summed up, Just as it takes skilled American mariners to
ease a 1,000 foot freighter into the Poe Lock, it takes skilled legislators like
Bart Stupak to promote Great Lakes shipping in Washington.”
Stupak was also honored May 20th
2003 as a ‘Friend of the Forest and Paper Industry’ by the American Forest
& Paper Association (AF&PA) to recognize Stupak for his continued support of the
men and women working day in and day out in America’s forests and mills.
W. Henson Moore, President and
CEO of AF&PA, said, “Bart Stupak has an
excellent understanding of the environment and our industry, and has
demonstrated strong support on our issues. Whether we are working together to
improve forest health, enhance wildlife habitat, lower taxes, or keep jobs in
Michigan, we know we can count on Bart to be a champion for us.”
AF&PA is a national association of
the forest, paper and wood products industry, which manufactures pulp, paper,
paperboard and wood products.”
Acknowledging Congressman Stupak's investigative experience and his ability
to work in a bipartisan manner, for the past three terms of Congress, former
Democratic Leader Gephardt named him to the small pool of congressman who may be
called upon to investigate other members of the U.S. House for potential ethics
violations, citing his sense of justice and fair play, knowledge of the House
and its procedures, and an ability to rise above partisanship, as well as his
law enforcement ---background.
Stupak began his career in public service as an Escanaba police officer in
1972. Continuing his career in law enforcement, Stupak served as a Michigan
State Trooper from 1973 to 1984. Stupak was injured in the line of duty and was
medically retired from the state police in 1984. He has also served Northern
Michigan residents as an attorney in Menominee. Stupak served as a State
Representative in 1989-90, representing Menominee, Delta and Dickinson counties.
Stupak's 12 years of experience as a police officer have allowed him to take a
lead role on law enforcement issues in Congress. He is a founder and current
co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, a bipartisan organization
of more than 100 House members, which provides our nation's law enforcement
community with an avenue to participate in the legislative process. He has been
an ardent supporter in the U.S. House of the COPS program and of the men and
women who serve in our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Stupak was named to
the Democratic Caucus Task Force on
Homeland Security. He currently serves as a member of a task force
subgroup, the Domestic Law Enforcement Working Group. In that forum and by means
of sponsored legislation he has fervently sought to train and equip local law
enforcement and other first responders to be better prepared for potential
bioterrorism attacks and other terrorist incidents.
A graduate of Gladstone High School, Congressman Stupak holds a Juris Doctorate
degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, in Lansing, Michigan. He earned his
Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Saginaw Valley State College in 1977,
graduating magna cum laude, and he earned his Associate's Degree from
Northwestern Michigan Community College in Traverse City in 1972.
Bart was born on February 29, 1952. He lives in Menominee, Michigan, with his
wife Laurie, the city's mayor, and their son, Ken who attends Pepperdine School
of Law. The Stupaks also had a son, Bart Jr., who died in May 2000.
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