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Louie Gohmert
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 1st district
In office 2005–present
Preceded by	Max Sandlin
Born	August 18, 1953 (1953-08-18) (age 56) Pittsburg, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kathy Gohmert
Children	Katy, Caroline, and Sarah
Residence	Tyler, Texas
Alma mater	Texas A&M University, Baylor University
Occupation	attorney, judge
Religion	Southern Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1978-1982
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps

Louis Buller "Louie" Gohmert, Jr. (born August 18, 1953) is an American politician and current Republican U.S. Representative from Texas's 1st congressional district.^[1]

Life and career

Gohmert was born in Pittsburg, Texas. He received his B.A. from Texas A&M University in 1975. At A&M, he was a Brigade Commander of the Corps of Cadets. He later received his Juris Doctor from Baylor University in Waco in 1977. Gohmert served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 1978 to 1982.

Gohmert was elected as 7th district judge in Smith County (Tyler) in 1992 and was reelected two times before being appointed as an appeals court judge by Governor Rick Perry for the 12th Circuit, where he served from 2002 to 2003. After Texas' 2003 mid-decade redistricting process, he successfully defeated Democratic incumbent 1st District Congressman Max Sandlin for his seat in Congress, becoming the first Republican since Reconstruction to represent the 1st District of northeast Texas.

Gohmert serves on three House committees. Because of his judicial background, he was appointed to the Judiciary Committee. He also serves on the Committee on Resources and the Small Business Committee. His district sits on top of the East Texas oil field, making the Resources committee important to the region. The district's constituents are also mainly employed by small business owners.

In 2006, Gohmert won his second term by defeating the Democrat Roger L. Owen, a swimming pool builder from Hallsville. He faced no major-party opposition in 2008.

A fiscal conservative and advocate of limited federal government, Gohmert voted against every bailout and stimulus bill brought for consideration in the House, inclduing TARP introduced during the Bush Administration and the stimulus bill. He offered an alternative plan to kick-start the economy with his Tax Holiday bill that would allow taxpayers to be exempt for two months from having federal income tax taken out of their paychecks.^[2]

In January 2010 Gohmert was listed in an amicus brief supporting a referendum to overturn equal marriage rights for all citizens in Washington, DC. The DC council voted to approve equal civil marriage rights for all citizens of the district in late 2009.

On July 29, 2009, Gohmert signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, a simple bill introduced as a reaction to conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S. President Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen.^[3] This bill would "amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require the principal campaign committee of a candidate for election to the office of President to include with the committee's statement of organization a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with such other documentation as may be necessary to establish that the candidate meets the qualifications for eligibility to the Office of President under the Constitution".^[4]

On September 9, 2009, Gohmert held in his lap signs reading “What Bill?” and “What Plan?” during Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress.^[5] The signs referred to Obama’s proposed health reform plan.

Congressional committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
  • Task Force on Judicial Impeachment
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight

References

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Official congressional website
• Official campaign website
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Louie Gohmert profile
• "Nine New Veterans Join Congress", Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine
• Video of Rep. Gohmert Criticizing Rep. Murtha
• Video of Rep. Gohmert Blaming Stock Market Failures on Democrats and Rep. Murtha
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