| Marcy Kaptur | |
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| Incumbent | |
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Assumed office January 3, 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Ed Weber |
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| Born | June 17, 1946 Toledo, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Toledo, Ohio |
| Alma mater | University of
Wisconsin–Madison University of Michigan University of Manchester Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | urban planner |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Marcia Carolyn "Marcy" Kaptur (born June 17, 1946) is a Democratic Member of Congress from Ohio's Ninth Congressional District. She is currently the longest-serving woman in the House; in the Congress, she is currently the fourth longest-serving woman with Barbara Boxer third and Olympia Snowe second after Barbara Mikulski.
Serving her fourteenth term, she ranks 30th out of 435 members in seniority and serves on the powerful Appropriations Committee.
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Kaptur, a Polish-American,[1] is a Toledo native. Her family operated a small grocery. Kaptur graduated from St. Ursula Academy in 1964 and became the first member in her family to attend college. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1968 and a master's in urban planning from the University of Michigan in 1974. She did post-graduate study in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.
Kaptur served on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975 and was director of planning for the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (1975–1977) founded by the late Msgr. Geno Baroni. She later served as a domestic policy advisor during President Jimmy Carter's Administration.
While pursuing a doctorate in urban planning development finance at MIT, Kaptur was recruited to run for Congress in 1982 against freshman Republican Ed Weber, who had upset 26-year incumbent Lud Ashley two years earlier. Kaptur had been a well-known party activist and volunteer since age 13.
Despite being outspent by almost 3-1, she defeated Weber by 19 points. Although the Ninth had traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, Kaptur's win was considered a major upset.[2]
In 1984, Kaptur faced a strong challenge from Frank Venner, longtime anchorman and weatherman at WTVG, but captured 55% of the vote even as Ronald Reagan carried the district. She has only faced one truly serious opponent since, when Lucas County auditor Larry Kaczala ran against her in 2004. However, Kaptur turned back his challenge easily, winning 68% of the vote — the only time since 1984 that she didn't gain 70% of the vote.
In 1996, Kaptur was asked by Ross Perot to be his vice-presidential running mate. Kaptur, like Perot, being a fierce opponent of free trade would have been a natural selection, but she eventually declined.[3]
Kaptur ran for a 14th term in 2008 and defeated her Republican opponent, Bradley Leavitt, with 74% of the vote.
In the weeks preceding the 2008 election, controversial Joe Wurzelbacher (a.k.a "Joe the Plumber"), known for challenging Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama about the effects of his tax policies upon small businesses, announced he is considering challenging Kaptur in the 2010 election.[4][5][6]
Kaptur serves on the Appropriations subcommittees for Agriculture (the leading industry in her state) and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. Kaptur also sits on the Appropriations subcommittee for Defense, to which she was the first Democratic woman ever appointed. She is the only woman presently on the subcommittee and the third-ranking Democrat on the subcommittee. In addition to her duties on these committees, Kaptur is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Committee on Government Operations. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Kaptur is a staunch opponent of free trade agreements. She helped lead opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Permanent Normal Trade Relations for the People's Republic of China, and fast track authority for the president. She has consistently supported military spending bills.
She was recently named "Most Valuable Member" of the House by The Nation. Though generally reckoned as a liberal-to-progressive Democrat, Kaptur holds moderately conservative views on abortion. In January 2007, she was the only member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to vote against funding for stem-cell research.
Kaptur has expressed support for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, an amendment to America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.
Responding to a constituent - Roger Durbin, a World War II veteran - Kaptur first suggested the creation of a National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
On December 10, 1987, Kaptur introduced the World War II Memorial Act to the House of Representatives. The legislation authorized the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II memorial, however, as the bill was not voted on before the end of the session it failed to be enacted into law. Kaptur introduced similar legislation in 1989 and 1991 but these bills also failed to become law.
Kaptur introduced legislation for the fourth time on January 27, 1993. This time the legislation was voted on and passed in the House on May 10, 1993. After a companion bill was passed in the United States Senate, President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law on May 25, 1993. Unfortunately, Roger Durbin died before he managed to see the memorial built, but Kaptur spoke at the memorial dedication ceremony, along with Durbin's granddaughter, on May 29, 2004.
Kaptur later said that she felt "a great sense of fulfillment" that the memorial was finally built. "This generation was the most unselfish America has ever seen," she said. "They never asked anybody for anything in return."[7]
Marcy Kaptur has expressed her strong opposition to the multibillion dollar bailout plan brought before Congress. In her speech[8] she criticized Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson's Plan for
She also blamed Wall Street executives for their greed and held them responsible for the crisis and said
You have perpetrated the greatest financial crimes ever on this American Republic. You think you can get by with it because you are extraordinarily wealthy, and the largest contributors to both presidential and congressional campaigns in both major parties.
She pleaded a "Wall Street Reckoning" and an alternate plan whereby "America doesn't need to bail you out. It needs to secure real assets and property. Federal regional reserve banks should have a new job to help renegotiate mortgages. American people should get equity in any companies. Major job creation to rebuild our infrastructure. Regulate, we need a modern Glass-Steagall act. Refinancing must return a major share of profits to a new social security and medicare lock box."
Marcy Kaptur backed the The American Clean Energy and Security Act in the U.S. House after she was able to insert an amendment that would authorize the Secretary of Energy to create power marketing authorities in regions where none currently exist. One such area would be the Great Lakes region. Kaptur said the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation could serve as the vehicle for administering up to $3.5 billion in borrowing authority to stimulate economic development through creation of green energy such as solar power and wind power. Kaptur said the $3.5 billion in borrowing authority would promote "regional equity" and serve as a powerful engine for job creation in a region that has suffered from high energy costs, especially expensive electricity.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ed Weber |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 9th congressional district 1983– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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