Steny Hoyer

Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. On November 16, 2006, Hoyer was elected as House Majority Leader over John Murtha of Pennsylvania.^{[1] [2]} He is the first Marylander to become Majority Leader.^[3]

Early life and family

Hoyer was born in New York City but grew up in Mitchellville, Maryland. His heritage is Danish; "Steny" is a variant of his father's name, "Steen."^[4] He graduated from Suitland High School in Suitland, Maryland. In 1963, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.^[5] He later earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1966.^[5] In the 1960s, Hoyer interned for Senator Daniel Brewster (D-Maryland), along with current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. ^[6]

Hoyer has three daughters: Susan, Stefany, and Anne from his marriage to his wife, Judy Pickett Hoyer - who died in 1997. Hoyer also has 2 granddaughters, 1 grandson and a great granddaughter born on November 2, 2006. His wife was an advocate of early childhood education, and child development learning centers in Maryland have been named in her honor ("Judy Centers").^[7] She also suffered from epilepsy, and the Epilepsy Foundation of America sponsors an annual public lecture in her name.^[8] Hoyer, too, has been an advocate for research in this area, and the Epilepsy Foundation presented him in 2002 with their Congressional Leadership Award.^[9]

Maryland Senate career

In 1966, at the age of 27, Hoyer won a seat in the Maryland State Senate, representing Prince George's County, Maryland.^[5] In 1975, at the age of 35, Hoyer was elected President of the Maryland State Senate, the youngest in state history.^[10] In 1978, Hoyer sought the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland but lost out to Samuel Bogley. In the same year Hoyer was appointed to the Maryland Board of Higher Education, a position he served in until 1981.^[5]

Congressional career

In 1981, Maryland congresswoman Gladys Spellman fell into a coma and her seat was declared vacant. Hoyer defeated Spellman's husband in the primary election, and then defeated a better funded Republican candidate in the general election, earning himself the nickname the "boy wonder". ^[11] He is now the longest-serving House member from Southern Maryland in history, as well as the highest-ranking member of Congress in Maryland history.^[10]

Hoyer has served as Chair of the Democratic Caucus, the fourth-ranking position among House Democrats, from 1989 to 1994; the former Co-Chair (and a current member) of the Democratic Steering Committee; and as the chief candidate recruiter for House Democrats from 1995 to 2000. He also served as Deputy Majority Whip from 1987 to 1989.^[5] On November 14, 2002, Hoyer was unanimously elected by his colleagues in the Democratic Caucus to serve as the House Democratic Minority Whip, the second-highest-ranking position among House Democrats.^[10]

In Congress, Steny Hoyer has built a reputation as a defender of Federal employees and a leader on education and human and civil rights issues. He is perhaps best known for serving as the lead House sponsor of the Help America Vote Act, which President Bush signed into law on October 29, 2002, and for sponsoring the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. ^[10]

In October 2006, Hoyer apologized for commenting that Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Michael S. Steele, an African American, "slavishly" supports the Republican Party. Hoyer made his comments at a campaign rally for Ben Cardin, Steele's opponent in the 2006 United States Senate election. [1]

Hoyer also serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Mary's College of Maryland.^[5]

Nancy Pelosi became the Speaker of the House in January 2007. Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, was elected by his colleagues to be House Majority Leader for the 110th Congress. He was successful in his bid for the leadership position against fellow Democrat John Murtha of Pennsylvania by a margin of 149-86 within the caucus ^{[1] [12]}.

Campaign Fundraising

In March of 2007, the Center for Public Integrity reported that Hoyer's political action committee "raised nearly $1 million for congressional candidates [in the 2006 election cycle] by exploiting what experts call a legal loophole." The Center reported:

Campaign finance disclosure records show that the Maryland Democrat used his leadership political action committee ­— AmeriPAC — as a conduit to collect bundles of checks from individuals, and from business and union interests. He then passed more than $960,000 along to 53 House candidates and another quarter of a million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, data compiled from the Center for Responsive Politics Web site show.

Federal law generally prohibits political action committees, including leadership PACs, which are run by politicians, from receiving more than $5,000 each year from a single donor or giving more than $10,000 to a single candidate ($5,000 each for the primary and the general election). But Hoyer collected as much as $136,000 from one labor union committee and distributed more than $86,000 to a single Congressional race.^[13]

Position on international affairs

Hoyer is considered to be close to the Jewish community and strongly pro-Israel. He has stated that a nuclear Iran is "unacceptable" and that the use of force remains an option against Iran^[14].

Election history

Election history of Steny Hoyer:^[15]

References

Wikipedia information about Steny Hoyer This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Steny Hoyer". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.