Steve Stockman

Steve Stockman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 36th district
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by District created
Succeeded by Brian Babin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 9th district
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by Jack Brooks
Succeeded by Nick Lampson
Personal details
Born Stephen Ernest Stockman
(1956-11-14) November 14, 1956
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Patti Ferguson (1988–present)[1]
Alma mater University of Houston, Clear Lake
Religion Southern Baptist[2]
Website House website

Stephen Ernest "Steve" Stockman (born November 14, 1956) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who was the United States Representative for Texas's 36th congressional district. Stockman previously served as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 9th congressional district from 1995 to 1997 and as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 36th congressional district from 2013 to 2015. Stockman ran in the 2014 election for the United States Senate but lost the Republican primary to incumbent Senator John Cornyn.

Early life, education, and business career

Stockman was born in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, outside Detroit. He graduated from Dondero High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. From 1985 to 1986, he attended San Jacinto College but dropped out because he suffered from what he called "partying syndrome". He later became a born-again Christian.[3][4] In 1990, he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Houston–Clear Lake.[5] He worked as a computer salesman in Friendswood, Texas.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives (1995–1997)

Stockman during his first term in Congress

Elections

1990

Stockman's first run for Congress was in March 1990 in Texas's 9th congressional district. The district, anchored by Beaumont and Galveston, had been represented by Democratic Representative Jack Brooks since 1953. His primary challenger was Mayor Maury Meyers of Beaumont.[7] Oliver North made appearances at two of Stockman's fundraisers.[8]

Meyers got 44.3% of the primary vote; Stockman, 41%.[7] Since no candidate had a majority, there was a runoff election and, with the support of third-place finisher Steve Clifford,[9] Meyers beat Stockman to win the Republican nomination.[10]

1992

Stockman ran again in 1992 for the House in District 9. This time he was unopposed in the primary.[11] The 1992 Republican National Convention was held in Houston in August of that year. Stockman organized a "congressional cruise" on the Houston Ship Channel as a fundraising opportunity, but no members of Congress attended.[12] Democrat Brooks defeated him 56% to 44%.[13]

1994

Stockman ran again for House District 9 in 1994. He had two challengers in the Republican primary: John LeCour and James Milburn. Stockman finished the primary with a landslide 74%.[14]

His Democratic opponent in the general election was, as before, incumbent Jack Brooks. Initially the National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Brooks and even donated $5,000 to his cause, while the Gun Owners of America endorsed Stockman.[15] However, a number of NRA members threatened to resign from the organization over the issue and the NRA withdrew their support for Brooks, remaining neutral in the race.[15] In a major upset, Stockman beat Brooks, who, had he won, would have become Dean of the United States House of Representatives,[16] by 51% to 49%.[17]

1996

Stockman ran unopposed in the 1996 Republican primary.[18] In July a federal court ordered the boundaries of 13 Texas House districts to be redrawn because of racial gerrymandering, although Stockman's district was barely affected.[19] Stockman won a plurality in the November election with 46%, forcing a runoff against Democratic Jefferson County assessor Nick Lampson in the runoff election.[20] Lampson won the runoff election with 53% of the vote[21]

Tenure

During his 1995 term, Stockman opposed the U.S. bailout of the Mexican peso[22][23]

In 1995, Stockman wrote an article for Guns & Ammo claiming that the Waco siege had been orchestrated by the Clinton administration in order "to prove the need for a ban on so-called 'assault weapons.'"[24] He wrote further that "[h]ad Bill Clinton really been unhappy with what Attorney General Janet Reno ordered, he would not only have fired her, he would have had Reno indicted for premeditated murder." After the article was published, Stockman's office denied that he believed in Waco "conspiracy theories."[25][26]

In 1995, Stockman called for a Congressional investigation into Alfred Kinsey's 1948 study Sexual Behavior in the Human Male after learning that Kinsey had used data from the diary of a pedophile.[27] Stockman believed that the allegations discredited current theories of sexual education in the United States, writing to his congressional colleagues that"[o]ur children have been taught that . . . any type of sex is a valid outlet for their emotions. They are taught that the problem with sex is not that it is wrong to engage in homosexual, bestial, underage, or premarital sex, but that it is wrong to do so without protection."[28]

Committee assignments

Inter-congressional career (1997–2013)

In 1998, Stockman ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the Texas Railroad Commission.[32]

Between 2005 and 2007, Stockman worked with the conservative Leadership Institute[32] as director of its Campus Leadership Program.[33]

In 2006, he attempted to run as an Independent candidate for Texas's 22nd congressional district, Tom DeLay's former seat, and even though he had enough signatures to qualify for ballot access, the Texas Secretary of State invalidated enough signatures to make him ineligible.[34][35] Stockman registered for the special election to fill out the remainder of DeLay's term; he was one of five candidates.[36] He finished third, with 10.75% of the vote.

During his time away from Congress, Stockman also cared for his father, who had Alzheimer's disease. The cost of caring for him drove Stockman to declare bankruptcy[37] and, when his father's disease became too severe, Stockman moved him to a veteran's home. When his father died, Stockman decided to run for Congress in the 2012 elections.[32]

U.S. House of Representatives (2013–2015)

Election

In 2011 Stockman formed an exploratory committee, Friends of Steve Stockman, to consider a run for the 14th district seat being vacated by unsuccessful presidential candidate Ron Paul. Stockman instead ran in 2012 in the newly created 36th District. This includes the Harris County portion of Friendswood, where Stockman's home was located. It was drawn to be heavily Republican, and it was understood that whoever won the Republican primary would be the district's first congressman. In the May 29 primary, Stockman finished second in the first round, behind Stephen Vincent Takach, a financial planner. Takach finished with 22 percent of the vote, far short of the 50 percent threshold required to win.[38] Stockman defeated Takach in the July 31 runoff 55%–45%, all but assuring his return to Congress after a 16-year absence.[39]

In the November general election, Stockman defeated Democrat Max Owen Martin, a retired pilot from Clear Lake City, Texas, with 71% of the vote.[40]

Tenure

In 2013, Stockman was one of ten Republicans who did not vote for John Boehner (R-OH) for Speaker of the House; he was the only representative to vote "Present" as his protest vote.[41][42] He also opposed the Affordable Care Act.[43]

In January 2013, Stockman introduced "The Safe Schools Act," a bill that would repeal federal laws mandating "gun free zones" around schools in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which took place in the previous month. He said "I have one concern, protecting children from dangerous predators. By disarming qualified citizens and officials in schools we have created a dangerous situation for our children. In the 22 years before enactment of ‘gun free school zones’ there were two mass school shootings. In the 22 years since enactment of ‘gun free schools’ there have been 10 mass school shootings. Not only has the bill utterly failed to protect our children it appears to have placed them in danger."[44] The same month, Stockman issued a press release condemning gun control executive orders issued by President Barack Obama post-Sandy Hook, stating, "I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment."[45]

In February 2013, Stockman voted against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, objecting to provisions in the bill that expanded protections for transgender victims of domestic violence. Stockman said, "This is helping the liberals, this is horrible. Unbelievable. What really bothers—it's called a women's act, but then they have men dressed up as women, they count that. Change-gender, or whatever. How is that—how is that a woman?"[32]

On April 25, 2014, Stockman stated that the Ethics Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives was investigating a campaign finance reporting error made by a former campaign worker. Stockman stated that the mistake was corrected soon after he learned of it, and that the worker had been removed from the campaign organization.[46]

Committee assignments

2014 U.S. Senate election

On December 9, 2013, Stockman filed for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate for Texas against incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn.[48][49]

On March 4, 2014, Stockman polled 250,759 votes (19.2 percent) in his bid for the Republican nomination for the Senate.[50] He placed second in a field of eight candidates on the ballot. Cornyn received 778,967 votes (59.44 percent).[51][52] On election night, Stockman quickly conceded and called upon Texas Republicans to vote the straight party ticket on November 4, 2014.[53]

Meanwhile, Brian Babin won the seat for District 36 as Stockman did not contest this seat.

Political future

Stockman was a potential candidate for the Constitution Party nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.[54][55]

Political positions

Energy independence

Stockman supports American energy independence and used his position on the technology committee to question the EPA's technological criteria for evaluating applications on hydraulic fracking.[56] He has worked on improving the current technologies being used[56] on shale oil and gas production. He was a member of the carbon caucus, supports the keystone pipeline, use of coal, opening up federal lands for drilling as well as hydraulic fracking for shale oil and gas production.

Economy and jobs

Stockman has spoken out about the need to dredge and secure the Texas Ports like Houston, Cedar Bayou, Beaumont and Orange from which many of the Gulf Coast petrochemicals are shipped, providing a considerable number of jobs, as these ports are important to the Texan economy.[57] The district includes Baytown, Pasadena, Deer Park, Mount Bellvieu and is the largest petrochemical industrial district in the United States.[58] With the advent of production of shale gas, over 100 billion dollars are expected to be invested in the U.S. petrochemical sector over the next few years (most of it in Texas), and over 40 billion dollars in Stockman’s district, potentially creating numerous new jobs.[57] These plants include ethylene crackers, PDH plants, methanol manufacturing facilities and others. Stockman has repeatedly appealed to the EPA to expedite permits for new plant construction.[59] He has also called on Vice President Joe Biden to obtain a lifting of what he argues is an EPA blockade on American jobs.[60] In a statement, Stockman has said that unless the EPA is reformed by streamlining permits and studies and approving the REINS Act, the United States will cease to be an economic power. The "Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny," or REINS, Act would require that any proposed federal regulation costing more than $100 million be approved by Congress and signed by the President.

At 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour, Texas industrial facilities enjoy one of the cheapest power costs in the world, which Stockman argues is conducive to investment and job growth and encourages employment. Stockman has favored keeping power costs low.[61][62]

Views on the Constitution

Stockman was known for his strong support of Second Amendment Rights. He worked with Rand Paul and introduced the "Restore The Constitution Act," the House companion to Paul's "Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act." Stockman and Paul worked together on the effort.[63]

Fiscal

Stockman has never voted for a tax increase and has been a proponent for spending cuts and small government.[64] He cosponsored 2013 Energy Freedom Prosperity Act that would have eliminated all energy-related tax subsidies.[57] He sponsored the bill to defund "Obamacare". Stockman advocates abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and replacing the federal income tax with a flat tax.

References

  1. ↑ "Stephen Stockman and Patti Ferguson, Married December 10, 1988". texasmarriagerecords.org. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ Reiner, Anne (November 12, 2012). "Southern Baptist contingent in Congress grows". Erlc.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ John Gizzi, Steve Stockman Vies for 36th Texas District Seat, Human Events, July 7, 2012
  4. ↑ Christopher Hooks (December 20, 2013). "Steve Stockman Can't Lose". Politico.
  5. ↑ "Salesman, 33, to run for Brooks seat". Houston Chronicle. December 20, 1989. p. 26.
  6. ↑ Alan Bernstein (March 11, 1990). "Local candidates rush to replace outgoing incumbents". Houston Chronicle. |section= ignored (help)
  7. 1 2 Richard Stewart (March 15, 1990). "Primaries '90 – Rep. Brooks wins Dem contest; Meyers leads GOP opponent". Houston Chronicle.
  8. ↑ Sam Attlesey (February 3, 1990). "Iran-contra figure North appears at Hance fund-raisers". Dallas Morning News. In addition to the fee he received for appearing with Mr. Hance, Mr. North also will receive $25,000 for joining Republican congressional candidate Steve Stockman on Saturday in Beaumont and Houston.
  9. ↑ "Loser backs Meyers in runoff". Houston Chronicle. March 16, 1990. p. A25.
  10. ↑ Mike Ward; Drew Parma (April 11, 1990). "Shine gets GOP nod in race for Congress". Austin American-Statesman. p. A9.
  11. ↑ "Unopposed Republican candidates". Houston Chronicle. March 1, 1992. p. 15. |section= ignored (help)
  12. ↑ Alan Bernstein (August 23, 1992). "National convention continues to have ripple effect locally". Houston Chronicle. p. C2.
  13. ↑ "House of Representatives [Part 2 of 2]". Sacramento Bee. November 5, 1992. p. A16.
  14. ↑ Susan Warren (March 9, 1994). "Election '94/Bentsen, Clark in runoff/District 25 victor to face Fontenot". Houston Chronicle.
  15. 1 2 "Rep. Brooks' long tenure in danger – The crime bill, his incumbency may sink the Democrat's bid for a 22nd term". Austin American-Statesman. October 22, 1994. p. A13.
  16. ↑ Ron Hutcheson (July 25, 1994). "Texan in line as House dean – Jack Brooks has reputation as in-your-face politician". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1.
  17. ↑ "State Results". Austin American-Statesman. November 9, 1994. p. A8.
  18. ↑ "Unopposed Republicans". Houston Chronicle. March 3, 1996. p. 16. |section= ignored (help)
  19. ↑ Alan Bernstein (August 7, 1996). "The shape of things to come/Judges shift district lines/New races ordered this year for seats in Houston, Dallas". Houston Chronicle. 9th District:Few changes made; first-term conservative still running in a majority Democratic and Anglo district stretching from Galveston to Beaumont.
  20. ↑ Richard Stewart (November 7, 1996). "ELECTION '96/Stockman-Lampson runoff brawl may take place on national stage". Houston Chronicle. p. 34.
  21. ↑ Michael Graczyk (December 11, 1996). "Lampson, Brady, Bentsen win House seats in runoff election". Austin American-Statesman. p. A10.
  22. ↑ Sangillo, Gregg (November 1, 2012). "Texas, 36th House District". National Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  23. ↑ Sangillo, Gregg (1 November 2012). "Texas, 36th House District". National Journal. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  24. ↑ Dana Milbank (January 17, 1999). "Whatever Happened to the Class of 1994?: The right-wing firebrands who charged into Congress in 1994 launched the missile that impeached Bill Clinton. Now, more than a third of the renegades are out of office—and those who remain are becoming Washington insiders. in out But it may have been a kamikaze mission". New York Times. p. 36. |section= ignored (help)
  25. ↑ Holmes, Steven A. (May 13, 1995). "Terror in Oklahoma: In Congress; Congressman Calls Raid Near Waco A Clinton Plot". The New York Times. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ Schmidt, Susan (May 13, 1995). "Rep. Stockman Says Raid On Cult Had Political Aim". The Washington Post. p. A08.
  27. ↑ Fisher, Marc (12 December 1995). "Critics: Sex Ed A Sham Since Kinsey Used Pedophile's Data". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  28. ↑ Mimi Swartz (February 1996). "Congressman Clueless". Texas Monthly.
  29. ↑ Griffith, Pat (Feb 11, 1995). "Kaptur calls for date on Mexico bailout". Toledo Blade. Washington. p. 3. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "Washington Digest". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 8, 1995. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  32. 1 2 3 4 Woodruff, Betsy (March 18, 2013). "Back in the Saddle". National Review. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  33. ↑ Texas, 36th House District National Journal. Retrieved December 17, 2013
  34. ↑ "Stockman fails to get enough names – Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  35. ↑ "Texas Secretary Of State Rules Stockman Can't Run For Congress - Fort Bend Now". Fortbendnow.com. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  36. ↑ "Races with Candidates with Addresses Report" (PDF). Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
  37. ↑ In re Stephen E. Stockman and Patti F. Stockman, case no. 02-33843-H3-7, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Div.); petition filed April 5, 2002; discharge granted Oct. 24, 2002; case closed Oct. 24, 2002.
  38. ↑ "Republican primary election returns, May 29, 2012". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  39. ↑ "Texas Congressional Primaries – Election Results". The New York Times. March 7, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Texas general election returns, November 6, 2012". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  41. ↑ Blake, Aaron (January 3, 2013). "Who voted against Boehner for speaker and why?". Washington Post. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  42. ↑ Kasperowicz, Pete (January 3, 2013). "Boehner reelected as Speaker; nine Republicans defect in vote – The Hill's Floor Action". Thehill.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Texas: Cornyn-Stockman U.S. Senate Race". thenewamerican.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Stockman introduces Audit The Fed Act, Safe Schools Act to repeal 'Gun Free School Zones' – Your Houston News: News". Your Houston News. 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  45. ↑ Stockman, Steve (January 14, 2013). "Obama's gun grab an unconstitutional threat to the nation" (Press release). Washington DC: House.gov. Retrieved 2013-01-18. The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic. I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.
  46. ↑ Matthew Daly, "Texas Rep. Stockman says ethics inquiry underway," April 26, 2014, Associated Press, at .
  47. ↑ "Stockman named to Science, Foreign Affairs committees – The Vindicator: News". The Vindicator. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  48. ↑ Woodruff, Betsy. Stockman Will Primary Cornyn, National Review, December 9, 2013.
  49. ↑ Glueck, Katie (December 9, 2013). "In surprise, Steve Stockman challenges John Cornyn". Politico.
  50. ↑ "Cornyn easily wins GOP nomination for US Senate," Associated Press, March 4, 2014, from KHOU-TV Houston, at .
  51. ↑ "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". enr.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  52. ↑ "Texas 2014 Primary Results". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  53. ↑ "Mary Katherine Ham, "Cornyn crushes Stockman in Texas primary", March 4, 2014". hotair.com. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  54. ↑ Glenn Davis (April 8, 2015). "Constitution Party Has Ballot Access in 13 States and Continues to Grow". IVN.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  55. ↑ Trent Hill (April 13, 2015). "The Constitution Party's Presidential Options". Independent Political Report. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  56. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  57. 1 2 3 "Platts Horizon Spring 2013". zmags.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  58. ↑ "Texas's 36th Congressional District - TX-36 Representatives & District Map - GovTrack.us". govtrack.us. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  59. ↑ "Press release". house.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  60. ↑ "Press release". house.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  61. ↑ "Congress of the United States | (letter)" (PDF). science.house.gov. December 19, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  62. ↑ "Press release". house.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  63. ↑ "Press release". house.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  64. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-05.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Jack Brooks		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 9th congressional district
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
Nick Lampson
New constituency Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 36th congressional district
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Brian Babin
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