Jim Saxton
Encyclopedia
Hugh James "Jim" Saxton (born January 22, 1943) is an American
Republican Party
politician
. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives
. He represented from 1984 to 1993. From 1993 to 2009, he represented .
, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
) and Temple University
. He then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and small business
owner. Saxton served in the New Jersey General Assembly
(the lower chamber of the New Jersey Legislature
) from 1976 to 1981 and in the New Jersey Senate
from 1982 to 1984. In 1984, he was elected to the House of Representatives
in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of then 13th District Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe
.
He was a high ranking member of the Armed Services Committee
and the Resources Committee and Ranking Republican Member and Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
In the United States House elections, 2006
, Saxton was challenged by Democrat
Rich Sexton, a lawyer and U.S. Navy
veteran from Mount Laurel
. Saxton won reelection by a 58%-41% margin.
Saxton was widely praised across South Jersey
for his efforts to remove Fort Dix from the Pentagon
's base realignment and closure
lists in 1989 and 1991, McGuire Air Force Base
from the list in 1993, and Lakehurst Naval Air Station from the list in 1995. From 1993 to 2005, he worked to foster joint military facilities at the three installations. Saxon's efforts were rewarded when Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005
. In addition to saving the bases' 17,000 jobs, the legislation merged the three bases, creating a "megabase" (the first of its kind in the United States). Furthermore, 1,500 jobs and additional aircraft were directed to the new joint base. Saxton also saved the New Jersey National Guard
's 108th Air Refueling Wing
from oblivion by working to provide it with a squadron of newer planes.
His other accomplishments include a beach erosion repair project on popular tourist destination Long Beach Island
(which saw a 2006 groundbreaking) and a hospital Medicare funding initiative that brought $80 million to New Jersey hospitals in 2005 and 2006.
On May 26, 2006, Saxton reported hearing a loud gunfire-type noise in the Rayburn House Office Building
that led to the building being shut down for several hours. It was later determined that the noise was a construction worker discharging a pneumatic hammer in an elevator shaft near the garage. Capitol police officers who subsequently asked the workers to recreate the noise agreed it sounded like gunfire.
On November 9, 2007, Saxton announced that he would not seek reelection in 2008, citing prostate cancer.
Saxton has been a resident of Mount Holly, New Jersey.
. The American Conservative Union
counts his lifetime score as similar to conservative Democrat Gene Taylor's. In 2006, the nonpartisan National Journal
listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. He supported taking action to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security
.
He argued against the estate tax in the Joint Economic Committee Study of 1998. This analysis examined the arguments for and against the federal estate tax and concluded that the estate tax generates costs to taxpayers, the economy and the environment which far exceeds any potential benefit that it might arguably produce.
He is conservative
on abortion
issues, which earned him a 100% rating by the Christian Coalition from 2003 to 2005. He has voted against bills that would authorize partial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded human embryo
experimentation, and human cloning
.
However, he supported liberal
issues, such as gun control
(Brady Bill
and a ban on semi-automatic firearm
s). Saxton is supportive of environmentalism
, which led him to be one of the few Republicans that the Sierra Club
endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He has received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups. He was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters
, Ocean Champions
and the New Jersey Environmental Federation in his 2006 reelection bid. The Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation
, and the Nature Conservancy have regularly given him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. Saxton also co-founded the bi-partisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
. Saxton was also supportive of some gay rights measures, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
and hate crimes bills.
Saxton is a Member of both the Republican Main Street Partnership
and Republicans for Environmental Protection
He supported bipartisan
issues, such as federal campaign finance reform
(Shays-Meehan and McCain-Feingold
). He voted against NAFTA
, but voted for CAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.
As a former public school teacher, he did not support school vouchers.
He endorsed his good friend Duncan Hunter
in the 2008 Presidential Primary.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He represented from 1984 to 1993. From 1993 to 2009, he represented .
Life
Born in Nicholson, PennsylvaniaNicholson, Pennsylvania
Nicholson is a borough in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 713 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Nicholson is located at ....
, he attended East Stroudsburg State College (now East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is one of the 14 state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . It is commonly referred to as ESU by its students and members of the community...
) and Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. He then pursued a career as an elementary public school teacher and small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
owner. Saxton served in the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
(the lower chamber of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
) from 1976 to 1981 and in the New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
from 1982 to 1984. In 1984, he was elected to the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of then 13th District Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe
Edwin B. Forsythe
Edwin Bell Forsythe was an American Republican Party politician, who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...
.
He was a high ranking member of the Armed Services Committee
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
and the Resources Committee and Ranking Republican Member and Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
In the United States House elections, 2006
United States House elections, 2006
- House of Representatives prior to the election :As of November 7, 2006, the U.S. House of the 109th Congress was composed of 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats and 1 Independent . There were also four vacancies...
, Saxton was challenged by Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Rich Sexton, a lawyer and U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
veteran from Mount Laurel
Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey
Mount Laurel Township is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, and is an edge city "suburb" of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 40,221...
. Saxton won reelection by a 58%-41% margin.
Saxton was widely praised across South Jersey
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation is a colloquial one, reflecting not only geographical but perceived cultural differences from the northern part of the state, with no official...
for his efforts to remove Fort Dix from the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
's base realignment and closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
lists in 1989 and 1991, McGuire Air Force Base
McGuire Air Force Base
JB MDL McGuire is a United States Air Force base located approximately south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. McGuire is under the jurisdiction of the USAF Air Mobility Command...
from the list in 1993, and Lakehurst Naval Air Station from the list in 1995. From 1993 to 2005, he worked to foster joint military facilities at the three installations. Saxon's efforts were rewarded when Congress passed and President Bush signed into law the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005
Base Realignment and Closure, 2005
The preliminary 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list was released by the United States Department of Defense on May 13, 2005. It is the fifth Base Realignment and Closure proposal generated since the process was created in 1988. It recommends closing 33 major United States military bases and...
. In addition to saving the bases' 17,000 jobs, the legislation merged the three bases, creating a "megabase" (the first of its kind in the United States). Furthermore, 1,500 jobs and additional aircraft were directed to the new joint base. Saxton also saved the New Jersey National Guard
New Jersey National Guard
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of over 9000 Guardsmen. The Guard is currently engaged in several worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germany and Egypt...
's 108th Air Refueling Wing
108th Air Refueling Wing
The 108th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the New Jersey Air National Guard tasked with aerial refueling and other air mobility missions. It is based at McGuire Air Force Base and operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command . The current Commander of the 108th is...
from oblivion by working to provide it with a squadron of newer planes.
His other accomplishments include a beach erosion repair project on popular tourist destination Long Beach Island
Long Beach Island
Long Beach Island is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States...
(which saw a 2006 groundbreaking) and a hospital Medicare funding initiative that brought $80 million to New Jersey hospitals in 2005 and 2006.
On May 26, 2006, Saxton reported hearing a loud gunfire-type noise in the Rayburn House Office Building
Rayburn House Office Building
The Rayburn House Office Building is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street....
that led to the building being shut down for several hours. It was later determined that the noise was a construction worker discharging a pneumatic hammer in an elevator shaft near the garage. Capitol police officers who subsequently asked the workers to recreate the noise agreed it sounded like gunfire.
On November 9, 2007, Saxton announced that he would not seek reelection in 2008, citing prostate cancer.
Saxton has been a resident of Mount Holly, New Jersey.
Committee assignments
- Armed Services Committee
- Air and Land Forces Subcommittee (Ranking Member)
- Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans
- Joint Economic Committee (Ranking Member; Chairman)
Political positions
Saxton is best characterized as a moderateModerate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
. The American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
counts his lifetime score as similar to conservative Democrat Gene Taylor's. In 2006, the nonpartisan National Journal
National Journal
National Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
listed him as one of the Congress's centrists. He supported taking action to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
.
He argued against the estate tax in the Joint Economic Committee Study of 1998. This analysis examined the arguments for and against the federal estate tax and concluded that the estate tax generates costs to taxpayers, the economy and the environment which far exceeds any potential benefit that it might arguably produce.
He is conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
issues, which earned him a 100% rating by the Christian Coalition from 2003 to 2005. He has voted against bills that would authorize partial birth abortion, taxpayer-funded human embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
experimentation, and human cloning
Human cloning
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. It does not usually refer to monozygotic multiple births nor the reproduction of human cells or tissue. The ethics of cloning is an extremely controversial issue...
.
However, he supported liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
issues, such as gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
(Brady Bill
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act is an Act of the United States Congress that, for the first time, instituted federal background checks on firearm purchasers in the United States....
and a ban on semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
s). Saxton is supportive of environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, which led him to be one of the few Republicans that the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
endorsed in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. He has received generally favorable ratings by other environmental groups. He was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
, Ocean Champions
Ocean Champions
Ocean Champions, a 501 environmental organization in the United States with a connected political action committee , is the first national organization of its kind focused solely on oceans and ocean wildlife....
and the New Jersey Environmental Federation in his 2006 reelection bid. The Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
, and the Nature Conservancy have regularly given him high marks and various awards for his work on conservation issues. Saxton also co-founded the bi-partisan Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
The Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus is a large bi-partisan Congressional Member Organization in the U.S. House of Representatives formed to support the National Wildlife Refuge System through legislation, funding, and education.-History:...
. Saxton was also supportive of some gay rights measures, including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a proposed bill in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by civilian, nonreligious employers with at least 15 employees.ENDA has been introduced in every...
and hate crimes bills.
Saxton is a Member of both the Republican Main Street Partnership
Republican Main Street Partnership
The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of moderate members of the United States Republican Party. They tend away from the dominant social conservatism of many Republicans and towards a moderate fiscal conservatism and limited government to a degree. The group is the rough equivalent of...
and Republicans for Environmental Protection
He supported bipartisan
Bipartisanship
Bipartisanship is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system such as the United States, in which opposing political parties find common ground through compromise. The adjective bipartisan can refer to any bill, act, resolution, or other political act in which both of the...
issues, such as federal campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
(Shays-Meehan and McCain-Feingold
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were Senators Russell Feingold and John McCain...
). He voted against NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
, but voted for CAFTA as a means to help reverse abject poverty and hunger, and ease potential political unrest in impoverished Latin America.
As a former public school teacher, he did not support school vouchers.
He endorsed his good friend Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
in the 2008 Presidential Primary.