Robert Smith Walker
Encyclopedia
Robert Smith Walker, popularly known as Bob Walker, (born December 23, 1942) is a former American politician who represented Pennsylvania
in the United States House of Representatives
as a Republican
from 1977 to 1997. He was known for his fiery rhetoric and knowledge of parliamentary procedure
.
Born in Bradford
, Pennsylvania, Walker graduated from Penn Manor High School. He attended the College of William and Mary
from 1960 to 1961 and received his B.S. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania
in 1964. Walker taught high school from 1964 to 1967. He took his M.A. from the University of Delaware
in 1968 and served in the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1967 to 1973.
Walker became an assistant to Pennsylvania congressman Edwin Duing Eshleman
, working for him from 1967 to Eshleman's retirement in 1977. Walker was elected to his seat representing southeastern Pennsylvania, including Lebanon
, Lancaster
, and Chester
Counties.
In Congress, Walker was an outspoken conservative and allied himself with fellow conservatives Newt Gingrich
, Bob Dornan
and Trent Lott
and the Conservative Opportunity Society. He was one of the speakers at the first Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
in 1989. Michael Barone
and Grant Ujifusa wrote that Walker was "scrappy, good humored, and ready to push his principles forward even at the cost of being mocked." He was a hawk on deficit spending and worked to reduce government spending but at the same time served on the science committee and advocated more spending on the space program, weather research, hydrogen research, and earthquake programs as well as pushing for a cabinet-level department of science.
Walker was also responsible for a rare punishment of the Speaker of the House and aiding in the rise of Gingrich. When C-SPAN
began televising the House, Walker, Gingrich, and other conservatives found they could reach a national audience with special order speeches, given at the end of the day after the House finished its legislative program. In these speeches, they assailed the Democrats and their leadership in the House. On May 10, 1984, Walker gave one such fiery oration that irritated Speaker Tip O'Neill
because the cameras did not show Walker was speaking to a deserted chamber. O'Neill ordered Representative Charlie Rose
, whose committee oversaw television coverage, to have the cameras pan the chamber and show Walker and his allies were talking to nobody. No notice of this change was given to the Republicans when it was implemented on May 14, 1984. When the Republicans found out what was going on, Walker, who was speaking when the panning began, and Bob Michel, the Republican leader, angrily complained on the floor. The next day, Gingrich was speaking and Speaker O'Neill lost his cool, resulting in O'Neill's words being taken down and ruled out of order. No Speaker had been so punished since 1795. These events made Gingrich a household name. Gingrich would later bring Walker into the Republican leadership; Walker was chief deputy whip.
Walker was a fierce advocate of stronger drug laws. He proposed that all federal contractors institute programs among their employees with violations to result in the forfeiture of federal contracts – even if as little as one joint were found in a contractor's workplace. Walker also led a campaign against the rewriting of the Congressional Record
and had the practice banned in the 104th Congress
when Republicans won control of the House. He was chairman of the House Science Committee
during his last term.
Congressional Quarterly
would write that "he has raised too many hackles and rubbed too many nerves to be very popular" in the House, but the voters back in Pennsylvania only once gave him less than seventy percent of the vote.
In 2001 he was appointed by President
George W. Bush
to chair the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry
. He also served on the President's Commission on Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy (2004) and the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service(2005).
His name had been circulated as a possible NASA
administrator following the 2004 resignation of Sean O'Keefe
. He is currently on the board of directors of [Aerospace Corp] and Space Adventures
, and formerly served as chairman of the board of the Space Foundation
. He is the presently chairman of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Walker is currently executive chairman of the Washington lobbying firm, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates. http://www.wexlerwalker.com/walker.htm
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 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...
as a Republican
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...
from 1977 to 1997. He was known for his fiery rhetoric and knowledge of parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
.
Born in Bradford
Bradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles south of Buffalo, New York. Settled in 1823, Bradford was chartered as a city in 1879 and emerged as a wild oil boomtown in the Pennsylvanian oil rush in the late 19th century...
, Pennsylvania, Walker graduated from Penn Manor High School. He attended the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
from 1960 to 1961 and received his B.S. from Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania
Millersville University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania, USA, 3 miles southwest of Lancaster. Millersville University is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.-History:...
in 1964. Walker taught high school from 1964 to 1967. He took his M.A. from the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
in 1968 and served in the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1967 to 1973.
Walker became an assistant to Pennsylvania congressman Edwin Duing Eshleman
Edwin Duing Eshleman
Edwin Duing Eshleman was an American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1967 to 1977.-Biography:...
, working for him from 1967 to Eshleman's retirement in 1977. Walker was elected to his seat representing southeastern Pennsylvania, including Lebanon
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 332 people per square mile . There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of 136 per square mile...
, Lancaster
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
, and Chester
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
Counties.
In Congress, Walker was an outspoken conservative and allied himself with fellow conservatives Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
, Bob Dornan
Bob Dornan
Robert Kenneth "Bob" Dornan is a Republican and former member of the United States House of Representatives from California and a vocal advocate of pro-life and social conservative causes....
and Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
and the Conservative Opportunity Society. He was one of the speakers at the first Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
Pennsylvania Leadership Conference
Pennsylvania Leadership Conference is an annual two day conference organized by the Pennsylvania Leadership Council of Pennsylvania conservative activists in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania....
in 1989. Michael Barone
Michael Barone (pundit)
Michael Barone is a conservative American political analyst, pundit and journalist. He is best known for being the principal author of The Almanac of American Politics, a reference work concerning US governors and federal politicians, and published biennially by National Journal...
and Grant Ujifusa wrote that Walker was "scrappy, good humored, and ready to push his principles forward even at the cost of being mocked." He was a hawk on deficit spending and worked to reduce government spending but at the same time served on the science committee and advocated more spending on the space program, weather research, hydrogen research, and earthquake programs as well as pushing for a cabinet-level department of science.
Walker was also responsible for a rare punishment of the Speaker of the House and aiding in the rise of Gingrich. When C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
began televising the House, Walker, Gingrich, and other conservatives found they could reach a national audience with special order speeches, given at the end of the day after the House finished its legislative program. In these speeches, they assailed the Democrats and their leadership in the House. On May 10, 1984, Walker gave one such fiery oration that irritated Speaker Tip O'Neill
Tip O'Neill
Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr. was an American politician. O'Neill was an outspoken liberal Democrat and influential member of the U.S. Congress, serving in the House of Representatives for 34 years and representing two congressional districts in Massachusetts...
because the cameras did not show Walker was speaking to a deserted chamber. O'Neill ordered Representative Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose (congressman)
Charles Grandison "Charlie" Rose III is a former Democratic United States Congressman from North Carolina who served from 1973 to 1997....
, whose committee oversaw television coverage, to have the cameras pan the chamber and show Walker and his allies were talking to nobody. No notice of this change was given to the Republicans when it was implemented on May 14, 1984. When the Republicans found out what was going on, Walker, who was speaking when the panning began, and Bob Michel, the Republican leader, angrily complained on the floor. The next day, Gingrich was speaking and Speaker O'Neill lost his cool, resulting in O'Neill's words being taken down and ruled out of order. No Speaker had been so punished since 1795. These events made Gingrich a household name. Gingrich would later bring Walker into the Republican leadership; Walker was chief deputy whip.
Walker was a fierce advocate of stronger drug laws. He proposed that all federal contractors institute programs among their employees with violations to result in the forfeiture of federal contracts – even if as little as one joint were found in a contractor's workplace. Walker also led a campaign against the rewriting of the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
and had the practice banned in the 104th Congress
104th United States Congress
The One Hundred Fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 1997, during the third and...
when Republicans won control of the House. He was chairman of the House Science Committee
United States House Committee on Science
The Committee on Science, Space and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development...
during his last term.
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., or CQ, is a privately owned publishing company that produces a number of publications reporting primarily on the United States Congress...
would write that "he has raised too many hackles and rubbed too many nerves to be very popular" in the House, but the voters back in Pennsylvania only once gave him less than seventy percent of the vote.
In 2001 he was appointed by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to chair the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry
Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry
The Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry was formed jointly by United States President George W. Bush and the United States Congress in 2001...
. He also served on the President's Commission on Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy (2004) and the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service(2005).
His name had been circulated as a possible NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
administrator following the 2004 resignation of Sean O'Keefe
Sean O'Keefe
Sean O'Keefe is the CEO of EADS North America, a subsidiary of the European aerospace firm EADS, a former Administrator of NASA, and former chancellor of Louisiana State University . O'Keefe is also a former member of the board of directors of DuPont...
. He is currently on the board of directors of [Aerospace Corp] and Space Adventures
Space Adventures
Space Adventures, Ltd. is a Virginia, USA-based space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. , offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights , and other spaceflight-related experiences including cosmonaut training, spacewalk training, and launch tours...
, and formerly served as chairman of the board of the Space Foundation
Space Foundation
The Space Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the global space industry through information and education programs. It is a resource for the entire space community - industry, national security organizations, civil space agencies, private space companies and the military around the...
. He is the presently chairman of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Walker is currently executive chairman of the Washington lobbying firm, Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates. http://www.wexlerwalker.com/walker.htm