Zach Wamp

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Zach Wamp previously served the 3rd Congressional district of Tennessee

Zach Wamp, a conservative Republican, is a former U.S. Representative for the 3rd Congressional district of Tennessee, having served 1995 to 2011.[1] The district is based in Chattanooga and includes large parts of East Tennessee, including Oak Ridge.

Record and controversies

General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's articles on legislation. You can add information you find on how Zach Wamp voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

Wamp voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.[2]

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Term-limit pledge

Wamp pledged to serve no more than six terms in Congress during his initial campaign for Congress in 1994. He broke the pledge, however, when he opted to seek a seventh term in 2006. [1]

(See Congresspedia page on term limits in Congress)

Pays wife for campaign work

In October 2006, the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit organization which advocates better transparency in government, reported that Wamp’s campaign committee paid his wife $34,040 for work during 2005-2006. [2]

Bio

Background

Wamp was born on October 28, 1957 in Fort Benning, Georgia and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before transferring to the University of Tennessee. Wamp worked in real estate before running for the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1992 against Marilyn Lloyd.

Congressional career

Wamp lost but Lloyd retired after her term ended, giving him the opportunity to run for the seat again in 1994. Proposing a plan to pay Congressmen the same as Lieutenant Colonel's, and linking his opponent to Bill Clinton, Wamp won the election by six percentage points. He has never faced another race nearly this close, scoring over 60 percent of the vote in each of his five reelection campaigns.

Positions and views

During his 1994 election campaign, Wamp admitted that he had had a problem with cocaine but asserted that he had stopped using it years ago. Although a conservative Republican, Wamp has vigorously supported the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the largest government-owned firms in the United States. Wamp endorsed the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform bill. Wamp has also proposed legislation to allow the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings.

When he was elected to the House in 1994, Wamp pledged to serve just twelve years (six terms) in the House, meaning that he would have left the House in 2007. However, shortly after winning reelection to a sixth term, Wamp announced he would run again in 2006 after all, citing his status as Tennessee's only member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Wamp explored seeking a seat in the Senate to succeed Bill Frist, who had only promised to serve two terms in that chamber. However, he decided against running for that seat in 2004.

In the wake of Tom DeLay's indictment in September 2005, Wamp moved quickly to campaign among his fellow Republican House members to become the majority whip, the number three position in the Republican House leadership. Shortly thereafter, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne named Wamp as one of four lawmakers capable of leading an anticorruption reform of the Republican party. [3]

2006 elections

In 2006, the Democrats nominated Terry Stulce to face Wamp in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [4] Wamp retained his seat.

2010 elections

In 2010, Zach Wamp did not run for reelection for his House seat. Instead he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Tennessee.[3]

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00003159&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

Links to more campaign contribution information for Zach Wamp
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2006 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2006 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2006 election cycle Career totals


Committees and affiliations

Committees

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

  • House Committee on Appropriations
    • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
    • Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and Related Agencies

Coalitions and caucuses

  • Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe
  • Co-Chair, Congressional Fitness Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus
  • Helsinki Commission
  • National Guard & Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization
  • Co-Chair, Public Broadcasting Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Co-Chair, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Speaker's Task Force for a Drug Free America
  • Republican Steering Committee
  • Chairman, TVA Caucus

Boards and other affiliations

  • Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe
  • Co-Chair, Congressional Fitness Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus
  • Helsinki Commission
  • National Guard & Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization
  • Co-Chair, Public Broadcasting Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Co-Chair, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, 108th Congress
  • Speaker's Task Force for a Drug Free America
  • Republican Steering Committee
  • Chairman, TVA Caucus
  • Youth Violence Working Group

More background data

Wikipedia also has an article on Zach Wamp. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Local blogs and discussion sites

Twitter

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Zach Wamp profile, The Washington Post, accessed January 2011.
  2. ↑ Roll call vote, Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
  3. ↑ Zach Wamp bio, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed January 2011.

Articles

  • "A Blow Against The Machine" by E. J. Dionne Jr [5]

Resources

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