Adam Smith (politician)

Smith served in the Washington State Senate from 1991 to 1997. He was just 25 years old at the time of his election in 1990, defeating a 13-year incumbent Republican, Eleanor Lee, to become the youngest State Senator in the country. Smith won his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 by defeating another incumbent Republican, religious conservative Randy Tate. Smith has been reelected 12 times since then without serious opposition, as what was originally drawn as a "fair fight" district turned into a fairly safe Democratic seat.

For his first seven terms, Smith represented a district that straddled Interstate 5, from Renton through Tacoma to just outside of Olympia. Smith's district was significantly redrawn after the 2010 census. It absorbed much of southeast Seattle, as well as most of the Eastside. As a result, it became the state's first with a majority of residents who are racial or ethnic minorities.[4] It is also the second-most Democratic district in the state; only the neighboring 7th district, which covers the rest of Seattle, is more Democratic. For the 2012 election, Smith moved from his longtime home in Tacoma to Bellevue.

Adam Smith and Barack Obama at a campaign rally at Seattle's KeyArena, February 8, 2008.

He has been a leader in moderate "New Democrats" organizations. He serves as the chair of the political action committee of the New Democrat Coalition.[5]

On October 10, 2002, Smith was among the 81 Democratic members of the House voting in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.[6] In March 2012, Smith said that US troops had done “amazing work” in Afghanistan and that it was “time to bring the troops home.”[7]

In 2006, Smith won his sixth term in Congress against Republican Steve Cofchin. Smith won 65.7% of the vote to Cofchin's 34.3%.[8]

In April 2007, Smith supported U.S. Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.[9] He also appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews speaking for Obama. In the same year he also appeared on the Colbert Report, in the show's 434-part series known as "Better Know A District".

Smith voted against the Protect America Act of 2007, which has been criticized for violating Americans' civil liberties by allowing wiretapping without issued warrants.[10] He also voted in favor of the 2001 Patriot Act and in favor of extending the “Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.”[11]

In 2008, Smith won a seventh term in the House, defeating James Postma, a 74-year-old retired engineer running on a pro-nuclear power platform, with 65% of the vote.[12]

On December 16, 2010, Smith defeated Silvestre Reyes and Loretta Sanchez to become the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee after Chairman Ike Skelton was defeated for reelection. In the first round, Sanchez and Smith earned 64 votes with Reyes earning 53. In the runoff, Smith defeated Sanchez by 11 votes.[13]

In 2011, recognized for his work in fighting global poverty, Smith became only the second member of Congress selected to the Borgen Project's Board of Directors.[14] In the same year, he argued against cuts that could “jeopardize our national security” and leave the US “more vulnerable to nuclear terrorism.”[15]

Smith as a representative during the 109th congress

In 2001, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF),[16] which gave the President authority to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against those who committed and aided the 9/11 attacks. While this power has been rarely used to detain persons in the United States, Smith introduced a bill to ensure that any individual detained on U.S. soil under the AUMF has access to due process and the federal court system.[17] The bill also prohibits military commissions and indefinite detention for individuals detained in the United States and affirms that any trial proceedings “shall have all the due process as provided for under the Constitution.”

Smith co-sponsored, with Republican congressman Mac Thornberry, an amendment to the fiscal 2013 defense spending bill reversing previous bans on disseminating Defense and State Department propaganda in the United States, reversing the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987, designed to protect U.S. audiences from government misinformation campaigns.[18] The bill passed on May 18, 2012, 299 to 120.[19]

• Smith voted to approve the invasion of Iraq.[6]
• Smith voted to approve the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)[20]
• Smith Co-Sponsored the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 which allowed domestic dissemination of US propaganda.[21]
• Smith voted against an amendment that would restrict the National Security Agency from collecting phone records of Americans suspected of no crimes without a warrant[22]

• Committee on Armed Services (Chair)
  • As the chairman on the committee, Smith may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

• 21st Century Healthcare Caucus
• American Sikh Congressional Caucus
• European Union Caucus
• Goods Movement Caucus
• Intellectual Property Caucus (Co-Chair)
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[23]
• Waterways Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition[24]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus[25]
• Congressional Arts Caucus[26]
• Afterschool Caucuses[27]
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[28]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus[29]
• Medicare for All Caucus