Austin Scott (politician)

2010

Austin Scott meets with members of the Carrollton, GA fire department on July 20, 2009 during the Walk of Georgia.

Scott, along with millions funded by National PAC's, challenged Democratic incumbent Jim Marshall in Georgia's eighth congressional district. He defeated Marshall in the general election on November 2, 2010, with 53% of the vote to Marshall's 47%.[4]

Scott originally planned to campaign for Governor of Georgia, announcing his campaign in January 2009. He made headlines for walking more than 1,000 miles around the state in his "Walk of Georgia",[5] introducing a bill to abolish tolls on Georgia 400, and leading the charge in pressuring Georgia State Attorney General Thurbert Baker to file a lawsuit against the federal government over the controversial health care reform bill passed in March 2010.[6][7][8][9] In April 2010, Scott withdrew from the race for Governor to instead run for U.S. Congress.

In 2010, Scott signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.[10]

2012

Scott's freshman portrait

Redistricting after the 2010 census made the 8th somewhat more secure for Scott. Notably, most of Macon and surrounding Bibb County (except for a sliver in the north) were drawn into the neighboring 2nd district. Macon had been the heart of the 8th and its predecessors for more than a century. To make up for the loss of population, the General Assembly pushed the 8th all the way to the Florida border, adding Thomasville and most of Valdosta from the old 2nd. The old 8th already had a significant Republican lean, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+10. However, the new 8th had a CPVI of R+15, making it the 11th most Republican district in the Eastern Time Zone and one of the most Republican districts in the country.

Scott was unopposed in both the primary and general elections.[11]

2014

Scott was unopposed for a third term.

2016

In 2016, Scott faced a Democratic opponent for the first time since his initial run for the seat when private investigator James Neal Harris declared for the race. Scott turned back this challenge fairly easily, taking 67.6% of the vote and carrying every county in the district.[12]

2018

Scott was unopposed for a fifth term.

2020

On June 9, Scott defeated his Republican primary opponents, Vance Dean and Danny Ellyson, with 89.81%.[13] Scott went on to defeat his Democrat challenger, Lindsay Holliday, with 64.52% in the general election on November 3, 2020.[14]

Scott was selected by his colleagues as freshman class president for the 112th Congress. [15]

National Security and Defense

Scott's district is home to two United States Air Force bases: Moody Air Force Base and Robins Air Force Base. As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, Scott supports pro-military and defense spending policies.[16] Scott is also a proponent of the United States Navy hospital ships.[17]

Scott was very vocal on the United States Air Force's decision not to replace the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS, which provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Many JSTARS are based at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. While Scott supports the forthcoming Advanced Battle Management System, or ABMS, he contends the Air Force should maintain the capabilities of the JSTARS until the new ABMS systems are in place.[18] In 2018, the Air Force announced that Robins Air Force Base would host the initial elements of the Advanced Battle Management System, a capability which will fuse global air and space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information.[19]

Scott opposed canceling the F-22.[20]

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Scott also focuses his work towards combating transnational criminal organizations and the international flow of drugs. [21]

Scott served on the Conference Committees for the Fiscal Year 2018, Fiscal Year 2019, and Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Acts.[22]

For the 117th Congress, Scott is the only member from Georgia - Republican or Democrat in the House or Senate - to serve on a Congressional defense committee.

Agriculture

Scott served on the Conference Committees for both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.[23]

Scott secured provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill to bring broadband investments to rural America.[24]

In August 2020, the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held two virtual hearings with to examine foreign trade policies harming American growers of seasonal and perishable produce, including one with Georgia producers. These hearings were the result of years of requests by Scott and other members of the Georgia and Florida Congressional Delegations to examine the dumping of foreign-subsidized fresh fruits and vegetables into U.S. agricultural markets below the cost of production domestically.[25]

Scott unsuccessfully ran against Rep. Rick Crawford and Rep. Glenn Thompson for the position of Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee for the 117th Congress. Thompson, senior to Scott on the Committee, was named Ranking Member by the Steering and Policy Committees of the United States House of Representatives in December 2020.[26]

Legislation

On June 15, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act (Public Law No: 115-184), a bill authored by Scott and supported in the United States Senate by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson to require the Department of the Interior to provide outer burial receptacles for veterans' remains buried in a national cemetery administered by the National Park Service.[27]

Scott and Rep. Sanford Bishop together brokered federal assistance for farmers negatively impacted by 2018 and 2019 natural disasters, including $3 billion in agricultural relief for damages from storms and reprogrammed unused funds to be used for future relief efforts. This was included in a disaster assistance package President Donald Trump signed into law in June 2019.[28]

As a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Scott has sponsored and supported numerous sportsmen's and conservation bills. In the 115th Congress, Scott introduced legislation to modernize the Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act to allow state fish and wildlife agencies to use Pittman-Robertson funds for public relations and for the construction, operation, and maintenance of public ranges,[29] which passed the House of Representatives during the 115th Congress.

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Select Caucus memberships

• Republican Study Committee[30]
• Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (House Vice-Chairman)[31]
• Congressional Cement Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[32]

In December 2020, Scott was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[36] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[37][38][39]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Scott and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[40][41] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Scott and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[42]

On January 7, 2021, Scott did not object to the Electoral College certification in the House of Representatives.[43] On January 5, 2021, he joined several Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Congressional Leadership stating that members of Congress did not have the authority to object to Electoral College votes sent to them by each state absent an investigation from a state legislature or a conflicting slate of electors.[44]

Scott condemned the violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.[45]

Scott attended the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021.