Bob Brady

When 17-year U.S. Congressman Tom Foglietta resigned from the House of Representatives upon being named U.S. Ambassador to Italy by Bill Clinton, Brady was unopposed in the primary and won the general election with 74% of the vote. Brady was sworn in on May 19, 1998. He has won re-election since, with at least 81% of the vote. An 18-year veteran in Congress in 2016, Brady was elected to his 10th full term over Republican challenger Deborah Williams in the general election on November 8, 2016, with his 81% of the vote record intact.[6] Brady represents a heavily Democratic area and is the head of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, thus, he has generally won the Democratic nomination in each election unopposed.[7] Deborah Williams also ran against Brady in the 2004 race, and in that race she received the second highest number of votes a Republican candidate has ever achieved against the incumbent, which she topped in the 2016 election.[8] The 2016 election marks the most votes any challenger has ever received against him.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer described him as "the longtime boss of the Democratic City Committee, one of the few old-fashioned big-city political machines left. Running against him could equal career suicide."[9]
• Politico described him as "the old-school politician and party boss — known in Congress as a fixer and backroom dealmaker."[1]
• In 2001, the political website PoliticsPA described him as a "consummate 'backroom politician' (and we say that with respect!)" and said that he might be the best county party chair in Pennsylvania.[10] In 2003, the Pennsylvania Report said that Brady has "managed effectively to balance his multiracial district and city Democratic party."[11][12]
• In 2009, the Pennsylvania Report noted that "[w]hile he still would like to be Mayor, Brady's influence and power in Philadelphia remains strong."[13]
• Pennsylvania State Senator Anthony Williams said he is "probably one of the most politically astute politicians in the last 20 years, and that's rarefied air." J. Whyatt Mondesire, head of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, said no one can match "Brady's relationships with politicians across the Democratic landscape."[14]
• In 2015, during Pope Francis' visit to the United States, he stole the glass that the Pope drank from and then drank from it himself, had his wife and two others drink from it, had Sen. Bob Casey, his wife and mother as well as Rep. Joseph Crowley stick their fingers in the glass. He said he also planned to have the Philadelphia police dust the glass to lift the Pope's fingerprints. Brady said, "I'm sure it's blessed if the Pope drank out of it. Why not?" and "If not, I'm saying it is." Additionally, in 2009, Brady stole the glass used by former President Barack Obama after his inauguration.[15]
• Congressman Brady has many times been a teller for the Joint session of the United States Congress to count and certify the Electoral College vote for President and Vice President. Congressman Brady is noted for incorrectly stating "Electoral Vote"; he instead says "Electorial Vote"

In November 2017, it was revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating Brady for alleged payments that Brady's campaign made in 2012 to an opponent in order to get the opponent to withdraw from the race.[16] In January 2018, he announced that he would not seek reelection.[17] He said that his decision had nothing to do with the ongoing corruption probe, but that he instead wanted to spend more time with his family.[17]

Brady is pro-choice and voted against President Bush's restrictions on funding to family planning groups in 2001. Over the years, he has supported minors' abortion rights, voting in 2005 for the right for those under 18 years of age to obtain abortions across state lines without parental consent.[18] He voted against the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which prohibits health insurance companies from offering abortion coverage in a plan to any citizen. He opposed a proposal to prohibit federally funded abortion services.[19] Over the past fifteen years, organizations such as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, and Planned Parenthood rated him 100%.[20]

Brady voted in favor of the Small Business Lending Fund and Tax Law Amendment. The September 2010 amendment provides loans to small business through financial institutions.[21] He supported the Small Business Jobs Bill in October 2010.

Brady voted against the Secure Fence Act (2006), which authorized the construction of additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006.[22] He supports Homeland Security Appropriations for border protection and The U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Technology project, which works towards improving the capability of the government to keep track of immigrants and control their entry and exit.[23] Groups such as the National Latino Congreso/William C. Velásquez Institute, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the anti-immigration Federation for American Immigration Reform have rated Brady between 50% and 100% for his pro-immigration political stances.[20]

Brady claims to have once refused to receive a phone call from President Bill Clinton because he was busy helping a woman who had called seeking someone to come over and fix her toilet.[24]

Brady with President Clinton

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
• Committee on House Administration (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Elections (Ranking Member)

• Congressional Arts Caucus[25]
• House Baltic Caucus[26]