Doug Lamborn

Douglas Lawrence Lamborn (born May 24, 1954) is an American attorney and politician, currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Colorado's 5th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Seated in 2007, his district is based in Colorado Springs.

Doug Lamborn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 5th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2007
Preceded byJoel Hefley
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 9th district
In office
January 6, 1999  January 3, 2007
Preceded byCharles Duke
Succeeded byDavid Schultheis
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 20th district
In office
January 9, 1995  January 6, 1999
Preceded byCharles Duke
Succeeded byLynn Hefley
Personal details
Born
Douglas Lawrence Lamborn

(1954-05-24) May 24, 1954
Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Jeanie Lamborn
(m. 1977)
Children5
EducationUniversity of Kansas (BS, JD)

Early life and career

Born in Leavenworth, Kansas, Lamborn attended Lansing High School, in Lansing, Kansas. After graduation, Lamborn earned a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1978 and J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1985. He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado and became a private attorney focusing on business and real estate law.[1][2]

Colorado Legislature

Elections

In 1994, Lamborn was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. In 1998, he was elected to the Colorado State Senate.

He was elected Republican House Whip in 1997. He was elected Senate President Pro-tem in 1999. Lamborn served in the Colorado Senate until winning a seat in the United States Congress.[3]

Tenure

While in the State Senate Lamborn sponsored the largest tax cut in Colorado State history,[4] and was named the highest-ranking tax cutter in the Senate five times, by a conservative activist group called the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.[3]

Committee assignments

Lamborn was the ranking Republican on the Colorado State Military and Veterans Affairs, and Appropriations committees.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2006

On February 16, 2006, Joel Hefley announced he would retire after 10 terms in Congress.[5]

In the Republican primary to succeed him, Hefley backed his long-time aide, former administrative director Jeff Crank. The election was held on August 8, 2006, with Lamborn defeating Crank and four other candidates to win the party nomination in a contentious six-way race. In the Republican primary, he ran on conservative positions:[6] opposing gun control, abortion except when the mother's life is threatened, federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, not providing public benefits to illegal immigrants, and new eminent domain rulings.[7]

He ran against Lieutenant Colonel Jay Fawcett, the Democratic nominee for the open seat in Colorado's 5th congressional district. Lamborn won the election on November 7, 2006.

2008

Jeff Crank and Major General Bentley Rayburn[8] both challenged Lamborn in the 2008 Republican primary. Both lost to Lamborn in the 2006 primary. Lamborn won the primary election on August 12, 2008 with 45 percent[9] of the 56,171 votes cast. Crank got 29 percent and Rayburn got 26 percent.

Lamborn defeated Democratic challenger Lieutenant Colonel Hal Bidlack in the 2008 election.

2010

Lamborn was challenged by Democratic nominee Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Bradley. He won re-election.

2012

Lamborn was challenged in the Republican primary by businessman Robert Blaha. Lamborn won 62–38 percent.[10] He had the support of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum political action committee.[11]

2014

Lamborn was challenged by Democratic nominee Major General Irv Halter. He won with 59.8% of the vote.[12]

2018

In January 2018, Lamborn announced he would be running for re-election in the 2018 elections. When a Colorado High Court ruling initially disqualified Lamborn from appearing on the June primary ballot due to questions of signatures and residency, Lamborn was reinstated on the ballot after a federal judge ruled in Lamborn's favor citing his First Amendment claim.[13] He faced and defeated three challengers in the Republican primary.[14] He went on to win the general election.[15]

2020

On January 9, Lamborn declared his candidacy for an eighth term as representative for Colorado's fifth district.[16] He qualified for the primary ballot in March with over 2,000 valid signatures and won the June 30 primary unopposed.[17] In the November general election, Lamborn defeated Democratic candidate Jillian Freeland.[18]

Tenure

An office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was established in Colorado Springs in Lamborn's district. The office opened in February 2009 and increased immigration enforcement agents in the area from two to ten. “The immediate need is to address those that have committed a crime and make sure they’re sent out of the country”, Lamborn said. However, this would not place in jeopardy employers who hire illegal immigrants in the first place or who pay these workers without any withholding tax or below the minimum wage.[19]

There has also been a Brigade Combat Team in his district since December 2007. The Brigade Combat Team consisting of almost 5,000 soldiers, their families, support personnel as well as increased military construction.[20]

Congressional Quarterly said that through the first August recess, Lamborn had voted by strict partisan lines the most of any member in the U.S. House and more than any other Republican.[6]

He led an effort among conservative Republicans to force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to discard proposed regulations that would have affected accessibility to small arms ammunition, which were opposed by Second Amendment groups.[21]

In February 2010, the National Journal named Lamborn the most conservative member of the U.S. House of Representatives.[22]

Lamborn is one of the House Republicans leading the effort against public funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR (National Public Radio). "I have been seeking to push Big Bird out of the nest for over a year, based on the simple fact that we can no longer afford to spend taxpayer dollars on nonessential government programs. It's time for Big Bird to earn his wings and learn to fly on his own." [23]

On August 24, 2007, Jonathan Bartha, who works for Focus on the Family (headquartered in Colorado Springs), and his wife Anna wrote a letter to the editor in a community newspaper expressing concerns about Lamborn's opposition to more restrictions on dog fighting. They were also concerned he had taken several campaign contributions from the gaming industry. A few days later, Lamborn allegedly left two voice mails threatening "consequences" if they didn't renounce their "blatantly false" letter. He also said that he would be "forced to take other steps" if the matter wasn't resolved "on a Scriptural level." The Barthas were shocked by the messages, and Anna Bartha called Lamborn's behavior "not anything we would ever anticipate an elected official would pursue."[24]

As a freshman representative, Lamborn introduced legislation directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery for veterans in the Pikes Peak region of Colorado.[25] On September 20, 2017, the Veterans Administration awarded a $31.8 Million contract to G&C Fab-Con, LLC, to begin construction on the Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado Springs. Over 13,000 new burial spaces will be available in 2019 and later development will accommodate an estimated 95,000 total spaces. The contract has a Fall 2019 completion date.[26]

Lamborn is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.[27]

In 2008 Lamborn signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any Global Warming legislation that would raise taxes.[28]

Lamborn voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[29] Lamborn claims the bill will benefit craft beer breweries, many of which are located in Colorado, a benefit touted by Lamborn.[30] Lamborn claims the tax code was simplified in the bill, specifically that people would be filing taxes by "sending a postcard," however, the tax filing process will remain the same, without simplification.[31]

On July 29, 2011, Lamborn appeared on a Denver radio program to discuss the debt crisis and the failure of Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise on the problem. Lamborn stated "Now, I don't even want to have to be associated with [President Obama]. It's like touching a tar baby and you get it, you're stuck, and you're a part of the problem now and you can't get away."[32] The term tar baby is sometimes considered to be a racial slur used towards African-Americans. Former Colorado House Speaker Terrance Carroll, an African-American, replied, “Looking beyond the fact that Congressman Lamborn's entire comment is nonsensical, his use of the term 'tar baby' is unfortunate because [of] the historical connotation of that term when used in conjunction with African Americans."[33]

On August 1, 2011, Lamborn apologized for his use of the slur, "When I said 'tar baby', I was talking economic quagmire that our country is finding ourselves in because of poor economic policy from the White House. I could have used a better term."[34]

On January 23, 2012, Lamborn announced he would not be attending the President's State of the Union address. According to his spokeswoman Catherine Mortenson, "Congressman Lamborn is doing this to send a clear message that he does not support the policies of Barack Obama, that they have hurt our country", and believed Obama was “in full campaign mode and will use the address as an opportunity to bash his political opponents."[35]

On April 11, 2013, Lamborn read out in an open session broadcast on C-SPAN an unclassified section from a classified report on North Korean nuclear capabilities. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs refused to confirm the classified report.[36] The Pentagon later confirmed that the Defense Intelligence Agency had marked that sentence as unclassified mistakenly.[37]

Doug Lamborn is one of the 80 members of the House that signed a letter to the speaker of the house, urging the threat of a government shutdown to defund Obamacare. This group was named the "Suicide Caucus".[38] He voted against the measure that finally ended the shutdown on October 16, 2013 [39]

September 13, 2014, during a question & answer part of his speech, Doug Lamborn made controversial remarks concerning President Obama's foreign policy. According to reports, Doug Lamborn is quoted to have said "A lot of us are talking to the generals behind the scenes, saying, ‘Hey, if you disagree with the policy that the White House has given you, let’s have a resignation. You know, let's have a public resignation, and state your protest, and go out in a blaze of glory!'" [40]

Lamborn supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. He stated that “By taking steps to temporarily stop refugee admittance from nations that are hotbeds of terrorist activity, the President is taking prudent action to ensure that his national security and law enforcement teams have the strategies and systems in place that they will need to protect and defend America.”[41]

Lamborn was among GOP members of the House who did not support Speaker Paul Ryan's March 2017 effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Seeking a more thorough repeal of the healthcare law, Lamborn said that, "Right now Obamacare stays in place. That’s bad for the American people and it doesn’t leave Republicans an immediate opportunity to carry out their pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare. We need to regroup and very soon find a way to do that.”[42] Subsequent town hall meetings in April 2017 underscored the tension of Lamborn's relationship with the initial policies of the Trump Administration and voters in Lamborn's district.[43]

Lamborn was one of only two members of the Colorado delegation to vote to not accept the Electoral College vote for the State of Pennsylvania, even after the violent takeover of Congress by Trump supporters. On January 6, 2021, he voted in support of not certifying the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count citing unproven voter fraud claims.

Legislation

Lamborn supported Senate bill 2195, a bill that would allow the President of the United States to deny visas to any ambassador to the United Nations who has been found to have been engaged in espionage activities or a terrorist activity against the United States or its allies and may pose a threat to U.S. national security interests.[44]

The bill was written in response to Iran's choice of Hamid Aboutalebi as their ambassador.[45] Aboutalebi was controversial due to his involvement in the Iran hostage crisis, in which of a number of American diplomats from the US embassy in Tehran were held captive in 1979.[45][46][47] Lamborn said that selection by Iran of Aboutalebi as their U.N. ambassador was "unconscionable and unacceptable". He argued that this legislation was needed in order to give the President the "authority he needs to deny this individual a visa."[45]

Committee assignments


Caucus memberships

Political positions

Economy

Lamborn does not support increasing minimum wage and believes that at least 500,000 Americans will lose their jobs as a result of wage increases.[54] Lamborn supports social security reform.[54]

Education

Lamborn does not support Common Core State Standards. He has described Common Core as "deeply flawed" and claimed that it "lowers educational standards," and removes parental influence over children's educations.[54]

Texas v. Pennsylvania

In December 2020, Lamborn 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[55] 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.[56][57][58]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Lamborn 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."[59][60] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Lamborn 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."[61]

Environment

Lamborn believes federal fees that impact the energy industry regarding climate change should not exist.[54]

Gun policy

He does not support any new restrictions on gun sales.[54]

Healthcare

Lamborn has called the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) a "disaster." He supports the repeal, replacement and defunding of the program. He wants it to be replaced with (unspecified)"conservative, free-market solutions."[54]

He supports the reform of Medicare and says it is a "wasteful entitlement."[54]

Social issues

Lamborn is anti-abortion,[54] opposes same-sex marriage[54] "does not support amnesty of any kind", and supports further efforts to secure the border.[54] In 2015 in response to Christmas controversies, he introduced Resolution 564, receiving 35 cosponsors, to assert Christmas in public.[62]

Drug policy

He opposes the legalization of marijuana.[54]

References

  1. "Doug Lamborn". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. US Congress. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  2. "Biography". Office of Rep. Doug Lamborn. Archived from the original on 2014-06-28.
  3. "Lamborn for Congress". Web.archive.org. 2006-12-13. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2016-11-20.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Sprengelmeyer, M.E. (2006-02-17). "Hefley calls it a career". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2006-09-08. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
  5. Giroux, Greg (2007-08-10). "CQPolitics.com Candidate Watch". Congressional Quarterly.
  6. Rep. Elect Doug Lamborn profile Congressional Quarterly, November 8, 2006.
  7. "MAJOR GENERAL BENTLEY B. RAYBURN > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display".
  8. "News Archive".
  9. Wyatt, Kristen (June 26, 2012). "Rep. Doug Lamborn holds on in Colorado primary". Denver Post.
  10. "Candidates endorsed by Eagle Forum PAC". eagleforum.org. October 31, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  11. "Colorado Secretary of State webpage". sos.state.co.us. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  12. Hutchins, Corey (2018-05-01). "Federal judge rules six-term GOP congressman Doug Lamborn should be on the ballot after Colorado's High Court says he shouldn't". Colorado Independent. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  13. Luning, Ernest (2018-01-10). "U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn launches bid for reelection, weighs petitioning onto primary ballot". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  14. Swanson, Conrad (2018-11-06). "Doug Lamborn holds onto CD5 congressional seat". The Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  15. Greathouse, Melissa (2020-01-09). "Rep. Doug Lamborn announces reelection campaign". KOAA News5. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  16. Luning, Ernest (2020-03-14). "Republican Doug Lamborn makes ballot by petition in bid for 8th term in Congress". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  17. Luning, Ernest (2020-03-30). "Jillian Freeland emerges from weekend's virtual assemblies as presumptive Lamborn challenger". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2007-12-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-12-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. Labor Department Announces It Will Revise Overreaching OSHA Explosives Rule Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  21. "POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Lamborn ranked most conservative in Congress". Gazette.com. 2010-02-26. Archived from the original on 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  22. "NPR CEO Vivian Schiller's Ouster May Be Last Straw for Taxpayer Funding" Archived 2011-03-11 at the Wayback Machine AOL News. March 9, 2011; retrieved March 9, 2011.
  23. Emery, Erin (September 2, 2007). "Lamborn message has couple in dismay". Denver Post. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  24. H.R. 295 at Congress.gov
  25. Zubeck, Pam (25 September 2017). "Veterans cemetery contract awarded". Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  26. "The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List" (PDF). Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  27. "Americans for Prosperity : News Release : Americans for Prosperity Applauds U.S. House of Representative Doug Lamborn". Americansforprosperity. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
  28. Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  29. Matthews, Mark K. (20 December 2017). "How Colorado lawmakers voted on the federal tax overhaul — and why". The Denver Post. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  30. Ohlemacher, Stephen; Gordon, Marcy (19 December 2017). "Senate moves tax cut legislation to brink of final passage — REP. COFFMAN VOTES 'YES' — Colorado delegation comments - Aurora Sentinel". Aurora Sentinel. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  31. "Doug Lamborn Tar Baby". youtube.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  32. "GOP Rep. Lamborn: Associating with Obama is Like "Touching a Tar Baby"". thinkprogress.org. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  33. "Update: Rep. Doug Lamborn Offers Apology To President Obama". krdo.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  34. "Doug Lamborn to ditch State of the Union speech as a protest". politico.com. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  35. "'Speculative' Pentagon report sets off North Korea nuclear worries" Reuters, accessed 20 November 2016.
  36. "Mistake in classification led to N. Korea info being revealed", CNN.com, April 11, 2013.
  37. "Fox News' Krauthammer: Cruz leading Republican 'suicide caucus' by opposing Obamacare".
  38. "Lamborn only Colorado lawmaker to vote against debt deal". 17 October 2013.
  39. "GOP Congressman Urges U.S. Generals To Resign In Protest Of Obama". Huffington Post. September 26, 2014.
  40. Blake, Aaron. "Coffman, Gardner join Republicans against President Trump's travel ban; here's where the rest stand". Denver Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  41. "Colorado plays key role in punt of health care bill". Denver Post. March 24, 2017.
  42. "Lamborn jeered at during GOP congressman's first town hall meeting in Colorado Springs". Colorado Springs Gazette. April 12, 2017.
  43. "S. 2195 – Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  44. Marcos, Cristina (April 10, 2014). "Congress approves bill banning Iran diplomat". The Hill. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  45. News, ABC. "2016 Presidential Candidates & Election News".
  46. Mackey, Robert (April 4, 2014). "Iran's Reformers Include More Than One Former Hostage-Taker". The New York Times.
  47. "Members". Congressional Constitution Caucus. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  48. "Our Members". U.S. House of Representatives International Conservation Caucus. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  49. "Members". House Baltic Caucus. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  50. "Members". Congressional Western Caucus. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  51. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  52. "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  53. Minor, Nathaniel. "Colorado Congressional District 5 race: Doug Lamborn, Irv Halter on the issues". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  54. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  55. Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  56. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 2020-12-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  57. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  58. Smith, David (2020-12-12). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  59. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  60. Williams, Jordan (2020-12-11). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  61. Gingrich, Newt (17 December 2015). "The war on Christmas". Washington Times. Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado took a small but important step in Congress this week when he introduced a resolution, H. Res. 564, along with 35 cosponsors, to reassert the place of Christmas in the public square. The resolution “recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas; strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas; and expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.”
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Joel Hefley
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Colorado's 5th congressional district

2007–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Jim Jordan
United States Representatives by seniority
97th
Succeeded by
Kevin McCarthy
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.