Biography of U.S. Representative Bart Stupak
Bart Stupak was elected in
1992 to represent Michigan's
First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thirty one
counties make up the sprawling Northern Michigan
district. It contains the entire Upper Peninsula as well
as the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, making it one
of the largest Congressional Districts in the nation. Michigan's
First Congressional District contains approximately half of the state’s land
mass and has more shoreline - 1,613 miles - than any other Congressional
District in the nation except Alaska.
Stupak became the first Democrat in the 20th Century to serve successive terms
in this Congressional District by winning re-election six times in 1994, 1996,
1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004.
Stupak is a member of the prestigious House
Energy and Commerce Committee. Since the Energy and Commerce Committee is
an exclusive committee, it is the only committee on which Stupak serves. The
Commerce Committee, the first U.S. House committee, was formed in 1795 and is
the only Committee referenced in the United States Constitution. It was
originally formed to protect the commerce clause and regulate foreign commerce.
Within the Commerce Committee, Stupak serves on three Subcommittees: Telecommunications
& the Internet; Environment and Hazardous Materials; and as the Ranking
Democrat on Oversight and Investigation. A national publication has estimated
that at least 60 percent of legislation that goes through the U.S. House passes
through the Commerce Committee. Congressman Stupak's committee assignments
allow him to have a substantial impact on legislation considered by the U.S.
House of Representatives, from Medicare and prescription drugs to
investigations of Enron and Hurricane Katrina, as well as Homeland Security
issues.
A northern Michigan native and the representative of the congressional district
with the longest shoreline within the continental United States, Stupak has
been the leader in Congress on Great Lakes issues. He was the first elected
official to raise the issue of combating bulk sales or diversions of Great
Lakes water, which he raised during the 1993 NAFTA debate. He has
been invited to speak to national forums on water diversion issues.
Stupak was also the first elected official to oppose
drilling for oil and gas in and under the Great Lakes, a
position he began publicly advocating in 1997. He was also the first to author
legislation to ban this procedure initiating the effort that led to the U.S.
Congress imposing a temporary ban on the practice. The Michigan House and
Senate reversed themselves and followed Stupak's lead and voted to ban drilling
at the state level. Stupak also has pressed the state of Michigan
for adoption of a comprehensive water use plan for the entire state that
includes all surface and groundwater sources. In 2005, Stupak’s years of work
on the issue paid off as he achieved a major victory when a permanent federal
ban on new drilling for oil and gas in and under the Great Lakes
was enacted into law.
Stupak also achieved another major clean water victory in
2005 when the House overwhelmingly passed his legislation to block the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing their proposal to allow
partially treated human waste to be dumped into our waterways. After working
with the group American Rivers on the issue, they agreed Stupak’s commitment to
victory in protecting American waterways warranted their prestigious Legislator
of the Year award.
On
May 7, 2003, the Great Lakes
Maritime Task Force also presented its Great Lakes Legislator of the Year award
to Stupak for his support of Great Lakes water and Great
Lakes shipping over the course of his ten year career.
In presenting the award, the President of the
Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, John Baker, said, “Great Lakes
deserve great legislators, and Congressman Stupak certainly fills that bill. From his first days in Congress, he has
recognized the important contributions
Lakes shipping makes to Michigan’s
economy and the country’s national defense capabilities. Baker summed up, Just as it takes skilled
American mariners to ease a 1,000 foot freighter into the Poe Lock, it takes
skilled legislators like Bart Stupak to
promote Great Lakes shipping in Washington.”
Stupak
was also honored May 20th 2003 as a ‘Friend of the Forest and Paper
Industry’ by the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) to
recognize Stupak for his continued support of the men and women working day in
and day out in America’s forests and mills.
W.
Henson Moore, President and CEO of AF&PA, said, “Bart
Stupak has an excellent understanding of the environment
and our industry, and has demonstrated strong support on our issues. Whether we are working together to improve
forest health, enhance wildlife habitat, lower taxes, or keep jobs in Michigan,
we know we can count on Bart to be a champion for us.” AF&PA is a national association of the
forest, paper and wood products industry, which manufactures pulp, paper,
paperboard and wood products.”
In 2005, Stupak was named the Michigan Credit Union League
Federal (MCUL) Legislator of the Year for his work in advocating on behalf of
the 425 Michigan credit unions
and the 4,429,417 members they represent. MCUL Government Affairs Vice
President Patrick La Pine said, “Congressman Stupak has been an incredible
advocate on many of the issues important to credit unions in Michigan.
We appreciate the efforts he and his staff have made to meet with credit union
constituents to discuss these important issues. We appreciate Congressman
Stupak's commitment to building a strong
relationship with the Michigan Credit Union League and look forward to
continuing that trend as we move into a new year.”
Acknowledging Congressman Stupak's investigative experience and his ability
to work in a bipartisan manner, for the past three terms of Congress,
Democratic Leaders have named him to the small pool of congressman who may be
called upon to investigate other members of the U.S. House for potential ethics
violations. In the selection of Stupak, Leaders cite his sense of justice and
fair play, knowledge of the House and its procedures, and an ability to rise
above partisanship, as well as his law enforcement background.
Stupak began his career in public service as an Escanaba police officer in
1972. Continuing his career in law enforcement, Stupak served as a Michigan
State Trooper from 1973 to 1984. Stupak was injured in the line of duty and was
medically retired from the state police in 1984. He has also served Northern
Michigan residents as an attorney in Menominee. Stupak served as a
State Representative in 1989-90, representing Menominee, Delta and Dickinson
counties.
Stupak's 12 years of experience as a police officer have allowed him to take
a lead role on law enforcement issues in Congress. He is a founder and current co-chair of the
Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, a bipartisan organization of more than
100 House members, which provides our nation's law enforcement community with
an avenue to participate in the legislative process. He has been an ardent
supporter in the U.S. House of the COPS program and of the men and women who
serve in our local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Stupak was named to the Democratic Caucus
Task Force on Homeland
Security. He currently serves as a
member of a task force subgroup, the Domestic Law Enforcement Working Group. In
that forum and by means of sponsored legislation he has fervently sought to
train and equip local law enforcement and other first responders to be better
prepared for potential bioterrorism attacks and other terrorist incidents.
Additionally, due to the First Congressional District’s position along America’s
northern border to Canada
and Stupak’s fervent work on northern border issues, Stupak remains the
co-chair of the Congressional Northern Border Caucus. His work toward promoting
border security while working to preserve the vitality of cross-border trade
and travel earned him the Canadian/ American Border Trade Alliance (Can/Am BTA)
top honor for his “leadership and the positive difference it makes.”
A graduate of Gladstone
High
School, Congressman Stupak holds a Juris
Doctorate degree from Thomas
M.
Cooley Law
School,
in Lansing, Michigan.
He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Saginaw Valley State
College in 1977, graduating magna cum laude, and he earned his Associate's
Degree from Northwestern
Michigan
Community College in Traverse
City in 1972.
Bart was born on February 29, 1952.
He lives in Menominee, Michigan,
with his wife Laurie, and their son, Ken who attends Pepperdine School of Law.
The Stupaks also had a son, Bart Jr., who died in May 2000.
