Jim Leach
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- This page is about the living Republican politician from Iowa. For other people named James Leach, please see James Leach (disambiguation).
| Jim Leach | |
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| In office 1977-2007 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Nussle |
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| Succeeded by | David Loebsack |
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| Born | October 15, 1942 Davenport, Iowa |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Leach |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
James Albert Smith (Jim) Leach (born October 15, 1942), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented the 2nd district of Iowa in the state's east central and southeast area (previously the 1st district from 1977-2003) from 1977 to 2007.
Leach was born in Davenport, Iowa, and won the 1960 state wrestling championship at the 138-pound weight class for Davenport High School. He was educated at Princeton University where he was elected member of The Ivy Club, Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics, and was a foreign service officer with the Department of State, a member of the U.S. delegations to the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the United Nations General Assembly, a business executive and director of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board before entering the House.
According to personal finance disclosure reports released in 2002, Leach owns between $3.1 million and $14.2 million of stocks, mutual funds and farmland. This includes between $167,000 and $430,000 worth of stock in Lee Enterprises (which owns newspapers in Davenport, Waterloo, Muscatine, Mason City and Sioux City, Iowa) and between $2,002 and $30,000 worth of stock in Gannett Co. Inc., which owns the Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register (Iowa City Press-Citizen and Muscatine newspapers are in his congressional district).
Leach was consistently one of the most liberal Republicans in the House. He voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution and favors abortion rights. He supports strong environmental measures. He was the only House Republican to vote against the 2003 tax cut. His district is considered one of Iowa's more Democratic districts and became even more so after redistricting in 2000. His hometown of Davenport was moved to Jim Nussle's district, forcing Leach to move to Iowa City. In 2002 he faced his closest contest up to that point, winning by only four percentage points. Leach is a member of many moderate/liberal Republican groups such as the Republican Main Street Partnership (which supports Stem-cell research) The Republican Majority For Choice and Republicans for Choice (both support upholding Roe v. Wade), Republicans for Environmental Protection and Its My Party Too.
During the mid 1990s, Leach played a pivotal role in the House's investigation of the Whitewater scandal. He added his credibility as a moderate Republican to efforts to investigate Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
Despite having served on then-Congressman Donald Rumsfeld's staff in the mid-1960s and later working with both Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney in the Nixon administration, Leach had been one of the few Republicans in Congress reluctant to support continued expansion of the US military role in Iraq. [1]
Leach is a member of Parliamentarians for Global Action and opposed U.S. withdrawal from compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in 1985[2].
In Congress, Leach was a powerful figure; he formerly served as chairman of the Financial Services committee and the Chairman of the International Relations committee's Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
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[edit] 2006
In the 2006 elections Leach was defeated by David Loebsack, a political science professor at Cornell College whose stepson was serving in Iraq.[1] Ironically, Congressman Leach had, himself, as recently as January, 2006, taught occasional political science courses at Cornell College as a visiting professor.
After his defeat for reelection in 2006, his name floated as a potential replacement to John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations. On December 8, 2006 Leach's House colleagues Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and Jim Walsh (R-New York) sent a letter to President Bush urging the President to nominate Leach for the post. However, the nomination instead went to the United States Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad.
He will join the faculty of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton for a three-semester appointment through June 2008 as the John L. Weinberg/Goldman Sachs and Co. Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs, beginning in February.
[edit] Internet Gambling Ban
In September 2006, working with Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, Leach was a major supporter of H.R. 4411 - The Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act[2] . This amendment to the Safe Port Act was passed at midnight the day Congress adjourned before the 2006 elections. Prior to it being added to the bill, the gambling provisions had not been debated by any Congressional committee.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Norman, Jane. "30-year veteran Leach concedes to Loebsack in 2nd Congressional race", Des Moines Register, 2006-11-07. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
- ^ Votes on H.R. 4411
- ^ Nelson Rose: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 Analyzed
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Edward Mezvinsky |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 1st congressional district 1977-2003 |
Succeeded by Jim Nussle |
| Preceded by Jim Nussle |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa's 2nd congressional district 2003-2007 |
Succeeded by Dave Loebsack |
