David Davis (Tennessee politician)

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For other persons of the same name, see David Davis.

David Davis

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007–
Preceded by	Bill Jenkins
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	November 06, 1959 (age 47) Unicoi, Tennessee
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Joyce Davis
Religion	Baptist

David Lee Davis (born November 6, 1959) is a Republican politician from Tennessee and a former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing the 6th district, which is composed of parts of Washington County and Hawkins County. He is currently serving as U.S. Representative for the Tennessee 1st U.S. House District.

1 Early career
2 U.S. Representative
3 State Representative
4 Political connection to Altace, pharmaceutical industry
5 2006 elections
6 Reported Sources of Major Income Over $200
7 References
8 See Also
9 External links

[edit] Early career

David Davis obtained a 13 week certification in respiratory therapy from East Tennessee State University in 1979 and received an A.A.S. in respiratory therapy from California College^[1]^[2] in 1983. In 1991, he received a B.S. in Organizational Management from Milligan College. He is currently president of Shared Health Services, Inc. and the former president of Advanced Home Health Care, Inc.^[3]

[edit] U.S. Representative

Davis has not yet filed any federal legislation as the original sponsor, but he has signed on as co-sponsor to other pending legislation including H.R.621, a bill that seeks to "...amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to restore the Medicare treatment of ownership of oxygen equipment to that in effect before enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005."^[4]

[edit] State Representative

Davis was elected to the 101st General Assembly as a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Transportation Committee, the Government Operations Committee, and the Public Safety and Rural Roads Subcommittee. He is also a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business.

While in the Tennessee General Assembly, Davis voted aye twice in transportation committee to allow illegal immigrants to apply for Tennessee driver licenses (2001 H.B. 983)^[5] and also filed legislation on February 3, 2005 (2005 H.B 714)^[6] for changing county wheel tax legislation that (if enacted) would have taken away the ability of Tennessee citizens to vote aye or nay on local wheel tax referendum questions and give Tennessee county commissioners the sole authority to enact wheel taxes with a simple majority vote.

[edit] Political connection to Altace, pharmaceutical industry

During many of his political campaigns, Davis has repeatedly accepted generous campaign contributions from former King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CEO and current Leitner Pharmaceuticals, LLC CEO John M. Gregory, Gregory family members, and corporate executives employed within the King Pharmaceuticals, Leitner Pharmaceutical, and SJ Strategic Investments companies founded by Gregory. Gregory is also noted as an important campaign contributor to conservative Republican and anti-abortion political action committees in Tennessee such as the Tennessee Right To Life PAC^[7], the State of Franklin PAC^[8], and the Tennessee Conservative PAC.^[9] Gregory financed and founded the Tennessee Conservative PAC as the political action committee's original president^[10].

During 1994, the U.S. National Right to Life Committee announced a U.S. boycott of all Hoechst pharmaceutical products including Altace and by September 17 the anti-abortion organization, Pharmacists For Life International, joined the NRLC boycott, "... against the American subsidiary of Hoechst AG, Hoechst-Roussel, Hoechst-Celanese, its generic subsidiary Coply Pharmaceuticals and the agricultural Hoechst subsidiary" while asking U.S. consumers to "... focus on key Hoechst drugs which have the most economic impact rather than taking an across-the-board shotgun approach" and specifically targeting Altace as a boycott list item.^[11]

Hoechst merged with Marion Merrill Dow of Kansas City, Missouri in 1995, forming the Hoechst U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel (HMR). Altace was then bringing in under $90 million in U.S. revenues for HMR and Hoechst had stopped promoting Altace within the United States.^[12], and King Pharmaceuticals President Jefferson "Jeff" Gregory (brother of then King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CEO John M. Gregory) also began negotiations in 1995 with Hoechst to acquire U.S. distribution rights to Altace.^[13]

Hoechst underwent a 1997 realignment wherein its various businesses were transferred to independent companies, including Nutrinova on April 2, and the anti-abortion group Concerned Women For America announced during a National Right To Life Committee press briefing at the National Press Club that the anti-RU486 boycott against the U.S. subsidiaries of Hoechst AG & Roussel Uclaf by the NRTLC "...will be more narrowly focused onto the HMR prescription drugs Allegra, Cardizem, Seldane, Claforan, Lasix, DiaBeta, and Nicoderm" - and Altace is auspiciously no longer included by Concerned Women For Americas as a boycotted Hoechst Marion Roussel product.^[14]

The King Pharmaceuticals wholly owned subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc. --- then under the leadership of Joseph R. Gregory (brother of John M. Gregory), former Vice Chairman of King and former President and Chief Executive Office of Monarch Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of King --- acquired ownership of the U.S. distribution and marketing rights to Altace and other Hoescht products from Hoescht AG subsidiary Hoechst Marion Roussel of Kansas City, Missouri on December 18, 1998, and ^[15] following a January 1999 merger with Rhône-Poulenc, Hoechst assummed the new corporate identity of Aventis.

Davis participated in an August 1999 lobbying airlift from Northeast Tennessee aboard King Pharmaceuticals owned corporate aircraft, flying to Nashville meeting with then TennCare Director Brian Lapps that was also attended by State Representatives Steve Godsey, Jason Mumpower and State Senator Ron Ramsey at the request of King Pharmaceuticals lobbyist^[16] and former Tennessee State Senator James "Jim" L. Holcomb. The meeting was successful in placing the recently acquired Monarch Pharmaceuticals (a King Pharmaceuticals subsidiary) branded drug Altace onto the TennCare Preferred Drug List within only 33 days.^[17] Lapps resigned as TennCare Director on September 27, 1999.^[18]

Former King Pharmaceuticals lobbyist Holcomb was later hired during February 2004 "... to manage the firm's governmental affairs" by the Gregory controlled SJ Strategic Investments, LLC on Februaury 2, 2004.^[19]

Aventis went on in 2004 to merge with Sanofi-Synthélabo, forming Sanofi-Aventis as the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world.

[edit] 2006 elections

David Davis was elected during the 2006 U.S. House general election to replace retiring Bill Jenkins, who formerly represented the Tennessee 1st U.S. House District. Davis was elected in the 2006 federal elections over Democratic opponent and City Councilman Rick Trent of Morristown, Tennessee.^[20] During May 2006, U.S. House of Representatives candidate Davis appointed then Leitner Pharmaceuticals lobbyist and Tennessee Conservative PAC Treasurer James "Jim" L. Holcomb^[21]^[22] to serve as his Tennessee First Congressional District Campaign Co-Chairman.^[23]

[edit] Reported Sources of Major Income Over $200

The following information pertaining to major income is from the 2006 Statement of Interests form filed by Rep. David Davis (including the income of his wife) with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance:^[24]