Jason Altmire

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Jason Altmire

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2007–
Preceded by	Melissa Hart
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	March 07, 1968 (age 39) Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Kelly Altmire
Religion	Roman Catholic

Jason Altmire (born March 7, 1968), is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania's Fourth Congressional district. He defeated incumbent Republican Melissa Hart in the 2006 midterm elections, and took office in January 2007.

1 Early years and education
2 Career prior to election to the House
- 2.1 Legislative assistant
- 2.2 Legislative relations
3 2006 election to the U.S. House of Representatives
4 Personal
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Early years and education

Altmire was born in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, where he was a record-breaking two-sport letterman at Burrell High School. He attended Florida State University, where he was a member of the school's first Sugar Bowl championship football team. He graduated with a B.S. in political science.

[edit] Career prior to election to the House

[edit] Legislative assistant

After college, Altmire worked as a legislative assistant in the Capitol Hill office of U.S. Congressman Pete Peterson (D-FL). During his eight years in Washington, Altmire attended graduate school part-time, and received his Master's in Health Administration from The George Washington University.

In 1993, he was appointed to a working group for President Clinton’s Task Force on National Health Care Reform. He helped to draft several major health care legislative initiatives during his time there, initially in a Democratic- controlled House and then in a Republican-controlled one.

In 1995, Altmire drafted and helped negotiate to the House floor the first Constitutional amendment regarding congressional term limits ever to receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

[edit] Legislative relations

After leaving Peterson's office, Altmire joined the Federation of American Hospitals, where he specialized on legislation regarding hospital changes of ownership and spoke about the issue before audiences around the country.

In 1998, Altmire returned to Western Pennsylvania to work for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). By 2005, he was the acting Vice President for Government Relations and Community Health Service. His duties at UPMC included oversight of UPMC’s Office of Charitable Giving, which has primary discretion over UPMC’s $6 million in annual charitable donations. He also represented UPMC in discussions with government officials and local community organizations.

[edit] 2006 election to the U.S. House of Representatives

Altmire left UPMC on June 30, 2005, to run for Congress, saying, "I can no longer stand on the sidelines while Congress leads this country down the wrong path. National security, healthcare, jobs and the economy are not partisan issues. We need a Congress that represents all of America and not just one side of the partisan aisle."

Altmire made health care a top priority for his campaign. Altmire said that the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act was a step in the wrong direction, saying it imposed more costs on seniors while giving insurance companies powers they shouldn't have over doctor's decisions and giving huge bonuses to the pharmaceutical industry. Opposing outsourcing, Altmire said that NAFTA, passed in 1993, had cost Pennsylvania thousands of jobs. Altmire opposes CAFTA, which extended the policies of NAFTA to other Latin American nations.

In November 2006, Altmire defeated incumbent Republican Melissa Hart in a surprise victory for the Democrats in the suburban Pittsburgh district, with 52% of the vote to Hart's 48%. Hart had seemed untouchable only a few months before the election, and was still generally expected to win on Election Day. Hart blamed her defeat on Altmire's negative campaign ads,^[1], saying after her defeat that "I was not going to play the games. Unfortunately I think that took a toll. In retrospect, I had everyone in Washington, D.C., significant number of my colleagues, call me and say you need to cut his legs off, was the term they used." Hart said "And you know what, you don’t need to cut his legs off. He clearly did that his entire campaign, he’s new at this, I that hope he doesn’t do it the next time." ^[2]

Altmire immediately set his eyes on committee appointments, and stated his desire to get on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. [2]

[edit] Personal

Altmire is married, and the father of two young daughters.

He was on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report on January 24, 2007.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire official site
Myspace - Jason Altmire
Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Federal Election Commission - Jason Altmire campaign finance reports and data
On the Issues - Jason Altmire issue positions and quotes
OpenSecrets.org - Jason Altmire campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Jason Altmire profile
SourceWatch Congresspedia - Jason Altmire profile
Washington Post - Congress Votes Database: Jason Altmire voting record
Altmire for Congress official campaign site

Political offices
Preceded by Melissa Hart	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district 2007-	Succeeded by Incumbent