Post by Rachelle on Jan 2, 2007 16:59:29 GMT -5
courtesy of wikipedia.com
for more info on Duncan Hunter, go to www.house.gov/hunter/
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948 [4 days after my birthday!!]), American politician, has been a Republican member of the House of Representatives since 1981 from California's 52nd congressional district in northern and eastern San Diego. It was previously numbered the 42nd District from 1981 to 1983 and then the 45th District from 1983 to 1993. Hunter is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He is currently seeking the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.
Early life, education and career
Hunter was born in Riverside, California. He briefly attended the University of Montana and the University of California, Santa Barbara before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the Vietnam War in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 75th Army Rangers. After leaving the Army, he enrolled at Western State University College of Law and earned a BSL and JD in 1976. He then worked as a plaintiff's attorney.
Initial election and re-elections
In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially a decided underdog, but his attacks on Van Deerlin's record on defense gained surprising traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of Reagan's coattails; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963.
After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he hasn't faced serious opposition since. In his district, he consistently gets over 60% of the hispanic vote and nearly 70% of the Democrat vote.
Political actions and positions
Hunter became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2003. As such, he has sponsored legislation authorizing defense department fiscal year activities from FY2004 to FY2007. During consideration of the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act, Hunter offered an amendment to the bill clarifying enacted policy restricting women from direct combat units. According to The New York Times, Hunter's efforts would have "barred women from nearly 22,000 jobs" and amendment was withdrawn after it became clear that it would not pass. Contrary to this interpretation, Hunter's amendment only codified existing Army policy enacted in 1994 under former Defense Secretary Les Aspin that prohibited women from submitting or migrating into combat units or operations. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn in order for a study to be conducted on the rationale and future implementation of the policy.
On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity." House Bill 4239, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act,", would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors" if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."
In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner withheld their support for a bill creating a National Intelligence Director (NID) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a NID, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. Hunter's concerns were ultimately satisfied and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the NID position, was passed by Congress and signed by the president later that year.
In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. Pointing to the success of the San Diego Border Fence, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. After successfuly adding an amendment to a House passed illegal immigration reform billthat ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter King.
On November 18, 2005, in response to Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha's call for a partial withdrawal and redeployment of American troops in Iraq, Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence resolution which read:
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt; they made much of the fact that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. It was soundly defeated, 403-3, in the House of Representatives.
On the issue of trade, Hunter has repeatedly voted against international trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO. Hunter contends that free trade policies directly impact America's manufacturing base and contribute to the country's burgeoning trade deficit.
Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection ... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors. Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006 at 10am, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.
Controversies
Size of home and taxes paid
In October 2006, the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Hunter's Alpine home was listed on tax rolls as a two-bedroom, 2½-bath house with 2,946 square feet of living space. In fact, the house had six bedrooms and was about 6,200 square feet. The property also featured a 2,000-square-foot guest house, a swimming pool and tennis court. The discrepancy resulted in Hunter paying less in taxes than others in similar-sized properties.
Hunter said it was not his responsibility to make sure property records – and the resulting tax assessments – were correct. "All I know is what the county gives me," Hunter said. "They sent a person on the premises when I bought it. He said, 'This is what you owe.' We simply paid it. We've paid it ever since."
Hunter's main defense of the Union-Tribune article was in the form of a $26,000 full-page ad in the Union Tribune immediately following the UT's article. Using a large dose of humor, including pictures of the "estate" on a dirt road showing the property was in less than optimum condition, Hunter noted that his assessment was set at 40% more than the 1% base amount set by California law. Nowhere in the article is it claimed that Hunter did not get permits on his expansion of the property. Any reassessment beyond the maximum legal increase of 1% of the tax per year normally would have been made based on those permits. The Union-Tribune made no claims as to how the County of San Diego failed to update the Assessor's files to match the permitted improvements.
The house in question was burned to the ground in the wildfires of October 2003. As of December 2006, the house had been almost rebuilt, and Hunter was still contesting the assessment of back taxes, which had been significantly reduced.
Connection to Cunningham scandal
A Department of Defense inspector general found that the department awarded ADCS, a company owned by Brent Wilkes, a $9.8 million contract in mid-1999 after "inquiries from two members of Congress." Hunter has repeatedly acknowledged that he joined with Representative Randy Cunningham that year to contact Pentagon officials, who then reversed a decision and gave ADCS the contract, one of its first big ones.
Between 1994 and 2004, Wilkes and ADCS gave $40,700 in campaign contributions to Hunter. In 2003, Wilkes's foundation hosted a "Salute to Heroes" gala to give Hunter an award, just as it did for Cunningham a year earlier. The Wilkes Foundation also gave $1,000 in 2003 to a charity run by two of Hunter's staffers. However, Hunter has not been found to have committed any crimes or ethical violations. Wilkes is currently an unindicted co-conspirator.
2006 re-election campaign
In 2006, Hunter did not face any opponent in the Republican primary. In the November general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit, a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65% of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi.
2008 Presidential campaign
On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. "You never say never, but Congressman Hunter faces extremely long odds given that practically no one apart from students of Congress knows who he is," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "He's a good member of Congress, a very effective chairman of Armed Services. It's just that he has no following within the party."
Personal
Hunter married the former Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1977), a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Hunter has another son, Samuel. His family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association.
Hunter's Alpine, California home burned down during the October 2003 Cedar Fire. The loss topped $500,000, but insurance covered most of it. Congressman Hunter was critical of then governor Gray Davis's response to the fire.
Rachelle's Opinion
I am a registered democrat and I will admit I voted for Duncan Hunter in the previous election. Duncan Hunter really does listen to the public and he stays true to his word. He is the representative of the 52nd Congressional District, aka the City of Poway which is neighbor to the City of San Diego. Unlike the City of San Diego which is not doing so well (thank you Mr. Randy Duke Cunningham....), Poway is flourishing in its economy. What I think is very cool about Mr. Hunter is that he sends out a mini newsletter to the residents of Poway on what is going on in the City, legislation he would like support on, new ideas, up and coming events, information that he thinks people should know and so on. How many representatives do that? He is a genuine guy. Personally, I don't see him as a "just another politician" but as a everyday person, as "just like us" kind of guy. Now, if he did win the Republican party nomination vote for presidency, would I vote for him?!? Honestly I am 70/30. 70% towards Hunter and 30% towards Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. (Anyone watch him on Oprah recently?) As far as popularity goes, I don't know how popular he is, if he is a household name or not. This next election will be a very interesting one and I am very excited on what will happen.
NOTE: This is my opinion, please do not form an opinion on Duncan Hunter solely based on what I have said. Please read the facts, find info for yourself to generate your own opinion about Duncan Hunter.
for more info on Duncan Hunter, go to www.house.gov/hunter/
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948 [4 days after my birthday!!]), American politician, has been a Republican member of the House of Representatives since 1981 from California's 52nd congressional district in northern and eastern San Diego. It was previously numbered the 42nd District from 1981 to 1983 and then the 45th District from 1983 to 1993. Hunter is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He is currently seeking the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.
Early life, education and career
Hunter was born in Riverside, California. He briefly attended the University of Montana and the University of California, Santa Barbara before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the Vietnam War in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 75th Army Rangers. After leaving the Army, he enrolled at Western State University College of Law and earned a BSL and JD in 1976. He then worked as a plaintiff's attorney.
Initial election and re-elections
In 1980, Hunter was recruited to run for Congress in what was then the 42nd District against 18-year incumbent Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Hunter was initially a decided underdog, but his attacks on Van Deerlin's record on defense gained surprising traction in a district dominated by military bases and personnel. Van Deerlin did not respond quickly enough, and Hunter narrowly defeated him. He was one of many Republicans swept into office from historically Democratic districts as a result of Reagan's coattails; Van Deerlin had been the district's only congressman since its creation in 1963.
After the 1980 census, many of the more Democratic areas were cut out of Hunter's district, and he hasn't faced serious opposition since. In his district, he consistently gets over 60% of the hispanic vote and nearly 70% of the Democrat vote.
Political actions and positions
Hunter became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee in 2003. As such, he has sponsored legislation authorizing defense department fiscal year activities from FY2004 to FY2007. During consideration of the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act, Hunter offered an amendment to the bill clarifying enacted policy restricting women from direct combat units. According to The New York Times, Hunter's efforts would have "barred women from nearly 22,000 jobs" and amendment was withdrawn after it became clear that it would not pass. Contrary to this interpretation, Hunter's amendment only codified existing Army policy enacted in 1994 under former Defense Secretary Les Aspin that prohibited women from submitting or migrating into combat units or operations. The amendment was subsequently withdrawn in order for a study to be conducted on the rationale and future implementation of the policy.
On April 28, 2004, Hunter introduced legislation that he said could "turn parents into prosecuting attorneys fighting a wave of obscenity." House Bill 4239, also called the "Parents Empowerment Act,", would allow the parent or guardian of a minor to sue in federal court anyone who knowingly disseminates material "that is harmful to minors" if it is distributed in a way that "a reasonable person can expect a substantial number of minors to be exposed to the material and the minor, as a result to exposure to the material, is likely to suffer personal or emotional injury or injury to mental or moral welfare."
In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner withheld their support for a bill creating a National Intelligence Director (NID) until specific conditions were met. Hunter argued that the military is the biggest consumer of intelligence and any reforms enacted, including the creation of a NID, must not endanger the lives of troops on the battlefield. Hunter's concerns were ultimately satisfied and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which created the NID position, was passed by Congress and signed by the president later that year.
In 1994, Hunter legislatively mandated the construction of 14 miles of security fencing on the international land border separating San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. Pointing to the success of the San Diego Border Fence, Hunter introduced legislation calling for the construction of a reinforced fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. After successfuly adding an amendment to a House passed illegal immigration reform billthat ultimately stalled in House-Senate negotiations, Hunter's amendment was later incorporated into H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, introduced by New York Congressman Peter King.
On November 18, 2005, in response to Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha's call for a partial withdrawal and redeployment of American troops in Iraq, Hunter and other Republicans drafted a two-sentence resolution which read:
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.
Democrats condemned the bill as a political stunt; they made much of the fact that Hunter himself didn't support his own resolution. It was soundly defeated, 403-3, in the House of Representatives.
On the issue of trade, Hunter has repeatedly voted against international trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO. Hunter contends that free trade policies directly impact America's manufacturing base and contribute to the country's burgeoning trade deficit.
Hunter introduced H.R. 552, The Right to Life Act, on February 2, 2005. The purpose of the bill is to "implement equal protection ... for the right to life of each born and preborn human person." In the 109th Congress, the legislation collected 101 cosponsors. Hearings for H.R. 552 were scheduled for December 12, 2006 at 10am, but were cancelled right before the House adjourned.
Controversies
Size of home and taxes paid
In October 2006, the San Diego Union Tribune reported that Hunter's Alpine home was listed on tax rolls as a two-bedroom, 2½-bath house with 2,946 square feet of living space. In fact, the house had six bedrooms and was about 6,200 square feet. The property also featured a 2,000-square-foot guest house, a swimming pool and tennis court. The discrepancy resulted in Hunter paying less in taxes than others in similar-sized properties.
Hunter said it was not his responsibility to make sure property records – and the resulting tax assessments – were correct. "All I know is what the county gives me," Hunter said. "They sent a person on the premises when I bought it. He said, 'This is what you owe.' We simply paid it. We've paid it ever since."
Hunter's main defense of the Union-Tribune article was in the form of a $26,000 full-page ad in the Union Tribune immediately following the UT's article. Using a large dose of humor, including pictures of the "estate" on a dirt road showing the property was in less than optimum condition, Hunter noted that his assessment was set at 40% more than the 1% base amount set by California law. Nowhere in the article is it claimed that Hunter did not get permits on his expansion of the property. Any reassessment beyond the maximum legal increase of 1% of the tax per year normally would have been made based on those permits. The Union-Tribune made no claims as to how the County of San Diego failed to update the Assessor's files to match the permitted improvements.
The house in question was burned to the ground in the wildfires of October 2003. As of December 2006, the house had been almost rebuilt, and Hunter was still contesting the assessment of back taxes, which had been significantly reduced.
Connection to Cunningham scandal
A Department of Defense inspector general found that the department awarded ADCS, a company owned by Brent Wilkes, a $9.8 million contract in mid-1999 after "inquiries from two members of Congress." Hunter has repeatedly acknowledged that he joined with Representative Randy Cunningham that year to contact Pentagon officials, who then reversed a decision and gave ADCS the contract, one of its first big ones.
Between 1994 and 2004, Wilkes and ADCS gave $40,700 in campaign contributions to Hunter. In 2003, Wilkes's foundation hosted a "Salute to Heroes" gala to give Hunter an award, just as it did for Cunningham a year earlier. The Wilkes Foundation also gave $1,000 in 2003 to a charity run by two of Hunter's staffers. However, Hunter has not been found to have committed any crimes or ethical violations. Wilkes is currently an unindicted co-conspirator.
2006 re-election campaign
In 2006, Hunter did not face any opponent in the Republican primary. In the November general election, he defeated Navy veteran/minister John Rinaldi, a Democrat, and Michael Benoit, a Libertarian. Hunter was re-elected with 65% of the vote, a 33-point margin over Rinaldi.
2008 Presidential campaign
On October 30, 2006, Hunter announced his intention to consider running for the Republican nomination for President in 2008. "You never say never, but Congressman Hunter faces extremely long odds given that practically no one apart from students of Congress knows who he is," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. "He's a good member of Congress, a very effective chairman of Armed Services. It's just that he has no following within the party."
Personal
Hunter married the former Lynne Layh in 1973. Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter (born 1977), a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq in 2003. Hunter has another son, Samuel. His family attends First Baptist Church of Alpine, which is affiliated with the San Diego Southern Baptist Association.
Hunter's Alpine, California home burned down during the October 2003 Cedar Fire. The loss topped $500,000, but insurance covered most of it. Congressman Hunter was critical of then governor Gray Davis's response to the fire.
Rachelle's Opinion
I am a registered democrat and I will admit I voted for Duncan Hunter in the previous election. Duncan Hunter really does listen to the public and he stays true to his word. He is the representative of the 52nd Congressional District, aka the City of Poway which is neighbor to the City of San Diego. Unlike the City of San Diego which is not doing so well (thank you Mr. Randy Duke Cunningham....), Poway is flourishing in its economy. What I think is very cool about Mr. Hunter is that he sends out a mini newsletter to the residents of Poway on what is going on in the City, legislation he would like support on, new ideas, up and coming events, information that he thinks people should know and so on. How many representatives do that? He is a genuine guy. Personally, I don't see him as a "just another politician" but as a everyday person, as "just like us" kind of guy. Now, if he did win the Republican party nomination vote for presidency, would I vote for him?!? Honestly I am 70/30. 70% towards Hunter and 30% towards Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. (Anyone watch him on Oprah recently?) As far as popularity goes, I don't know how popular he is, if he is a household name or not. This next election will be a very interesting one and I am very excited on what will happen.
NOTE: This is my opinion, please do not form an opinion on Duncan Hunter solely based on what I have said. Please read the facts, find info for yourself to generate your own opinion about Duncan Hunter.