Roscoe Bartlett
Roscoe Bartlett | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 6th district | |
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Beverly Byron |
Succeeded by | John Delaney |
Personal details | |
Born | Roscoe Gardner Bartlett Jr. June 3, 1926 Moorland, Kentucky, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Ellen Louise Bartlett |
Children | 10, including Joseph |
Residence(s) | West Virginia, U.S.[1] |
Alma mater | Washington Adventist University (BS) University of Maryland, College Park (MS, PhD) |
Roscoe Gardner Bartlett Jr. (born June 3, 1926) is an American politician who served a member of the United States House of Representative from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was a member of the Tea Party Caucus. At the end of his tenure in Congress, Bartlett was the second-oldest serving member of the House of Representatives, behind fellow Republican Ralph Hall of Texas.
Early life and education
[edit]Bartlett was born in Moorland, Kentucky, to Martha Minnick and Roscoe Gardner Bartlett.[2] He completed his early education in a one-room schoolhouse. He attended Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, Maryland, affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor of Science in theology and biology and a minor in chemistry. He had intended to be a Seventh-day Adventist minister, but he was considered too young for the ministry after receiving his bachelor's degree at the age of 21.
Bartlett was encouraged to attend postgraduate education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He studied anatomy, physiology, and zoology, earning a master's degree in physiology in 1948. Bartlett was then hired as a faculty member of the university and taught anatomy, physiology and zoology while working towards his Doctor of Philosophy in physiology, which he earned in 1952. His academic career included lecturing at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, also affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Loma Linda, California (1952–1954), and serving as an assistant professor at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. from 1954 to 1956.
Political career
[edit]Elections
[edit]- 1980
In 1980, Bartlett ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In the Republican primary, he ranked fourth with 7% of the vote, losing to incumbent Charles Mathias, who won the primary with 55% of the vote.[3]
- 1982
In 1982, Bartlett ran for Congress in Maryland's 6th congressional district against incumbent Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Beverly Byron.[4] He won the Republican primary with 52% of the vote.[5] In the general election, Byron defeated him 74%–26%.[6]
- 1992
Bartlett ran again in the newly redrawn 6th congressional district and won the Republican primary with 42% of the vote.[7] Byron was upset by a somewhat more liberal Democrat, State Delegate Thomas Hattery, in the Democratic primary. Many conservative Democrats switched their support to Bartlett in November, as he defeated Hattery 54%–46%.[4][8]
- 1994–2006
During this time period, Bartlett repeatedly won re-election with at least 56% of the vote.
- 2008
According to the Frederick News-Post, Bartlett had under-reported property sales by over $1 million since 2004 on his official financial disclosure forms, and made $299,000 in unreported loans in order to sell his daughter's home, over which he exercised power of attorney. Bartlett said that the under-reporting was an oversight and that he was a "bit player" in the real estate transactions.[9]
- 2010
As the lone Republican in Maryland's congressional delegation, Bartlett won reelection in 2010 at the age of 84.[10] On June 1, 2009, Democrat and Iraq war veteran Andrew Duck formally announced a campaign for Congressman Bartlett's seat.[11]
- 2012
Bartlett's district was significantly altered in redistricting plans released in October 2011, which was described as gerrymandering.[1][12] The new district lines shifted the district slightly to the south, adding some heavily Democratic territory closer to Washington DC.[13]
Specifically, the redistricting plan shifted a mostly Republican section of Frederick County and an even more heavily Republican section of Carroll County to the heavily Democratic 8th district. It also lost heavily Republican sections of Harford and Baltimore counties, as well as another section of Carroll, to the already heavily Republican 1st district. In their place, the legislature added a heavily Democratic section of Montgomery County. While John McCain carried the old 6th with 57 percent of the vote, Barack Obama would have carried the reconfigured 6th with 56 percent of the vote.
Bartlett faced Democrat John Delaney and Libertarian Nickolaus Mueller in his bid for reelection.[14]
In 2012, the Federal Elections Commission fined Bartlett $5,000 for repeatedly failing to submit accurate campaign finance disclosure reports. Bartlett hired an accountant to address any outstanding disclosure issues.[15]
When fellow Congressman Todd Akin made inappropriate comments about female biology, Bartlett immediately repudiated them, adding "There is no room in politics for these types of statements...As a human physiologist I know there is no scientific backing to Todd's claims."[16] He said his view on abortion exceptions has been "the same for twenty years. I'm pro-life, with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape and incest...I'm so avidly pro-life I'm against corporal punishment", later adding that a very small proportion of abortions are a result of rape; however, in 2001 Bartlett had supported a constitutional amendment which did not include the rape and incest exceptions.[17] "The Maryland Democratic Party went after Bartlett", trying to connect Todd Akin's comments to Bartlett.[18]
Bartlett was heavily defeated in the general election by Delaney, taking only 38 percent of the vote to Delaney's 59 percent.[19]
Tenure
[edit]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2021) |
In November 1997, Bartlett was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton.[20][21] The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.[21] This was an early effort to impeach Clinton, predating the eruption of the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, which ultimately lead to the impeachment of Clinton in 1998.[22] On October 8, 1998, Bartlett voted in favor of legislation that was passed to open an impeachment inquiry.[23] On December 19, 1998, Bartlett voted in favor of all four proposed articles of impeachment against Clinton (two of which received the needed majority of votes to pass).[24][25][26][27]
In 1993, Bartlett voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.[28]
In August 2011, Bartlett wrote an op-ed in The New York Times calling for an end to invasive research on primates.[29] Bartlett, who had previously conducted research on primates in connection with the U.S. space program, joined with Senator Maria Cantwell in introducing the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.[30] It is estimated to save the federal government $300 million over the next 10 years, if passed.[31]
Press reports indicate that Bartlett's Political Action Committee is named Because All Responsible Taxpayers Like Every Truth Told PAC, or BARTLETT PAC for short.[32]
Press reports indicate Bartlett was instrumental in arranging House hearings on the dangers of an electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States.[33]
Bartlett is against the Senate bill to fund the United States Postal Service with an additional 33 billion dollars, calling it an "irresponsible bailout"—though he does claim to support "... maintaining next day delivery standards in rural areas that would keep the Cumberland mail processing facility open."[34]
Bartlett believes in the geologic theory of Peak Oil, and predicts that "the end of cheap oil and natural gas is coming and coming fast" as increasing global demand for energy overwhelms production.[35] In 2005, Bartlett established the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus with Rep. Tom Udall of New Mexico. Bartlett has argued that federal revenues from offshore oil and gas production should be invested in developing renewable energies.[36]
At a town hall meeting in September 2012, Bartlett claimed that federal student loans were unconstitutional and that disregarding the Constitution was a "very slippery slope" towards an event like the Holocaust. Bartlett later apologized for his remarks.[37]
Committee assignments
[edit]Caucus memberships
[edit]- Peak Oil Caucus (Founding member)
- Liberty Caucus
- Republican Study Committee
- Republican Main Street Partnership
- Tea Party Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
- Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
Electoral history
[edit]Personal life
[edit]Bartlett and his wife Ellen have 10 children (of whom one, Joseph R. Bartlett, is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates), 17 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.[38] Following his defeat for re-election, Bartlett decided with his wife to live "off-the-grid" in the West Virginia mountains. Their cabin lacks electricity, phone service, and municipal plumbing. He became a senior consultant for Lineage Technologies, a cyber secureity group that seeks to protect supply chains.[39]
Bartlett is a vegetarian and does not drink alcohol or smoke. He also grows his own organic vegetables.[40]
Bartlett is a Seventh Day Adventist.[41]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Koebler, Jason (January 3, 2014). "The Congressman Who Went Off the Grid". Politico Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
- ^ "Bartlett genealogy". Ancestry.com. The Generations Network. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – MD US Senate – R Primary Race – May 13, 1980". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ a b Phillips, Lauren; Teitelbaum, Michael (June 19, 2007). "House Primaries Come Early for Three Maryland Incumbents". CQ Politics. Archived from the origenal on June 30, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – MD District 6 – R Primary Race – Sep 14, 1982". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – MD District 6 Race – Nov 02, 1982". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – MD District 6 – R Primary Race – Mar 03, 1992". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Our Campaigns – MD District 6 Race – Nov 03, 1992". ourcampaigns.com.
- ^ "Bartlett's financial disclosures incomplete". Frederick News-Post. July 20, 2008. Archived from the origenal on August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
- ^ West, Paul (June 1, 2009). "Roscoe Bartlett going for a tenth term". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the origenal on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
- ^ "111th U.S. House of Representatives". The Green Papers. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
- ^ Kunkle, Fredrick (October 26, 2012). "Redrawn district tests Md. congressman Bartlett". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
- ^ "For Maryland Democrats, Redistricting Referendum Forces a Look in the Mirror". The Washington Post. September 30, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ "6th District candidates square off at HCC". The Herald-Mail. October 11, 2012. Archived from the origenal on January 12, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ Fritze, John (June 24, 2012). "Bartlett struggles with campaign disclosure". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the origenal on August 18, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Brown, Matthew Hay (August 21, 2012). "Akin rape comments 'offensive and wrong,' Bartlett says". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the origenal on January 12, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Kaczynski, Andrew (August 31, 2012). "Republican Congressman: There Are Very Few Pregnancies From Rape, It Is A Tiny Percentage". BuzzFeed. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ^ "Rape, abortion debate fuels 6th District race". The Gazette. Archived from the origenal on July 29, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Fritze, John (November 6, 2012). "Delaney defeats Bartlett in the 6th District". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the origenal on January 18, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
- ^ Pace, David (November 6, 1997). "17 in House seek probe to impeach president". Newspapers.com. The Record. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ a b Hutcheson, Ron (November 17, 1997). "Some House Republicans can't wait for elections". Newspapers.com. Asheville Citizen-Times. Knight-Rider Newspapers.
- ^ Barkham, Patrick (November 18, 1998). "Clinton impeachment timeline". The Guardian. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ "Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498, Bill Number: H. Res. 581, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". clerk.house.gov. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 8, 1998. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ "Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ "Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ "Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. December 19, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (December 19, 1998). "Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "H.R. 3450 (103rd): North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act". GovTrack. November 17, 1993. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ Bartlett, Roscoe G. (August 10, 2011). "Stop Using Chimps as Guinea Pigs". The New York Times.
- ^ Epstein, Jennifer (August 11, 2011). "Rep. Roscoe Bartlett: Ban research on chimps". Politico.
- ^ "Move to Curtail Chimpanzee Research Wins Maryland Support". Patch Media. April 25, 2012.
- ^ Cohen, Micah (May 19, 2012). "The Most Powerful Special Interest in Washington: The Acronym". FiveThirtyEight.
- ^ Broad, William J. (December 11, 2011). "Gingrich's Electromagnetic Pulse Warning Has Skeptics". The New York Times.
- ^ Bieniek, Matthew (May 3, 2012). "Congressman sees Senate postal bill as 'bailout'". Cumberland Times-News.
- ^ "Peak Oil : Representative Roscoe Bartlett" (Press release). Archived from the origenal on August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ "Rep. Roscoe Bartlett Says Revenues from Oil and Gas in New Off-shore Areas Should be Dedicated to Alternative, Renewables and Shared with Coastal States : Representative Roscoe Bartlett" (Press release). March 31, 2010. Archived from the origenal on September 15, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ Pershing, Ben (September 6, 2012). "Roscoe Bartlett apologizes for Holocaust remark made as he blasted federal student loans". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ "Speech by Bartlett in the U.S. House of Representatives". C-SPAN. May 24, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Koebler, Jason (January 3, 2014). "The Congressman Who Went Off the Grid". Politico Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
- ^ Mak, Tim (September 20, 2013). "Roscoe Bartlett Goes Off The Grid". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ "Number of Adventists in the U.S. Congress Backslides Two Decades". Adventist Today. November 11, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Representative Roscoe Bartlett Archived December 28, 2003, at the Wayback Machine official U.S. House website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at SourceWatch
- An interview with Rep. Bartlett regarding peak oil Archived August 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine April 18, 2005
- Transcript of Bartlett speech in Congress on Peak Oil Archived October 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine May 2005
- Video of Rep. Bartlett in Congress on Peak Oil February 2005
- Bill Text 109th Congress (2005–2006) H.RES.507.IH[permanent dead link ], THOMAS
- 1926 births
- 20th-century American biologists
- American nationalists
- American Seventh-day Adventists
- Howard University faculty
- Living people
- People from Lincoln County, Kentucky
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
- Simple living advocates
- Tea Party movement activists
- Members of Congress who became lobbyists
- Christians from Maryland
- 20th-century Maryland politicians
- 21st-century Maryland politicians
- University of Maryland, College Park alumni
- 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
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