Education: Asbury Col., B.A. 1961, West Chester U., M.Ed. 1972
Professional Career: High schl. teacher, 1969–72; Owner, Landscape & Nursery Co., 1974–90.
Political Career: PA House of Reps., 1972–96.
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Religion: Protestant
Family: Married (Virginia); 3 children
The congressman from the 16th District is Joe Pitts, a Republican elected in 1996. One of the Pennsylvania delegation’s staunchest conservatives, he now has a prominent platform for his free-market views as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee. Read More
The congressman from the 16th District is Joe Pitts, a Republican elected in 1996. One of the Pennsylvania delegation’s staunchest conservatives, he now has a prominent platform for his free-market views as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee.
Pitts was born in Kentucky, and spent time in the Philippines with his parents, where they served as religious missionaries. He joined the Air Force after college, and served three tours of duty, flying 116 B-52 combat missions in Vietnam. He returned home to become a math and science teacher in Malvern in Chester County, and later owned a nursery near Kennett Square. In 1972, at age 33, he was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 1989, he became chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and oversaw the restoration of the Pennsylvania Capitol. Pitts is also an amateur artist. He and his daughter have exhibited their artwork, everything from painting to sculpture and woodwork, at local galleries.
When Republican Rep. Bob Walker, one of the conservative reformers of the Newt Gingrich era in the House, cited the “Pennsylvania Dutch tradition” of not serving over 20 years, Pitts ran to succeed him. In the primary, he ran as a “true conservative,” speaking out in favor of home schooling and against gambling. He raised the most money and won with 45% of the vote. The runner-up, a moderate Republican, received 26%. In the general election, Pitts easily defeated newspaper publisher James Blaine, a descendant of James G. Blaine, the Republican presidential nominee in 1884.
In the House, Pitts was the Pennsylvania House delegation’s most conservative member in the 111th Congress (2009-10), according to National Journal’s rankings. He was especially vocal in his opposition to the health care overhaul. “This unprecedented expansion of government power is only making health care more expensive,” he said in September 2010. After taking the helm of Energy and Commerce’s Health Subcommittee, he quickly moved a series of bills through the panel in March 2011 aimed at dismantling the law by repealing mandatory funding for state-based exchanges and school-based health center construction. The measures had very little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. Pitts has been an advocate of increased energy production, including the construction of new oil refineries on closed military bases. He is one of Congress’ champions of nuclear power, and introduced a bill in 2009 aimed at reducing the time required for federal approval of new reactors.
Pitts led the Pro-Life Caucus and headed the Republicans’ “values action team” that worked with the Christian Coalition and other groups to promote a pro-family agenda. During the health care debate, he was among the anti-abortion lawmakers pushing for a ban on federal funding for insurers that cover abortions. He also was a chief proponent of legislation to ban human cloning. With his appreciation for both human rights and national defense, Pitts founded two diverse groups: the Religious Prisoners Congressional Task Force to plead for human rights around the world, and the Electronic Warfare Working Group, to encourage more congressional support for military technology. In 2008, he urged a boycott of the Olympics in Beijing unless China improved its human rights record.
Pitts originally promised not to serve more than five terms, but later changed his mind. In 2006, he had a tough re-election against former corporate executive Lois Herr who ran on an anti-Iraq war platform. But Pitts won 57%-40%. Herr came back for a rematch in 2010, and this time focused on his legislative record, contending that just three of his bills had passed in 15 years. Pitts waved off the criticism, and won 65%-35%.
National Journal’s rating system is an objective method of analyzing voting. The liberal score means that the lawmaker’s votes were more liberal than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes. The conservative score means his votes were more conservative than that percentage of his colleagues’ votes. The composite score is an average of a lawmaker’s six issue-based scores. See all NJ Voting
More Liberal
More Conservative
2012
2011
2010
Economic
25
(L) : 75 (C)
-
(L) : 90 (C)
11
(L) : 88 (C)
Social
15
(L) : 84 (C)
(L) : 83 (C)
(L) : 85 (C)
Foreign
43
(L) : 54 (C)
27
(L) : 70 (C)
12
(L) : 79 (C)
Composite
28.3
(L) : 71.7 (C)
14.0
(L) : 86.0 (C)
11.8
(L) : 88.2 (C)
Interest Group Ratings
The vote ratings by 10 special interest groups provide insight into a lawmaker’s general ideology and the degree to which he or she agrees with the group’s point of view. Some organizations provide just one combined rating for 2009 and 2010, the two sessions of the 111th Congress. About the interest groups.
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The first Almanac of American Politics was published in 1971, and it hasn’t missed an election since.
The nation’s most authoritative source of information about members of Congress, their districts,
the governors and the states is published in print form after the national elections every two years by the National Journal Group in Washington D.C.
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Jay Rockefeller Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia stunned political observers when he announced on Jan. 11 that he would not seek a sixth term in 2014. The Democrat is the state's senior senator, and chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Jay Rockefeller Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia stunned political observers when he announced on Jan. 11 that he would not seek a sixth term in 2014. The Democrat is the state's senior senator, and chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
