The congressman from the 4th District is Jason Altmire, a Democrat elected in 2006. He is a onetime lobbyist and congressional aide whose carefully centrist politics helped him survive the GOP landslide of 2010. Read More
The congressman from the 4th District is Jason Altmire, a Democrat elected in 2006. He is a onetime lobbyist and congressional aide whose carefully centrist politics helped him survive the GOP landslide of 2010.
Altmire grew up outside of Pittsburgh, the only child of a single mother who was a school teacher. He was a star high school athlete until he suffered a knee injury. He attended Florida State University, worked to rehabilitate his knee, and made the football team as a walk-on player. He suffered another injury as the team trained to play in the Sugar Bowl. Altmire volunteered for the successful campaign of Florida Democrat Pete Peterson for the U.S. House, and then worked as Peterson’s legislative aide for six years, developing expertise in health care issues. Altmire earned a master’s degree in health administration at George Washington University while working on Capitol Hill, and at age 25, was appointed to President Bill Clinton’s health care task force. Following a short stint with the Federation of American Hospitals, he returned home to western Pennsylvania in 1998 for a job with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, eventually becoming vice president for government relations. Sixteen months before the general election in 2006, Altmire quit his $130,000-a-year job and jumped into the race against Republican Rep. Melissa Hart, who had held the seat since 2000.
In the Democratic primary, Altmire defeated businesswoman Georgia Berner, who supported abortion rights while Altmire stressed his opposition to both abortion rights and gun control. He was outspent, but he enjoyed support from key labor groups. He won 55%-45% with strong support from his Allegheny County base, which he carried by nearly 10,000 votes. In the general election campaign, Altmire positioned himself as more socially conservative than the national Democratic Party. Hart outspent Altmire by more than $1 million, but she was fighting an anti-Republican current in a traditionally Democratic district. Altmire won 52%-48%, narrowly losing Allegheny County but winning by large margins in traditionally Democratic Beaver County.
In the House, Altmire’s voting record puts him almost precisely at the center of the House. He is a member of the centrist New Democrats and the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats. In the 111th Congress (2009-10), he incensed labor unions by opposing the health care overhaul, contending that his constituents weren’t ready for such a sweeping change. He also opposed energy legislation creating a cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions, and supported fellow Blue Dog Heath Shuler of North Carolina over liberal Nancy Pelosi of California for minority leader in January 2011.
With his legislative experience, he scored some accomplishments. His proposal to extend education benefits to National Guardsmen who serve domestically became law in 2010. With help from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Altmire also won passage of a bill to prevent the military from curtailing bonuses to soldiers who end their service because of serious injury. But he made life difficult for Hoyer in 2009 by insisting on repeal of the District of Columbia’s strict gun control laws as a condition for his support for D.C. getting a voting member in the House.
On the Small Business Committee, Altmire tended to his district’s technology interests in 2009 by pushing a bill through the House to boost small business research and innovation. He joined Pennsylvania Republican Glenn Thompson on a bill in 2011 to eliminate a competitive bidding program for certain kinds of home medical equipment. Consumer groups and medical providers complained the program is poorly run and has led to numerous delays in obtaining equipment.
Hart sought a rematch in 2008. She blasted Altmire’s votes for higher taxes and said that he failed to take action on high gas prices. Altmire said Hart was “wrong then and now.” He raised twice as much money as Hart and easily held the seat, 56%-44%.
After labor leaders still angry over his health care vote decided against a 2010 primary challenge, Altmire drew a tough GOP opponent in lawyer Keith Rothfus, who once worked in President George W. Bush’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Rothfus trounced former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan by a 2-to-1 margin in the primary. In the general election, he called Altmire “an enabler for the Democratic Party,” while Altmire labeled Rothfus “a radical right-winger” and accused him of representing a Wall Street bank that took government bailout funds. Rothfus said his firm was not involved in TARP. With tea party support, Rothfus raised nearly $1.3 million, but that was only half of Altmire’s take, and the incumbent won 51%-49%. He narrowly lost Allegheny County, just as he did in his initial race, but he carried Beaver County 58%-42% and Lawrence County 55%-45%. But 2012 redistricting could force him into a matchup with Rep. Mark Critz, a similarly centrist Democrat who has support from labor groups.
