Rep. Howard Coble (R) Elected 1984, 11th term
Born:	Mar. 18, 1931, Greensboro
Home:	Greensboro
Education:	Appalachian St. U., 1949-50, Guilford Col., B.A. 1958, U. of NC, J.D. 1962
Religion:	Presbyterian
Marital Status:	single
Elected  Office:	NC House of Reps., 1968-70, 1978-84.
Military Career:	Coast Guard, 1952-56, 1977-78, Coast Guard Reserves, 1960-81.
Professional Career:	Asst. U.S. Atty., NC Middle Dist., 1969-73; Secy., NC Dept. of Revenue, 1973-77; Practicing atty., 1979-83.
DC Office	2468 RHOB20515, 202-225-3065; Fax: 202-225-8611; Web site: www.house.gov/coble
State Offices	Asheboro, 336-626-3060; Graham, 336-229-0159; Greensboro, 336-333-5005; High Point, 336-886-5106; Salisbury, 704-645-8082.
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For more than half a century, furniture store managers and owners from all over the country twice a year have converged on the huge Furniture Mart in High Point, the center of the U.S. furniture business, for the giant trade show put on by manufacturers; it now attracts about 70,000 visitors. High Point sits amidst rolling farmland originally settled by Quakers; it was the site of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in the Revolutionary War. The furniture business grew here early in the 20th century because of the hardwoods in the mountains not far west and the abundance of low-wage labor in the flatlands not far east. For many years the furniture business has proven more resilient than textiles and tobacco, but in the past five years it has faced serious competition from China and many furniture jobs have been lost. The Triad area--Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem--has been forced to scramble for new engines of economic growth to keep pace with booming Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte. Some seem to be coming. The Triad won the competition for a new Dell installation, with 2,000 jobs, with the help of state tax breaks; Federal Express is planning a new hub at Piedmont Triad airport, between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, with some 1,500 workers. At the same time, the region's Hispanic population is growing. The town of Robbins in Moore County--the childhood home of former Senator John Edwards--is now 48% Hispanic, as Latinos moved in to seek jobs in chicken processing and furniture making.

The 6th Congressional District of North Carolina is centered on greater Greensboro and High Point, which collectively cast about one-third of the votes. The Furniture Mart itself is not physically located within the 6th, but the district takes in other parts of High Point, which calls itself "North Carolina's International City," plus Quaker-settled Randolph County, golf-course-sprinkled Moore County to the south, parts of furniture-manufacturing Davidson County, most of textile-making Alamance County, much of populous Guilford County (though not central Greensboro) and the eastern half of Rowan County. Many of these areas are historically Republican, and others have become heavily Republican in the last generation; this is one of North Carolina's most Republican districts.

The congressman from the 6th District is Howard Coble, a Republican first elected in 1984. He grew up in Guilford County, went to Guilford College, then after wrecking his father's car joined the Coast Guard, in which he started off collecting garbage and served for five years. He was an insurance claims representative, went to law school and became an assistant U.S. attorney, state revenue commissioner and served in the state House for eight years. Coble was elected to Congress in what was then a swing district; it was the third time the 6th had changed parties in three elections. Coble won reelection in 1986 by just 79 votes--in a contest that Democrats complained was decided by the Guilford County election board's refusal to hold a recount. But his personal popularity and subsequent redistricting made this a safe seat.

Coble is a friendly man who asks visitors if they mind if he smokes his cheap cigars; he likes bluegrass music and eats pork brains and eggs for breakfast. He is solidly conservative, with interesting twists. He is tightfisted, and since his first term he has tried to pass legislation to abolish pensions or health coverage for congressional retirees; he hasn't found many co-sponsors, but he has refused to back down on his pledge to boycott the program himself. Like many of his constituents, he is leery of free trade. He opposed fast track for NAFTA, but finally voted for it in 1993 (without visiting the White House or selling his vote, he said); but he opposed GATT and normal trade relations with China. He was one of three House Republicans from North Carolina to oppose trade promotion authority in 2001 and 2002. With Democratic colleague Mel Watt, he launched a House caucus to inform members of job losses in the furniture industry.

"I see my role more as one of keeping bad legislation off the books," Coble once said. But as a subcommittee chairman he became legislatively productive. In 1997 he became chairman of the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of Judiciary. Arguing that copyright industries produce more GDP than manufacturing and that patent protection is essential to technological progress, Coble supported greater protection for intellectual property. When the Bush administration sought budget cuts from the Patent and Trademark Office, Coble told the appropriators to "keep their grubby paws out of the PTO's coffers." In 2002, he shepherded the enactment of additional changes in the patent law, including the development of an electronic system for the filing and processing of patent and trademark applications. In January 2004, the Judiciary Committee approved his bill to protect commercial databases from piracy.

Despite his own limitations in operating a computer, Coble says that has not been an obstacle to dealing with the digital revolution and that he has come to appreciate the developers of the Internet. In the 106th Congress, Coble became the center of added controversy after he slipped a four-line amendment to the copyright law into an unrelated bill on home satellites; his "work for hire" provision, which recording companies requested, extended their control of recorded music to 35 years after its release; Coble said that he thought he was merely formalizing what already was common practice. After strong objections from prominent musicians such as rock star Don Henley (who wrote a song complaining about the unfairness) and bluegrass banjoer Earl Scruggs--and, not incidentally, from subcommittee member Mary Bono, widow of Sonny Bono--Coble agreed with ranking Democrat Howard Berman to repeal the earlier measure. In 2003, after the defeat of George Gekas, Coble moved up to the number-three Republican spot on the Judiciary Committee and became chairman of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee. He expressed interest in chairing the new Homeland Security Committee, but that position went to Christopher Cox. In February 2003, Coble stirred controversy after a radio interview in which he said that Japanese internment camps of World War II were "appropriate at the time." He later explained, "I was just stating historical fact. … If those comments were offensive to anyone, I apologize for that. I did not intend to be insensitive or uncaring."

In 2004, Coble faced his first Democratic opponent since 1996 and won 73%-27%. He is in line to chair the Judiciary Committee in 2007, when he will be age 75. Take notice: He has cosponsored a constitutional amendment that would permit Congress to reverse Supreme Court decisions by two-thirds votes in the House and Senate.

Committees

• Judiciary (3d of 23 R): Commercial & Administrative Law; Crime, Terrorism & Homeland Security (Chmn.).
• Transportation & Infrastructure (4th of 41 R): Aviation; Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation; Highways, Transit & Pipelines.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	5	0	13	9	70	73	95	88	92	91	--
2003	5	--	0	0	--	66	86	84	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	41%	--	57%		33%	--	65%
Social	5%	--	87%		0%	--	91%
Foreign	42%	--	57%		41%	--	58%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Howard Coble (R)	207,470	73%	$400,493
	William Jordan (D)	76,153	27%	$12,223
2004 primary	Howard Coble (R)	unopposed
2002 general	Howard Coble (R)	151,430	90%	$316,561
	Tara Grubb (Lib)	16,067	10%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (91%); 1998 (89%); 1996 (73%); 1994 (100%); 1992 (71%); 1990 (67%); 1988 (62%); 1986 (50%); 1984 (51%)

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 200,942 (69%) Kerry (D) 87,295 (30%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 160,141 (67%) Gore (D) 76,315 (32%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Sixth District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R +17
• District Size: 2,989 square miles
• Population in 2000: 619,178; 51.6% urban; 48.4% rural
• Median Household Income: $43,503; 8.2% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 32.3% blue collar; 55.8% white collar; 11.9% gray collar; 13.8% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 85.3% White, 8.6% Black, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.7% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 3.9% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 15.3% USA, 10.1% German, 8.9% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.