Phil Gingrey

John Phillip "Phil" Gingrey, M.D. (born July 10 1942, Augusta, Georgia), an American obstetrician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 11th District of Georgia.

Biography

Gingrey grew up in Georgia and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He received a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Georgia Tech, and then attended Medical College of Georgia. He then worked as an obstetrician.

Gringrey first entered politics when he ran for the Marietta School Board, a body of which he was three times named chairman. He served two terms as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1999 to 2003.

Family

He is married to the former Billie Ayers; they have four children: Billy, Gannon, Phyllis, and Laura Neill.

Election to Congress

Georgia gained two districts after the 2000 Census, but the Democratic-controlled state legislature wanted to see more Democrats in the congressional delegation. They produced a map that was designed to elect seven Democrats and six Republicans; the delegation at the time consisted of eight Republicans and three Democrats. In the process, they drew Republicans Bob Barr and John Linder into the same district. The new district was numbered the 7th — Barr's former district number — but contained most of the territory in Linder's 11th District.

The remainder of Barr's former territory was renumbered the 11th and redrawn to be more Democratic. It included some Democratic-leaning rural territory northwest of Atlanta, and was also 28 percent black. Gingrey faced Democrat Roger Kahn, who had lost to Barr in 2000, and narrowly defeated him by three points. He had a far easier time against Democrat Rick Crawford in 2004.

The Republicans won control of the state legislature in 2004, and immediately redrew the district map again. In the process, they made the 11th much more Republican than its predecessor. The new 11th is more compact and extends further into the Atlanta suburbs, and is only 12 percent black. George W. Bush won the old 11th with 55 percent of the vote, but would have won the current 11th by a staggering 71 percent margin. Gingrey won a third term with 70% of the vote.

Committee Assignments

• Armed Services Committee
• Air and Land Forces Subcommittee
• Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
• Ranking Member of the Select Panel on Roles and Missions
• Committee on Science and Technology
• Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation (Ranking Member)
• Chairman of the Republican Healthcare Public Affairs Team
• Healthcare Reform Subcommittee of the Republican Policy Committee (Chairman)
• Co-Chair of the Medical and Dental Doctors in Congress Caucus

Questions About Medical Ethics

In March 2005 Gingrey was one of several Congressmen, who are also physicians, such as Bill Frist and Dave Weldon, who were criticized for publicly offering medical opinions about the medical condition of Terri Schiavo. Gingrey said "with proper treatment, now denied, Schiavo's condition can improve" Sciavo Autopsy Shows Massive Brain Injury

In his June 15 2004 e-mail newsletter to constituents, Gingrey wrote that the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was a "model detention facility," that "hard-working, honorable American troops at Gitmo are doing everything possible to treat enemy combatants in a manner consistent with the principles of the Geneva Convention" and that the U.S. "should work to make the prisons in Iraq more like Gitmo". The newsletter was sent to constituents on the same day that the officer recently relieved of command at Abu Ghraib prison, Brigadier Gen. Janis Karpinski, gave an interview to the BBC's Radio 4, in which she alleged that the officer in charge of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Prison, Major Gen. Geoffrey Miller, was in fact responsible for ordering policy changes that led to the behavior many regard(ed) as a form of torture.

Gingrey strongly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq and continues to support to occupation of Iraq despite critics charging that this is improper in light of the humanitarian crisis in the country.

Regarding the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal in March 2007, Gingrey made the following statement regarding the conditions at the hospital. From the floor of the House, he argued:

"[I]t’s not a five-star hotel, make no mistake about it, but it’s not a flophouse. It’s not a dump. It’s not a dive. It needs some work, no question about it. I’m not making excuses, of course ... [I] was glad to know that those cockroaches were belly up. It suggested to me that at least someone was spraying for them.

The Walter Reed National Army Medical Center (WRAMC) is the United States Army's medical center on the east coast of the United States. Located on 113 acres (457,000 m²) in Washington, D.C., it serves more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military. The scandal revolved around one building on the grounds, Building 18. Renovation of Building 18 had been anticipated in connection with the enhanced use lease of Building 40, but since the post was slated for closure under BRAC in 2005, the anticipated in-kind services by the Building 40 developer did not materialize.

In May of 2008, Gingrey voted against funding a new GI Bill.

While serving in the Georgia State Senate, Gingrey supported outlawing abortion on moral rather than medical grounds.

Media

Stephen Colbert interviewed Congressman Gingrey on his Better Know a District segment. Colbert asked, "The war in Iraq. Great War — or the greatest war?" Gingrey responded that it may be the greatest war. Colbert asked Gingrey if he was a "Georgia peach" and Gingrey responded in the affirmative.

Contributors

Gingrey has depended heavily on political contributions from fellow physicians to finance his re-election campaigns. The American College of Radiology Association, Harbin Clinic, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American College of Cardiology were among his largest contributors in the 2004 election cycle.

Gingrey has also received $30,000 from ARMPAC, former House Majority Leader's Tom DeLay's PAC. In the 2004 election cycle, ARMPAC was Gingrey's third largest contributor. After the Delay scandal, Gingrey returned all $30,000.

References

External links

• U.S. Congressman Phil Gingrey's House of Representatives' website
• [http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/H2GA11149 Federal Election Commission — Phil Gingrey's campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Phil Gingrey's issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Phil Gingrey's campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Phil Gingrey's profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Phil Gingrey's profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Phil Gingrey's voting record
• General Election Returns