Earl Blumenauer encyclopedia topics

Earl Blumenauer

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Wikipedia

Earl Blumenauer (born August 16, 1948) is a Democratic U.S. representative from Oregon, representing .

Born in Portland, Blumenauer graduated from Centennial High School in 1966 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1970. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the same college in 1976.

Blumenauer worked as an assistant to the president of Portland State University. He then served as an Oregon state representative from 1973 to 1979, Multnomah County Commissioner (1979–87) Portland city commissioner (1987–96), and was appointed by Oregon's governor to the commission on higher education (1990–91). In 1992, Blumenauer was defeated by Vera Katz in an open race for mayor of Portland. He has been described as "the man who probably knows the most about how Portland works," but left local politics for a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1996.

Blumenauer was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the election of then-U.S. Representative Ron Wyden to the U.S. Senate.

In the 2006 election, Blumenauer won re-election to a sixth full term, defeating Republican Bruce Broussard.

The Willamette Week has summarized Blumenauer's fit with the congressional district he represents:

Ideologically and temperamentally, Blumenauer is an almost perfect reflection of his Portland seat, as safe a Democratic stronghold as any in the nation. He's championed light rail and the streetcar. He's the biggest bike advocate on Capitol Hill. He voted against the USA PATRIOT Act and the Iraq resolution. A super-sharp super-wonk, he's diligently seeking to export Portland's livability doctrine to Third World nations.

The Wall Street Journal also noted Blumenauer's enthusiasm for bicycling:

His congressional office is one of the few -- if not the only one -- that didn't even apply for a parking permit. On occasion, Mr. Blumenauer has cycled to the White House. On Mr. Blumenauer's first visit, the Secret Service, more accustomed to limousines, was flummoxed at the sight of his bike.

Activity in Congress

Among the bills that Blumenauer has sponsored that have become law are the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.

He is active in pressuring the United States to take greater action on the Darfur conflict.

In the political aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Blumenauer was among those who had pointed out the vulnerability of New Orleans and encouraged Congress to help that city and the gulf coast get better prepared:

September 15, 2004: Mr. Speaker, barely have we recovered from Hurricane Hugo and we are seeing Hurricane Ivan pose the threat that has long been feared by those in Louisiana, that this actually might represent the loss of the City of New Orleans. Located 15 feet below sea level, there is the potential of a 30-foot wall of water putting at risk $100 billion of infrastructure and industry and countless lives.
January 26, 2005: Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to view the devastation in Southeast Asia as a result of the tsunami. As appalled as I was by what I saw, I must confess that occasionally my thoughts drifted back to the United States. What would have happened if last September, Hurricane Ivan had veered 40 miles to the west, devastating the city of New Orleans? One likely scenario would have had a tsunami-like 30-foot wall of water hitting the city, causing thousands of deaths and $100 billion in damage....The experience of Southeast Asia should convince us all of the urgent need for congressional action to prevent wide-scale loss of life and economic destruction at home and abroad. Prevention and planning will pay off. Maybe the devastation will encourage us to act before disaster strikes.

He and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) have offered an amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill for the past two years that would reform the nation's sugar quota laws with the intent of expanding free trade to the sugar market.

Blumenauer's support for free trade agreements has angered many progressives and labor activists. In 2004, he voted against the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). On September 24 2007, four labor and human rights activists were arrested in Blumenauer's office protesting the congressman's support for the Peru Free Trade Agreement, but which supporters say will promote jobs, improve labor conditions, and strengthen environmental protections. The deal did not earn support from a single U.S. labor, environmental, interfaith or consumer group and died when a majority of congressional Democrats (117) voted in opposition. The Peru agreement received less Democratic support than the 2004 Australia FTA, the 2004 Morocco FTA, and the 2005 Bahrain FTA.

Blumenauer is expected to run for reelection in 2008.

Committee Assignments

Committee on Ways & Means

Subcommittee on Trade
Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

Budget Committee
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Climate Change

Electoral history

: Results 1996–2006
Year	Democrat	Votes	Pct	Republican	Votes	Pct	3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct	3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct	3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1996		165,922	67%	Scott Bruun	65,259	26%	Joe Keating	Pacific	9,274	4%	Bruce A. Knight	Libertarian	4,474	2%	Victoria P. Guillebeau	Socialist	2,449	1%	*
1998	Earl Blumenauer	153,889	84%	(no candidate)			Knight	Libertarian	16,930	9%	Walt Brown	Socialist	10,199	6%	Write-ins		2,333	1%
2000	Earl Blumenauer	181,049	67%		64,128	24%	Tre Arrow	Pacific Green	15,763	6%	Knight	Libertarian	4,942	2%	Walt Brown	Socialist	4,703	2%	*
2002	Earl Blumenauer	156,851	67%	Sarah Seale	62,821	27%	Walt Brown	Socialist	6,588	3%	Kevin Jones	Libertarian	4,704	2%	David Brownlow	Constitution	3,495	1%	*
2004	Earl Blumenauer	245,559	71%	Tami Mars	82,045	24%	Walt Brown	Socialist	10,678	3%	Dale Winegarden	Constitution	7,119	2%	Write-ins		1,159	<1%
2006	Earl Blumenauer	186,380	73%		59,529	23%	David Brownlow	Constitution	7,003	3%	Write-ins		698	<1%