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John Cornyn

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John Cornyn III (born February 2 1952) is the junior United States Senator from Texas. He is a Republican and was elected to his first term in November 2002, defeating Democrat Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, Texas.

Early life and law career

Cornyn was born in Houston, Texas to Atholene Gale Danley and John Cornyn II. He graduated from Trinity University in 1973, where he majored in journalism and was a member of the local fraternity Chi Delta Tau. He earned a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1977, and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995.

From 1999 to 2002, John Cornyn was the Texas Attorney General. He served in San Antonio for six years as a district judge before being elected in 1990 to the Texas Supreme Court, where he served for seven years. In 2005, Cornyn's name was mentioned among possibilities to replace Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor or William Rehnquist.

Senate career

In 2004, Cornyn co-founded and became the co-chairman of the U.S. Senate India Caucus. Cornyn was selected by his colleagues in December 2006 to be a member of the five-person Republican Senate leadership team as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

While in the Senate, Cornyn has received various awards and recognitions, including the 2005 Border Texan of the Year Award; the National Child Support Enforcement Association’s Children’s Champion Award; the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Friend of Farm Bureau Award; the Texas Association of Business’s (TAB) Fighter for Free Enterprise Award; the National Federation of Independent Business’s (NFIB) Guardian of Small Business Award; the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders’s (CONLAMIC) Latino Leadership Award; and the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce’s (TAMACC) International Leadership Legislative Award; among others.

On May 18 2007, Cornyn was involved in an altercation with fellow (and Senior) Senator John McCain (R-AZ). "During a meeting Thursday on immigration legislation, McCain and Sen. John Cornyn got into a shouting match when Cornyn started voicing concerns about the number of judicial appeals that illegal immigrants could receive, according to multiple sources — both Democrats and Republicans — who heard firsthand accounts of the exchange from lawmakers who were in the room. McCain cursed at Cornyn after he told McCain, "Wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line."

Cornyn faces re-election in 2008. He is considered politically vulnerable as he was elected with less 55 percent. Rick Noriega is challenging him.

Committee Assignments

  • Committee on the Judiciary

    • Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
    • Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
    • Subcommittee on the Constitution
  • Committee on Armed Services

    • Subcommittee on Airland (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
    • Subcommittee on SeaPower
  • Committee on the Budget
  • Select Committee on Ethics (Ranking Member)

Political views

Cornyn was ranked by National Journal as the fourth-most conservative United States Senator in their 2006 rankings. He is considered by the Dallas Morning News to be a reliable ally of President George W. Bush on most issues.

Environment and energy

In 2005, Cornyn voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. He voted against factoring global warming into federal project planning, and against banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He voted against reducing oil usage by 40%, rather than by 5%. He also voted against removing oil and gas exploration subsidies. During his tenure in the Senate, Cornyn has scored 0% on the League of Conservation Voter's environmental scorecard, a system of ranking politicians according to their voting record on environmental legislation. Cornyn has been described by Jim Jubak of MSN Money as one of "Big Oil's ten favorite members of Congress," as he has received more money from the oil and gas industry than all but six other members of Congress.

Civil rights and law enforcement

In the 2004 debate surrounding the Federal Marriage Amendment, Cornyn released an advance copy of a speech he was to give at the Heritage Foundation. In the speech, he wrote, "It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right ... [N]ow you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife." He removed the reference to the box turtle in the actual speech, but the Washington Post ran the quote, as did The Daily Show.

In September 2005, Cornyn sponsored a bill that would allow law enforcement to force anyone arrested or detained to provide samples of their DNA, which would be recorded in a central database. He voted to recommend a constitutional ban on flag desecration and for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He also voted for the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act and extending its wiretap provision. He is rated an A by the National Rifle Association.

Abortion and stem cell research

John Cornyn was rated 0% by NARAL Pro-Choice America, which indicates a pro-life voting record. He voted to ban partial-birth abortions except in cases where the mother's life was in danger and for criminal penalty for harming a fetus while committing another crime. He also voted in favor of notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. He voted against expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. He voted to prevent contributions to organizations that perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning, and to prevent funding of organizations that support coercive abortion.

War, peace, and homeland security

Cornyn voted against redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007, and he later voted against redeploying them by March 2008. He voted against implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report and restoring $565 million for states' and ports' first responders. He also voted against restricting businesses with ties to terrorism. He voted against preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees.

Economy and taxes

Cornyn is a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act of 2007. He voted to permanently repeal the estate tax and for raising the estate tax exemption to $5 million. He voted in favor of $350 billion in tax cuts over 11 years, and supports making President Bush's tax cuts permanent.

Judicial nominations

John Cornyn voted to confirm Samuel Alito as a Supreme Court Justice and John Roberts for Chief Justice. In September 2005, during the Supreme Court hearings for Roberts, Cornyn's staff passed out bingo cards to reporters. He asked them to stamp their card every time a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee used terms such as "far right" or "extremist".

Electoral history

Personal life

Cornyn and his wife, Sandy, have two daughters, Haley and Danley.

See also

United States Senate election in Texas, 2008

References

External links

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