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Rodney Alexander
Rodney McKinnie Alexander (born December 5, 1946) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs from September 30, 2013, until June 3, 2014. Previously he was the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district from 2003 to 2013. First elected as a Democrat, he changed parties in 2004 to run as a Republican and was re-elected five times. BackgroundAlexander was born in the village of Bienville in Bienville Parish to the former Mary Crawford and James Earl Alexander.[1] In 1964, he graduated from Jonesboro-Hodge High School in Jonesboro in Jackson Parish, which is often cited as his hometown. He then attended Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, but he left college to work for his family construction company. Alexander left the police jury to represent District 13 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1988 until his election to Congress in 2002. While in the state House, he served as the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee. In this position, her shepherded to passage the Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP), which assists mothers and children with basic health care and insurance needs. Alexander enrolled in college courses intermittently for forty-five years. When the University of Louisiana at Monroe began to offer online courses, he enrolled for two years and graduated from ULM with a degree in general studies in 2009. U.S. House of RepresentativesElections
Alexander won his seat in 2002 as a Democrat, but ran in 2004 as a Republican, changing parties on 6 August 2004, only three months before the election and only 30 minutes before the filing deadline. The move was derided by Democrats Robert Matsui and Mary Landrieu as being "cowardly".[2]
On August 4, 2004, he registered to run as a Democrat, but changed his registration to Republican two days later. He then defeated a fellow Republican, the late Jock Scott of Alexandria in the open primary that November.[2] In 2006, he defeated the Democrat Gloria Williams Hearn, wife of the psychologist George E. Hearn of Pineville, Louisiana. His party switch became official on August 9, 2004.
Alexander defeated Richard Todd Slavant of Monroe in the Republican closed primary by a margin of nearly 9–1. He faced Independent Tom Gibbs, Jr., of Ouachita Parish in the November 2 general election and won easily. No Democratic candidate had filed for the position, once held by such long-serving party members as Jerry Huckaby and Otto Passman. During this election, he joined the Tea Party Caucus.
Alexander drew two last-minute challengers in his successful 2012 bid for a sixth term in the U.S. House.[3] Alexander handily prevailed with 202,531 votes (77.8 percent). The Libertarian Clay Steven Grant received 20,194 votes (7.8 percent), and the No-Party candidate, Ron Caesar, polled 37,486 votes (14.4 percent).[4] During the 2012 election Alexander's campaign raised a total of $1,235,114. $942,083 were spent leaving the campaign with a surplus of $295,079 and no debt.[5] Major contributors to Alexander's campaign came from a variety of business interests including the crop production industry, the oil and gas industry, commercial banks, and general contractors. Top individual contributors include Adams and Reese, the Livingston Group, O'Neal Gas, and Kadav Inc. TenureAt the commencement of the 111th Congress, Alexander received new subcommittee assignments including the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS), and he retained his seat on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administrations, and Related Agencies (Agriculture). His speeches include "Party of Paychecks" in which he speaks on the nations food-stamp necessity increase and speaks against "out-of-control government spending" and unemployment. Many of Alexander's other speeches include warning against tax increases and supporting religious freedom and public prayer. Alexander's voting record shows a history of voting against tax law amendments on a variety of matters. He has also voted "Nay" on many extensions for relief or aid, regulations, and has voted "Yay" to prohibition of tax increase. In 2012, he voted for several pro-business, anti-environmental bills such as the Stop the War on Coal Act and the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act. He has also voted to support small business through the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act. Cumulatively, Alexander missed 266 of 7521 (3.5%) roll call votes during his time in office, higher than the national median of 2.5%.[6] LegislationAs a Representative, Alexander sponsored 36 bills, including:[7] 108th Congress (2003–2004)
109th Congress (2005–2006)
110th Congress (2007–2008)
111th Congress (2009–2010)
113th Congress (2013–2014)
Committee assignmentsCaucus membership
Interest group ratingsAlexander received favorable ratings from pro-life groups such as the Right to Life Committee and received low ratings from Planned Parenthood. Alexander also received favorable reviews from business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. In addition, he had strong support from agricultural groups such as the American Farm Bureau Federation which gave him a 100 percent rating in 2011 and the Sportsman and Animal Owners Voting Alliance.[9] Alexander has been given low ratings by civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the ACLU as well as environmental groups like the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. EndorsementsAlexander was endorsed by Americans for Legal Immigration, Louisiana National Federation of Independent Business, National Federation of Independent Business, Chamber of Commerce, and the NRA Political Victory Fund. The National Federation for Independent Business named Alexander a "Guardian of Small Business" to acknowledge his strong voting record in favor of small businesses.[10] Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans AffairsOn September 30, 2013, Alexander became Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs under Governor Bobby Jindal.[11] Personal lifeAlexander's wife, the former Nancy Sutton, is a long-time educator. They have three children and several grandchildren. Alexander is a Southern Baptist.[12] See also
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rodney Alexander.
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