- Todd Tiahrt
Infobox_Congressman
name =Todd Tiahrt
width=130
date of birth=birth date and age|1951|06|15
place of birth =Vermillion, South Dakota
state =Kansas
district = 4th
term_start =January 3 ,1995
preceded =Dan Glickman
succeeded = Incumbent
party =Republican
religion =Assembly of God
spouse = Vicki Tiahrt
residence=Goddard, Kansas
occupation= aerospace executive
alma_mater=Evangel University ,Southwest Missouri State University Todd Tiahrt (pronounced TEE-hart, born
June 15 ,1951 ), American politician, has been a Republican member of theUnited States House of Representatives since1995 , representing ushr|Kansas|4| ( [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/ks04_109.gifmap] ), which is based in Wichita.Biography
Tiahrt was born in
Vermillion, South Dakota . He attended and earned a bachelor's degree from Evangel College and received an M.B.A. fromSouthwest Missouri State University . He worked forBoeing , where he worked on numerous government contracts, from1981 until his election to Congress.He was elected to the Kansas State Senate in
1992 . After only one term, he won the Republican nomination for the 4th District and was elected to the House in an upset over 18-year Democratic incumbentDan Glickman . A factor in the win was the 1990s reapportionment, in which Hutchinson and surrounding Reno County were shifted to the "Big 1st" District. Hutchinson was replaced with more reliably Republican Montgomery County. After a tough reelection bid in1996 , he has been reelected five more times with little difficulty, including 68% of the vote in2004 and with over 63% of the vote in2006 .Tiahrt is one of three
Pentecostal s in the 110th Congress. The others — all Republicans — areMarilyn Musgrave ofColorado and Tim Johnson ofIllinois . [cite web |url= http://www.adherents.com/adh_congress.html#109|title= Religion of US Congress|accessdate= 2007-07-17|publisher= Adherents.com]Committee Assignments
*Appropriations Committee
**Subcommittee on Defense
**Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
*Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
**Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management
*Founder and chairman of the House Economic Competitiveness CaucusEnvironmental record
The organization
Republicans for Environmental Protection gave Tiahrt the score of -4 on environmental issues in2005 ; his score for the entire109th Congress (2005-2007) was 6 on a scale of 100. The group specifically criticized Tiahrt for signing a “Dear Colleague” letter “in an effort to pressure House Conferees to include language authorizing oil and gas drilling in theArctic National Wildlife Refuge ….” [ [http://www.rep.org/2005_scorecard.pdf Republicans for Environmental Protection 2005 Scorecard] ] The nonpartisanLeague of Conservation Voters assigned Tiahrt the lowest possible score for 2005 and 2006; his lifetime score is three out of 100. For the 109th Congress, the LCV cited a pattern of “anti-environment action” for Tiahrt: he cast what the group qualified as anti-environment votes on twelve out of twelve critical issues ranging fromoil drilling offshore and in theArctic National Wildlife Refuge ,salvage logging andlogging road s, and theClean Water Act , to theToxics Release Inventory program and low-income energy assistance. [ [http://www.lcv.org/images/client/pdfs/LCV_2006_Scorecard_final.pdf League of Conservation Voters 2006 Scorecard] ]In March 2008, the organization
Teaming with Wildlife gave Tiahrt and award for his support for federal funding for state-based wildlife conservation under the State Wildlife Grants Program. [ [http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/kdwp_info/news/web_news/march_2008/rep_todd_tiahrt_awarded_for_efforts_to_help_conserve_wildlife "Rep. Todd Tiahrt Awarded For Efforts to Help Conserve Wildlife"] , press release, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, March 14, 2008]Tiahrt Amendment
Tiahrt is the author of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation. Additionally, any data so released is inadmissible in a civil lawsuit. [ [http://www.protectpolice.org/docs/tiahrt_amendment.pdf Full text of current Tiahrt Amendment] From ProtectPolice.org, a project of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.] Some groups, including theMayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition , believe that having further access to the BATFE database would help municipal police departments track down sellers of illegal guns and curb crime. These groups are trying to undo the Tiahrt Amendment. [Knight, Healther (June 19, 2007) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/19/BAGHNQHIOB1.DTL "Mayors Fight Gun Measure."] "San Francisco Chronicle".]Electoral History
*2006 race for Kansas 4th District
**Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 64%
**Garth McGinn (D), 34%*2004 race for Kansas 4th District
**Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 66%
**Michael Kinard (D), 31%*2002 race for Kansas 4th District
**Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 61%
**Carlos Nolla (D), 37%*1996 race for Kansas 4th District
**Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 50%
**Randy Rathbun (D), 47%*1994 race for Kansas 4th District
**Todd Tiahrt (R) 53%
**Dan Glickman (D), (inc.) 47%References
External links
* [http://www.house.gov/tiahrt/ U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt] official House site
* [http://toddtiahrt.com/ Todd Tiahrt for Congress] official campaign site
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Todd_Tiahrt Profile] atSourceWatch Congresspedia
* What's The Matter With Kansas? ISBN 0-8050-7774-X
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