James T. Walsh

Infobox Congressman|name= Jim Walsh


width=200
state= New York
district= 25th
party= Republican
term_start=January 3, 1989
preceded=George Wortley
succeeded= Incumbent
date of birth= birth date and age|1947|06|19
place of birth= Syracuse, New York
religion = Roman Catholic
spouse= DeDe Walsh
alma_mater= St. Bonaventure University
residence= Syracuse, New York
occupation= college professor

James Thomas "Jim" Walsh (born June 19, 1947) is an American Republican politician from New York, currently representing the state's 25th Congressional District [ [http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/ny25_109.gifMap] ] in the United States House of Representatives.

Biography

Walsh was born in Syracuse, New York and graduated from St. Bonaventure University. He served in the Peace Corps in Nepal 1970–72. Walsh was then elected to the Syracuse common council. He ran as a Republican and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988. Walsh has been re-elected without significant challenge in each election, except for 1996 when he was challenged by Cortland attorney Marty Mack and won by a 55%-45% margin, and in 2006 when he was challenged by Democrat Dan Maffei and won by a 51-49% margin.

Walsh's father, William F. Walsh, served as Mayor of Syracuse (1961–69) and represented Central New York and the Finger Lakes region in the U.S. House of Representatives (1973–78).

In June 2003, [http://www.ecs.syr.edu/news_detail.asp?IDin=79&year=2003 The Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems] (an industry group) presented Congressman Walsh with the Syracuse University Willis H. Carrier Award. This award serves to honor Walsh for his years of service and commitment to protecting the environment and for helping to foster an economic hub for environmental technology through his financial support of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems (CoE-ES) and the New York Indoor Environmental Quality Center (NYIEQ). Walsh is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection.

He is a firm supporter of the Destiny USA project in Syracuse. Walsh has been a firm advocate of stem cell research, although he is opposed to using embryos as a source of the stem cells for such research. [ [http://www.house.gov/list/speech/ny25_walsh/jj_060720.html Jim's Journal-STEM CELL STATEMENT ] ]

Walsh is considered an influential figure in the sustaining of Syracuse University (SU). He has helped get funding for many projects run by SU, including Chancellor Nancy Cantor's Connective Corridor project.

Walsh is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04411: Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411] ] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04777: Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777] ]

On September 10, 2007, Jim Walsh stated that he now favors a gradual withdraw of American forces from Iraq. This announcement came months after Walsh opposed President Bush's troop surge, and the Congressman claims that it was a result of personally going to Iraq and finding that the Iraqi government and military have not done enough on their end. Walsh stated, "We've done enough. No country has done more than we have for Iraq. The question I kept coming up with is how much do we have to give Iraq to make things work? I think we have given enough." [http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1189501295103810.xml&coll=1] Walsh supports a bipartisan bill that would set a withdrawal date for American troops.

Committee Assignments

*Appropriations Committee
**Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
**Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
*Co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus
*Co-Chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Ireland

2008 Election

With Walsh's seat becoming one of the top battlegrounds for the 2008 congressional elections, he announced that he would not seek another term. [ [http://cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002660234 CQ Politics | GOP Rep. Walsh Retires, Leaves Open Battleground New York District ] ]

Walsh was a prominent endorser of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign. He said of the candidate:

I know what Rudy Giuliani can do. I was proud to work with Rudy while he was Mayor and I’ve seen the direct results of his actions and his demands for accountability and high standards. When times are tough, he’s the leader you want, and I’m proud to support him for President.Fact|date=May 2007

References

External links

* [http://walsh.house.gov/ U.S. Congressman James T. Walsh] official House site
*CongBio|W000099
* [http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/can_detail/H8NY27036 Federal Election Commission — James T Walsh] campaign finance reports and data
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/NY/Jim_Walsh.htm On the Issues — Jim Walsh] issue positions and quotes
* [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2028022.html Peace Corps biography of James Walsh] news clips
* [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?CID=N00001261 OpenSecrets.org — James T. Walsh] campaign contributions
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jim_Walsh SourceWatch Congresspedia - James Walsh] profile
* [http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/a000363/ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: James T. Walsh] voting record