- Mike Conaway
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Mike Conaway Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 11th districtIncumbent Assumed office
January 3, 2005Preceded by Chet Edwards Personal details Born June 11, 1948
Borger, TexasPolitical party Republican Spouse(s) Suzanne Conaway Residence Midland, Texas Alma mater Texas A&M University-Commerce Occupation accountant Religion Southern Baptist Military service Service/branch United States Army Years of service 1970-1972 Kenneth Michael "Mike" Conaway, (born June 11, 1948) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 11th congressional district, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is located in West Texas and includes Midland, Odessa, San Angelo, Brownwood and Fredericksburg.
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Early life, education and career
Conaway was born in Borger in the Texas Panhandle northeast of Amarillo. He graduated in 1966 from Permian High School in Odessa in Ector County. He is a 1970 graduate of East Texas State University (since renamed Texas A&M University–Commerce). He is married to Suzanne Conaway and has four children.[citation needed]
Conaway served in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972,[1] was an accountant and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1974, chief financial officer at a bank, and from 1981 to 1986 was the chief financial officer of Arbusto Energy Inc, an oil and gas exploration firm operated by George W. Bush.
Soon after Bush was elected governor of Texas, he appointed Conaway to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, which regulates accountancy in Texas. He served on the board as a volunteer for seven years, the last five as chairman.[citation needed]
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture
- Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Committee on Ethics
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Caucus memberships
- CPA Caucus (Founder)
- International Conservation Caucus
- Reliable Energy Caucus
- Sportsmen's Caucus
Party leadership
In January 2007, Conaway began chairing the three-member audit committee for the National Republican Congressional Committee. By January 28, 2008, Conaway had uncovered a fraud, where hundreds of thousands of dollars were missing from NRCC bank accounts, and supposed annual audits on the NRCC books had actually not been performed since 2001.[2]
Conaway is one of the few Certified Public Accountants in Congress.
Farm subsidies
From 2003 through 2005, $14.7 billion in crop subsidies went to the congressional districts of members on the House Committee on Agriculture, an analysis by the non-partisan Environmental Working Group found. That was 42.4% of the total subsidies. Conaway is reported to have brought $322 million to his district.[3]
Political campaigns
Conaway first ran for elective office in 2003, when he ran in a special election for the 19th Congressional District, which came open after 18-year Republican incumbent Larry Combest stepped down shortly after winning a 10th term. Conaway lost by 587 votes to fellow Republican Randy Neugebauer. A few months later, the Texas Legislature redrew the state's districts in an effort engineered by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Three brand-new districts were created, one of them being the 11th, which was based in Midland. Previously, Midland had been part of the Lubbock-based 19th District. DeLay was particularly keen to draw a district based in Midland, Odessa and the oil-rich Permian Basin in part because Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick was from that area. This district is heavily Republican — by some accounts, the most Republican district in Texas. Republican candidates usually garner 70 percent or more of the vote in this area (Glasscock County had voted 93.1 percent for Bush in 2000, the highest percentage of any county in the nation). The race was essentially over when Conaway announced his candidacy. He won in November with 77 percent of the vote, one of the largest percentages by anyone facing major-party opposition. He was reelected unopposed in 2006 and faced no major-party opposition in 2008.
Conaway endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for president in 2008.[citation needed]
Personal life
Conaway has long been friends with George W. Bush, and the two mixed in many of the same social circles in Midland.
Conaway served on the Midland Independent School District Board from 1985 to 1988.
References
- ^ "Texas lawmaker uncovers GOP committee fraud", by Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press, published by the Houston Chronicle, March 13, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
- ^ Dilanian, Ken, " Billions go to House panel members' districts", USA Today. July 26, 2007.
External links
- U.S. Congressman Mike Conaway official U.S. House site
- Mike Conaway for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Profile at SourceWatch
- Mike Conaway - Lessons Learned at Odessa Permian Five Part Series
United States House of Representatives Preceded by
Chet EdwardsMember of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 11th congressional district
2005–PresentSucceeded by
IncumbentUnited States order of precedence Preceded by
Emanuel Cleaver
D-MissouriUnited States Representatives by seniority
234thSucceeded by
Jim Costa
D-CaliforniaCategories:- 1948 births
- Living people
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
- School board members in Texas
- People from Midland, Texas
- Texas Republicans
- People from Borger, Texas
- People from Odessa, Texas
- Texas A&M University–Commerce alumni
- Baptists from the United States
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