Todd Tiahrt
Encyclopedia
Todd Tiahrt (ˈtiːhɑrt ; born June 15, 1951) is the former U.S. Representative
for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party
. The district encompasses 11 counties in the south central region of the state, including the city of Wichita. He was succeeded by Republican Mike Pompeo
.
Tiahrt ran unsuccessfully in 2010 for the United States Senate
seat held by Sam Brownback
. He lost to fellow Republican U.S. Representative Jerry Moran
of Hays
, Kansas. After the primary election, Tiahrt endorsed Moran for the general election.
, South Dakota
. He attended and earned a bachelor's degree from Evangel College
and received an M.B.A. from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield
. He worked for Boeing
, where he worked on numerous government contracts, from 1981 until his election to Congress.
(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. Some groups, including the Mayors 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. Conversely, the Tiahrt Amendment is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police
, as it allows municipal police departments full access to BATFE trace data in any criminal investigation.
's mother might have aborted him if she had had access to government-paid abortion services.
Tiahrt said tax funding of abortion would "encourage women who are single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?"
Tiahrt also applied the same suggestion to Clarence Thomas
, who was born in poverty and reared mainly by his grandfather. "Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court
justice, if those circumstances were in place, is it possible that we would be denied his great mind?" Tiahrt said.
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 incumbent Dan Glickman
. One 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 in 1996, Tiahrt was reelected five more times with little difficulty, including 68% of the vote in 2004 and with over 63% of the vote in 2006.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. The district encompasses 11 counties in the south central region of the state, including the city of Wichita. He was succeeded by Republican Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He has also served as a Kansas representative on the Republican National Committee.-Early life, education, and early career:...
.
Tiahrt ran unsuccessfully in 2010 for the United States Senate
United States Senate election in Kansas, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 2, 2010 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Sam...
seat held by Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
. He lost to fellow Republican U.S. Representative Jerry Moran
Jerry Moran
Jerry Moran is the junior U.S. Senator from Kansas and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing ....
of Hays
Hays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
, Kansas. After the primary election, Tiahrt endorsed Moran for the general election.
Early life, education and career
Tiahrt was born in VermillionVermillion, South Dakota
Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. He attended and earned a bachelor's degree from Evangel College
Evangel University
Evangel University is the national university of arts, sciences and professions in Springfield, Missouri. Evangel College was renamed Evangel University on June 8, 1998. The campus sits on that were originally part of . The first President of Evangel was Klaude Kendrick who served from 1955-1958....
and received an M.B.A. from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
. He worked for Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, where he worked on numerous government contracts, from 1981 until his election to Congress.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AppropriationsUnited States House Committee on AppropriationsThe Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
- Subcommittee on DefenseUnited States House Appropriations Subcommittee on DefenseThe House Subcommittee on Defense is a standing subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Appropriations.-Members, 112th Congress:-External links:* Official page...
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Defense
Leadership roles and Caucus memberships
- Dean of Kansas' delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives
- Founder and chairman of the House Economic Competitiveness Caucus
Tiahrt Amendment
Tiahrt is the author of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
(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. Some groups, including the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a coalition of over 600 mayors who support a number of gun control initiatives that the group calls "commonsense reforms" to fight illegal gun trafficking and gun violence in the United States...
, 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. Conversely, the Tiahrt Amendment is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police
Fraternal Order of Police
The Fraternal Order of Police is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It claims a membership of over 325,000 members organized in 2100 local chapters , organized into local lodges, state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge...
, as it allows municipal police departments full access to BATFE trace data in any criminal investigation.
Tiahrt-Bilbray Bill Fairness for American Students Act
A bill was introduced by U.S. Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) and U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) called the Fairness for American Students Act that would close a loophole in current law that several states have used to provide lower-cost college tuition to illegal immigrants compared to tuition rates U.S. citizens from neighboring states have to pay. Kansas and Nebraska are two of the states that currently offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.Abortion
Rep. Tiahrt has opposed measures to sanction government-funded abortions. In July 2009, he drew criticism from the Kansas Democratic Party when he suggested that President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's mother might have aborted him if she had had access to government-paid abortion services.
Tiahrt said tax funding of abortion would "encourage women who are single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?"
Tiahrt also applied the same suggestion to Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
, who was born in poverty and reared mainly by his grandfather. "Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
justice, if those circumstances were in place, is it possible that we would be denied his great mind?" Tiahrt said.
Comments on the TSA
On the 23rd of November in 2010, Tiahrt spoke in Wichita against recent TSA security measures and how they affect citizens' privacy.Stimulus spending
Tiahrt voted against the 2009 Stimulus Bill in the House and has spoken against the stimulus in the House, planning to introduce an act to repeal the stimulus.Political campaigns
Tiahrt was elected to the Kansas State SenateKansas Senate
The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal amount of districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members of the Senate are elected to a four year term....
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 incumbent Dan Glickman
Dan Glickman
Daniel Robert "Dan" Glickman is an American businessman and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001, prior to which he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas as a Democrat in Congress for 18 years. He was Chairman and CEO of the...
. One factor in the win was the 1990s reapportionment, in which Hutchinson
Hutchinson, Kansas
Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, United States, northwest of Wichita, on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch"...
and surrounding Reno County
Reno County, Kansas
Reno County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 64,511 for the 2010 census. The largest city and county seat is Hutchinson. The Hutchinson Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Reno County.-19th century:In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska...
were shifted to the "Big 1st" District. Hutchinson was replaced with more reliably Republican Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Kansas
Montgomery County is a county located in southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 35,471. Its county seat is Independence, and its most populous city is Coffeyville. The Coffeyville Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Montgomery...
. After a tough reelection bid in 1996, Tiahrt was reelected five more times with little difficulty, including 68% of the vote in 2004 and with over 63% of the vote in 2006.
Campaign Finances
Tiahrt’s top campaign contributors and the amount of their contributions are as follows :- Boeing Co with $37,900
- Koch Industries with $36,363
- QC Holdings with $21,300
- NorPAC with 19,800
- Textron Inc with $15,600
- Dodgdon Powder with $12,200
- The United Parcel Service with $10,250
- American Interventional Pain Physicians with $10,000
- Fiat SPA with $10,000
- Lockheed Martin with $10,000
Electoral history
- 2008 race for Kansas 4th District
- Todd Tiahrt (R), (inc.) 63.63%
- Donald BettsDonald BettsDonald Betts, Jr. is a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 29th District since a special election in 2004. He previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2003 through 2004.-Biography:...
(D), 32.17%
- 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 GlickmanDan GlickmanDaniel Robert "Dan" Glickman is an American businessman and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001, prior to which he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas as a Democrat in Congress for 18 years. He was Chairman and CEO of the...
(D), (inc.) 47%
External links
- U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt official U.S. House site
- Todd Tiahrt for Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...