Marcy Kaptur

Marcy Kaptur
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 9th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Ed Weber
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	June 17 1946 (1946--) (age 61) Toledo, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	single
Religion	Roman Catholic

Marcia Carolyn "Marcy" Kaptur (born June 17, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for the Ninth Congressional District of Ohio, based in Toledo. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Kaptur is currently the longest-serving woman in the House of Representatives.

Kaptur, who is of Polish descent, was born in Toledo and graduated from St. Ursula Academy in 1964. She received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968 and a master of arts degree from the University of Michigan in 1974. She did post-graduate study in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.

Kaptur served on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975 and was director of planning for the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (1975–1977) founded by the late Msgr. Geno Baroni. She later served as a domestic policy advisor during the Carter Administration.

In 1982, she defeated Republican Congressman Ed Weber by 19 points. While the 9th has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold, Kaptur's win was and still is considered an upset. She faced a strong challenge from Frank Venner, longtime anchorman and weatherman at WTVG, in 1984, taking 55% of the vote even as Ronald Reagan carried the district. She has only faced one truly serious opponent since, when Lucas County auditor Larry Kaczala ran against her in 2004. The Republicans initially thought Kaptur was vulnerable after she compared Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda to the Founding Fathers. [1][2] However, Kaptur turned back this challenge fairly easily, winning 68% of the vote — the only time since 1984 that she didn't gain 70% of the vote. Even after her comments, her approval ratings remained in the 70s.

She is the senior Ohioan on the House Appropriations Committee, where she is the third-ranking Democrat on the Defense Subcommittee. She is also a member of the House Budget Committee.

Responding to a constituent, Roger Durbin, she first suggested the creation of a World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. She introduced legislation to establish a memorial, which was defeated in Congress. Kaptur spoke at the memorial dedication ceremony, along with Durbin's grand-daughter, in May 2004.

Kaptur is a staunch opponent of free trade agreements. She helped lead opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Permanent Normal Trade Relations for the People's Republic of China, and fast track authority for the president. She has consistently supported military spending bills. She voted against federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research in January, 2007.

The National Journal gives Kaptur a score of 68.8, meaning she is more liberal than 68.8 percent of the House Members, which puts her in the least-liberal quadrant of the Democratic caucus. She scores 68 on the liberal scale on economic issues, 66 percent on social issues and 70 percent on foreign policy issues.

See also

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 9th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Campaign Website, powered by WebPario
• U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur official site
• Marcy Kaptur at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Marcy Kaptur campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Marcy Kaptur issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Marcy Kaptur campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Marcy Kaptur (OH) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Marcy Kaptur profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Marcy Kaptur voting record

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