Mark Kirk

 

Mark Kirk
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2001–
Preceded by	John Edward Porter
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	September 15 1959 (1959--) (age 48) Champaign, Illinois
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kim Vertolli Kirk
Religion	United Church of Christ

Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing Illinois's 10th congressional district (map).

Early life and education

Kirk was born in Champaign, Illinois, graduated from Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth in 1973, and New Trier East High School in 1977. He attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México before graduating cum laude in history from Cornell University. Kirk received a Masters Degree from the London School of Economics, and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University.

Kirk was commissioned in 1989 as an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve. He is one of only two members of Congress serving as a drilling reservist one weekend a month and two weeks a year. In the Navy, Kirk served during conflicts with Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. He served aboard USS Normandy and USS John C Stennis. Kirk also served three tours in Panama and was an aircrewman over Iraq as part of Operation Northern Watch. He was named U.S. Navy Reserve "Intelligence Officer of the Year" in 1999 for his combat service in Kosovo.^[1]

Career prior to election to Congress

Kirk served on the staff of his predecessor, Congressman John Porter, and eventually became his chief of staff. Kirk then served in the World Bank (1990) before President Bush Sr. named him as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. ^{[citation needed]} At the State Department, Kirk worked on ending civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. President Clinton reappointed Kirk to work in his Administration on the restoration of democracy in Haiti.^{[citation needed]}

Kirk then practiced law with Baker & McKenzie (1993–94) before being named as a Counsel to the House International Relations Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Election and re-elections

Kirk defeated 11 candidates for Congress in the 2000 Republican primary. He then won in general elections with 51% (2000), 69% (2002), 64% (2004) and 53% (2006). His opponents were Lauren Beth Gash, Hank Perrit, Lee Goodman and, most recently, Daniel Seals.

See also: Illinois 10th congressional district election, 2006

Kirk will face a Democratic challenger in the 2008 election. Seals and Jay Footlik have announced their intentions to run for the Democratic nomination.

Committees and caucuses

Kirk was appointed to the powerful Appropriations Committee in 2002 and was elected the co-Chairman of the Republican Moderate Tuesday Group Caucus in 2004. Kirk is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, The Republican Majority for Choice, and Republicans for Environmental Protection.

Kirk is the founder and co-chair of the Iran Working Group along with Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), the U.S.-China Working Group along with Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and the Congressional Kidney Caucus along with Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA).

Political actions and positions

Kirk shepherded H.R. 810, the Stem Cell bill, through the House in 2005.

The Lake Michigan Alliance and the League of Conservation Voters recognized Congressman Kirk for his environmental actions,^[2] including:

• Author — Great Lakes Water Protection Act
• Author — Mercury Pollution Reduction Act
• Secured transfer to Ft. Sheridan Bluffs to environmental trust
• Secured funding for environmental cleanup Waukegan Harbor
• Awarded Medal of Courage by Alaska Coalition for protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Congress

Kirk voted for the House "enforcement-only" immigration bill, which includes punishing employers who hire illegal immigrants and calls for a tough barrier at the United States–Mexico border.^[2]. In July 2007, he proposed a long term solution to the problem of Mexican immigration: shipping condoms to poor area of Mexico: "A slower rate of growth of Mexico's population would improve the economy of Mexico. It would also reduce the environmental pressure on Mexico's ecosystem. But a slower rate of growth would also reduce the long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders"^[3]

On November 5, 2005, while speaking at Northwestern University, Kirk was asked how he felt about stricter visa policies applied to Arab foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States. Kirk answered: "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm OK with that. I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them."^[4]. He said that the statement was "politically uncomfortable", and later issued a statement to clarify his position on the issue: "We need to strengthen our visa entry process to guard against the threat, and we need intense scrutiny on applicants from terrorist producing countries," Kirk said. "Ignoring that reality would only do a disservice to our country's security."^[5]

Ratings

Kirk received a 75% approval rating in 2006, after a 39% approval rating in 2005, from the League of Conservation Voters, a group that assesses the environmental records of Congressmen.^[6]. He received an A from Illinois Citizens Against Handgun Violence. Kirk was endorsed in 2006 by the Human Rights Campaign, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Planned Parenthood, the Jewish Political Alliance of Illinois and JAC PAC.

Contributors

According to Federal Election Commission records, Kirk has received numerous contributions from Political action committees and individuals. Several contributors have district ties, such as Abbott Laboratories and Baxter International. Abbott and Baxter are the largest and third largest employers in the 10th District of Illinois, respectively. Medical associations, defense contractors, and other groups have contributed.

FEC records show Kirk received financial support from Americans for a Republican Majority, a PAC formed by Tom DeLay. As reports of misconduct surfaced against DeLay in 2004, Kirk returned all monies received from ARMPAC immediately.

Mark Kirk received a donation from Congressman Bob Ney, who pled guilty to bribery. Kirk refunded the Ney contribution in the 2nd quarter of 2006.

Kirk received funds from American Prosperity PAC, which was controlled by Republican Duke Cunningham, who pleaded guilty to federal charges. Kirk refunded the Cunningham contribution and contributions from all parties affiliated with the case when news of wrongdoing first became public.

2007

In March of 2007, Kirk worked to strip the so called, "Del Monte Loophole" from the minimum wage bill attached to the Iraq Supplemental funding appropriations bill. The bill, authored by the Democratic majority, had exempted America Samoa from being a part of the minimum wage increase. Kirk said that he believes that the American minimum wage should apply to all Americans. ^[7]

In May of 2007 Kirk was part of a Republican delegation that explained to Bush his actions, in respect to Iraq, were hurting the Republican party.^[8]

He was also involved in proposing a bill for sanctioning Iranians in June 2007. "The Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act of 2007" targets any company or individual that provides Iran with refined petroleum products or engages in an activity that could contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to import refined products after December 31 2007.^[9]

References

External links

• U.S. Congressman Mark Kirk Official House site
• Kirk for Congress Official Campaign Site
• Mark Kirk at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Mark Steven Kirk campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Mark Kirk issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Mark Kirk campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Mark Steven Kirk (IL) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Mark Kirk profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Mark Kirk voting record

Preceded by John Edward Porter

U.S. Representative of Illinois's 10th Congressional District 2001–

Succeeded by Incumbent

Illinois's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators	Richard Durbin (D), Barack Obama (D)
Representative(s)	Bobby Rush (D), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D), Dan Lipinski (D), Luis Gutiérrez (D), Rahm Emanuel (D), Peter Roskam (R), Danny Davis (D), Melissa Bean (D), Jan Schakowsky (D), Mark Kirk (R), Jerry Weller (R), Jerry Costello (D), Judy Biggert (R), Dennis Hastert (R), Tim Johnson (R), Donald Manzullo (R), Phil Hare (D), Ray LaHood (R), John Shimkus (R)
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