Jim Inhofe

Jim Inhofe
United States Senator from Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office  November 17, 1994 Serving with Tom Coburn
Preceded by	David L. Boren
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 1st district
In office January 3, 1987 – November 17, 1994
Preceded by	James Robert Jones
Succeeded by	Steve Largent
32nd Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma
In office 1978 – 1984
Preceded by	Robert J. LaFortune
Succeeded by	Terry Young
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jim Jeffords
Succeeded by	Barbara Boxer
Born	November 17, 1934 (1934-11-17) (age 74) Des Moines, Iowa
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kay Inhofe
Residence	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Alma mater	University of Tulsa
Occupation	insurance executive
Religion	Presbyterian
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1957-1958

James Mountain "Jim" Inhofe (born November 17, 1934) is an American politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the senior Senator from Oklahoma. He is among the most vocal global warming skeptics in Congress.^[1] Inhofe often cites the Bible as the source for his positions on various political issues.^[2]

Early life

Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa and moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was a child. He was a member of the Class of 1953 at Tulsa Central High School,^[3] and served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1958.^[4][5]

In 1959, Inhofe married Kay Kirkpatrick, with whom he has four children.

Inhofe received a B.A. degree from the University of Tulsa in 1973, at the age of 38.

In his business career, Inhofe was a real estate developer and became president of the Quaker Life Insurance Company. That company went into receivership while he managed it; it was liquidated in 1986.^[6]

Political career

Inhofe became active in Oklahoma Republican politics in the mid-1960s.

He was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969, and a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 1969 until 1977, the last four of those years as minority leader. During his time in the state senate, he ran twice for election to other positions: for Governor of Oklahoma in 1974, losing to Democrat David Boren, and in 1976, losing a race to represent Oklahoma's First Congressional District (which was based in Tulsa) to incumbent Democrat James R. Jones. He served as mayor of Tulsa from 1978 to 1984.

House career

In 1986, when Jones retired, Inhofe made another bid for Congress from the 1st congressional district. This time, he won and he continued to serve in Congress from 1987 until 1994, being handily re-elected every two years in what rapidly became a strongly Republican district. He first came to national attention in 1993, when he led the effort to reform the House's Discharge petition rule, which the House leadership had long used to bottle up bills in committee.

Oklahoma

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Oklahoma

Constitution United States Constitution Oklahoma Constitution Executive Government Governor: Brad Henry Lieutentant Governor: Jari Askins Secretary of State: M. Susan Savage State Auditor: Steve Burrage Attorney General: Drew Edmondson State Treasurer: Scott Meacham State School Superintendent: Sandy Garrett Labor Commissioner: Lloyd Fields Insurance Commissioner: Kim Holland Corporation Commission: Bob Anthony - Chair Jeff Cloud - Vice Chair Dana Murphy - Secretary State Cabinet and State Agencies Legislature Legislature: 52nd Senate President of the Senate: Jari Askins President pro tempore: Glenn Coffee House of Representatives Speaker of the House: Chris Benge Judiciary Court System Supreme Court Court of Criminal Appeals Court of Civil Appeals Court on the Judiciary Court of Impeachment Nominating Commission Elections Elections State Election Board Last election Political parties Democratic Party Republican Party Political party strength Divisions Counties Cities and Towns Federal Relations Federal representation Senate Jim Inhofe (R) Tom Coburn (R) House of Representatives 1: John Sullivan (R) 2: Dan Boren (D) 3: Frank Lucas (R) 4: Tom Cole (R) 5: Mary Fallin (R) Politics of the United States

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Senate career

In 1994, incumbent Sen. David Boren, who had been serving in the Senate since 1979, agreed to become president of the University of Oklahoma and announced he would resign as soon as a successor was elected. Inhofe won the Republican nomination for the November special election and was swept to victory amid a strong Republican tide that saw the Republicans take both houses of Congress and elected the state's second-ever Republican governor. He took office on November 17, his 60th birthday, giving him a bit more Senatorial seniority than the incoming class of senators. After serving the last two years of Boren's term, he won his first full term in 1996. He was re-elected in 2002 and 2008.

Only Texas senator John Cornyn received more campaign donations from the oil and gas industry than Inhofe in the 2002 election cycle.^[7] The contributions Inhofe has received from the energy and natural resource sector since taking office have exceeded one million dollars.^[8]

Committee membership

Inhofe, as of the 111th Congress, is a member of the following committees:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Environment and Public Works (Ranking Minority Member)

Political views

Inhofe is one of the most conservative members of either house of Congress (the eighth-most conservative Senator, according to the March 2007 National Journal rankings of Liberal/Conservative members of Congress.^[9])

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he was among the panelists questioning witnesses about the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse. There he made news by claiming he was "outraged by the outrage" over the revelations of abuse, suggesting that shock at the crimes was more offensive than the crimes themselves.^[10][11] In 2006, Inhofe was one of only nine senators to vote against the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 which prohibits "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of individuals in U.S. Government custody.^[12][13]

Environmental issues

Inhofe, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is a strong critic of the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activities. In a July 28, 2003, Senate speech, Inhofe claimed to offer "compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists."^[14] He cited as support for this the 1992 Heidelberg Appeal and the Oregon Petition (1999), as well the opinions of individual scientists that he named. In his speech, Inhofe also claimed that, "satellite data, confirmed by NOAA balloon measurements, confirms that no meaningful warming has occurred over the last century."^[15] However the satellite temperature record corroborates the well-documented warming trend noted in surface temperature measurements.^[16] Additionally, the satellite record begins in 1979 and the balloon record effectively in 1958, so it is unclear what Inhofe means by "last century". Inhofe's views have been opposed by climate scientists.^[17]

In a 2006 interview with the Tulsa World newspaper, Inhofe said regarding the environmentalist movement, "It kind of reminds... I could use the Third Reich, the Big Lie... You say something over and over and over and over again, and people will believe it, and that's their [the environmentalists'] strategy... A hot summer has nothing to do with global warming. Let's keep in mind it was just three weeks ago that people were saying, 'Wait a minute; it is unusually cool...." He then said, "Everything on which they [the environmentalists] based their story, in terms of the facts, has been refuted scientifically."^[18] Inhofe had previously compared the United States Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo^[19] and he compared EPA Administrator Carol Browner to Tokyo Rose.^[20] He had also made allegations that the Weather Channel is behind the alleged global warming hoax, so as to attract viewers.^[21][22] Inhofe had previously claimed that Global Warming is "the second-largest hoax ever played on the American people, after the separation of church and state."^[23]

Inhofe, claiming uncertainties related to climate science and the adverse impact that mandatory emissions reductions would have on the U.S. economy, voted on June 22, 2005 to reject an amendment to an energy bill that would have forced reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and created a mandatory emissions trading scheme. "Global warming is still considered to be a theory and has not come close to being sufficiently proven", he said.^{[citation needed]}

Inhofe has similarly criticized predictions of ozone depletion, particularly in relation to the Arctic.^[24]

In 2006, Inhofe gave a speech in the Senate in which he argued that the threat of global warming was exaggerated by "the media, Hollywood elites and our pop culture." Inhofe claimed that "From the late 1920s until the 1960s they [the media] warned of global warming. From the 1950s until the 1970s they warned us again of a coming ice age. This makes modern global warming the fourth estate's fourth attempt to promote opposing climate change fears during the last 100 years." He also accused the media of ignoring scientists such as Roger A. Pielke and William Gray who, Inhofe claims, disagree with global warming.^[25]

In 2006, Inhofe introduced Senate Amendment 4682 with Kit Bond (R-MO). This bill would have released the Army Corps of Engineers from oversight by independent review committees; according to the League of Conservation Voters, analyses for Corps projects "have been manipulated to favor large-scale projects that harm the environment."^[26] During the 109th Congress, Inhofe voted to increase offshore oil drilling, to include provisions for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the House Budget Amendment, and to deny funding for both low-income energy assistance and environmental stewardship, citing heavy costs and unproven programs.^[26] As of 2006, the League of Conservation Voters has given Inhofe the lowest possible score on environmental issues.^[27]

Support for Israel

In a Senate speech (March 4, 2002) James M. Inhofe presented his position on the "seven reasons that Israel has the right to their land" ^[28]

These are summarized as follows:

1. Archeological evidence. Excerpt: "Every time there is a dig in Israel, it does nothing but support the fact that Israelis have had a presence there for 3,000 years"
2. Historic right. Inhofe's case includes the historic presence of Israel prior to the Roman Empire, and the promise given to the Jews by Britain in 1917 to provide a Jewish homeland.
3. Agricultural development. That Israel has been "able to bring more food out of a desert environment than any other country in the world."
4. Humanitarian Concerns. Inhofe argues that due to the extent of their persecution - he cites Russia - and their slaughter - during World War Two by the Nazis - the Jews are entitled to a homeland, and that this is not an unreasonable demand.
5. Strategic Ally of the United States. "They vote with us in the United Nations more than England, more than Canada, more than France, more than Germany -- more than any other country in the world."
6. Israel acts as an effective roadblock to terrorism. In this part of his speech, Inhofe refers to four wars which Israel has fought and won (as of the date of his speech, dated 2002): "The 1948 War of Independence, the 1956 Sinai campaign, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War." And he states that "In all four cases, Israel was attacked. They were not the aggressor ... In regard to their effectiveness They are great warriors. They consider a level playing field being outnumbered 2-to-1." He also states at this point that, "One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."^{[citation needed]}
7. Biblical references. Inhofe states, "I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel, and that it has a right to the land, because God said so."

In a Senate speech, Inhofe said that America should base its Israel policy on the text of the Bible:^{[citation needed]}

I believe very strongly that we ought to support Israel; that it has a right to the land. This is the most important reason: Because God said so. As I said a minute ago, look it up in the Book of Genesis. It is right up there on the desk.

In Genesis 13:14–17, the Bible says:

The Lord said to Abraham, "Lift up now your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward and westward: for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. . . . Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee." That is God talking.

The Bible says that Abraham removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar before the Lord. Hebron is in the West Bank. It is at this place where God appeared to Abram and said, "I am giving you this land — the West Bank". This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true.

In March 2002, Inhofe also made a speech before the U.S. Senate that included the explicit suggestion that the 9/11 attacks were a form of divine retribution against the U.S. for failing to defend Israel. In his words: "One of the reasons I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our Government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."^[29]

Immigration

Inhofe wrote the Inhofe Amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which was debated in Congress in May 2006. The amendment would make English the national language of the United States and require that new citizens take an English proficiency test. The amendment was passed on May 18, 2006 with 32 Democrats, 1 independent, and 1 Republican dissenting. The measure had 11 cosponsors, including one Democrat.

In the debate, Inhofe cited a 2005 Zogby Poll^[30] showing 84% of Americans support making English the official language of governmental operations, including 71% of Hispanics. He also noted that 27 states and 51 nations have made English their official language and that the Office of Management and Budget estimated that it costs taxpayers between $1–2 billion to provide language assistance under President Clinton’s Executive Order 13166 that created the entitlement to services provided in any language other than English.

Student loans

Sen. Inhofe is one of a small minority of senators opposed to expanding access to students by lowering interest rates. According to the Claremore Daily Progress, Inhofe was one of 12 senators who voted against a 2007 bill to cut interest rates on student loans in half from 6.8% to 3.4%. The bill passed 79-12.^[31]

LGBT rights

Inhofe points at large photograph of his family, proclaiming none have been divorced or LGBT

Inhofe has generally been seen as overtly hostile by LGBT advocacy groups, earning a 0% in every one of his terms on Human Rights Campaign's position scorecard.^[32] Inhofe is in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, against adding sexual orientation to the definition of hate crimes, and voted against prohibiting job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.^[33] Inhofe’s office has said he “does not hire openly gay staffers due to the possibility of a conflict of agenda.”^[34]

Inhofe campaigned for his Senate seat in 1994 using the phrase "God, guns, and gays," reflecting his ability to master political support in opposition to gay rights in general (and gays in the military in particular).^[35][36] This phrase came to be a popular term for GOP campaign strategy, with Howard Dean and other politicians using it in the 2004 election cycle.^[37] In 2008 his campaign was noted by the Associated Press for running an ad with "anti-gay overtones" featuring a wedding cake with two male figures on top, fading into his opponent's face. ^{[38] [39]}

On June 6, 2006, in a speech on the Senate floor about the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, Inhofe said, pointing at a large photograph of his family:

...As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we’ll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship.

– ^[40][41]

GI Bill reform

Inhofe, an initial sponsor of Senator Jim Webb's Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, subsequently withdrew support for this bill to support S 2938, a competing bill that would have provided benefits beyond those offered in Webb's bill.^[42] However, Inhofe nevertheless did vote to enact Webb's legislation in June 2008.^[43]

Aviation

Trained by the US Navy, Inhofe is one of the very few national politicians who is licensed as a commercial pilot, and he has always been influential in Senate and Congressional debates involving aircraft regulation. He has been noted for using his plane in 1994 as a daily campaign vehicle to crisscross Oklahoma and visit almost every town in the state. ^[44][45]

Electoral history

See also

• U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works
• Politics of Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Republican Party
• List of U.S. Senators from Oklahoma

Notes

External links

• United States Senator James Inhofe official Senate site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Collected news and commentary from The New York Times
• U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
• "Catastrophic global warming alarmism not based on objective science" Monday, July 28, 2003
• “Hot & Cold Media Spin: A Challenge To Journalists Who Cover Global Warming” Speech on Senate Floor, September 25, 2006
• Criticism of Inhofe's outrage at the outrage regarding torture Counterpunch
• Inhofe Says Boxer, Hillary Clinton Discussed Reining in Conservative Talk Radio Three Years Ago or a week ago June 23, 2007
• Plane Carrying U.S. Lawmakers Is Shot At in Iraq, The New York Times, August 31, 2007
• Inhofe2008.com
• Inhofe's latest windmill: More bogus climate skepticism

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