Todd Russell Platts

Todd Russell Platts
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 19th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Bill Goodling
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 196th district
In office January 5, 1993[1] – November 30, 2000[2]
Preceded by	Ruth B. Harper
Succeeded by	Beverly D. Mackereth
Constituency	Part of York County
Spouse(s)	Leslie Platts
Residence	York, Pennsylvania
Alma mater	Shippensburg University, Pepperdine University
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Episcopalian
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Todd Russell Platts (born March 5, 1962), American politician, is a Congressman from Pennsylvania, currently representing the state's 19th Congressional district in the U.S. House since 2001. The district is located in south-central Pennsylvania, encompassing all of York and Adams Counties, and a large portion of Cumberland County. York, Hanover, Gettysburg and Carlisle are just some of the prominent cities and towns he represents.

Early life and career

Platts was born in York, Pennsylvania, on March 5, 1962. He graduated from York Suburban Senior High School in 1980. He continued his education locally, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in 1984. He then attended Pepperdine University School of Law, and graduated Cum Laude with a Juris Doctorate degree in 1991.

Platts was first elected to public office in November 1992 when he was elected to represent the 196th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives upon the retirement of Ruth B. Harper.^[3]

Congress

Platts was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, after narrowly winning a crowded Republican primary, and easily defeating college professor Jeff Sanders, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. He replaced Congressman William F. Goodling, who chose not to run for re-election that year.

As a Congressman, Platts has supported many of the President George W. Bush's initiatives, including the privatization of Social Security [1], tax cuts, drilling in ANWR, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, the Iraq War, and a ban on same-sex marriage [2].

He opposed any version of Bush's school voucher proposal, supported offshore oil drilling, supported increasing governmently regulated fuel efficiency standards for automobiles, voted for the Matthew Shepard Act a hate crimes prevention bill, and supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation. A full list of "ratings" of Platts' voting record by both conservative and liberal organizations may be found at Ref. [3]; the National Journal political index describes him as having a moderate voting record despite the relatively conservative nature of his district [4] (though the district does include some exurbs of Baltimore, Maryland). That journal gave him "conservative" ratings of 53% (economy), 65% (social issues) and 73% (foreign policy) in the 2004 congress. Platts' district went 64-36 for Bush in 2004.

He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and supports stem-cell research. Early in his political career, after his initial election to the Pennsylvania House, Platts was pro-choice. However, he later changed his views and became pro-life. He remains so to this day, and has a pro-life voting record as a Congressman, though he receives mixed ratings from both the NARAL and National Right to Life Committee.

On recent fiscal measures, Platts has consistently voted against bail-outs of the financial industry and the automakers. He also voted against the economic stimulus legislation, the fiscal year 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, and fiscal year 2010 Budget Resolution.

Platts ran unopposed by the Democratic Party during the 2002 or 2004 elections, although in 2002 he faced opposition in the Republican primary. He faced York College professor and decorated Vietnam Veteran Phil Avillo, Jr. the Democratic nominee, and Derf Maitland of the Green Party in the 2006 election. [5]. Platts won 64% of the vote to Avillo's 33% and Maitland's 3%. In 2008, Platts and Avillo faced off again. With 66.7% of the vote, Platts became the most electorally successful Republican Congressional candidate in the Northeast.

Congressional committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Committees of Representative Todd Russell Platts

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2008#District 19

References

External links

• Media related to Todd Platts at Wikimedia Commons
• Congressman Todd Russell Platts official U.S. House website
• Todd Platts for U.S. Congress official campaign website

• 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
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia