John E. Peterson
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| John E. Peterson | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Clinger |
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| Born | December 25, 1938 Titusville, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Sandy Peterson |
| Religion | Methodist |
John E. Peterson (born December 25, 1938) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Since 1997, he has represented the state's mainly rural and largely Republican 5th Congressional district (map) in the U.S. House.
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[edit] Biography
John Peterson was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania on December 25, 1938. After graduating from Titusville High School, Peterson joined the U.S. Army where he served both active and reserve duty from 1957 through 1963. Following his honorable discharge as a Specialist Second Class, Peterson owned and operated a retail food market in his hometown of Pleasantville for 26 years. Peterson also completed a 3-year Rural Leadership Program through Penn State University.
Peterson's first public office was on his local borough council, where he served for eight years before being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1977. In 1984, Peterson was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate where he served for 12 years, chairing both the Public Health and Welfare Committee and the Republican Policy Committee. While in the legislature, Peterson authored the Welfare Reform, Living Will, and AIDS Confidentiality legislation. He also created five Higher Education Councils in his district which enable students from rural areas to earn university degrees right in their own community.
In 1996, Peterson was elected to serve Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a freshman Member of the Education and Workforce Committee, Peterson served on conference committees that made higher education more accessible to all Americans and improved the delivery system for technical education.
Peterson was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee in 1998, where he is currently a member of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, the Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment as well as the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Peterson also serves as Co-Chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of more than 140 Members of Congress committed to strengthening and revitalizing rural communities across America. As the representative of Pennsylvania's largest, most rural district, Peterson is committed to strengthening job creation and economic development strategies; improving access to quality, affordable health care; expanding the availability of new technologies and technical education in rural areas; and enhancing the quality of life for his constituents.
In recognition of his support for rural economic development, Peterson was presented with the Congressional Partnership Award by the National Association of Development Organizations. Peterson was also named Policymaker of the Year by the Association for Career and Technical Education, and was honored by the National Rural Health Association as their 2002 Legislator of the Year for his efforts to improve Medicare funding for rural hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers.
Peterson has been recognized by numerous other organizations including the National Association of Community Health Centers, the Pennsylvania Association of Home Health Agencies, the Seniors Coalition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Americans for Tax Reform, the Association of Consulting Foresters, and the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society.
Peterson has been married to his wife, Saundra, for more than 30 years. They have a son and two granddaughters.
[edit] Environmental Record
Peterson received the lowest possible environmental rating from the nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters in 2006, casting what the group qualified as anti-environment votes on twelve out of twelve critical issues ranging from oil drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, salvage logging and logging roads, and the Clean Water Act, to the Toxics Release Inventory program and low-income energy assistance.[1] The conservative environmental group Republicans for Environmental Protection singled out Peterson as “Worst in the House in 2006” on environmental issues. In addition to assigning the representative a score of zero for his voting record, REP censured him individually for “efforts to remove the moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf gas drilling through the Interior appropriations process.”[2] According to the League of Conservation Voters, “natural gas drilling can create massive amounts of water and air pollution and can leave open the possibility of oil spills, which would be toxic for a wide variety of marine and coastal life.”[3]
[edit] Energy Record
Peterson has been among the most outspoken members of the U.S. House on the issues of increased production of domestic energy, specifically natural gas. As a member of the Interior appropropriations subcomittee, Peterson has worked diligently to remove a 26 year old moratorium on producing oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). He has been referred to by President George W. Bush, who he has routinely taken on, as "Mr. Energy", and has introduced the first House energy production bill in the 110th Congress in the National Environment and Energy Development (NEED) Act, which is a natural gas production only bill.
[edit] References
- ^ LCV 2006 Scorecard
- ^ Republicans for Environmental Protection 2006 Scorecard
- ^ [1] LCV 2005 ‘’Scorecard’’]
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congressman John E. Peterson official House site
- John E. Peterson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Mr. John Peterson campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — John Peterson issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — John E. Peterson campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative John E. Peterson (PA) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — John Peterson profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: John E. Peterson voting record
- The Political Graveyard
| Preceded by Bill Clinger |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district 1997 – present |
Incumbent |
