Vern Ehlers

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Vernon Ehlers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 7, 1993
Preceded by	Paul Henry
Born	February 6, 1934 (1934-02-06) (age 74) Pipestone, Minnesota
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Johanna Ehlers
Religion	Christian Reformed Church

Vernon James "Vern" Ehlers (born February 6, 1934) is a United States politician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He has represented Michigan's 3rd congressional district ([1]) since 1993. The district is based in Grand Rapids and was once represented by former President Gerald Ford.

Born in Pipestone, Minnesota, Vern Ehlers attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids for three years before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned an undergraduate degree in physics and, in 1960, a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. After six years of teaching and research at Berkeley, he moved to Calvin College in 1966 where he taught physics for 16 years and later served as chairman of the Physics Department.

Chairman Ehlers greets Ranking Member Juanita Millender-McDonald at a hearing of the House Administration Committee.

He began his political career in 1974 while still at Calvin, when he was elected to the Kent County board of commissioners. He served four terms, then spent 10 years in the Michigan state legislature — two years in the state house and eight in the state senate.

In 1993, he won a special election for the 3rd District, which had been vacant since Congressman Paul B. Henry died six months into his fifth term. He won a full term in 1994 and has been reelected six times with little significant Democratic opposition.

Congressman Ehlers served as chairman of the House Administration Committee in the 109th Congress after Bob Ney resigned from the position. In the 110th Congress, he serves as the ranking member of the committee. On the Science and Technology Committee, he serves as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education. He is also a member of the Education and Labor Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Congressman Ehlers is a moderate Republican. According to the National Journal, in 2006 his votes split 50-50 between "liberal" and "conservative." While strongly anti-abortion and supportive of lowering taxes, he is willing to break with his party on environmental and government spending issues. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and Republicans for Environmental Protection.

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
• Committee on House Administration (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Elections
  • Fine Arts Board (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Co-chair of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Ed Caucus

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers official House site
• Vern Ehlers at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Vern Ehlers for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Federal Election Commission — Vernon J Ehlers campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Vernon Ehlers issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Vernon J. Ehlers campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Vernon J. Ehlers (MI) profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Vern Ehlers voting record
• SourceWatch Congresspedia - Vernon Ehlers profile