Ralph Hall

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Latest revision as of 08:54, March 5, 2009


U.S. Representative

Ralph Hall (R)

400165.jpeg

TX-04
Positions
Leadership: No leadership position
Committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Science and Technology
(subcommittees and past assignments)
Next election: Nov. 6, 2012

Primary challenge: No

Incumbent running: Yes

2012 candidates for TX-04

Confirmed: VaLinda Hathcox, Ralph Hall
Possible: None so far
Out: None so far
(more info & editing for TX-04)
On the Web
Official website


Ralph Moody Hall, a Republican, has represented the Fourth Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1980.


Contents

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes.

Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it!

Organization 2007 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio 		2008 Scorecard
Score - Agree ratio
American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail.
American Conservative Union 96 - 23/25 not avail.
AFSCME not avail. not avail.
Americans for Democratic Action 10 - 2/20 30 - 6/20
Club for Growth not avail. not avail.
Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail.
Family Research Council not avail. not avail.
Information Technology Industry Council not avail. not avail.
League of Conservation Voters not avail. not avail.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce 90 - 18/20 not avail.


Iraq War

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Hall voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.[1]

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Oil

Ralph Hall has voted in favor of big oil companies on 82% of important oil-related bills from 2005-2007, according to Oil Change International. These bills include Iraq war funding, climate change studies, clean energy, and emissions.[2] See below for oil money in politics.


Abramoff-sex worker slander accusations

During the 2006 election cycle, Hall's opponent brought forth charges that Hall had slandered an underage sex-crime victim at the behest of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In 1997, Hall made a statement to the Congressional Record calling into question the story of a 15 year old Filipino girl who had been kept as a quasi-sex slave at a gentleman's club in the Northern Marianas Islands. At the time, Congress was considering new legislation governing labor standards in that territory and its government had hired Abramoff to spearhead their campaign against any such new laws. [1]

Bio

Background

Hall was born May 3, 1923. A lifelong resident of Rockwall County, Texas near Dallas, Hall served as a carrier pilot in the Navy during w:World War II. He attended Texas Christian University and the University of Texas, and received a law degree from Southern Methodist University. He was elected county judge (chief executive) of Rockwall County in 1950 and served until 1962, when he was elected to the Texas State Senate and served two terms. He then entered private business until 1980, when he was elected to Congress in the closest race in the district's history, winning by only 4 points. However, he has never faced another election nearly that close. He has been reelected 12 times without serious opposition, never dropping below 55 percent of the vote.

Congressional career

Hall is only the fourth person to represent the 4th District since its creation in 1903. The district's second congressman, longtime Speaker Sam Rayburn, had represented the district for 48 years. Hall's predecessor, Ray Roberts (for whom Lake Ray Roberts in Texas is named),served for 19 years.

Hall was originally elected as a Democrat. However, he described himself as "an old-time conservative Democrat". He was an early supporter of a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget and also favored legislation requiring a super-majority on any tax increases. He frequently clashed with the Clinton administration, and voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Clinton. He endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2000; the two have been friends for many years.

Party Switch

He was frequently rumored as a party switcher, especially after the Republicans took control of the House in 1995. However, Hall insisted he would remain a Democrat so long as it did not hurt his constituents, feeling he had an obligation to "pull my party back toward the middle." He was one of the co-founders of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and conservative Democrats. However, the district, which had once been reliably Democratic, became increasingly Republican as Dallas' suburban growth reached into much of the district (the 4th has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964). In much of the district, Hall was the only elected Democrat above the county level. It was virtually assumed that once Hall retired, the Republican Party would gain this seat.

In 2004, before he changed parties, Hall was spared the Texas Congressional re-districting that most Democrats were faced with. [2]

Hall finally switched parties in 2004, citing concerns for his district after House Appropriations Committee vice-chairman Ralph Regula of Ohio announced that no congressional districts represented by Democrats would receive funding if they voted against his appropriations bill [3] [4]. Hall also cited concerns with the Democrats' criticism of President Bush; he said did not agree with "all these guys running against the president."[5] He was allowed to keep his seniority within the House and became chairman of the House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality. Later that year, he ran for his first full term as a Republican and won with 68 percent of the vote.

2006 elections

In 2006, the Republicans nominated Glenn Melancon to face Hall in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [6] Hall retained his seat.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2008 Election Cycle
DonorAmount (US Dollars)
E-Onlinedata$ 15,000
Energy Future Holdings Corp$ 11,000
Lockheed Martin$ 11,000
American Optometric Assn$ 10,000
AT&T Inc$ 10,000
Every Republican is Crucial PAC$ 10,000
National Auto Dealers Assn$ 10,000
National Beer Wholesalers Assn$ 10,000
Raytheon Co$ 10,000
American Farm Bureau$ 9,647
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site.
Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from
the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Links to more campaign contribution information for Ralph Hall
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2008 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2008 election cycle Career totals

Oil Money in Politics

Ralph Hall has received $78,199 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $53,999 of those dollars were from industry PACS. In total, Hall has accepted $307,930 from oil companies between 2000 and 2008, which makes him one of the largest recipients of oil money.[3] See above for oil and energy voting record.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

  • House Committee on Energy and Commerce
    • Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
    • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
    • Subcommittee on Health
  • House Committee on Science and Technology, Ranking Member
    • Subcommittee on Environment and Energy
    • Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
    • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
    • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
    • Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

More Background Data

Wikipedia also has an article on Ralph Hall. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC office
  • 2405 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
    Ph: 202-225-6673 Fax: 202-225-3332
    Webform email
District offices
  • Collin County Courts Facility, 1800 North Graves Sreet, Suite 101, McKinney, TX 75069-3322
    Ph: 214-726-9949 Fax: (none entered)
  • Bowie County Courthouse, 710 James Bowie Drive, New Boston, TX 75570-2328
    Ph: 903-628-8309 Fax: (none entered)
  • 104 North San Jacinto Street, Rockwall, TX 75087-2508
    Ph: 972-771-9118 Fax: (none entered)
  • 101 East Pecan Street, Sherman, TX 75090-5989
    Ph: 903-892-1112 Fax: (none entered)
  • United States Post Office, 320 Church Street, Suite 132, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482-2606
    Ph: 903-885-8138 Fax: (none entered)
  • 4303 Texas Boulevard, Suite 2, Texarkana, TX 75503-3094
    Ph: 903-794-4445 Fax: (none entered)
  • Federal Building, 211 West Ferguson Street, Suite 211, Tyler, TX 75702-7222
    Ph: 903-597-3729 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Campaign office
  • No campaign website entered.
  • No campaign webform email entered.
  • 1500 Sunset Hill Drive, Rockwall, TX 75087
    Ph: 972-771-4255 Fax: (none entered)

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Roll call vote, Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
  2. ↑ Vote Tracker, Oil Change International.
  3. ↑ See "Follow the Oil Money," "Follow the Coal Money," and vote tracker from Oil Change International and Appalachian Voices.

Resources

Articles

Local blogs and discussion sites


Semantic data (Edit data)

Retrieved from "http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Ralph_Hall"
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