From OpenCongress Wiki

Baron Hill is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Ninth Congressional District of Indiana since 2007.

Contents 1 Record and controversies 1.1 Iraq War 1.2 Environmental record 1.3 Ethics reform 2 Biography 2.1 Political career 2.1.1 2006 congressional election 2.1.2 2008 elections 3 Money in politics 4 Committees and Affiliations 5 More Background Data 6 Contact 7 Articles and Resources 7.1 Resources 7.2 Local blogs and discussion sites 7.3 Articles

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 American Conservative Union 20 - 1/5 AFSCME - Americans for Democratic Action 85 - 17/20 U.S. Chamber of Commerce -

Iraq War

Hill 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

Ethics reform

Just days before Congress took their Easter recess in April 2007; Hill introduced legislation calling for the dissolution of the House Ethics Committee. The bill would replace the committee with an outside, independent panel of former Members who are not lobbyists. [1]

On June 1, 2007, following the recommendation of a special task force, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced her intention to create an independent ethics commission that would allow outside groups to file complaints against members of Congress, which previously could only be filed by other members. The commission, as proposed, would consist of a four-person panel and could filter complaints, but would have no judging authority or subpoena power. Implementation of the new commission was delayed, however, as many members were worried by the ability of non-members to submit complaints, fearing the change would be abused with politically motivated attacks. Fifty-three House members signed onto an alternative piece of ethics legislation, introduced by Rep. Hill, which would create a powerful investigative panel consisting of 12 former representatives, but would only allow complaints from sitting members.

Main article: Prospects for Ethics Reform in the 110th Congress

Biography

Hill was born in Seymour, Indiana in 1953. He was a three-sport star at Seymour High School, where he was all-state in football and basketball. He accepted an athletic scholarship to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1975. After graduation, he moved back to Seymour and joined his family's insurance and real estate business.

Hill is married to Betty Schepman, a public school math teacher. They have three adult daughters.

Political career

Hill was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990. He served as chairman of the Caucus Campaign Committee, where he played a prominent role in building a Democratic majority in the House. In 1990, Hill lost a U.S. Senate bid to incumbent Republican Senator Dan Coats, 54-46 percent. Hill made a name for himself during that campaign by walking the length of the state, from the Ohio River to Lake Michigan, to meet with voters.

Hill was elected to the House in November 1998. He defeated Republican Jean Leising, 51%-48%, winning the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Representative Lee Hamilton. In 2001, Hill voted for the "No Child Left Behind Act," which passed the House 384-45. He later said he was in favor of scrapping it, calling it a "more or less of a federal takeover of our system."

In 2002, he defeated Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) with 51 percent of the vote. Sodrel, a New Albany businessman, had 46 percent. In December 2003, Hill was named communication co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 34 moderate-to-conservative Democrats who advocate fiscal discipline.

In November 2004, in a rematch, Hill lost to Sodrel. Hill partly blamed the defeat on billboards purchased late in the campaign by an independent political action committee called Citizens for Truth, that accused Hill of supporting gay marriage, flag burning, and removing God from the Pledge of Allegiance.

2006 congressional election

Hill decided to run for his old congressional seat in 2006, where he would again face Sodrel. Hill won the election 50%-46%-4% (4% going to Libertarian Eric Schansberg) to retake the seat he had lost to Sodrel in 2004. [2]

2008 elections

This information was gathered by volunteer researchers as part of the Superdelegate Transparency Project on the superdelegates for the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. For more info see the Indiana superdelegate tracker or visit the STP homepage.

Before Hillary Clinton conceded the race, Baron Hill, as a superdelegate, had not endorsed a candidate for President.

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.

Links to more campaign contribution information for Baron Hill 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

• Revolving door profile for Baron Hill from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Baron Hill from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Baron Hill from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

• House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
• House Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education

More Background Data

Background information on Mike Sodrel, whom Baron Hill challenged in the 2006 congressional elections:

• Background information on Mike Sodrel from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for Mike Sodrel from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for Mike Sodrel from the Washington Post database

• Information on Mike Sodrel from Congress Merge

Contact

DC office
223 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-5315 Fax: 202-226-6866 Webform email
District offices
279 Quartermaster, Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Ph: (812) 288-3999, 1-866-440-1321 Fax: (none entered) 320 W 8th Street, Suite 114, Bloomington, IN 47404 Ph: (812) 336-3000 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Official website This member of Congress does not use Twitter. YouTube channel
Campaign office
No campaign website entered. No campaign webform email entered. No campaign office information entered.

Articles and Resources

Resources

• Bring Back Baron, official campaign site.

Local blogs and discussion sites

• Torporindy

Articles

• Susan Davis “Frosh Call for Ethics Overhaul”, Roll Call, April 10, 2007.

Semantic data

From the Sunlight Foundation API
Current Office: U.S. House of Representatives
Title: Rep	First name: Baron	Middle name: P.	Last name: Hill
Suffix:		Nickname:
Party: D	State: IN	District: 09 District short: 9	Currently in office? True
Gender: M
Phone: 202-225-5315	Fax: 202-226-6866	Website: http://baronhill.house.gov/	Webform email: http://baronhill.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.shtml Email address:
DC office: 223 Cannon House Office Building
Bioguide ID: H001030	Votesmart ID: 18466	FEC ID: H8IN09032	Govtrack ID: 400177
CRP ID: N00003875	Eventful ID: P0-001-000016703-0	Old Sunlight ID:	Twitter ID:
OpenCongress Wiki URL: http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Baron_Hill		YouTubeID: CongressmanBaronHill	Senate class:

Entered manually within the Template:Politician
Current Office: U.S. House of Representatives
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
110th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, House Committee on Science and Technology, House Committee on Science and Technology/Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, Joint Economic Committee
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: November 7, 2006	First Took Current Office: January 4, 2007	Next Election: November 4, 2008	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? yes	Previous Political Work? US House of Representatives, Indiana House of Representatives	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
279 Quartermaster, Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Phone: (812) 288-3999, 1-866-440-1321 / Fax: (812) 288-3873 320 W 8th Street, Suite 114, Bloomington, IN 47404 Phone: (812) 336-3000 / Fax: (812) 336-3355
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: Phone: / Fax:
Zip Code Affiliations:
Misc:
Date of Birth:

Latitude: 38°19′57.253″N
Longitude: 85°41′41.445″W Latitude: 39°10′9.454″N
Longitude: 86°32′10.969″W