Frederick Stephen Upton

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U.S. Representative

Frederick Stephen Upton (R)

400414.jpeg

MI-06
Positions
Leadership: No leadership position
Committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
(subcommittees and past assignments)
Next election: Nov. 6, 2012

Primary challenge: No

Incumbent running: Yes

2012 candidates for MI-06

Confirmed: Mike O'Brien, Frederick Stephen Upton
Possible: None so far
Out: None so far
(more info & editing for MI-06)
On the Web
Official website


Frederick Stephen Upton, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing Michigan's 6th District which stretches along the Michigan-Indiana border and is based in Kalamazoo and St. Joseph. He is generally considered a moderate Republican.

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 56 - 14/25 not avail.
AFSCME not avail. not avail.
Americans for Democratic Action 40 - 8/20 60 - 12/20
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 100 - 20/20 not avail.


Iraq War

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

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

Environmental record

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

Barton-Rush Act of 2006

In 2006 Upton cosponsored the Communications Opportunity Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 with Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Chip Pickering (R-MS). The COPE Act or "Barton-Rush" bill would allow major telephone companies to compete with cable television companies. It has also been widely critized for making net neutrality impossible, which could possibly lead to a multi-tiered Internet where some websites would move and load faster if they pay an additional fee to providers like Verizon and Comcast.[1]

The leading proponents of the COPE Act have been Verizon, Comcast, SBC Communications, Time Warner, and AT&T. Upton has a potential conflict of interest as he owns dividends in a number of these companies. Upton owns between $1,000-$15,000 in dividends in SBC, AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon. In a trust that Upton does not control he owns between $15,000-$50,000 of dividends in SBC and between $1,000-$15,000 in dividends of Verizon.[2]

The telephone utilities companies have been Upton's 11th largest donor over his career contributing $135,070 since 1989.[3] During the current 2006 election cycle Upton has received $26,250 from the telephone companies making him the 17th highest recipient of telephone company largesse.[4]

Bio

Background

Born in St. Joseph on April 23, 1953, Upton earned a B.A. in Journalism in 1975 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He served in the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan from 1981-85.

Congressional Career

A protege of OMB director and former congressman David Stockman, he ran in the Republican primary against Stockman's successor in what was then the 4th District. He won, and was handily elected in November. He has been reelected nine times. His district was renumbered as the 6th District after the 1990 census caused Michigan to lose two seats.

2006 elections

In 2006, the Democrats nominated Kim L. Clark to face Upton in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [5] Upton retained his seat.

Positions and Views

Upton is often described as the "Ironman of the House." He has never missed a vote in 18 years in Congress. He has earned a reputation as a leader and a dealmaker, helping to guide a powerful bloc of moderate congressmen in unison, playing influential roles in a number of tax relief and budget matters. He is a strong proponent of stem cell research.

Despite his willingness to buck the right leaning House leadership (he harshly criticized Newt Gingrich for his failure to compromise with Bill Clinton in the 1995 budget crisis), his down to earth demeanor and frequent greeting of "call me Fred" when referred to as "Congressman" has earned him the respect and admiration of his fellow Representatives, staff, and members of the public affairs community.

In the 109th Congress, Upton serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He is chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, and also serves on the Health Subcommittee.

In 2002 he defeated former State Senator Dale Shugars in a contested primary. Upton was criticized for his views on abortion as well as his support for some forms of gun control.

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)
Votesane PAC$ 42,750
Comcast Corp$ 31,000
Entergy Corp$ 24,600
Southern Co$ 23,250
National Assn of Broadcasters$ 22,000
DTE Energy$ 20,000
Sidley Austin LLP$ 20,000
Ford Motor Co$ 19,400
Podesta Group$ 18,250
Chesapeake Energy$ 17,500
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 Frederick Stephen Upton
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


Committees and Affiliations

Committees

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

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

Coalitions and Caucuses

  • Co-Vice Chair, Congressional Automotive Caucus
  • Congressional Caucus on India and India Americans
  • Congressional Competitiveness Caucus
  • Congressional Fire Services Caucus
  • Congressional Grace Caucus
  • Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus
  • Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
  • Diabetes Caucus
  • House Centrist Coalition
  • Medical Technology Caucus

Boards and other Affiliations

  • Emil Verban Society
  • Founder, Co-Chair, Tuesday Group

More Background Data

Wikipedia also has an article on Frederick Stephen Upton. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Contact

DC office
  • 2183 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
    Ph: 202-225-3761 Fax: 202-225-4986
    Webform email
District offices
  • 157 South Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 180 Kalamazoo, MI 49006-4828
    Ph: 269-385-0039 Fax: (none entered)
  • 800 Ship Street, Suite 106 St. Joseph, MI 49085-1124
    Ph: 269-982-1986 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Campaign office
  • No campaign website entered.
  • No campaign webform email entered.
  • No campaign office information entered.

Articles and Resources

Resources

Local blogs and discussion sites

Articles & Commentary


Semantic data (Edit data)

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