View John Olver on OpenCongress.org

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John Walter Olver has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing the First District of Massachusetts, a primarily rural district that makes up most of Western Massachusetts(map). He has been challenged by attorney Robert Feuer in the 2008 Democratic primary. (See 2008 Elections below)

Contents 1 Record and controversies 1.1 Iraq War 1.2 Environmental record 1.2.1 Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 (H.R.620) 2 Bio 2.1 Background 2.2 Congressional Career 2.2.1 2006 elections 2.2.2 2008 elections 3 Money in politics 4 Committees and Affiliations 4.1 Committees 4.1.1 Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008) 4.1.2 Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006) 4.2 Coalitions and Caucuses 5 More Background Data 6 Contact 7 Articles and Resources 7.1 Local blogs and discussion sites

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 0 - 0/25 not avail. AFSCME not avail. not avail. Americans for Democratic Action 90 - 18/20 100 - 20/20 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 50 - 10/20 not avail.

Iraq War

Olver voted against 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

Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 (H.R.620)

Olver introduced the Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 (H.R.620) to the House on January 22, 2007 to "accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances that will limit greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, reduce dependence upon foreign oil, and ensure benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances, and for other purposes." It was the House version of the Senate's Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (CSIA) of 2007 (S.280). It attracted 128 cosponsors^[2] as of June 2007.

Main article: U.S. congressional action on climate change#Climate Stewardship Act of 2007 (H.R.620)

Bio

Background

Olver was born September 3, 1936 in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, but has called Amherst, Massachusetts home since 1963. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master's degree from Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He served as a chemistry professor at the Franklin Technical Institute in Joplin, Missouri, at MIT and at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He served two terms as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973, and then nine terms in the Massachusetts Senate from 1973 to 1991.

Congressional Career

On February 18, 1991, first district congressman Silvio Conte died just one month after taking office for his 17th term. That June, Olver, who had just been sworn in for his 10th term in the state senate, narrowly defeated Republican Steve Pierce in a special election for the 1st District Congressional seat. He won the seat in his own right by 8 points in 1992 and has only faced one truly serious challenge since, from future governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift in 1996 (the same year Governor William Weld gave Senator John Kerry the closest race a Democratic senator has faced in Massachusetts in almost two decades).

2006 elections

No major candidates announced their intentions to contest Olver’s seat in the November 2006 election. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [1]

2008 elections

Robert Feuer

Olver has been challenged by attorney Robert Feuer in the 2008 Democratic primary. Feuer's said his challenge was spurred by Olver's strong resistance to supporting the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. despite overwhelming sentiment in favor of impeachment in the traditionally liberal First District, which went 63% for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. The district, however, was represented by Republicans from before the Civil War until Conte's death in 1991. Feuer calls impeachment a "duty" of the Congress. [2]

Nathan A. Bech

Olver also faces a challenge from West Springfield Republican Nathan Bech, a veteran of the wars in Iraq (an assignment he specifically requested) and Afghanistan. Bech grew up in heavily-Hispanic North End of Springfield, Massachusetts. Bech is a Middle East policy expert, having studied in the region and at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Bech is also an honorary member of the Republic of Georgia's military. He is fluent in Russian and Spanish. Bech completed his diploma requirements at West Springfield High School in three years, spending the fourth year studying in India on a Rotary International scholarship. He has run his family's business in West Springfield for several years. Bech has been endorsed by Jane Swift, who came extremely close to unseating Olver despite the 1996 Clinton landslide.[3]

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
Donor	Amount (US Dollars)
Amalgamated Transit Union	$ 5,000
American Assn for Justice	$ 5,000
American Crystal Sugar	$ 5,000
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$ 5,000
Laborers Union	$ 5,000
Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union	$ 5,000
National Air Traffic Controllers Assn	$ 5,000
United Transportation Union	$ 5,000
Alternate Concepts Inc	$ 4,900
Ischemix	$ 4,800
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 John Olver 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 John Olver from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for John Olver from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for John Olver from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

• House Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

• House Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water
  • Subcommittee on Interior and Environment
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, -Chair

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

• House Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation Treasury and Housing and Urban Development The Judiciary District of Columbia - Ranking Minority Member

Coalitions and Caucuses

• Co-Chair, Albanian Issues Caucus
• Co-Chair, Congressional Climate Change Caucus
• Congressional Competitiveness Caucus
• Congressional Human Rights Caucus
• Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
• Whip/Executive Committee, Democratic Study Group
• National Guard & Reserve Components Congressional Members Organization

More Background Data

• Background information on John Olver from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for John Olver from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for John Olver from the Washington Post database

• Information on John Olver from Congress Merge

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

Contact

DC office
1111 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Ph: 202-225-5335 Fax: 202-226-1224 Webform email
District offices
463 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420 Ph: 978-342-8722 Fax: (none entered) 57 Suffolk Street, Suite 310, Holyoke, MA 01040 Ph: 413-532-7010 Fax: (none entered) 78 Center Street, Pittsfield, MA 01202 Ph: 413-442-0946 Fax: (none entered)
On the Web
Official website YouTube channel
Campaign office
No campaign website entered. No campaign webform email entered. No campaign office information entered.

Articles and Resources

• Official website
• Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

• Mass Revolution Now
• St. Kermit

Semantic data (Edit data)

From the Sunlight Foundation API
Current Office: U.S. House of Representatives
Title: Rep	First name: John	Middle name: W.	Last name: Olver
Suffix:		Nickname:
Party: D	State: MA	District: 01 District short: 1	Currently in office? True
Gender: M
Phone: 202-225-5335	Fax: 202-226-1224	Website: http://olver.house.gov/	Webform email: http://www.house.gov/olver/contactme.html Email address:
DC office: 1111 Longworth House Office Building
Bioguide ID: O000085	Votesmart ID: 26894	FEC ID: H2MA01020	Govtrack ID: 400301
CRP ID: N00000143	Eventful ID:	Old Sunlight ID:	Twitter ID: RepJohnOlver
OpenCongress Wiki URL: http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/John_Olver		YouTubeID: CongressmanOlver	Senate class:

Entered manually within the Template:Politician
U.S. House of Representatives
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: June 4, 1991	First Took Current Office: June 4, 1991	Next Election: November 2, 2010	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? No	Previous Political Work? Massachusetts Senate, Massachusetts House of Representatives	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
463 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420 Phone: 978-342-8722 / Fax: 978-343-8156 57 Suffolk Street, Suite 310, Holyoke, MA 01040 Phone: 413-532-7010 / Fax: 413-532-6543 78 Center Street, Pittsfield, MA 01202 Phone: 413-442-0946 / Fax: 413-443-2792
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: Phone: / Fax:
Misc:
Date of Birth: September 3, 1936 June 4, 1991