Gabrielle Giffords

Gabrielle Giffords
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jim Kolbe
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 28th district
In office January 8, 2003 – January 9, 2006
Succeeded by	Paula Aboud
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 28th district
In office January 1, 2001 – January 8, 2003
Born	June 8, 1970 Tucson, Arizona
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Mark E. Kelly
Residence	Tucson
Alma mater	Cornell University (M.U.P.) Scripps College (B.A.)
Profession	Politician; businesswoman
Religion	Jewish

Gabrielle Dee "Gabby" Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American politician and the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. The district encompasses the southeastern part of the state. It includes all of Cochise County and parts of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.

A native of Tucson, Arizona, she is a graduate of Cornell University and Scripps College. Prior to serving in the United States House of Representatives, Giffords served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001 until 2003, and the Arizona State Senate from 2003 until 2005, when she resigned to run for the seat held by then-Congressman Jim Kolbe. She also worked as an associate for regional economic development in New York City, and as CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local automotive chain.

Giffords is serving her third term in the United States House of Representatives, having been reelected in the 2010 midterm elections. Her stance on health care reform and illegal immigration was a source of attention for those opposed to her candidacy, and has made her a recipient of criticism from various conservative groups.

On January 8, 2011, Giffords was one of several people shot at a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, Arizona where she was meeting publicly with constituents. She was taken into emergency surgery, in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the head.A surgeon treating Giffords has commented that he is optimistic about her chance for recovery.

Business career

Giffords worked as an associate for regional economic development at Price Waterhouse in New York City. In 1996, she became president and CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses, a local automotive chain founded by her grandfather. The business was sold to Goodyear Tire in 2000. At the time of the sale she commented on the difficulties local businesses face when competing against large national firms.

Political career

Arizona State Senator and Representative

Giffords was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives and served from 2001 to 2003. She was elected to the Arizona Senate in the fall of 2002, and at the time was the youngest woman elected to that body. She took office in January 2003 and was re-elected in 2004. She resigned from the Arizona Senate on December 1, 2005, in preparation for her congressional campaign.

In early 2005, Giffords observed that "the 2004 election took its toll on our bipartisan coalition" and that as a result "a number of significant problems will receive far less attention than they deserve". She highlighted among these, the lack of high-paying jobs or necessary infrastructure, rapid growth and inward migration that threatened the environment and "strain[ed]... education, health care and transportation", and unresolved problems such as Students First, Arnold v. Sarn, repayments due under Ladewig v. Arizona, the No Child Left Behind mandate, low educational achievement, health care costs, and the demands of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. She noted that Arizona was not alone in facing such challenges.

Expanding health care access was an issue of interest for Giffords when she served in the legislature. She also pushed for bills related to mental health and was named by the Mental Health Association of Arizona as the 2004 Legislator of the Year. Giffords also earned the Sierra Club's Most Valuable Player award.

In the legislature, Giffords worked on the bipartisan Children’s Caucus, which sought to improve education and health care for Arizona’s children. Critics of this plan argued that it amounted to taxpayer funded daycare. She worked with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to promote all-day kindergarten. Giffords supported raising more money for schools "through sponsorship of supplemental state aid through bonds and tax credits that could be used for school supplies." She was awarded Arizona Family Literacy’s Outstanding Legislator for 2003.

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Following the September 2006 election, Giffords was sworn in as a congresswoman on January 3, 2007. She was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. In her inaugural speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Giffords advocated a comprehensive immigration reform package, including modern technology to secure the border, more border patrol agents, tough employer sanctions for businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and a guest-worker program. In her first month in office, Giffords voted in favor of increased federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, raising the minimum wage, endorsing the 9/11 Commission recommendations, new rules for the House of Representatives targeting ethical issues, and the repeal of $14 billion of subsidies to big oil companies, in favor of renewable energy subsidies and the founding of the Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve.

During the 2007 session of Congress, Giffords introduced a bill (H.R. 1441) that forbids the sale of F-14 aircraft parts on the open market.She also voted for the contentious May 2007 Iraq Emergency Supplemental Spending bill, saying, "I cannot, in good conscience, allow the military to run out of money while American servicemen and women are being attacked every day".

Giffords is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition. She is the only member of the U.S. Congress whose spouse, astronaut Mark E. Kelly, is an active duty member of the U.S. military. She is also known as a strong proponent of solar energy as well as for her work to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

Campaigns

2006

 Arizona's 8th congressional district election, 2006

Giffords launched her first candidacy for the U.S. Congress on January 24, 2006. The campaign received national attention early on as a likely pick-up for the Democratic Party. Prominent Democrats endorsed Giffords including Tom Daschle, Robert Reich, Janet Napolitano, and Bill Clinton. EMILY's List endorsed Giffords early in the campaign cycle. The Sierra Club and the Arizona Education Association also endorsed her.On September 12, 2006, Giffords won her party's nomination in the primary election.

Her Republican opponent in the general election was Randy Graf, a conservative former state senator known for his enforcement-only position on immigration and illegal aliens. Graf had run against Jim Kolbe in the 2004 GOP primary and had announced his candidacy in 2006 before Kolbe announced his retirement. The Republican establishment was somewhat cool toward Graf, believing he might be too conservative for the district, and the national GOP took the unusual step of endorsing one of the more moderate candidates in the primary. Graf won anyway, helped by a split in the Republican moderate vote between two candidates.

Not long after the primary, Congressional Quarterly changed its rating of the race to "Leans Democrat." By late September, the national GOP had pulled most of its funding, effectively conceding the seat to Giffords. Giffords won the race on November 7, 2006, with 54 percent of the vote. Graf received 42 percent. The rest of the vote went to minor candidates. Giffords' victory was portrayed as evidence that Americans are accepting towards comprehensive immigration reform.

2008

United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2008

Giffords in 2008.

In 2008 Giffords was elected to a second term. Republican Tim Bee, a childhood classmate and former colleague in the Arizona State Senate, ran against her. Bee was then the Arizona State Senate President and was considered a strong challenger in this race. Despite the presence of McCain atop the ticket as the Republican presidential candidate, Giffords was reelected with 56.20 percent of the vote to Bee's 41.45 percent.

2010

United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2010

On November 5, 2010, the Associated Press declared Giffords the victor after a close race against Republican Jesse Kelly. Kelly, an Iraq War veteran, was listed as a top ten Tea Party candidate to watch by Politico, and described by azcentral.com as highly conservative even compared to Sarah Palin.

Committee assignments

Committee on Armed Services - subcommittees: Readiness and Air and Land Forces

Committee on Foreign Affairs - subcommittee: Western Hemisphere

Committee on Science and Technology - subcommittees: Energy and the Environment and Space and Aeronautics

Tucson shooting

 2011 Tucson shooting

On January 8, 2011, Giffords was shot in the head outside a Safeway grocery store in northwest Tucson during her first "Congress on Your Corner" gathering of the year. Eighteen people were shot, of whom six died, when a man ran up to the crowd and began firing.She was taken to the University Medical Center in Tucson for emergency surgery.She has since been reported to be responding to doctors' commands. The suspect, identified as Jared Lee Loughner, was caught by a bystander and taken into police custody.

Political positions

Abortion

See also: Abortion

Giffords is pro-choice, with a 100% rating from NARAL.

Economy

See also: Economy of  United States

Giffords voted for Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, and for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Education

See also: Adult education

Giffords argues that Americans are competing on a global level and that this competition starts in the classroom. She is a critic of the No Child Left Behind law, viewing it as an unfunded federal mandate. She supports public schools and their improved efficiency.

Energy

See also: Energy in United States

Giffords strongly supports renewable energy, in particular solar energy, as a top public policy priority.

In September 2007 she published a report titled: The Community Solar Energy Initiative, Solar Energy in Southern Arizona, observing that Arizona has enough sunshine to power the entire United States. It reviews current energy usage and discusses how to increase the production of solar electricity. On 1 August 2008 she wrote to congressional leaders regarding tax credits that were set to expire, saying that failure to extend the scheme would be extremely harmful to the renewable energy industry "just as it is beginning to take off."

Gun rights

Giffords supports gun rights. She opposed the Washington D.C. gun ban, signing an Amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to support its overturn. She has a D+ rating from the NRA and a D- from the GOA.

Immigration and border security

See also: Illegal immigration to United States

Rep. Giffords with the Commandant of the Coast Guard

Arizona's 8th Congressional District is one of 10 in the country bordering Mexico. Giffords has stated that the Arizona SB1070 legislation is a "clear calling that the federal government needs to do a better job" and saying that she hopes the legislation acts as a wake up call to the federal government. However, she stopped short of supporting the law itself, saying that it "does nothing to secure our border" and that it "stands in direct contradiction to our past and, as a result, threatens our future." She also claimed that SB1070 kept Arizona from attracting students and businesses.

On August 31, 2010, Giffords praised the arrival of National Guard troops on the border: "Arizonans have waited a long time for the deployment of the National Guard in our state. Their arrival represents a renewed national commitment to protecting our border communities from drug cartels and smugglers."

Giffords worked to secure passage of the August 2010 bill to to fund more Border Patrol agents and surveillance technology for Arizona’s border with Mexico. The legislation passed the House of Representatives only to be sent back by the U.S. Senate with reduced funding. Ultimately a $600 million bill was passed and signed in to law. The bill was over $100 million less than Giffords fought for, but she said that "This funding signals a stronger federal commitment to protect those Americans who live and work near the border."

In 2008, Giffords introduced legislation that would have increased the cap on the H-1B visa from 65,000 per year to 130,000 per year. If that were not sufficient, according to her legislation, the cap would have been increased to 180,000 per year. The bill would have allowed, at most, 50% of employees at any given company with at least 50 employees to be H-1B guest workers. A large number of H-1B visas are used by outsourcing companies, as five of the top ten users of the visa are regularly outsourcing corporations.Giffords claimed the bill would help high-tech companies in southern Arizona, some of which rely on H1-B employees. Giffords' bill was never voted on by the House of Representatives.

Education

Giffords graduated from Tucson's University High School. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Latin American history from Scripps College in Claremont, California, in 1993, and a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 1996. She focused her studies on Mexico–United States relations while at Cornell. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1996 and a fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Personal life

Giffords was born in Tucson, Arizona to Spencer J. Giffords and Gloria Kay Fraser Giffords. She is Arizona's first Jewish Congresswoman and is a member of Congregation Chaverim in Tucson.She married U.S. Navy Captain and astronaut Mark E. Kelly on November 10, 2007. He was the space shuttle's pilot on STS-108 and STS-121, and commander of STS-124 and future flight STS-134 (scheduled for April 2011), the penultimate flight of the space shuttle program before its planned end in 2011.

After Hurricane Katrina struck in the late summer of 2005, Giffords spent time as a volunteer in Houston, Texas, in relief efforts for Hurricane victims. She wrote about her experience in the Tucson Citizen.

Giffords is an avid reader and was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition on July 9, 2006. She was periodically interviewed together with Illinois Republican Peter Roskam on NPR's All Things Considered. The series focused on their experiences as freshman members of the 110th Congress.

Electoral history

Arizona's 8th Congressional District House Election, 2006

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Democratic Gabrielle Giffords 137,655 54.26%

Republican Randy Graf 106,790 42.09%

Libertarian David F. Nolan 4,849 1.91%

Independent Jay Quick 4,408 1.74%

Arizona's 8th Congressional District House Election, 2008

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Democratic Gabrielle Giffords 179,629 54.72% +0.46%

Republican Tim Bee 140,553 42.82% +0.73%

Libertarian Paul Davis 8,081 2.46% +0.55%

Arizona's 8th Congressional District House Election, 2010

Party Candidate Votes % ±%

Democratic Gabrielle Giffords 138,280 48.76% -5.96%

Republican Jesse Kelly 134,124 47.30% +4.48%

Libertarian Steven Stoltz 11,174 3.94% +1.48%

(source:wikipedia)