John Reed

John Francis "Jack" Reed is the Senior Senator for the state of Rhode Island. He is a Democrat, and was first elected in 1996.

Iraq War
Reed voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

The Levin-Reed Iraq withdrawal timeline
Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) proposed an amendment that would start troop withdrawals from 120 days after its passage, to be completed by April 1, 2008. In the interim, troops in Iraq would have their mission shift to training Iraq troops, fighting al-Qaeda, and protecting themselves from attack. Similar legislation had been introduced in the past; the bill's predecessor had been pushed through Congress by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), though it was vetoed by President George W. Bush.

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

Background
Reed was born November 12, 1949 in Providence, Rhode Island and has lived in Rhode Island his entire life. Reed graduated from La Salle Academy in Providence, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. Following his graduation and receiving an active duty commission, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Masters of Public Policy. Reed also served in the 82nd Airborne Division, as an Army Ranger and paratrooper.

Congressional Career
Reed resigned from the army in 1979 as a captain and enrolled in Harvard Law School. In 1982, he graduated and served as an associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan. Afterwards, he returned to Rhode Island and joined Edwards and Angell, a Providence law firm. Reed was elected as a state senator in 1984, and served three terms. In 1990, Reed was elected to the United States House of Representatives. For the next six years Reed became well known in his state for his positions on education and health care, and when Senator Claiborne Pell announced his retirement in 1996, Reed campaigned to be his replacement and won. He was easily reelected to a second term in 2002.

Positions and Views
Americans for Democratic Action has often listed him as a "hero" and they indicate he has one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Seapower
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities - Chairman
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Children and Families
 * Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging
 * Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
 * Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
 * Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment - Chairman
 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies
 * Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water
 * Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
 * Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
 * Subcommittee on Military Contruction and Veterans Affairs
 * Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

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

 * Joint Economic Committee
 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Seapower
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
 * Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
 * Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on Securities and Investment
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Bioterrorism Preparendess and Public Health
 * Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Democratic Deputy Whip
 * Regional Chairman, Democratic Policy Committee
 * Roundtable Co-Chair, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
 * Co-Chair, New England Caucus
 * Senate National Guard Caucus
 * Member of the Aspen Strategy Group

Resources

 * Official website
 * CQ Politics article, "Military Veteran Candidates"
 * Senators who voted against Condoleezza Rice for Secretary of State, The American Thinker, undated.
 * Senator Jack Reed 2006. Political Campaign Fundraising and Campaign Finance Info for the 2006 election cycle, Campaign Money.com.
 * Senator Jack Reed On the Issues.
 * 22-minute interview with Sen. Reed by clinical social worker and blogger Kiersten Marek discussing the Iraq War, his concerns regarding the long-term effects of war on American military service personnel, whether U.S. VA’s are adequately funded to handle physical and psychological wounds of soldiers, health care, his efforts to fund SCHIP for the state of Rhode Island, the medicare prescription drug benefit and his support of proposed changes to it, education funding, the national deficit, and alternative energy projects in the US.
 * See how you compare to Jack Reed

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Kmareka
 * Matthew - RI

2002

 * "Interview: Senators Jack Reed and Thad Cochran Discuss President Bush's Speech at the U.N.," NPR, September 13, 2002.

2003

 * Darrell West, "Reed Expects U.S. to Find Iraq Chemical Weapons," Inside Politics, April 12, 2003.
 * Darrell West, "Reed Says US Will Stay in Iraq for a Decade," Inside Politics, September 21, 2003.
 * Jim Krane, "A day after Bush visit, Hillary Clinton calls for new U.N. role," Associated Press (San Diego Union-Tribune), November 28, 2003
 * "Clinton, Reed push for U.N. in Iraq. Senators visit troops in Baghdad after trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan," Associated Press (MSNBC), November 28, 2003.
 * Bassem Mroue, "Clinton meets with Iraqi officials," Associated Press (Boston Globe), November 30, 2003: "KIRKUK, Iraq -- Democratic US senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jack Reed met in this oil-rich northern city yesterday with local officials who urged the visitors to raise the problems of their city with US officials back home."
 * "Reed, Clinton Discuss Visit To Iraq, Afghanistan. Senators Say Morale Among U.S. Troops Is High," NBC 10 News/Turn to 10.com, December 1, 2003.
 * Brooke Donald, "National Guard families hear about conditions in Iraq," Associated Press (Boston Globe), December 4, 2003.

2004

 * "Sens. Inhofe, Reed discuss prison abuse scandal," CNN, May 12, 2004.
 * "U.S. Sen. Jack Reed to Offer 'Impressions from Iraq'" at Salve Regina University, December 2, 2004.
 * "U.S. Senator Jack Reed Addresses Watson Institute/Pell Center Cultural Prepared for Peace Workshop," Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, December 5, 2004.

2005

 * Greg Moses, "Why the Peace Churches are Meeting in March," ZMag, January 8, 2005.
 * Albert Eisele and Jeff Dufour, "That would be Reed, with two e's," The Hill, March 30, 2005.
 * Albert Eisele, "For Rhode Island's Reed, codels are solitary affairs," The Hill, April 6, 2005.
 * M. Charles Bakst, "Chafee, Reed on the Bush implosion," Providence Journal (Free Republic), October 23, 2005.
 * "Reed Delivers Official Democratic Response To Bush Iraq Speech," Cox.net, November 30, 2005.
 * "Senators Discuss Iraq," PBS Online NewsHour, November 30, 2005.
 * "Bush: U.S. to stay in Iraq till war is won. President does not set timetable for withdrawal of troops," CNN, December 1, 2005: "Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, said Bush failed to lay out a 'coherent, detailed plan' to stabilize Iraq in a 'reasonable time.'"
 * "Democratic senator says Bush fails to outline clear Iraq strategy," Associated Press (USA Today), December 10, 2005.

SourceWatch Resources

 * Exit Strategy from Iraq
 * John P. Murtha
 * National Strategy for Victory in Iraq