Walter Beaman Jones

Walter Beaman Jones is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing North Carolina's 3rd congressional district since 1993.

Iraq War
Jones voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Rep. Jones was one of only two Republicans in the House to vote for the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007 (H.R.1591), the Iraq supplemental spending bill, which included a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq. The measure passed both the House and Senate, but was vetoed by the President.

Following the veto, when the House considered a short-term Iraq funding bill without timetables, Jones again was one of only two Republicans to vote in favor on of the measure. It passed the House on May 10 by a vote of 221-205. It was later passed by the Senate and signed by the President.

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

Transparency
On January 31, 2006, Jones and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced House Resolution 647, which was referred to the Committee on Rules where no action was taken. The resolution would require the Clerk of the House to post on the Internet for public review all travel disclosure reports submitted by Members, officers, and employees of the House.

Walter 'freedom fries' Jones
Walter B. Jones was the member of Congress who in March 2003 moved to rename the french fries in the Congressional cafeteria "freedom fries." French toast was also renamed "freedom toast." This was, according to the Congressman's website, to "publicly declare our support for our nation's troops and our sincere disappointment in our old friends, the French."

Background
Born February 10, 1943 as Walter Beaman Jones, Jr. in Farmville, North Carolina (he has since dropped the "Jr." from his name), his father was Walter Beaman Jones, Sr., a Democratic Party Representative from the neighboring 1st Congressional district of North Carolina. Jones, Jr. attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia and graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts from Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, North Carolina before serving four years (1967–1971) in the North Carolina National Guard.

Jones is a convert to Catholicism. 

An executive with his family's lighting company, Jones was elected as a Democrat to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1983 and served for five terms, until 1992. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Congressional nomination for his father's seat in 1992.

He switched parties and won in the 3rd district in the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress, defeating incumbent Democrat H. Martin Lancaster. Jones has been reelected every two years since. He has never faced a serious or well-funded opponent.

Congressional Career
Unlike his father, who was a fairly moderate Democrat, Jones is perceived as one of the most conservative members of the House. He is best known for having French fries referred to as "freedom fries" in House cafeteria menus as a protest against French opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

More recently, however, Jones called on President George W. Bush to apologize for misinforming Congress to win authorization for the war. Jones said, "If I had known then what I know today, I wouldn't have voted for that resolution." He contends that the United States went to war "with no justification". , On the subject, he said, "I just feel that the reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that it was never there." He added that his change of opinion came about from attending the funeral of a sergeant killed in Iraq, when his last letter to his family was being read out. On June 16, 2005, he joined with three other Congressmembers (Neil Abercrombie, Dennis Kucinich, and Ron Paul) in introducing a resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq to begin by October 2006. 

On March 17, 2005, he sponsored a bill endorsing the conduct of controversial USMC Lieutenant Ilario Pantano, who faces charges for having shot two Iraqis (allegedly unarmed civilians) on April 15, 2004.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Craig Peter Weber to face Jones in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Military Personnel
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Readiness
 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Personnel
 * Subcommittee on Readiness
 * Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
 * Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
 * House Committee on Resources
 * Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation Wildlife and Oceans
 * Subcommittee on National Parks Recreation and Public Lands

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Congressional Biography
 * Technorati Search: Walter Jones
 * Google News Search: Walter Jones
 * Yahoo! News Search: Walter Jones
 * Power Trips: How much did Walter Jones travel?
 * GovTrack Statistics: Walter Jones
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Swankville
 * Wilson Daily's political blog

Articles

 * Sandy Wall, "Christian Coalition banquet draws crowd inside and out," New Bern Sun Journal, September 21, 2004. "
 * "Do You Want 'Freedom Fries' With That?," Associated Press, March 11, 2003.
 * Jamie Wilson, "French fries protester regrets war jibe," The Guardian, May 25, 2005.
 * "GOP Congressman Wants Troops Out of Iraq," ABC News, June 12, 2005.
 * Mark Shields, "Walter Jones: An honest man," CNN.com, June 21, 2005.
 * Jan Frel, "How Walter Jones Grew a Conscience," AlterNet, June 22, 2005.
 * Robert Dreyfuss, "The Three Conversions of Walter B. Jones", Mother Jones, January/February 2006.
 * Mary Benoit, "Anti-North American Union Resolution Introduced," The New American, October 14, 2006. re North American Union
 * Lyndsey Layton and Jonathan Weisman, "GOP Expects Defections as House Debates Iraq Resolution," Washington Post, February 12, 2007: "A barrage of recent hearings into malfeasance under the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq, the stretched state of the military and the cost of the war have brought to light new information while underscoring congressional acquiescence under GOP control, said Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.), a longtime war critic. ... 'My party did not want to do anything to embarrass the administration,' he said."
 * Jonathan Weisman, "Bush losing Republicans over plan for Iraq war," Washington Post (The Seattle Times), February 15, 2007.
 * David Espo, "GOP Opposition to Bush Plan Forms," Associated Press (ABC News), February 15, 2007.
 * Jeff Zeleny,"12 Republicans Break Ranks on Iraq Resolution," New York Times, February 15, 2007.