Robert Andrews

Robert 'Rob' Ernest Andrews a Democrat, has represented the First Congressional District of New Jersey,in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990.. He is challenging Senate incumbent Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) in the upcoming primary elections which will take place on June 3, 2008. Andrews lost the primary to Lautenberg, and ran in the general election for his House seat.

Iraq War
Most recently, Rep. Andrews voted ‘yes’ to HR 3087, or Requiring Reports from the Department of Defense to Congress Regarding Withdrawal from Iraq. Other bills pertaining to Iraq voted on by Andrews include:

HR 3159---Mandatory Troop Rest Periods Between Deployments to Iraq: Yes

HR 2956---Redeployment from Iraq Act: Yes

H Con Res. 63---Iraq War Policy Resolution (Congressional disapproval of President Bush’s decision to deploy 20,000 additional troops to Iraq): Yes

Source: http://www.vote-smart.org

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

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

The last piece of legislation that Andrews voted against was the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006. This act would have opened up the 50-100 miles off the coast of the U.S. to drilling for mineral resources. Andrews recently voted “yes” to the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act, which would modify the requirements applied to minerals on public domain land.

Source: http://www.vote-smart.org

Support for gun control
Andrews cosponsored H.R. 1312 (Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005) on July 28, 2005.

On 6/28/2006, Andrews voted against HR 5672, or the Trigger Lock Amendment. This amendment prohibits Commerce Department funds in the FY2007 Appropriation Bill from being used to enforce laws requiring that guns be sold with trigger locks.

Source: http://www.vote-smart.org

Lincoln Group
In September 2006, it was announced that the Lincoln Group, a PR firm that covertly placed U.S. military-written stories in Iraqi newspapers and has been called "amateurish" by former associates, had won a new two-year, $6.2 million Pentagon contract for PR support of the U.S.-led military force in Iraq. 

In his role as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Andrews told Associated Press that "he would be asking the Department of Defense for information about how this 'controversial' vendor was chosen, saying the choice of the Lincoln Group 'concerns me greatly.'" He added, "I wish that our problem in Iraq was that the military wasn't getting good PR. ... The problem seems to be that the country is sliding into civil war." 

Background
Robert Andrews was born August 4, 1957, in Camden, New Jersey. He graduated summa cum laude in 1979 with a B.A. in political science from Bucknell University, where he also was Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1982 from Cornell University, where he was on the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review. Before coming to Congress, he was an attorney and an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University School of Law. 

From 1983 onward, Andrews had a private law practice. From 1987 to 1990, he served as an elected member of the Camden County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Congressional Career
In 1990, Andrews became a Representative, filling the seat of James Florio, who resigned to become the Governor of New Jersey. In 1997 and 2001, Andrews unsuccessfully campaigned for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey. Before the resignation of incumbent Jim McGreevey, Congressman Andrews was reportedly considering a primary election challenge against him in 2005.

Andrews is generally considered a moderate with a pro-defense and fiscally conservative platform. Rob Andrews is one of the very few South Jersey Democratic politicians that are independent of party boss George Norcross III.

Using AMTRAK to commute from his Haddon Heights, New Jersey home while Congress is in session, Andrews does not maintain a residence in Washington.

Andrews was frequently mentioned as a possible replacement for Jon Corzine in the Senate upon Corzine's November 2005 gubernatorial victory, yet Robert Menendez was eventually chosen as Corzine's replacement.

2006 elections
No major candidates announced their intentions to contest Andrews' seat in the November 2006 election. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)

2008 elections
Andrews announced in April, 2008 that he would seek a primary challenge against Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). He will give up his seat in the House of Representatives, where he had served nine terms, to pursue the primary bid against his state's senior senator. Six other House members representing the Garden State had pressured Andrews to stay out of the Senate race, but Andrews said "the people of New Jersey deserve to choose their senator." The primary will be held on June 3, 2008. After losing his Senate primary, Rep. Andrews decided to run in the general election for his House seat. His wife, Camille Andrews, had just won the primary to fill the seat; she stepped aside to let him run.

Legislation
Andrews has "authored two laws creating the Income Contingent Repayment Plan and Direct Student Loans, making higher education more affordable for millions students since 1993. Rep. Andrews also wrote laws to lower mortgage costs for rural families, to protect the child visitation rights of grandparents, to provide health and pension benefits for employees of religious organizations, cut administrative costs for small businesses and to move more people from welfare to work." 

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

 * House Committee on Budget
 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * House Committee on Education and Labor
 * Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
 * Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, Chair

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Personnel
 * Subcommittee on Terrorism Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
 * House Committee on Education and the Workforce
 * Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on Education Reform

Eesources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * "P.R. Group That Paid Off Iraqi Papers Gets New $6.2 Million Media Contract," Associated Press, September 26, 2006.
 * Rob Andrews for Senate

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * The All-Spin Zone
 * Blue Jersey