Neil Abercrombie

Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, represented the 1st Congressional District of Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2010.

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

Abercrombie has been a strong opponent of the Iraq war and has called for near-immediate removal of troops from the country |8, as well as voted for the non-binding resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq. The war, he remarked during the floor debate on this resolution, "is a catastrophe conceived in ideological zeal, cloaked in misinformation and administered with breathtaking incompetence. It is an outrage that we have not had a single policy in Iraq worthy of our men and women in uniform.... We owe it to all the brave men and women who have already sacrificed so much -- over 3,000 of them who made the ultimate sacrifice -- to steer our country on a course that will bring our troops home safely, take care of them and their families when they return and end this war." He has criticized the use of Israeli bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, he introduced the War Profiteering Act of 2007 which would make profiteering into a felony crime. 

Criticism of 2007 emergency war funding bill
In February 2007, Abercrombie blasted the Pentagon for requesting emergency funds for items that he viewed as not immediately necessary to the war effort. Some of the supplementals were to include; replacing two Air Force fighter aircraft with Joint Strike Fighters that would not be operational for at least three years, $14 billion for new armored vehicles, and $131 million to buy 90,880 pairs of night-vision goggles. 

Abercrombie questioned whether these requests were emergency items or something the Pentagon should prioritize in its regular budget submissions. He stated that the 2007 war supplementals will not be another "blank check." 

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

As far as the environment is concerned, Abercrombie claims to "take pride in [his] decisions supporting conservation and resource protection." However, his voting record has not always been fully endorsed by environmental groups (he votes with them, on average, about 70% of the time).  He voted against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

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

Abortion
Abercrombie's record indicates that he is supportive of most issue positions commonly held by liberal Democrats. He is pro-choice, and has voted against a ban on partial birth abortion. |2. He voted with the interests of NARAL and Planned Parenthood 100% between 2000-2006. |3.

Voting rights
He has voted for bills designed to make it easier for Americans to vote, such as the "Motor voter" bill |4.

Civil liberties
He has also advocated strongly for civil liberties; his voting record is supported by both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and American Library Association |5. He has also voted against a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to being between one man and one woman |6. Notably, he was one of only nine representatives not to cast a vote for or against the USA PATRIOT ACT in 2001. |7 In 2005, he voted against the extension of the act, calling it “a blank check to trample civil liberties." ]

Healthcare
Abercrombie supports universal health care--In 2007, he signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 676, which would establish a national health insurance program. He did support and vote for No Child Left Behind, as many other Democrats did.

Reparations for Japanese Latin Americans
Abercrombie cosponsored The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act in the 110th Congress which would establish a commission that would determine the facts and circumstances involving the relocation, internment and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans.

Bio
Neil Abercrombie was born June 26, 1938, in Buffalo, New York. Abercrombie was educated at at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He obtained his B.A. in Sociology in 1959 and his M.A. in Sociology in 1964. He moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, to become a public school teacher at various elementary and high schools in the Hawaii State Department of Education. He also pursued work as a probation officer for the Hawaii State Judiciary. While teaching, Abercrombie studied at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he obtained his Ph.D. in American Studies in 1974. With his doctorate, Abercrombie became a sociologist and joined the University of Hawaii System faculty as a professor.

Abercrombie's first political campaign in 1970 was for the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. Senate. Unsuccessful, Abercrombie ran for the Hawaii State House of Representatives where he served from 1975 to 1979. He moved to the upper chamber by winning a seat in the Hawaii State Senate, where he served from 1979 to 1986. When Cecil Heftel resigned from Congress to run for Governor of Hawaii, Abercrombie entered the race for the Democratic nomination to replace Heftel and won. He was elected to Congress in the following special election, serving from September 20, 1986, to January 3, 1987; he was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1986. Abercrombie ran for and won, a seat of the Honolulu City Council where he served from 1988 to 1990. At the end of his council tenure, Abercrombie once again ran for Congress and won and was re-elected in successive elections from 1992 through 2004.

Abercrombie and Richard Hoyt co-authored Blood of Patriots (ISBN 0312861664), "a work of fiction focusing on the role of money in electoral politics." 

2006 elections
In 2006, Republicans nominated Richard Hough to face Abercrombie in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Abercrombie retained his seat.

2008 elections
Abercrombie is running for re-election in the 2008 congressional elections.

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces - Chairman
 * Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
 * House Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommitee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans
 * Subcommitee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lans

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

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee-Ranking Member
 * Readiness Subcommittee
 * House Committee on Resources
 * Fisheries Conservation Subcommittee
 * Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee
 * National Parks Subcommittee
 * Recreation and Public Lands Subcommittee
 * Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee

Boards and other Affiliations
Abercrombie is a member of the boards of directors of
 * Epilepsy Foundation of America
 * Amnesty International
 * Hawaii Special Olympics.
 * Hawaii Special Olympics.

Twitter
 Neil Abercrombie posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/neilabercrombie/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/10326832.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Resources

 * Technorati Search: Neil Abercrombie
 * Google News Search: Neil Abercrombie
 * Yahoo! News Search: Neil Abercrombie
 * Power Trips: How much does Neil Abercrombie fly?
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * Deborah Baldwin, "Man bites dog - Hawaii Rep Neil Abercrombie seeks closure of Bellows Air Force Station - No Sacred Cows", Common Cause Magazine, Winter, 1993.
 * Richard Borreca, "Abercrombie Recast Form After Ethics Flap", Honolulu Star-Bulletin News, April 28, 2005.
 * Josephine Hearn, "Record: members traveled on lobbyists' dime", The Hill, May 4, 2005.
 * Dennis Camire, "Abercrombie Joins Push for Iraq Waithdrawal Date", Honolulu Advertiser, June 17, 2005.
 * Roxana Tiron, "Abercrombie: Lead Proponent for Privatizing Military Base Housing", The Hill, October 8, 2005.
 * | Abercrombie Blasts Pentagon for '07 War Supplementals, The Hill, February 23, 2007.