David Lee Hobson



David Lee Hobson, a Republican, represented the Seventh Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991-2008. (map)

Iraq War
Hobson 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

Bio
Hobson was born October 17, 1936 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio) in 1958 and a law degree from Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) in 1963. He served in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1958 to 1963.

Hobson served as an Ohio state senator from 1982 to 1990, serving as President of the Ohio Senate from 1988 to 1990.

Congressional career
In 1990, after Mike DeWine left his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to become Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Hobson was elected to replace him. Hobson began serving in the House in 1991.

Retirement from politics
On October 15, 2007, Rep. Hobson became the third Ohio Republican to announce he would not seek reelection at the end of his current term. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) who entered Congress the same year as Hobson, said he would miss Hobson’s “commitment to service, his effective leadership, and his dry wit, but the Ohio delegation and the entire Congress will as well.” Though he is in good health as he turned 71, he left Ohio's 7th Congressional District's seat open for 2008, in the hopes that it will still remain red.

Money in politics
cid=N00003725&cycle=2008

"Pork barrel" spending
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a group that advocates for lower federal spending, named Rep. Hobson "Porker of the Month" in January 2008 for "earmarking funds for a public restroom and gas station."

CAGW specifically cited a "$300,000 Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grant for the Springfield Arts Council for "construction of Phase III of the west plaza comfort station" in the Fiscal 2008 Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies portion of the omnibus appropriations bill."

Hobson's gas station earmark began in 2001 with an $800,000 EDI grant to the Tawawa Community Development Corporation in Wilberforce, Ohio. The gas station was finally completed, with an additional $900,000 from the county commissioners, on December 27, 2007.

Hobson was also awarded "Porker of the Month" in November 2003 by CAGW.

Committee assignments in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water, Ranking Member

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

 * House Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Defense
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies - Chair


 * Member, Republican Main Street Partnership

Contact
DC Office: 2346 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3507 Phone: 202-225-4324 Fax: Web Email Website

District Office- Lancaster: 212 South Broad Street, Room 55 Lancaster, OH 43130-4389 Phone: 740-654-5149 Fax: 540-654-7825

District Office- Springfield: 5 West North Street, Suite 200 Post Office Box 269 Springfield, OH 45501 Phone: 937-325-0474 Fax: 937-325-9188

Articles and Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * As Ohio Goes
 * Writes Like She Talks