Phil Gingrey

John Phillip Gingrey, M.D., a Republican, has represented the 11th District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003.

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

Terri Schiavo
In March 2005 Gingrey was one of several Members of the United States Congress who are also physicians who offered medical opinions about the medical condition of Terri Schiavo. Gingrey is quoted as stating that, "The tragedy of the situation is that with proper treatment, now denied, Terri's condition can improve."

Gingrey and the others were criticized by medical ethicists. ABC News quoted Art Caplan, chairman of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine: "It's disturbing that doctors who would never venture a comment about the health of anybody from a homemade video are sitting on the floor of Congress making declarations,"... "My own impression, from a distance, is that they've subverted what they know to be good medicine for the aim of achieving a political goal." Howard Dean added, "I would not want my doctor making any diagnosis of me on videotape, and I'm speaking as a doctor." 

Guantanamo Bay
In 2004, Gingrey visited Guantanomo Bay. In his June 15, 2004, e-mail newsletter to constitutents, Gingrey wrote that the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Prison is a "model detention facility," that "hard-working, honorable American troops at Gitmo are doing everything possible to treat enemy combatants in a manner consistent with the principles of the Geneva Convention" and that the U.S. "should work to make the prisons in Iraq more like Gitmo." The newsletter was sent to constituents on the same day, though likely written days before, that the officer recently relieved of command at Abu Ghraib prison, Brigadier Gen. Janis Karpinski gave an interview, heard on BBC Radio 4, in which she alleged that the officer in charge of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Prison, Major Gen. Geoffrey Miller, was in fact responsible for ordering policy changes that led to torture shown in published photographs. 

Bio
Gingrey was born on July 10, 1942 in Augusta, Georgia. He received his B.S. from Georgia Tech and a M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia in 1969. He worked as an obstetrician before being elected to the Marietta School Board Member and later to the Georgia State Senate. "Upon completion of his medical training, Dr. Gingrey moved his young family to Marietta where he set up a pro-life OB-GYN practice." 

Before serving four years in the State Senate (1993-2003), Gingrey served on the Marietta city school board. He was elected chairman three times. While in the Georgia Senate, he earned the reputation of a social conservative. Gingrey described himself as "a conservative Pro-Life Republican."  (View his Geogia Senate voting record) In 2002 he ran successfully for the U.S. House.

Gingrey is one of the most conservative members of Congress. Progressive Punch, a left-leaning organization, has rated Gingrey as one of the most conservative member of the House, with a total rating just under 2%. On the other side of the spectrum, the American Conservative Union awarded Gingrey "a perfect score of 100% in 2005" and listed him amongst the "best and brightest". For a full range of Gingrey's positions, see On the Issues

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Patrick Samuel Pillion to face Gingrey in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Gingrey retained his seat.

Money in politics
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Gingrey depends heavily on political contributions from fellow physicians to finance his election campaigns. The American College of Radiology Association, Harbin Clinic, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American College of Cardiology were among his largest contributors in the 2004 election cycle, while AFLAC and the American Medical Association top his career totals list.

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * House Committee on Science and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, Ranking Member

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

 * House Committee on Rules
 * Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Chairman of the Republican Healthcare Public Affairs Team
 * Republican Policy Committee
 * Chair, Healthcare Reform Subcommittee

More Candidate Data

 * 2006 Georgia CD 11 Candidate List from VIS

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * General Election Returns
 * Gingrey's House website with recent issue-related press releases
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * BBC News report on Karpinski and Guantanamo Bay.
 * Peter Slavin and Joe Stevens, "Detainee's Medical Files Shared: Guantanamo Interrogator's Access Criticized", Washington Post, June 10, 2004.
 * Phil Gingrey's Colbert Review interview. (Other Colbert Report interviews with members of Congress.)

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Georgia Unfiltered