Michael Capuano

Michael Everett Capuano has been a Democratic member of the U. S. House of Representatives since 1999, representing the 8th District of Massachusetts.

Iraq War
Capuano voted against 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

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
In 2006, When the Republican majority brought their ethics package, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, to the floor, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) offered a motion to recommit with instructions to strike the text of the bill and replace it with the text of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the Democrat's ethics bill. The motion to recommit failed by three votes, after Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) led a group of four Democrats, himself and Reps. Capuano, Rick Boucher (D-Va.), and Martin Sabo (D-Minn.), to vote with the Republicans.

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

Bio
Capuano was born January 9, 1952 in Somerville, Massachusetts. He was educated at Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School, and served as legal counsel to the joint committee on taxation of the Massachusetts state legislature and as Mayor of Somerville (1990-1998), before entering the House.

Congressional career
According to his House biography, "Mike is a strong voice for residents of the 8th district. He fought to protect Massachusetts' share of federal transportation dollars during the debate over funding levels for the "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users". Through his efforts, Massachusetts will receive $5.23 billion in funding over six years. He searches for ways to create more affordable housing opportunities for constituents and has fought against cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget. He succeeded in providing assistance for the development of new intergenerational housing for grandparents raising their grandchildren and in increasing the value of certain section 8 vouchers to offset rising housing costs. He also filed legislation to help service station owners forced to clean up sites that they are not responsible for contaminating."

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

Head of Ethics Task Force
Capuano, head of the Ethics Task Force, which was established to examine whether an outside panel should investigate allegations against members, reported that operations will begin in private. 

On February 27, 2007, Capuano (D-Mass.), stated that “I have found that if you really want to solve problems, it’s better to have discussions than have the typical hearings where you ask witnesses three ‘gotcha’ questions and it’s a public exercise rather than a open discussion aimed at finding solutions.” Capuano also noted that the task force may hold public hearings at a later date. 

In January 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), named eight members to the bipartisan task force — four lawmakers from each party. The group held its first organizational meeting Friday, Feb. 16, and has aimed to report its findings by May 1. Capuano said the deadline would be difficult to meet considering last week’s recess and the two-week-long congressional spring break in April. 

Money in politics
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Committees and Affiliations

 * Congressional Advisory Board, Humpty Dumpty Institute
 * Supporter, Investors Against Genocide

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Highways Transit & Pipelines
 * Water Resources & Environment
 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommitee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * Subcommitee on Oversight and Investigations
 * House Committee on House Administration

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

 * House Committee on Financial Services
 * Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
 * Subcommittee on Capital Markets Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises
 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Highways Transit and Pipelines

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * Susan Crabtree, "Ethics task force will operate privately - for now," The Hill, February 27, 2007.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Mass Revolution Now
 * St. Kermit
 * Progressive Democrats of Cambridge