Frank Lautenberg

Frank Raleigh Lautenberg is the Senior Senator from New Jersey. He is a Democrat, and served from 1983 to 2001 and again since 2003.

Michael Mukasey nomination
Sen. Frank R, Lautenberg voted AGAINST the confirmation Bush appointee Michael Mukasey as Attorney General of the U.S. on Nov. 8, 2007. Six Democrats and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) joined most Republicans in the 53-40 vote confirming Mukasey. No Republicans voted against him. Mukasey's nomination was surrounded by controversy after he called waterboarding "repugnant" but refused to say whether it was illegal under anti-torture laws.

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

Chemical security legislation
On March 30, 2006, Lautenberg introduced the Chemical Security and Safety Act (S.2486). The bill would have required the following :


 * That IST (inherent safer technology) be used whenever possible (President Bush had been strongly opposed to the idea).
 * That state authority be protected in instances where the state had adopted stronger protections than federal law.
 * That site security at chemical plants be improved to the maximum extent possible.
 * That workers be guaranteed a role in ensuring the security and safety of facilities.
 * That strong protections for whistleblowers be implemented.

Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act
The Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act was introduced on February 14, 2007 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). The Act would undo reporting requirement roll-backs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented in a January 2007 rule change, which allows up to ten times more pollution before requiring detailed reporting. The Act returns the thresholds requiring polluting facilities to provide more complete information about their toxic releases to the earlier lower levels.

Lautenberg on Tobacco Issues
} Lautenberg held a hearing on second-hand smoke on May 11, 1994 and also authored a bill on a smoke free environment, circa 1994.

Chickenhawk Speech
On April 28, 2004, in response to the recent rhetoric regarding presidential candidate Senator John Forbes Kerry's military service during the Vietnam War, Lautenberg made a lengthy speech in the U.S. Senate entitled "An Illustrated Guide to Chickenhawks."

As reported by Carl Hulse in the April 29, 2004, edition of the New York Times, Lautenberg, "In a take-no-prisoners display, ... lashed out at Republicans critical of Mr. Kerry, calling them chickenhawks."

An "enlargeable" copy of the chickenhawk poster he used, as well as an audio transcript of his speech is available on Lautenberg's web site.

HUD Secretary

 * On May 9, 2006, Lautenberg called on President George W. Bush to demand the resignation of Alphonso Jackson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, because a speech Jackson made in which he implied that he cancelled a contract because the recipient expressed a negative opinion about Bush. See Alphonso Jackson for more.

Background
Lautenberg was born on January 23, 1924 in Paterson, New Jersey and served overseas in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in World War II after graduating high school. Then, financed by the GI Bill, he graduated from Columbia University with a degree in economics in 1949. He co-founded the successful Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) and was its president. He was commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 1978 to 1982.

In 1982 he received the Democratic nomination for a US Senate seat from New Jersey. The seat had been occupied by Democrat Harrison Williams, who resigned on March 11, 1982 after being implicated in the Abscam scandal.Lautenberg won the election and took office several days before the traditional swearing-in of senators.

He announced his retirement in 2000, and his fellow Democrat and businessman, Jon Corzine, was elected to replace him.

Second Senate Career
Lautenberg unexpectedly returned to politics in 2002, when the other New Jersey senator, Democrat Robert Torricelli, withdrew his candidacy for reelection because of corruption charges. The New Jersey Republican Party challenged the replacement of Torricelli's name on the ballot with Lautenberg's, arguing that it came too late according to state election laws. The ballot name change was upheld by the New Jersey State Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the case.

Lautenberg is considered to be one of the Senate's most liberal members. He is pro-choice, supports gun control, has introduced many bills increasing penalties for carjacking and car theft, and has criticized the Bush administration on national security issues. He is probably best known for being involved with, and authoring some of, the legislation that banned smoking from most commercial airline flights. He has been very involved in various anti-smoking legislation, as well as airline safety legislation. He also is known for authoring the Ryan White Act which provides services to AIDS patients. His name is also associated with the Lautenberg Amendment, which prohibits any persons convicted of misdemeanor or felonious domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition.

In 2005, he became a leading voice within the Senate in calling for an investigation into the Bush administration payment of news columnists. 

In January 2006 SurveyUSA listed him as having the lowest approval rating of any US Senator. Despite this, in February 2006, Lautenberg announced that he intends to run for reelection in 2008, saying that deciding not to run for reelection in 2000 "was among the worst decisions of his life". 

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

 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security - Chairman
 * Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
 * Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
 * Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
 * Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection
 * Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health
 * Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality
 * Senate Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
 * Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
 * Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development

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

 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Fisheries and the Coast Guard
 * Subcommittee on Global Climate Change - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study
 * Subcommittee on Trade Tourism and Economic Development
 * Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine
 * Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
 * Subcommittee on Clean Air Climate Change and Nuclear Safety
 * Subcommittee on Superfund and Waste Management
 * Subcommittee on Fisheries Wildlife and Water
 * Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
 * Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management Government Information and International Security

External resources

 * Official website
 * Hillpac biography.
 * Frank Lautenberg, Jewish Virtual Library.
 * See how you compare to Frank Lautenberg

Articles

 * Inbox Daily Robot: Frank Lautenberg.
 * Mike Hofman, "Frank Lautenberg: My Biggest Mistake," Inc. Magazine, April 2001: "Frank Lautenberg, cofounder of Automatic Data Processing Inc. and former U.S. senator from New Jersey, discusses an unwise acquisition."
 * Chris Suellentrop, "Frank Lautenberg. Scrappy, mean, and insecure: He truly represents New Jersey," Slate, October 11, 2002.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Blue Jersey

More Background Data
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