Earl Blumenauer

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Categories: 110th Congress | Oregon Democrats

Earl Blumenauer
U.S. Representative – OR-03

Party	Democratic
In Office May 21, 1996 — Present
Preceded by	Ron Wyden
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Committees	(109th Congress) Transportation and Infrastructure Highways, Transit, & Pipelines Water Resources & the Environment International Relations Asia & the Pacific Oversight & Investigations
Birthday	August 16, 1948
Spouse	Margaret Blumenauer
Religion	unspecified

Earl Blumenauer a Democrat, is the Oregon Congressional representative for District 3 the House of Representatives. Earl Blumenauer was first elected to this seat in the 1996 election cycle.

1 Background
- 1.1 Education
2 Poltical Career
3 Resources

Background

Born and raised in Portland, he graduated from Centennial High School in 1966 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1970. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the same college in 1976. Mr. Blumenauer going on to work as an assistant to the president of Portland State University.

Education

B. A. and J. D. from Lewis and Clark College
Northwestern School of Law

Poltical Career

Mr. Blumenauer began his political career while still an undergraduate at Lewis and Clark College, spearheading an unsuccessful attempt to lower Oregon's voting age and later, the successful national effort to lower the voting age. Elected to the Oregon Legislature at the age of 23, he won every precinct in his district in 1972. In the Oregon House of Representatives, he chaired the Revenue and School Finance Committee and played key roles in enacting legislation that created Oregon's landmark land use planning program and progressive transportation policies - both still national models today.

In 1978, Mr. Blumenauer was elected to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and in 1986 was elected to the Portland City Council, where he served as the City's Commissioner of Public Works. For almost twenty years, he championed policies and programs that led to Portland's acclaim as one of the nation's most livable cities. Perhaps best known for his efforts to provide Portlanders with a range of transportation choices - from bicycles to light rail to trolleys - Mr. Blumenauer also launched curbside recycling programs, initiated common-sense measures to protect the Willamette River from combined sewer overflow, fought to confiscate cars of repeat drunk drivers, and led successful efforts to increase local funding for Portland's public schools. While still serving on the city council, in 1992 he was defeated by Vera Katz in an open race for mayor of Portland.

Mr. Blumenauer was first elected to the US House of Representatives in a May 1996 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the election of then-U.S. Representative Ron Wyden to the United States Senate. Since then has carved out a unique role as Congress' chief spokesperson for Livable Communities, places where families are safe, healthy, and economically secure. He understands that the federal government, as the nation's largest landowner and landlord, has an enormous impact on the livability of our communities and should lead by example. Its agencies - the US Postal Service, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense, for example - should exemplify the behavior it expects from private citizens, local governments, and corporations.

On the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he has advocated vigorously for transportation policies, programs, and funding levels that support regional planning, encourage public participation, and enable communities to craft a range of transportation options. As a member of the International Relations Committee, Mr. Blumenauer has been a strong proponent of US leadership in the international arena, focusing on environmental concerns, global climate change, and the livability challenges faced by fast-growing urban regions in developing countries.

Mr. Blumenauer's work on Livable Communities issues has earned him the title "Johnny Appleseed of Livability". Since his election to Congress in 1996, he has visited more than 100 communities throughout the country, working with local governments, citizens and civic organizations to build effective partnerships to manage growth, improve their environment, and provide transportation choices. Equally committed to partnerships with his colleagues on Capitol Hill, he was instrumental in forming the Task Force on Livable Communities, as well as several bi-partisan caucuses: the Bicycle Caucus, the Army Corps Reform Caucus, the Greenscissors Caucus, and the Public Broadcasting Caucus.

Activities in Congress

Blumenauer serves on the International Relations Committee and the Subcommitteess on Oversight & Investigations and Asia & the Pacific. He also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Subcommittees on Water Resources & the Environment and Highways, Transit, & Pipelines. In addition to standing up to the Bush Administration, his current work in Congress is focused on five legislative priorities: greening the military, national and international water policy, disaster mitigation, sustainable agriculture, and livable communities.

Commenting on the passage of the so-called Iran Freedom Support Act Blumenauer said: "It is, if you will, a cruise missile aimed at a difficult diplomatic effort just as they are reaching their most sensitive point...The timing for this legislation could not be worse." Source: Jim Abrams. "House Approves Iran Freedom Support Act." Forbes. September 28, 2006. Article

Governmental Experience

Oregon State Legislature
Portland Community College Board
Multnomah County Commissioner
Portland City Commissioner
U.S. Congressman representing OR-03.

Affiliations

Democratic Party

Resources

Contact

Washington DC Office
2446 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4811
Fax: (202) 225-8941
Fax for Scheduling Requests: (202) 226-3134

Portland Office
729 N.E. Oregon Street
Suite 115
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: (503) 231-2300
Fax: (503) 230-5413
Fax for Scheduling Requests: (503) 236-6559

Electronic contact page

External Links

Diaries and stories tagged as
"OR-03"
on Daily Kos:
most recent
most recs
front page

Congressman Earl Blumenauer - official site
House website bio page (U.S. Congress)
Earl Blumenauer. For Oregon. - campaign website
BLUMENAUER, Earl, (1948 - ) (Biographical Directory of the United States Congress)
Earl Blumenauer, U.S. Representative (GovTrack)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer On the Issues (On the Issues)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D, OR-3 (Open Congress)
Representative (D - OR) Earl Blumenauer (Open Secrets)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Progressive Punch)
Interest Group Ratings of Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Project Vote Smart)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Washington Post Votes Database)
Earl Blumenauer (Wikipedia)

This page was last modified 06:15, 3 January 2008 by dKosopedia user Jbet777. Based on work by dKosopedia user(s) Lestatdelc, BartFraden, Allamakee Democrat and DemHillStaffer. Content is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.