View source for Jim Cooper

{{other people||Jim Cooper (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Lead too short|date=April 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Jim Cooper
| image               = Jim Cooper, Official Portrait, ca2013.jpg
| office              = Member of the<br/>[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br/>from [[Tennessee]]
| constituency        = {{ushr|TN|5|5th district}}
| term_start          = January 3, 2003
| term_end            = 
| predecessor         = [[Bob Clement]]
| successor           = 
| constituency1       = {{ushr|TN|4|4th district}}
| term_start1         = January 3, 1983
| term_end1           = January 3, 1995
| predecessor1        = ''New Constituency'' (Redistricting)
| successor1          = [[Van Hilleary]]
| birth_name          = James Hayes Shofner Cooper
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1954|6|19}}
| birth_place         = [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Martha Hayes|1985|2021|end=died}}
| children            = 3
| relatives           = [[Prentice Cooper]] (Father)<br>[[John Cooper (Tennessee politician)|John Cooper]] (Brother)
| education           = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Oriel College, Oxford]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])<br>[[Harvard University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| website             = {{url|cooper.house.gov|House website}}
}}
'''James Hayes Shofner Cooper''' (born June 19, 1954) is an American politician who has served since 2003 as the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for {{ushr|TN|5}} (based in [[Nashville]]). He is a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and the [[Blue Dog Coalition]], and represented {{ushr|TN|4}} from 1983 to 1995.<ref name="Members">{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://bluedogcaucus-costa.house.gov/members|publisher=Blue Dog Coalition|access-date=February 7, 2018}}</ref> His district includes a large part of Nashville. He is dean of Tennessee's delegation to the House of Representatives.

== Early life, education, and law career ==
Cooper was born in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and raised in [[Shelbyville, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://m.nashvillescene.com/gyrobase/jim-cooper-runs-again/Content?oid=1187201 |title=Jim Cooper Runs Again |first=Bruce |last=Dobie |work=Nashville Scene}}</ref> He is the son of former [[governor of Tennessee|governor]] [[Prentice Cooper]] and his wife Hortense (Powell).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperforcongress.com/about.php |title=About Jim |work=Official campaign site |access-date=July 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001000345/http://www.cooperforcongress.com/about.php |archive-date=October 1, 2010  }}</ref> His paternal grandfather, [[William Prentice Cooper]], served as mayor of Shelbyville and speaker of the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]].<ref name=nytimesmarriedjimcooper>{{cite news|title=REP. JIM COOPER OF TENNESSEE IS WED TO MARTHA BRYAN HAYS, ORNITHOLOGIST|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/07/style/rep-jim-cooper-tennessee-wed-martha-bryan-hays-ornithologist-representative-jim.html|access-date=January 7, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=April 7, 1985}}</ref> The Cooper family owns the [[River Side Farmhouse]], built for his great-great-grandfather, Jacob Morton Shofner, in 1890;<ref name="npsformriverside">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: River Side Farmhouse|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/45550bd2-8b1f-4153-8a97-30d47a90569c/|website=National Park Service|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=October 9, 2017}}</ref> the [[Gov. Prentice Cooper House]], built for his grandfather in 1904;<ref name="npsform">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Gov. Prentice Cooper House|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/ebf0d972-6605-47ec-9742-3a66a63c5b37/|website=National Park Service|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=October 8, 2017}}</ref> and the 1866 [[Absalom Lowe Landis House]] in [[Normandy, Tennessee]], all of which are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bedford County, Tennessee|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="npsformbeech">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Absalom Lowe Landis House|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/9e9e335a-16d7-4b6f-bfb5-2edac6413daf|website=National Park Service|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=October 8, 2017}}</ref>

Cooper attended [[Montgomery Bell Academy]],{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} the Episcopal boys' boarding school [[Groton School]] in [[Groton, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cooper|first=James H.S. "Jim" |date=Fall 2012 |title=Is Congress Broken? Grotonians Explain What's Wrong — and How Legislators Could Fix It: Why Congress Needs Groton |url=https://www.groton.org/ftpimages/542/download/quarterly_2012_fall.pdf |journal=Groton School Quarterly |publisher=[[Groton School]] |volume=LXXIV |issue=3 |pages=20–21 |access-date=June 3, 2014}}</ref> and the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], where he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Chapter of the [[Chi Psi]] fraternity, received the [[Morehead-Cain Scholarship]], and earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in history and economics. He was awarded a [[Rhodes Scholarship]] to study at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]], where he was a member of [[Oriel College]] and earned a B.A./M.A. in philosophy, politics and economics in 1977. In 1980, he received a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] from [[Harvard Law School]].<ref name="washpostyoungandrestless">{{cite news|last1=Bumiller|first1=Elisabeth|title=Young and Restless|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/12/24/young-and-restless/4c06b168-ceb2-412f-aae3-3ee0d90c56d6/|access-date=October 9, 2017|work=The Washington Post|date=December 24, 1982}}</ref>

Cooper spent two years working for the law firm [[Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP]] in [[Nashville]], and then ran for Congress in 1982.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jim-cooper-d-tenn/gIQABq669O_topic.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) | date=December 21, 2011}}</ref>

==U.S. House of Representatives (1983–1995)==
===Elections===
[[File:Jim Cooper.jpg|thumb|right|Cooper during the [[108th United States Congress|108th Congress]]]]
In 1982, Cooper won the Democratic [[primary election|primary]] for the 4th district, which had been created when Tennessee gained a district after the 1980 census. The new 4th ran diagonally across the state, from heavily [[U.S. Republican Party|Republican]] areas near the [[Tri-Cities, Tennessee|Tri-Cities]], [[Knoxville]] and [[Chattanooga]] to the fringes of the Nashville [[suburb]]s. The district stretched across five media markets—the Tri-Cities (Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol), Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. Cooper defeated Cissy Baker, an editor in Washington for [[CNN]] and the daughter of U.S. Senate Majority Leader [[Howard Baker]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925782,00.html |title=The House: Political Genes and Reaganomics |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 4, 1982}}</ref> with 66% of the vote.

Cooper was reelected five more times with little substantive opposition, running unopposed in 1986 and 1988. Before Cooper's election, much of the eastern portion of the 4th had not been represented by a Democrat since the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].

===Tenure===
In 1992, Cooper was co-author of a bipartisan health-care reform plan that did not include employer mandates compelling [[universal health care|universal coverage]]. This initiative was strongly opposed by [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Cooper Concerns |first=David |last=Brooks |work=The New York Times |date=February 5, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/opinion/05brooks.html?em&ex=1202446800&en=71fcb9a2bceb4c8b&ei=5087%0A |access-date=February 2, 2008}}</ref>

In 1990, Cooper was one of only three House Democrats who voted against the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/1990/roll123.xml#N |title=FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 123 |publisher=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |date=May 22, 1990 |access-date=February 2, 2008}}</ref>

===Committee assignments===
During Cooper's first period in Congress, he served on the [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce]].<ref name="Secter">{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1091947272.html?dids=1091947272:1091947272&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+11%2C+1986&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Victory+Spotlights+Power%2C+Strategy+of+NRA+Lobbyists&pqatl=google |first=Bob |last=Secter |title=Victory Spotlights Power, Strategy of NRA Lobbyists |date=April 11, 1986 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/11/opinion/new-monopolies-from-old.html |work=The New York Times |first=Jim |last=Cooper |title=New Monopolies From Old |date=November 11, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/22/us/house-panel-assails-approval-of-tva-reactor.html |work=The New York Times |first=Ben A. |last=Franklin |title=House Panel Assails Approval of T.V.A. Reactor |date=April 22, 1988}}</ref>

==1994 U.S. Senate election==
{{See also|1994 United States Senate special election in Tennessee}}
In 1994, Cooper ran for the [[United States Senate|Senate]] seat vacated by [[Al Gore]]'s election to the [[Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidency]], but was defeated by Republican attorney and actor [[Fred Thompson]]. He received just under 40% of the vote. It was a bad year overall for Democrats in Tennessee, as Republican [[Bill Frist]] captured Tennessee's other Senate seat and [[Don Sundquist]] was elected governor. The 4th district seat was also won by a Republican, [[Van Hilleary]], as the GOP gained a majority of the state's congressional delegation for only the second time since [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Inter-congressional years (1995–2003)==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=May 2017}}

After losing his Senate bid, Cooper moved to Nashville and went into private business, also serving as a professor at [[Vanderbilt University]]'s [[Owen Graduate School of Management]].

==U.S. House of Representatives==
===Elections===
====2002====
When Thompson opted not to run for reelection to the Senate in 2002, 5th district Congressman [[Bob Clement]] (with whom Cooper had served from 1988 to 1995) ran for Thompson's seat. Cooper entered the 5th district Democratic primary along with several other candidates, including [[Davidson County, Tennessee|Davidson County]] Sheriff Gayle Ray, Tennessee's first female sheriff, and state legislator John Arriola.<ref>[http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/dark-horse/Content?oid=1187131 Dark Horse John Arriola trudges uphill in the 5th District congressional race]</ref> Cooper won the primary with 47% of the vote and went on to win the general election easily.<ref>{{cite book |title=2014 Almanac of American Politics |last2=Barone |first2=Chuck |last1=McCutcheon|first1=Michael |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=2013}}</ref> The 5th, based in heavily Democratic Nashville, has long been one of the South's most Democratic districts. It and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1875, and no Republican had made a serious bid for it since 1972. Upon his return to Congress, the Democrats gave him back his seniority.

====2004====
{{BLP unsourced section|date=May 2017}}

Cooper defeated Republican nominee Scott Knapp by 39 points. Write-in candidate Thomas F. Kovach got 15 votes.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060901015509/http://clerk.house.gov/members/electionInfo/2004/2004Stat.htm]

====2006====
{{BLP unsourced section|date=May 2017}}

In the 2006 election, Cooper faced Republican nominee Tom Kovach, the state public relations coordinator for the [[Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution Party]], who ran as a Republican since the Constitution Party did not have [[ballot access]] in Tennessee at the time. No one opposed Kovach for the Republican nomination. Cooper defeated him by 41 points.

====2008====
In 2008, Cooper defeated Republican nominee John Gerard Donovan, 68%–31%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tennessee 2008 Election Results|url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G08/TN.phtml|work=The Green Papers|access-date=April 10, 2012}}</ref>

====2010====
Cooper defeated Republican nominee David Hall, 57%–42%. This was his smallest margin of victory during his time representing the 5th district.<ref>{{cite news|last=George|first=Stephen|title=Democrat Rep. Cooper easily wins re-election|url=http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=13433714|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903231228/http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=13433714|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2012|access-date=April 10, 2012|newspaper=Nashville CityPaper|date=November 2, 2010}}</ref>

====2012====
{{see also|2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee#District 5}}
The 2010 midterm elections saw Republicans gain complete control of state government for the first time since Reconstruction. This led to speculation that the legislature might try to draw the 5th out from under Cooper. In the summer of 2011 Cooper and [[List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville Mayor]] [[Karl Dean]] told ''[[The Tennessean]]'' that they had heard rumors that Nashville would be split between three Republican districts. Despite its large size, Nashville has been entirely or mostly in a single district since Reconstruction. Cooper said he had seen a map that would have put his Nashville home in the heavily Republican [[Tennessee's 6th congressional district|6th district]]. The 5th would have been reconfigured into a strongly Republican district stretching from [[Murfreesboro, Tennessee|Murfreesboro]] to the Alabama border, while the rest of Nashville would have been placed in the heavily Republican [[Tennessee's 7th congressional district|7th district]]. Had it been implemented, the map would have left Cooper with only two realistic places to run—an incumbent-versus-incumbent challenge in the 6th against freshman Republican [[Diane Black]], or the reconfigured 5th, which had reportedly been drawn for State Senator and Murfreesboro resident [[Bill Ketron]], chairman of the redistricting committee.<ref>Sisk, Chas. [http://blogs.tennessean.com/politics/2011/jim-cooper-karl-dean-meet-with-tennessean-editorial-board Jim Cooper, Karl Dean say redistricting could divide Nashville into three parts]. ''[[The Tennessean]]'', August 29, 2011.</ref> But the final map was far less ambitious, and made the 5th slightly more Democratic than its predecessor. Notably, Cooper picked up all of Nashville; previously, a sliver of southwestern Nashville had in the 7th.

Cooper defeated Republican nominee B. Staats, 65%–33%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/2012-election/map/#/House/2012/TN|title=2014 Election Results Senate: Map by State, Live Midterm Voting Updates|work=Politico}}</ref>

===Tenure===
Cooper is a member of the [[Blue Dog Coalition]]<ref name="Members"/> and the [[New Democrat Coalition]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://newdemocratcoalition-himes.house.gov/members|publisher=New Democrat Coalition|access-date=February 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208100356/https://newdemocratcoalition-himes.house.gov/members|archive-date=February 8, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and he has a generally moderate voting record. He is the only Tennessean on the [[U.S. House Committee on Armed Services|Armed Services Committee]]. He also serves on the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|Oversight and Government Reform]] Committee. Despite the different policy affiliation, he became one of [[Barack Obama]]'s earliest Congressional endorsers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61509 |title=Cooper says Obama best choice to reform America |first=John |last=Rodgers |date=July 18, 2008 |work=[[The City Paper]] |access-date=March 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802045315/http://nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=61509 |archive-date=August 2, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Cooper opposed an $819 billion economic stimulus plan that passed the House in 2009,<ref>{{cite news |agency=Gannett News Service |date=January 28, 2009 |first=Bill |last=Theobald |publisher=[[WBIR-TV]] |url=http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76211&catid=2 |title=Cooper one of few Democrats to vote against stimulus plan |access-date=February 2, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> but ended up voting for the revised [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|$787 billion final package]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Theobald |url=http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090214/NEWS02/902140352/1006/NEWS01 |title=Cooper changes vote, backs final stimulus bill |work=[[The Tennessean]] |date=February 14, 2009 |access-date=February 15, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> He is one of only a few Blue Dog members not to seek [[Earmark (politics)|earmarks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aY7bPgMt0tNA&refer=home |title='Blue Dog' Democrats Ask for Billions in Spending |first=Christopher |last=Stern |date=May 6, 2009 |publisher=[[Bloomberg.com]] |access-date=May 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=86966&catid=2 |first=Bill |last=Theobald |agency=[[Gannett]] |title=Oak Ridge tops list of TN senators' special requests |date=July 5, 2009 |publisher=WBIR-TV }}{{Dead link|date=February 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Cooper voted for the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] in March 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703775504575135881813148208 |date=March 21, 2010 |title=The Doctors of the House |work=Wall Street Journal}}</ref> In 2009, [[ThinkProgress]] reported that a Daily Kos poll "found that 60 percent of his constituents disapprove of his handling of the health care issue."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2009/08/24/57512/60-jim-cooper/|title=60 percent of Blue Dog Jim Cooper's constituents disapprove of his actions on health care |work=ThinkProgress}}</ref>

In 2009 the ''Wall Street Journal'' wrote of Cooper's concerns about the national deficit, "It's even worse than most people think, he says, because of dodgy accounting used by the federal government. ... 'The U.S. government uses cash accounting,' he says. 'That is illegal for any enterprise of any size in America except for the U.S. government.'"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123214833023191881|title=The Weekend Interview with Jim Cooper|work=Wall Street Journal |first=Collin|last=Levy|date=January 17, 2009}}</ref> He made similar remarks on PBS, saying, "The real deficit in America is at least twice as large as any politician will tell you. And it may be ten times larger."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/now/shows/234/federal-deficit.html|title=Interview: A Misrepresented Deficit|publisher=PBS}}</ref>

In 2011, Cooper was one of five Democrats to vote for the [[Cut, Cap and Balance Act|Cut, Cap, and Balance Act]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Berman|first=Russell|title=Five Blue Dogs join GOP in vote for 'cut, cap and balance' bill|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/172441-five-blue-dogs-join-gop-in-vote-for-cut-cap-and-balance-bill|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=July 23, 2011|date=July 19, 2011}}</ref> and co-sponsored the [[Stop Online Piracy Act]].<ref name="govtrack">[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 Bill H.R.3261]; GovTrack.us;</ref>

In 2012, Cooper authored the [[No Budget, No Pay Act]], which specified that members of Congress would not be paid unless they passed a budget by October 1, 2012.<ref name="NoceraKate">Nocera, Kate. [http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/05/fix-congress-now-rallies-around-coopers-no-budget-123639.html "'Fix Congress Now' rallies around Cooper's 'No Budget, No Pay Act'"], ''[[Politico]]'', May 16, 2012. Retrieved on November 8, 2012.</ref><ref name="WeigantChris">Weigant, Chris. [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/the-no-budget-no-pay-act_b_1346206.html "No Budget, No Pay Act"], ''The Huffington Post'', March 14, 2012. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.</ref><ref name="CunninghamPaige">Cunningham, Paige W. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/16/house-lawmakers-say-no-budget-no-pay/ "2-party Group Puts Pay on Line in Get Budget Passed in House"], ''The Washington Times'', May 16, 2012. Retrieved on November 9, 2012.</ref>

In January 2013, Cooper was the only Democrat in the House to vote against an emergency bill to provide disaster and recovery funds in the wake of [[Hurricane Sandy]].<ref name="sandy">Congressional Record [http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll023.xml "Roll Call Vote 23"], [[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|Clerk of the House]], January 15, 2013. Retrieved on August 28, 2017.</ref>

In recent cycles, Cooper has consistently voted for someone other than [[Nancy Pelosi]] for speaker. He cast his vote for [[Heath Shuler]] in 2011,<ref>http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2011/roll002.xml#Cooper</ref> [[Colin Powell]] in 2013,<ref>http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll002.xml#Cooper</ref> January 2015<ref>http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll002.xml#Cooper</ref> and October 2015,<ref>http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll581.xml#Cooper</ref> and for [[Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)|Tim Ryan]] in 2017.<ref>http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2017/roll002.xml#Cooper</ref> He voted present in 2019. In 2021, Cooper broke his streak and voted for Pelosi.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nancy Pelosi elected House Speaker {{!}} FULL VOTE - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=8036&v=1S9V9JW2-To&feature=youtu.be|access-date=2021-01-04|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=News|first=A. B. C.|title=Pelosi wins tight race for House speaker|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nancy-pelosi-faces-razor-thin-margin-house-speaker/story?id=75017441|access-date=2021-03-04|website=ABC News|language=en}}</ref>

In 2017, Cooper worked with Republican Representative [[Mike Rogers (Alabama politician)|Mike Rogers]] of Alabama on a proposal to establish a Space Corps under the Department of the Air Force. This proposal passed in the House and then failed in the Senate.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Marcia |date=September 27, 2018 |title=ROGERS, COOPER REJECT GOLD PLATING OF SPACE CORPS |url=https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/rogers-cooper-reject-gold-plating-of-space-corps/ |work=SpacePolicyOnline.com  |access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref> Two years later, a bill with very similar language was signed into law, creating the [[United States Space Force]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Erwin |first=Sandra |date=December 11, 2019 |title=Space Force proponents in Congress warn Air Force: 'We will watch you like a hawk' |url=https://spacenews.com/space-force-proponents-in-congress-warn-air-force-we-will-watch-you-like-a-hawk/ |work=SpaceNews |access-date=January 29, 2021}}</ref>

On December 18, 2019, Cooper voted for both [[First impeachment of Donald Trump|articles of impeachment]] against President [[Donald Trump|Donald J. Trump]].<ref>https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-impeachment-vote-results-house-2019-12</ref>

;Criticism of Congress
Cooper spoke with [[Harvard Law School]] professor [[Lawrence Lessig]] about reforming Congress.<ref name=twsDecM9009 /> According to Lessig, Cooper said that members of Congress are so preoccupied with the question of what they will do after leaving Congress–the most obvious career path being lobbying–that they fall into the habit of thinking about how to serve special interests rather than how to serve the public.<ref name=twsDecM9009>{{cite news |author=Lawrence Lessig |title=How to Get Our Democracy Back |publisher=CBS News, The Nation |quote=Part of the economy of influence that corrupts our government today is that Capitol Hill has become, as Representative Jim Cooper put it, a "farm league for K Street." |date=February 8, 2010 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-215_162-6186201.html?pageNum=2 |access-date=December 14, 2011}}</ref> According to Lessig, Cooper called Congress a "Farm League for [[Lobbying in the United States|K Street]]".<ref name=twsDecM9009/><ref name=twsDecMuyy>{{cite news |author=Lawrence Lessig |title=Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It |publisher=YouTube |quote=(see 30:13 minutes into the video) |date=November 16, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1AK56FtVc |access-date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>

In 2011, Cooper said, "Working in this Congress is deeply frustrating; in fact, it's enraging. My colleagues are misbehaving. They're posturing for voters back home. They're taking the cheap political hit instead of studying the problem that's before us."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/congressman-cooper-my-colleagues-are-misbehaving |title=Congressman Cooper: 'My colleagues are misbehaving'|work=marketplace.org}}</ref> The same year, he "called the partisan posturing over the debt ceiling 'an extremely dangerous game of chicken,' and said he'd 'never seen politicians act more irresponsibly than they have been recently,' over the nation's debt."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59044.html|title=In debt talks, moderate Dems resist deal-maker role|author=Marin Cogan|work=Politico}}</ref>

Cooper was ranked the 20th most bipartisan member of the House during the [[114th United States Congress]] (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee) in the [[Richard Lugar#The Lugar Center|Lugar Center]] and [[McCourt School of Public Policy]]'s Bipartisan Index, which ranks members of Congress by bipartisanship (by measuring how often each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.thelugarcenter.org/assets/htmldocuments/The%20Lugar%20Center%20-%20McCourt%20School%20Bipartisan%20Index%20114th%20Congress%20House%20Scores.pdf|title=The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index|publisher=[[Richard Lugar#The Lugar Center|The Lugar Center]]|date=March 7, 2016|access-date=April 30, 2017}}</ref>

=== Committee assignments ===
*[[United States House Committee on Armed Services]]
**[[United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities|Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats & Capabilities]]
**[[United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces|Subcommittee on Seapower & Projection Forces]]
**[[United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces|Subcommittee on Strategic Forces]] (Chair)
*[[United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform]]
**[[United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security|Subcommittee on National Security]]
*[[United States House Committee on the Budget]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-12-13|title=Committee Assignments|url=https://cooper.house.gov/about/committee-assignments|access-date=2019-11-18|website=Congressman Jim Cooper|language=en}}</ref>

=== Caucus memberships ===
*[[Blue Dog Coalition]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Members|url=https://bluedogcaucus-costa.house.gov/members|access-date=23 December 2018|publisher=Blue Dog Coalition}}</ref>
*[[New Democrat Coalition]] <ref>{{Cite web|title=Leadership {{!}} New Democrat Coalition|url=https://newdemocratcoalition.house.gov/members|access-date=2021-03-29|website=newdemocratcoalition.house.gov|language=en}}</ref>
*Congressional Scouting Caucus (Co-Chair)
*Congressional Skin Cancer Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Congressional Wire Products Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Fix Congress Now Caucus (Co-Chair)
* 21st Century Healthcare Caucus
* Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus/Disabilities Advisory Caucus
* [[Congressional Arts Caucus]]
* Congressional HBCU Caucus
* [[Kurdish American Caucus]]
* National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus
* Servicewomen and Women Veterans Congressional Caucus
* Bipartisan Task Force Combating Anti-Semitism
* Gun Violence Prevention Task Force<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2013-08-22|title=Caucuses, Coalitions and Task Forces|url=https://cooper.house.gov/about/caucuses-and-memberships|access-date=2019-11-18|website=Congressman Jim Cooper|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Jim and Martha Cooper.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Cooper with his wife Martha]]
Cooper was married to Martha Bryan Hayes from 1985 until her death in 2021.<ref name=nytimesmarriedjimcooper/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Morris |first1=Chuck |title=Martha Cooper, wife of Rep. Jim Cooper, dies after battle with Alzheimer's Disease |url=https://www.wsmv.com/news/davidson_county/martha-cooper-wife-of-rep-jim-cooper-dies-after-battle-with-alzheimers-disease/article_7b961822-6700-11eb-8aa3-ef07e07e923a.html |website=wsmv.com |publisher=WSMV |access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref> They had three children.<ref name="Official U.S. House website">{{cite web |url=http://www.cooper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=49 |title=Congressman Jim Cooper |work=Official U.S. House website |access-date=January 1, 2010}}</ref> His daughter, Mary, was the [[student body president]] at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2011/02/sbp_candidate_mary_cooper_primed_for_politics |title=SBP Candidate Mary Cooper Primed for Politics |date=February 3, 2011 |work=The Daily Tar Heel}}</ref> Cooper's son Hayes attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his son Jamie graduated from the [[University of Georgia]].{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

Cooper is an ''honoris causa'' member of [[Omicron Delta Kappa]]. He was inducted in 2011 by [[Cumberland University]].

Cooper's brother, [[John Cooper (Tennessee politician)|John]], is the [[List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee|mayor of Nashville]] and formerly served on the [[Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rua |first1=Nate |title=How John Cooper will assume the Nashville mayor's office in an unprecedented transition of power |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/09/13/nashville-mayor-election-john-cooper-transition/2303709001/ |access-date=September 13, 2019 |work=The Tennessean |date=September 13, 2019}}</ref>
{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://cooper.house.gov/ Congressman Jim Cooper] official U.S. House website
*[http://www.cooperforcongress.com/ Jim Cooper for Congress] 
*{{Curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/Tennessee/Government/Federal/US_House_of_Representatives/Jim_Cooper_%5BD-5%5D|Jim Cooper}}
{{CongLinks | congbio=c000754 | votesmart=48891 | fec=H2TN05131 | congress=james-cooper/231 }}
*{{C-SPAN|jimcooper}}
*[https://www.theatlantic.com/jim-cooper/ Column archive] at ''[[The Atlantic]]''
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/the-last-moderate.html?src=me&ref=general The Last Moderate], Joe Nocera, ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 5, 2011

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[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:21st-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American investment bankers]]
[[Category:American Rhodes Scholars]]
[[Category:Cooper family]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Groton School alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee]]
[[Category:People from Shelbyville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Tennessee Democrats]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]