Jump to content

Marion Berry: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
categories, dab head to top
 
(280 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American politician (1942–2023)}}
:''This page is about the Arkansas House member; the Mayor of Washington, DC is [[Marion Barry]].''
{{for-multi|the fruit|Marionberry|other people with similar names|Marion Barry (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image name = Rep Marion Berry.jpg
| width=
| birth_date= {{Birth date|1942|08|27}}
| birth_place= [[Stuttgart, Arkansas]], U.S.
| death_date= {{Death date and age|2023|05|19|1942|08|27}}
| death_place= [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], U.S.
| alma_mater=[[University of Arkansas]]
| occupation=Farmer, pharmacist
| state = [[Arkansas]]
| district = [[Arkansas's 1st congressional district|1st]]
| term_start = January 3, 1997
| term_end = January 3, 2011
| preceded = [[Blanche Lincoln]]
| succeeded = [[Rick Crawford (politician)|Rick Crawford]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = Carolyn Berry
| residence=[[Gillett, Arkansas]], U.S.
| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Rep. Marion Berry on Naming a Federal Post Office Building After Former Sen. Hattie Caraway.oga|title=Marion Berry's voice|type=speech|description=Berry speaks on naming a [[United States Postal Service|federal Post Office building]] after former senator [[Hattie Caraway]]<br/>Recorded February 8, 2006}}
}}


'''Robert Marion Berry''' (August 27, 1942 – May 19, 2023) was an American politician who was the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] for {{ushr|Arkansas|1}} from 1997 to 2011. He was a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]].
[[image:Marion Berry.jpg|right|Marion Berry]]


==Early life, family and education==
'''Robert Marion Berry''' (born [[August 27]] [[1942]]), [[United States|American]] politician, has been a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] since [[1997]], representing the 1st District of [[Arkansas]]. He was born in
[[Stuttgart, Arkansas]], was educated at the [[University of Arkansas]], and was a farmer, a member of the city council of [[Gillett, Arkansas]], a member of the [[Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission]], a member of the [[White House]] [[Domestic Policy Council]] ([[1993]]-[[1996]]) and special assistant to President [[Bill Clinton]] for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance ([[1993]]-[[1996]]) before entering the House.
Born in [[Stuttgart, Arkansas]], Berry was raised in nearby [[Bayou Meto, Arkansas County, Arkansas|Bayou Meto]], [[Arkansas County, Arkansas|Arkansas County]] in the [[Arkansas Delta]]. The son of a [[rice farmer]], he was encouraged by his parents to work towards a career outside the farm. Moving to [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]], he earned a pharmacy degree at the [[University of Arkansas]] and then ran a pharmacy for two years.


==External link==
==Career==
In 1967, Berry returned to the family business and became a farmer, harvesting [[soybeans]] and rice, establishing a business that he carried on until his death in 2023. The family farm holdings have a reported net worth in excess of $1 million.{{citation needed|date= June 2023}}
*[http://www.house.gov/berry/ Official website]


Berry was elected to a position as a city alderman in [[Gillett, Arkansas]], in 1976. He was appointed a member of the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission by Governor [[Bill Clinton]] in 1986, and continued in that role until 1994. In 1993, then [[President of the United States|US President]] Bill Clinton went on to appoint Berry as a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council (1993–1996) and special assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance (1993–1996).
[[Category:Members of the U.S. House of Representatives|Berry, Marion]]

[[Category:Arkansas politicians|Berry, Marion]]
==U.S. House of Representatives==

===Committee assignments===
*'''[[United States House Committee on Appropriations|Committee on Appropriations]]'''
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development|Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development]]
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security|Subcommittee on Homeland Security]]
**[[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies]]
*'''[[United States House Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]]'''

===Caucuses===
*House Democratic Health Care Task Force (Co-Chair)
*House Affordable Medicine Task Force (Co-Chair)
*Congressional Soybean Caucus (Co-Chair)
*New Madrid Working Group (Co-Chair)

Berry was appointed to the [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|House Appropriations Committee]] and served on the [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies|Military Construction and Veterans Affairs]], [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development|Energy and Water]], and [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies|Transportation]] subcommittees. He was also chosen by Democratic Leadership to serve as Vice-Chair of the [[Steering and Policy Committees of the United States House of Representatives]] and as a member of the Leader's Senior [[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|Whip]] Team.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.house.gov/berry/biography.shtml |title=Marion Berry – Biography |access-date=2008-06-30 |publisher=United States House of Representatives |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080530104211/http://www.house.gov/berry/biography.shtml <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-05-30}}</ref>

Berry was a self-described [[Blue Dog Coalition|Blue Dog Democrat]], and voted against the [[Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001|2001 tax cuts]].

Berry had a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. He co-founded the Democrats' Prescription Drug Task Force and pursued his interests in health care policy while in the Congress.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} As one of the three House Democrats that sat on the House–Senate conference committee on the Medicare/prescription drug bill in 2003, he voiced many complaints about the administration's healthcare policies.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} Berry voted for the Democratic health care reform bill, HR 3962, during its first House floor vote. He also voted for the Troubled Assets Relief Program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Berry visited Cuba with [[Blanche Lincoln]] to promote the removal of the trade embargo to create more markets for [[Arkansas]] agricultural products. He drew some controversy when he supported the dumping of nuclear waste from Entergy Corporation reactors into the [[Arkansas River]]. Berry also made headlines when he called Rep. [[Adam Putnam]] (R-[[Florida]]) a "Howdy Doody looking nimrod" while on the House floor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ar01_berry/morenews/howdydoody.html |title=Statement of the Honorable Marion Berry – November 17, 2005 |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=2008-06-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710183506/http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ar01_berry/morenews/howdydoody.html |archive-date=July 10, 2008 }}</ref>

On October 10, 2002, Marion Berry was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000420/votes/page54/ |title=The U.S Congress: Votes Database |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2010-02-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930004255/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/b000420/votes/page54/ |archive-date=2012-09-30 }}</ref>

Berry was the only Democrat to vote against the [[Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act|GIVE Act]], an act which could expand the [[AmeriCorps]] program.<ref>{{cite web | website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives | url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll140.xml | title=Final vote results for roll call 140| access-date=21 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-passes-volunteerism-bill-critics-call-pricey-forced-service/ |work=Fox News |title=House Passes Volunteerism Bill Critics Call Pricey, Forced Service |date=March 18, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321081646/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/18/house-readies-passage-volunteerism-critics-pricey-forced-service/ |archive-date=March 21, 2009 }}</ref>

On March 21, 2010, Berry joined 33 other Democrats and 178 Republicans and voted no on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Berry was one of four Democrats to vote against the [[James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act]], joining 155 of 159 Republicans, blocking the vote (which needed a 2/3 majority to pass, as it was brought to vote under a motion to suspend rules).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2010/roll491.xml |title=H.R.847: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 – U.S. Congress |date=2010-07-29 |access-date=2010-08-18}}</ref>

==Political campaigns==
Returning to Arkansas in 1996, Berry announced his intention to run for the 1st District seat being vacated by [[Blanche Lincoln]]. With tough opposition from more progressive candidates, Berry narrowly won the primary with 52% of the vote, thanks to aggressive campaigning in the rural areas north of the Mississippi Delta region. In a district that had up to that time never elected a Republican, and with Berry outspending his opponent two-to-one in the general election, attorney Warren Dupwe, he claimed a modest victory (53%–44%) that November. He declined to run for statewide office, citing health, family responsibilities, and unspecified social issues. However, he enjoyed easy re-election from 1996 on, carrying the district 67%–33% in 2004, and then running unopposed in 2008, while receiving support from donors and groups also opposing the [[Barack Obama]] presidential campaign that year. He decided not to stand for re-election in 2010.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, like most Arkansas Democrats, Berry endorsed [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] and former First Lady of Arkansas [[Hillary Clinton]] for President.

==Personal life and death==
Berry resided in [[Gillett, Arkansas]], with his wife Carolyn. He identified as a [[Methodism|Methodist]].

Berry died in Little Rock on May 19, 2023, at age 80.<ref>{{cite news |title=Robert Marion Berry, former Arkansas representative, dies at 80 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/05/20/robert-marion-berry-former-arkansas-representative-dies-80/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=May 20, 2023}}</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 1996}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes = 105,280
|percentage = 52.79%
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Warren Dupwe
|votes = 88,436
|percentage = 44.34%
|change =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Reform Party (United States)
|candidate = Keith Carle
|votes = 5,734
|percentage = 2.88%
|change =
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 1998}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes =
|percentage = 100.00%
|change = +47.21%
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2000}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes = 120,266
|percentage = 60.15%
|change = -39.85%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Susan Myshka
|votes = 79,437
|percentage = 39.73%
|change = +39.73%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = George Moody
|votes = 253
|percentage = 0.13%
|change = +0.13%
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2002}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes = 129,701
|percentage = 66.84%
|change = +6.69%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = [[Tommy F. Robinson]]
|votes = 64,357
|percentage = 33.16%
|change = -6.57%
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2004}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes = 162,388
|percentage = 66.57%
|change = -0.27%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Vernon Humphrey
|votes = 81,556
|percentage = 33.43%
|change = +0.27%
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2006}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes = 127,577
|percentage = 69.27%
|change = +2.70%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Republican Party (United States)
|candidate = Mickey D. Stumbaugh
|votes = 56,611
|percentage = 30.74%
|change = -2.69%
}}
{{End}}

{{Election box begin | title=Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2008}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Democratic Party (United States)
|candidate = Robert Marion Berry
|votes =
|percentage = 100.00%
|change = +30.73%
}}
{{End}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4606 Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry]
* {{CongLinks | congbio=b000420 | votesmart=430 | fec=H6AR01072 | congress= }}<!--
Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
* [http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/400026 Congressional profile] at [[GovTrack]]
* [http://www.opencongress.org/people/show/400026_Robert_Berry Congressional profile] at [[Participatory Politics Foundation|OpenCongress]]
* [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00005455 Financial information (federal office)] at [[Center for Responsive Politics|OpenSecrets.org]]
* [http://www.legistorm.com/member/123/Rep_Robert_Marion_Berry.html Staff salaries, trips and personal finance] at LegiStorm.com
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Marion_Berry.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/person/45115 Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]] programs
* -->
*{{C-SPAN|45115}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box |
state=Arkansas|
district=1 |
before=[[Blanche Lincoln]] |
after=[[Rick Crawford (politician)|Rick Crawford]] |
years=1997–2011}}
{{S-end}}

{{United States representatives from Arkansas}}
{{USCongRep-start|congresses=105th–111th [[United States Congress]]es |state=[[Arkansas]]}}
{{USCongRep/AR/105}}
{{USCongRep/AR/106}}
{{USCongRep/AR/107}}
{{USCongRep/AR/108}}
{{USCongRep/AR/109}}
{{USCongRep/AR/110}}
{{USCongRep/AR/111}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Marion}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Stuttgart, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Politicians from Arkansas County, Arkansas]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Farmers from Arkansas]]
[[Category:Methodists from Arkansas]]
[[Category:University of Arkansas alumni]]
[[Category:Arkansas city council members]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas]]
[[Category:American United Methodists]]
[[Category:21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

Latest revision as of 00:20, 4 December 2024

Marion Berry
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byBlanche Lincoln
Succeeded byRick Crawford
Personal details
Born(1942-08-27)August 27, 1942
Stuttgart, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedMay 19, 2023(2023-05-19) (aged 80)
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCarolyn Berry
Residence(s)Gillett, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Arkansas
OccupationFarmer, pharmacist

Robert Marion Berry (August 27, 1942 – May 19, 2023) was an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 1st congressional district from 1997 to 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life, family and education

[edit]

Born in Stuttgart, Arkansas, Berry was raised in nearby Bayou Meto, Arkansas County in the Arkansas Delta. The son of a rice farmer, he was encouraged by his parents to work towards a career outside the farm. Moving to Little Rock, he earned a pharmacy degree at the University of Arkansas and then ran a pharmacy for two years.

Career

[edit]

In 1967, Berry returned to the family business and became a farmer, harvesting soybeans and rice, establishing a business that he carried on until his death in 2023. The family farm holdings have a reported net worth in excess of $1 million.[citation needed]

Berry was elected to a position as a city alderman in Gillett, Arkansas, in 1976. He was appointed a member of the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission by Governor Bill Clinton in 1986, and continued in that role until 1994. In 1993, then US President Bill Clinton went on to appoint Berry as a member of the White House Domestic Policy Council (1993–1996) and special assistant to the President for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance (1993–1996).

U.S. House of Representatives

[edit]

Committee assignments

[edit]

Caucuses

[edit]
  • House Democratic Health Care Task Force (Co-Chair)
  • House Affordable Medicine Task Force (Co-Chair)
  • Congressional Soybean Caucus (Co-Chair)
  • New Madrid Working Group (Co-Chair)

Berry was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee and served on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water, and Transportation subcommittees. He was also chosen by Democratic Leadership to serve as Vice-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committees of the United States House of Representatives and as a member of the Leader's Senior Whip Team.[1]

Berry was a self-described Blue Dog Democrat, and voted against the 2001 tax cuts.

Berry had a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. He co-founded the Democrats' Prescription Drug Task Force and pursued his interests in health care policy while in the Congress.[citation needed] As one of the three House Democrats that sat on the House–Senate conference committee on the Medicare/prescription drug bill in 2003, he voiced many complaints about the administration's healthcare policies.[citation needed] Berry voted for the Democratic health care reform bill, HR 3962, during its first House floor vote. He also voted for the Troubled Assets Relief Program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Berry visited Cuba with Blanche Lincoln to promote the removal of the trade embargo to create more markets for Arkansas agricultural products. He drew some controversy when he supported the dumping of nuclear waste from Entergy Corporation reactors into the Arkansas River. Berry also made headlines when he called Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Florida) a "Howdy Doody looking nimrod" while on the House floor.[2]

On October 10, 2002, Marion Berry was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.[3]

Berry was the only Democrat to vote against the GIVE Act, an act which could expand the AmeriCorps program.[4][5]

On March 21, 2010, Berry joined 33 other Democrats and 178 Republicans and voted no on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Berry was one of four Democrats to vote against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, joining 155 of 159 Republicans, blocking the vote (which needed a 2/3 majority to pass, as it was brought to vote under a motion to suspend rules).[6]

Political campaigns

[edit]

Returning to Arkansas in 1996, Berry announced his intention to run for the 1st District seat being vacated by Blanche Lincoln. With tough opposition from more progressive candidates, Berry narrowly won the primary with 52% of the vote, thanks to aggressive campaigning in the rural areas north of the Mississippi Delta region. In a district that had up to that time never elected a Republican, and with Berry outspending his opponent two-to-one in the general election, attorney Warren Dupwe, he claimed a modest victory (53%–44%) that November. He declined to run for statewide office, citing health, family responsibilities, and unspecified social issues. However, he enjoyed easy re-election from 1996 on, carrying the district 67%–33% in 2004, and then running unopposed in 2008, while receiving support from donors and groups also opposing the Barack Obama presidential campaign that year. He decided not to stand for re-election in 2010.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, like most Arkansas Democrats, Berry endorsed U.S. Senator and former First Lady of Arkansas Hillary Clinton for President.

Personal life and death

[edit]

Berry resided in Gillett, Arkansas, with his wife Carolyn. He identified as a Methodist.

Berry died in Little Rock on May 19, 2023, at age 80.[7]

Electoral history

[edit]
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 105,280 52.79%
Republican Warren Dupwe 88,436 44.34%
Reform Keith Carle 5,734 2.88%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 1998
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 100.00% +47.21%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 120,266 60.15% −39.85%
Republican Susan Myshka 79,437 39.73% +39.73%
Independent George Moody 253 0.13% +0.13%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 129,701 66.84% +6.69%
Republican Tommy F. Robinson 64,357 33.16% −6.57%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 162,388 66.57% −0.27%
Republican Vernon Humphrey 81,556 33.43% +0.27%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 127,577 69.27% +2.70%
Republican Mickey D. Stumbaugh 56,611 30.74% −2.69%
Arkansas's 1st Congressional District House Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Robert Marion Berry 100.00% +30.73%

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Marion Berry – Biography". United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  2. ^ "Statement of the Honorable Marion Berry – November 17, 2005". United States House of Representatives. Archived from the original on July 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  3. ^ "The U.S Congress: Votes Database". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  4. ^ "Final vote results for roll call 140". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  5. ^ "House Passes Volunteerism Bill Critics Call Pricey, Forced Service". Fox News. March 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009.
  6. ^ "H.R.847: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 – U.S. Congress". 2010-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  7. ^ "Robert Marion Berry, former Arkansas representative, dies at 80". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 1st congressional district

1997–2011
Succeeded by