Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Todd Tiahrt
Personal details
Born	(1963-12-30) December 30, 1963 Orange, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Susan Pompeo
Residence	Wichita, Kansas
Alma mater	U.S. Military Academy (West Point) Harvard Law School
Occupation	Attorney Businessman
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1986-1991
Rank	[[Captain (United States)#U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps|Captain]]
Unit	2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division

Michael Richard Pompeo (born December 30, 1963) is an American politician who has been the [[United

States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] for Kansas's 4th congressional district since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He has also served as a Kansas representative on the Republican National Committee.

Early life, education, and early career

Pompeo attended the U.S. Military Academy where he majored in Mechanical Engineering, graduating first in his class in 1986 and subsequently serving in the Regular Army as an Armor Branch cavalry officer

from 1986 to 1991. He subsequently graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He then worked as a lawyer for Williams & Connolly.

Business career

Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace. Pompeo ran Thayer Aerospace with investment funds from Koch Industries; the Wichita Business Journal wrote on December 13, 1998, that Pompeo's "company’s capital base is drawn in part from Wichita’s Koch Venture Capital, a division of Koch Industries.” He sold his interest in Thayer in 2006 and the company is now known as Nex-Tech Aerospace.

Tenure

Koch Industries

Pompeo has received substantial support from Koch Industries, one of the world's largest privately held companies, which is based in his district., headed by the controversial Koch brothers. Pompeo received $80,000 in donations from Koch and its employees, making him the top recipient of Koch-related money in the 2010 elections.

Opposition to the Affordable Care Act

Pompeo opposed the Affordable Care Act before, during, and after its passage into law. Pompeo claimed in 2009 that although it had not yet been implemented, healthcare reform was already driving up premiums in Kansas and costing the state jobs. He has repeatedly called it a "train wreck" and a "dangerous and misguided law." Pompeo promised repeatedly that the Republicans would propose a better alternative at some point in the future. His Congressional web site solicited anecdotes by anyone negatively affected by the law (no positive feedback was solicited). Despite the estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that the ACA would lower the deficit by over $200 billion,Pompeo repeatedly asserted that the law would instead add to the deficit. He characterized the law as "having the government take over 1/6th of the U.S. economy" although the law largely preserves and expands private insurance. He predicted in 2011 that under the law, 88 million Americans would not be able to keep coverage they liked. He predicted that the law would increase rather than decrease the number of uninsured, although since then, the number of uninsured in Kansas has dropped to 12.6% from a peak of 13.5%, a trend that continues. He claimed in a July 1, 2012, editorial that "Obamacare... has dramatically increased insurance costs for millions of Americans – raising the average cost of a family policy by $1,200". He gave no reference for this

number which was wildly divergent from estimates by the CBO, which estimated rates would fall as much as 12% by 2016, and the

Kaiser Family Foundation, which estimated a premium reduction of as much as two-thirds for those receiving

subsidies.

Pompeo has not explained what he would do to provide insurance millions who lacked health insurance in

2010, nor has he offered any constructive criticism to improve the Act, instead vowing only to repeal

it. After extolling the virtues of a Republican plan in a

February 14, 2014, interview, he asserted that "It will be up in the next 90

days".

Opposition to Firearm Legislation

Pompeo is a lifetime member of and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association. 11 weeks after the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in which 20 children

and 6 adults were shot to death, Pompeo opposed changing any firearm regulations, even mandating universal background checks

for gun purchasers. "No law or set of laws can possibly address in a meaningful way all of the challenges that we face today

with a violent America." Instead of regulating firearms, Pompeo proposed a transformation of an American "culture that

degrades and cheapens life," which he considered a "much deeper, more malignant problem." He did not address a specific plan

to achieve this transformation or explain why it could not be done in parallel with sensible firearm legislation. Pompeo

characterized the closing of the gun show loophole as "further gun control" proposed by President Obama "to fulfill a wish

list for gun control advocates." He fiercely opposed American support of the Arms Trade Treaty, alleging on July 26, 2011, that it was a "risk to American

freedom today, [a] dangerous treaty designed to curtail our Second Amendment rights" that could involve "banning civilian

possession of firearms." Pompeo was passing on an Internet hoax; adopted by the UN

General Assembly on 2 April 2013, the Arms Trade Treaty has no impact on the ownership of firearms by United States citizens,

instead "regulating the international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and

warships" in an attempt to "foster peace and security by thwarting uncontrolled destabilizing arms flows to conflict regions"

to "keep warlords, pirates, and gangs from acquiring these deadly tools."

Guantánamo Bay

Pompeo opposes closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Pompeo, who studied law at Harvard, offered no legal defense

of indefinitely holding people without charge, even those who had been cleared for release or repatriation. He accuses the

Obama administration of having an "obsession with closing this facility" which he predicts will lead to the loss of American

lives. After a 2013 visit to the prison, Pompeo said, of the prisoners who were on

hunger strike, "It looked to me like a lot of them had put on weight." Pompeo's criticism of the move to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay was part of a larger series of criticisms

against President Obama, who Pompeo felt was weak and indecisive. Pompeo had felt that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

should be expanded - he strongly supported the surge - and fought with fewer rules of engagement to protect civilian lives.

He accused the president of "unforgivably fail[ing] to provide the total commitment of our national means to our servicemen

in the field." )

2013 Government Shutdown

Pompeo voted to shut down the federal government in October 2013, blaming President Obama while acknowledging that the

Republican Party could take a hit from the shutdown. He stated that he believed the shutdown was necessary to avoid a

predicted "American financial collapse 10 years from now." In January 2014, Pompeo voted

against a two-year budget deal drafted by Paul Ryan that would avert any government shutdown until 2015 and cut deficits

by $23 billion.

Sotomayor nomination

Pompeo urged rejection of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, stating that she "desires to make policy from the bench,

not interpret the laws."

Energy and environment

Pompeo has consistently ridiculed climate science, implying that there is no correlation between rising CO2 levels,

temperatures, and sea levels, and that the federal government has no business regulating CO2 emissions. Pompeo supports

eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas reporting

program. He has signed Koch-Industries-created Americans for Prosperity's No Climate Tax

pledge. Pompeo has called for the elimination of wind energy production tax credits, calling them an "enormous government

handout." He has not publicly criticized the far larger tax credits to fossil fuel industries. He dismissed President Obama's June, 2013, speech on climate change as a "grand speech... [given] to a select group of

environmental activists in Washington, D.C."

He strongly supports the Keystone XL oil pipeline. He grilled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy on September 18, 2013, interrupting her frequently as

she attempted to answer his questions about whether she could prove that any heat-related deaths had been prevented from the

EPA policies. He also misrepresented the 26 indicators tracked on the EPA website as "goals" then scolded her for not

reaching them. Pompeo's exchange was later used by Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee to argue against the

White House climate change efforts, an argument soundly rejected by experts in climate change who pointed out that both she

and Pompeo "mangled the facts and misrepresented the words of EPA Administrator Gina

McCarthy." He has accused the administration of having a "radical environmental agenda" and alleged without offering evidence that the

"Environmental Protection Agency ... has done so much damage to our economy, so much damage to our Kansas' Fourth

Congressional District, our farmers, our manufacturers, and our families."

Islam

On June 11, 2013, Pompeo took to the House floor and said, "Mr. Speaker, it's been just under 2 months since the attacks in

Boston, and in those intervening weeks, the silence of Muslim leaders has been deafening... Instead of responding, silence

has made these Islamic leaders across America potentially complicit in these acts, and more importantly still, in those that

may well follow." The Council on American-Islamic Relations

called on Pompeo to apologize and correct his "false and irresponsible" remarks (in fact, many Muslim leaders had condemned

the bombing)."

National Security Agency surveillance program revealed by Edward Snowden

Pompeo supports the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, characterizing the agency's efforts as "good and

important work." In March 2014, Pompeo denounced NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's inclusion in the South by Southwest

conference in Austin, Texas, and called for Snowden's invitation to speak via telecast at the annual Texas event be

withdrawn, lest it encourage “lawless behavior” among attendees. Pompeo's views do not apparently

represent those of his constituents outraged by massive NSA data collection of citizens accused of no crime. Within hours of

Pompeo posting his letter on his official Congressional Facebook page , he was inundated with comments, all negative. The SXSW organizers ignored his request, and the March 10, 2014, appearance by Snowden was an enormous success, requiring 2 overflow halls. During his introductory remarks, Ben Wizner, an attorney with the ACLU alluded to Pompeo's letter. "One member of Congress from the great state of Kansas hoped [this event] would not occur... The letter included this very curious line, 'The ACLU would surely concede that freedom of expression for Mr. Snowden has declined since he departed American soil.' Now no one disputes that freedom of expression is stronger here than there but if there is one person for whom that is not true, it’s Ed Snowden. If he were here in the United States he would be in a solitary cell subject to special administrative measures that would prevent him from communicating to the public and participate in the historic debate that he helped launch." Snowden's talk (transcript and video: ) was interrupted by frequent and prolonged applause.

Abortion Prohibition and Women's Health

Pompeo favors criminalizing abortion almost universally. He believes that the federal government should allow pregnancy termination only when the mother's life is at risk, but force women to bring pregnancies resulting from rape or incest to term. Pompeo also opposes universal copayment-free access to contraception strongly recommended after extensive review by the Institute of Medicine and thereby mandated in the Affordable Care Act , access shown to reduce unintended pregnancies and abortions. This opposition, in the form of specific legislation he cosponsored ("Respect for Rights of Conscience Act"), was praised by the Kansas Catholic Conference (the Vatican opposes American women's access to contraception and supports government efforts to impede or prohibit that access).

The American Association of University Women rated him a 0, and the National Right to Life Committee rated him 100%. Pompeo has no gynecological or obstetric training.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas, 2010 § District 4

Pompeo's campaign commercials emphasized his West Point and Army background, describing him as a fighting man" committed to battling "big government's fantasy world of irresponsible spending.". (Pompeo served in the military but did not experience combat.) Antipathy towards and distrust of the federal government has been a recurrent theme for Pompeo, who he felt government had "lost its way" and was "promoting central planning." Reflecting on his election to Congress, he stated in October 2011, that he was among 80 or 90 Republicans who reported to Congress "without fear of speaking the truth" which he

believed was that the American people under President Obama "felt a tyranny upon them and they wanted out." He claimed that the military was being "used to promote ideas that do no represent our values as a nation" and that President Obama "was talking about profit as though it was evil." On one of his first campaign appearances, he asserted "I've never seen something government gets involved in that reduced cost or made something more efficient." He predicted that a new energy bill would cost millions of jobs and make the United States a net food importer. He was harshly critical of President Obama, whom he repeatedly alleged was indecisive and not appropriately respectful of military leaders such as General McChrystal before he was fired for insubordination. Pompeo felt that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should be expanded - he strongly supported the surge. He accused the president of "unforgivably fail[ing] to provide the total commitment of our national means to our servicemen in the field." Pompeo defeated Democratic nominee State Representative Raj Goyle, Libertarian nominee Shawn Smith, and Reform Party nominee Susan G. Ducey. Pompeo received 59% of the vote (117,171 votes), to 36% for Goyle

(71,866).

The Republican incumbent, Todd Tiahrt, ran for the U.S. Senate (thereby vacating his seat). In the contest to replace him, Pompeo won a five-candidate GOP primary election on August 3, 2010 with 39% of the vote. He bested State Senator Jean Schodorf (who received 24%), Wichita businessman Wink Hartman (who received 23%), and small business owner Jim Anderson (who received 13%). State Senator Dick Kelsey also ran for the nomination, but ended his campaign before the August primary and endorsed Pompeo. Late in the primary, Schodorf began to surge, prompting two outside groups — Americans for Prosperity, a Koch Industries group, and Common Sense Issues, an Ohio-based political group — to enter the race, spending tens of thousands of dollars in the final campaign days to attack Schodorf and support Pompeo.

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Kansas, 2012 § District 4

Pompeo defeated Democratic nominee Robert Tillman and Libertarian nominee Thomas Jefferson in the general election.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power

Sponsored legislation

• On May 9, 2013, Pompeo introduced the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act (H.R. 1900; 113th Congress). The bill would place a 12-month deadline on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, requiring it to approve or reject any proposal for a natural gas pipeline within that timeframe. The bill passed the House along party lines (all 226 Republicans voting voted for it along with 26 Democrats) in November 2013, then was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

• On May 13, 2011, Pompeo introduced the "Build the Fence Now" Bill, proposing a "two-layered reinforced fencing along the entire United States-Mexico border."

External links

• Congressman Mike Pompeo official U.S. House site
• Mike Pompeo for Congress
• Template:Dmoz
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Maplight Campaign Contributions