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Mike Pompeo
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded byTodd Tiahrt
Personal details
Born (1963-12-30) December 30, 1963 (age 61)
Orange, California
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSusan Pompeo
ResidenceWichita, Kansas
Alma materU.S. Military Academy (West Point)
Harvard Law School
OccupationAttorney
Businessman
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1986-1991[1]
Rank [[Captain (United States)#U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps|Captain]][1]
Unit2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division [2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

Business career

Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace.[5] 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.” [6] 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.[7], headed by the controversial Koch brothers. [8] Pompeo received $80,000 in donations from Koch and its employees, making him the top recipient of Koch-related money in the 2010 elections.[7]

Opposition to the Affordable Care Act

Pompeo opposed the Affordable Care Act before, during, and after its passage into law.[9] 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"[10] and a "dangerous and misguided law."[11] Pompeo promised repeatedly that the Republicans would propose a better alternative at some point in the future. [12] 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,[13]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"[14] 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.[15] 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%,[16] a trend that continues. He claimed in a July 1, 2012, editorial [17] that "Obamacare... has dramatically increased insurance costs for millions of Americans – raising the average cost of a family policy by $1,200".[18] 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.[19] Pompeo has not explained what he would do to provide insurance millions who lacked health insurance in 2010,[20] nor has he offered any constructive criticism to improve the Act, instead vowing only to repeal it.[21] After extolling the virtues of a Republican plan in a February 14, 2014, interview, he admitted such a plan did not exist but asserted that "it will be up in the next 90 days".[22]

Opposition to Firearm Legislation

Pompeo is a lifetime member of and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association.[23] 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." [24] 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." [25] Pompeo was passing on an Internet hoax;[26] 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." [27]

Guantánamo Bay

Pompeo opposes closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[28] 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. [29] 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."[30]

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."[31] 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.[32]

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." (ref>url=http://www.pompeoforcongress.com/media/?subsec=6&id=47</ref>

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.[33] [34] He has signed Koch-Industries-created Americans for Prosperity's No Climate Tax pledge.[35] Pompeo has called for the elimination of wind energy production tax credits, calling them an "enormous government handout."[36] 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." [37]

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.[38] 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."[39] 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." [40]

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."[41] [42] 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)."[43]

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."[44] 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.[45] 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 [46], 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."[47] Snowden's talk (transcript and video: [48]) was interrupted by frequent and prolonged applause.[49]


Abortion Prohibition and Women's Health

Pompeo favors criminalizing abortion almost universally.[50] 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.[51] Pompeo also opposes universal copayment-free access to contraception strongly recommended after extensive review by the Institute of Medicine [52] and thereby mandated in the Affordable Care Act , access shown to reduce unintended pregnancies and abortions.[53] 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). [54]

The American Association of University Women rated him a 0, and the National Right to Life Committee rated him 100%. [55] 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.".[56] (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." [57] 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.[58] 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." [59] 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).[60]

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.[61][62][63][64] 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.[65]

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

  • 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." [69]


References

  1. ^ a b [http://www.ausa.org/legislation/congressionalinfo/Documents/OAS%20112th %20Congress.pdf "Once a Soldier... Always a Soldier"] (PDF). Legislative Agenda. Association of the United States Army. 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); line feed character in |url= at position 72 (help)
  2. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/biography/
  3. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/
  4. ^ Lefler, Dion (2010-07-29). "Pompeo hopes varied background gives him edge". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2010-08- 04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); line feed character in |accessdate= at position 9 (help)
  5. ^ Wilson, Benet (2010-03-05). [ttp://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=busav&id=news/awx/2010/03/05/awx_03_05_2010_p0-209736.xml&headline=Thayer%20Aerospace%20Founder%20Vies%20For%20Congress "Thayer Aerospace Founder Vies For Congress"]. Aviation Week. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  6. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/1998/12/14/story3.html
  7. ^ a b Eggen, Dan (20 March 2011). "GOP freshman Pompeo turned to Koch for money for business, then politics". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  8. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
  9. ^ Pompeo, Mike (3 September 2013). "The ObamaCare train wreck: column". USA Today. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  10. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=330089
  11. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=286355
  12. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=330089
  13. ^ http://www.cbo.gov/publication/22077
  14. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=286355
  15. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=286355
  16. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_coverage_in_the_United_States
  17. ^ http://www.pompeoforcongress.com/media/?subsec=7&id=426
  18. ^ http://www.pompeoforcongress.com/media/?subsec=7&id=426
  19. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act#Effects_on_insurance_premiums
  20. ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_coverage_in_the_United_States#Estimates_of_the_number_uninsured
  21. ^ http://www.pompeoforcongress.com/media/?subsec=7&id=426
  22. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2014/02/a-health-care-qa-with-congressman.html?page=all
  23. ^ "National Rifle Association Endorses Pompeo". Pompeo for Congress. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  24. ^ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2013-02-27/pdf/CREC-2013-02-27-pt1-PgH673-5.pdf#page=1
  25. ^ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2011-07-26/pdf/CREC-2011-07-26-pt1-PgH5501-6.pdf#page=1
  26. ^ http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/untreaty.asp
  27. ^ http://www.un.org/disarmament/ATT/
  28. ^ "Senate debates Guantánamo in first hearing on closing prison since 2009". Associated Press. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  29. ^ http://votesmart.org/public-statement/838898/pompeo-former-guantanamo-bay-detainees-role-in-benghazi-demonstrates-need-for-facility#.Uxctr4X4L5I
  30. ^ "GOP Rep: 'No crisis' at Gitmo, detainees 'have put on weight'". MSNBC. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  31. ^ Wilson, Bill (2 October 2013). "Pompeo: For the GOP, shutdown is now about reforming entitlement programs Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/07/3045466/rep-pompeo-shutdown-is-about-substantial.html#storylink=cpy". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 8 April 2014. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  32. ^ http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/P000602/key-votes/
  33. ^ http://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting/
  34. ^ "Mike Pompeo's Issue Positions". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  35. ^ "Pledge Takers". NoClimateTax.com. Americans for Prosperity. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  36. ^ Pompeo, Mike (30 September 2012). "Rep. Mike Pompeo: Wind tax credit harms economy". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  37. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=340454
  38. ^ http://www.globalwarming.org/2013/09/18/rep-pompeo-questions-epa-administrator-mccarthy-on-obama-climate-plan/
  39. ^ http://www.factcheck.org/2014/02/blackburn-takes-on-the-science-guy/
  40. ^ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2011-09-22/pdf/CREC-2011-09-22-pt1-PgH6349-2.pdf#page=1
  41. ^ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2013-06-11/pdf/CREC-2013-06-11-pt1-PgH3258.pdf#page=1
  42. ^ Kasperowicz, Pete (11 June 2013). "GOP lawmaker: US Muslim leaders 'complicit' in terrorist attacks". The Hill. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  43. ^ . Council on American-Islamic Relations http://www.cair.com/images/letters/Pompeo-letter.pdf. Retrieved 9 April 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  44. ^ Lefler, Dion (4 November 2013). "NSA is doing 'important work,' Pompeo tells Wichita State students Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/11/04/3097204/nsa-is-doing-important-work-pompeo.html#storylink=cpy". Retrieved 9 April 2014. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  45. ^ Drusch, Andrea (9 March 2014). "SXSW 2014: Mike Pompeo wants Edward Snowden off the bill". Politico. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  46. ^ http://pompeo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=372133
  47. ^ http://blog.inside.com/blog/2014/3/10/edward-snowden-sxsw-full-transcription-and-video
  48. ^ http://blog.inside.com/blog/2014/3/10/edward-snowden-sxsw-full-transcription-and-video
  49. ^ http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/snowden-nsa-set-fire-internet-techies-are-firefighters-n48836
  50. ^ "Election 2012: Mike Pompeo". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  51. ^ Hegeman, Roxana (24 October 2012). "Pompeo: No rape exception in anti-abortion view". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  52. ^ http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13181
  53. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/us/study-finds-free-contraceptives-cut-abortion-rate.html?_r=0
  54. ^ http://www.kscathconf.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Pompeo-HHS-mandate.pdf
  55. ^ http://votesmart.org/candidate/125023/mike-pompeo#.UxcshIX4L5I
  56. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4nQtg2lsss&index=41&list=PLmLVHQ5JpbvygtO8479efgvh_NiUeqPzq
  57. ^ https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanPompeo/posts/275547835800729
  58. ^ http://www.kansas.com/news/story/964455.html
  59. ^ Pompeo Responds to President's West Point Speech http://www.pompeoforcongress.com/media/index.cfm?subsec=6&id=97. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  60. ^ "House Results Map". The New York Times.
  61. ^ "Live election results". Wichita Eagle. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2010-08-04. [dead link‍]
  62. ^ Lefler, Dion (2010-08-03). "Pompeo, Goyle to Meet in 4th District race". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2010-08-04. Republican National Committeeman Mike Pompeo survived a bruising GOP primary and Rep. Raj Goyle of Wichita steamrolled his Democratic opponent to set up the general election battle in the Kansas 4th Congressional District. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  63. ^ Miller, Tricia (2010-08-04). "Pompeo Likely To Replace Tiahrt". CQ Politics. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  64. ^ D'Aprile, Shane (2010-08-04). "Pompeo wins GOP primary in Rep. Tiahrt's district". The Hill. Retrieved 2010-08-04.
  65. ^ http://www.kansas.com/2010/08/03/1431486/pompeo-goyle-4th-district.html
  66. ^ "H.R. 1900 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 21 November 2013. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 8 (help)
  67. ^ Kasperowicz, Pete (21 November 2013). "Thursday:Pipelines in the House, amendment fight in the Senate". The Hill. Retrieved 21 November 2013. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 57 (help)
  68. ^ http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/house/1/611
  69. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.1921:
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