Charlie Melancon

Charlie Melancon previously served the Third Congressional district of Louisiana

Charles J. (Charlie) Melancon (pronounced Meh-lahn-son), is a Democrat and a former U.S. Representative for the 3rd Congressional District of Louisiana, having served 2005 to 2011. (map)

Record and controversies

General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's articles on legislation. You can add information you find on how Charlie Melancon voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Oil Voting Record

Charlie Melancon has voted in favor of big oil companies on 64% of important oil-related bills. These include Iraq War Funding, Climate Change Studies, Clean Energy, and Ending Oil Subsidies. See below for oil money in politics.

Bio

Melancon was born October 3, 1947 in Napoleonville, Louisiana. Melancon owned and operated several small businesses (including two Baskin Robbins) before winning a 1987 special election for the Louisiana House of Representatives. After serving 2 more terms, he headed the American Sugar Cane League from 1993 to 2004.

Melancon decided to run for the U.S. House when Billy Tauzin announced his retirement. Considered an underdog for much of the race, he managed to squeak into a runoff due to an especially ugly intraparty battle between Republican candidates Billy Tauzin III (the incumbent's son) and Craig Romero. In the runoff campaign, Melancon repeatedly hammered away at Tauzin III's youth, inexperience, criminal record, and family ties (many members of both major parties resented Tauzin's status as frontrunner for the seat solely because his father was the incumbent). Due to the attacks, makeup of the district, and Romero's refusal to endorse Tauzin, Melancon eked out a victory of about 600 votes.

Very soon after being sworn in in January of 2005, Melancon joined the Blue Dog Democrats. He is a fairly conservative Democrat by national standards--in fact, a section of his campaign site, "Louisiana Values," detailed his opposition to gun control, abortion and same-sex marriage. He later said that the 2004 election campaign was the first time in his life that he was called a liberal.

Melancon has been a harsh critic of the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of his district. However, some post-Katrina analyses indicate that the political fallout from Katrina may lead to an unseating of incumbents generally, and for demographic reasons, Democratic incumbents in particular.

2006 elections

Melancon won reelection by a margin of 55%-40% over his closest rival, Republican Craig Romero. [1]

2010 elections

In 2010, Melancon ran for U.S. Senator for Louisiana but lost to incumbent Republican David Vitter. Tea party Republican Jeff Landry won the House seat.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00026840&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

Links to more campaign contribution information for Charlie Melancon from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation:	2006 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by industry:	2006 election cycle	Career totals

• Revolving door profile for Charlie Melancon from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Charlie Melancon from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Charlie Melancon from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Oil and coal contributions

Charlie Melancon has received $117,100 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $101,750 of those dollars were from industry PACS. In total, he has received $235,200 since 2000. In terms of coal companies, Melancon has received $43,500 in coal contributions during the 110th congress, and all of those have been from industry PACs.

Committees and affiliations

Committees

• House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• House Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Research and Science Education
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

• House Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
• House Committee on Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on National Parks Recreation and Public Lands
• House Committee on Science
  • Subcommittee on Research
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

More background data

• Background information on Charlie Melancon from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for Charlie Melancon from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for Charlie Melancon from the Washington Post database

• Information on Charlie Melancon from Congress Merge

Wikipedia also has an article on Charlie Melancon. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

Former contact

DC Office:
404 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-4031
Fax: 202-226-3944
Web Email
Website

District Office- Chalmette:
8201 West Judge Perez Drive
Chalmette, LA 70043
Phone: 504-271-1702
Fax: 504-271-1756

District Office- Gonzales:
828 South Irma Boulevard, Suite 107
Gonzales, LA 70737
Phone: 225-621-8490
Fax: 225-621-8493

District Office- Houma:
423 Lafayette Street
Suite 107
Houma, LA 70360
Phone: 985-876-3033
Fax: 985-872-4449

District Office- New Iberia:
210 East Main Street
New Iberia, LA 70560
Phone: 337-367-8231
Fax: 337-369-7084

Articles and resources

External resources

• Official website
• Campaign website
• Follow the Oil Money
• Vote Tracker
• Follow the Coal Money
• Appalachian Voices

Local blogs and discussion sites

• Your Right Hand Thief: Laughing off hard truths in New Orleans

Corresponding article on Wikipedia and Cause Caller. (If Cause Caller link does not work, pick from its list of senators and representatives.)

Current Office: U.S. House of Representatives
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Science and Technology, House Committee on Science and Technology/Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, House Committee on Science and Technology/Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: December 4, 2004	First Took Current Office: January 3, 2005	Next Election: November 2, 2010	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? No	Previous Political Work? Louisiana House of Representatives,	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
1. 8201 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, LA 70043 Phone: 504-271-1702 / Fax: 504-271-1756 2. 828 South Irma Boulevard, Suite 107, Gonzales, LA 70737 Phone: 225-621-8490 / Fax: 225-621-8493 3. 423 Lafayette Street, Suite 107, Houma, LA 70360 Phone: 985-876-3033 / Fax: 985-872-4449 4. 210 East Main Street, New Iberia, LA 70560 Phone: 337-367-8231 / Fax: 337-369-7084
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: 1. Phone: / Fax:
Zip Code Affiliations:
Misc:
Date of Birth: October 3, 1947