Tom Allen

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Tom Allen is a former member of Congress.

Thomas H. Allen, a Democrat, represented the 1st Congressional District of Maine, in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1995-2009. Allen was also the Democratic nominee in the 2008 congressional elections for the Senate in Maine. He won primary elections which took place on June 10, 2008. Allen lost to Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the November 4, 2008, general election.

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 Tom Allen voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to cite your sources!

Iraq War

Allen voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the 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

Biography

Background

Tom Allen was born April 16, 1945, in Portland, Maine. He received a B.A. from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1967 before winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Wadham College at the University of Oxford, where he received a B.Phil. in 1970. After Oxford, he went on to Harvard University, where he received a J.D. in 1974.

Allen was an attorney with Drummond Woodsum Plimpton & MacMahon, 1974-1994. He was a staff member for Governor Kenneth B. Curtis and worked on the political campaign and served on the staff of Senator Edmund S. Muskie, 1970-1971. He was the Mayor of Portland, Maine, 1991-92. Allen served as Chair of the Maine Clinton-Gore Campaign and was a member of the Presidential Transition Team, Agriculture Department in 1992. Allen was also Chair for the Governor's Task Force on Foster Care for Children, 1979-80. [1]

Allen was President of the Greater Portland Council of Governments 1992-1993 and President of the Board of the Portland Stage Company 1987-89. He has served as an Overseer at Bowdoin College from 1965 until Present. [2]

Congressional Career

Allen was first elected to the House in 1996, defeating Republican incumbent James Longley Jr. 55%-45%. Since then Allen has been reelected with 60% in 1998 over Ross Connolly, 60% in 2000 over Jane Amero, 64% in 2002 over Steven Joyce, and 60% in 2004 over Charlie Summers.

Allen "has become a nationally recognized leader on prescription drug prices through his ground-breaking legislation to prevent drug price gouging of senior citizens" and has introduced legislation to: "fund studies on the comparative effectiveness of drugs" and "fix the flaws in the new Medicare Part D program and to authorize the government to negotiate better prices on behalf of seniors. He has developed legislation to reduce health care costs for small business owners and their employees." [3]

Allen is an advocate for "clean air and reliable, affordable energy" and "supports a new national energy policy that would decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign oil and encourage innovation and conservation. He has introduced bipartisan legislation to provide relief to small businesses to offset rising energy costs, and bipartisan legislation to promote energy efficiency across many sectors of our economy." [4]

Allen is "an outspoken critic of the proposed New Source Review rule to exempt aging power plants and other factories from Clean Air Act requirements" and "fought initiatives to exempt the Department of Defense from environmental regulations." Allen also "led the effort to remove provisions to waive liability from lawsuits for manufacturers of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), to weaken Clean Air Act ozone regulations, and to limit the rights of communities to participate in hydropower licensing proceedings." [5]

2006 elections

In 2006, the Republicans nominated Darlene J. Curley to challenge Allen in his November 2006 bid for reelection. In addition, Dexter J. Kamilewicz entered the race as an independent candidate. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) [6] Allen retained his seat.

2008 elections

On May 8, 2007, Allen officially announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in the 2008 elections. He won primary elections which took place on June 10, 2008.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00000469&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

Links to more campaign contribution information for Tom Allen 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 Tom Allen from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Tom Allen from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Tom Allen from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

• House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Health
• House Committee on Budget

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

• House Committee on Budget
• House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Health

Coalitions and Caucuses

• Co-chair of the House Affordable Medicines Task Force
• Co-chair, bipartisan House Oceans Caucus.

Affiliations

• Public Advisory Committee, Population Institute
• National Advisory Board, Roosevelt Institution
• National Advisory Board, AmericaSpeaks

More Background Data

• Background information on Tom Allen from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for Tom Allen from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for Tom Allen from the Washington Post database

• Information on Tom Allen from Congress Merge

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

Contact

DC Office:
1127 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-6116
Fax: 202-225-5590
Email: rep.tomallen AT mail.house.gov
Website

District Office- Portland
57 Exchange Street Suite 302
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: 207-774-5019
Fax: 207-871-0720

District Office- Saco
209 Main Street Suite 103
Saco, ME 04072
Phone: 207-283-8054
Fax: 207-283-1725

Articles and resources

External resources

• Official website
• Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
• 2008 Race Tracker page on Maine's Senate Race
• Official Tom Allen for Senate website

External articles

• Joe Sudbay, "In Maine, it's official. Tom Allen is running for Senate against Susan Collins," AMERICAblog, May 8, 2007. re Susan Collins

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

Current Office: None
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses: Co-chair of the House Affordable Medicines Task Force, Co-chair, bipartisan House Oceans Caucus
Committees: House Committee on Budget, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, House Committee on Energy and Commerce/Subcommittee on Health
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: November 5, 1996	First Took Current Office: January 3, 1997	Next Election: none	Term Ends: January 3, 2009
Freshman Member? No	Previous Political Work? U.S. House of Representatives; Mayor, Portland; Portland City Council	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
1. Phone: / Fax:
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: 1. Phone: / Fax:
Zip Code Affiliations:
Misc:
Date of Birth: April 16, 1945