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Jim Bunning

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This is a profile of a U.S. senator. (See all the Kentucky portal for all incumbents, candidates and blogs.)

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Jim Bunning currently serves as the Jr. Senator for Kentucky

James Paul David "Jim" Bunning, a Republican, has been the Junior Senator from Kentucky since 1999. (map)

Bunning is also well known as a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, playing from 1955 to 1971.

Contents

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

Iraq War

Bunning voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

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

Environmental record

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

Anonymous hold on Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act

On April 26, 2007, when Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) tried again to bring the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, which would require senators to file their campaign finance reports electronically to the Federal Election Commission, to the floor for a unanimous consent motion after an initial anonymous hold had been placed on it, Sen. Bunning registered another anonymous objection from the Republican side, blocking it again.

Main article: Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2007

Erratic behavior during 2004 election

During Bunning's reelection bid in 2004, controversy erupted when Bunning described Mongiardo as looking "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Public distaste compelled him to apologize. Other behavior, including accusing Mongiardo of physically assaulting Bunning's wife—claiming that his wife was left "black and blue"—and the use of a teleprompter during a televised debate, caused several media analysts to question Bunning's mental state.

Bunning set unprecedented conditions on the debate in question: he could not appear in person due to an important vote held just few hours before the debate and instead was televised from the Republican national headquarters; he refused to allow an independent observer in the room with him; he insisted that no portion of any recording of his performance could be rebroadcast; he insisted that the debate be broadcast live in the afternoon instead of the customary prime time hours; and other conditions.[1] After the debate, the state's two largest newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and Lexington Herald-Leader, both called for Bunning to step down, however both papers had previously been critical of Bunning.

In yet another instance of questionable behavior, Bunning told reporters, in October of 2004, that he had not heard about protests by American soldiers in Iraq who refused to ride in insufficiently armored vehicles. His explanation: "Let me explain something: I don't watch the national news, and I don't read the paper. I haven't done that for the last six weeks. I watch Fox News to get my information." [2] [3]

Jack Abramoff campaign contribution

Jim Bunning received $1,000 for "his 2004 re-election campaign" "directly" from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff "and his wife, Pamela" [4][5]

Bio

Background

Jim Bunning was born October 23, 1931 in Southgate, Kentucky. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati in 1945 and later received a bachelor's degree in economics from Xavier University.

He pitched for the Detroit Tigers from 1955 to 1963, moving to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1964 through 1967, to the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1968 through the middle of the 1969 season, finished the 1969 season on the Los Angeles Dodgers, and returned to the Phillies in 1970, retiring in 1971.

Bunning was first elected to office in 1977, serving two years on the city council of Fort Thomas, Kentucky. In 1979 he won a seat in the Kentucky Senate. From 1987 to 1999 he served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Kentucky's 4th Congressional District Bunning was the Republican candidate for governor in 1983, but lost in the general election.

Senate Career

In 1998, Wendell Ford decided to retire after 24 years in the Senate. Bunning won the Republican nomination for the seat, and faced fellow Congressman Scotty Baesler in the general election. Bunning defeated Baesler by just over half a percentage point. The race was very close; Bunning only won by swamping Baesler in his home district (the 4th) by a margin that Baesler couldn't make up in the rest of the state.

Bunning is one of the Senate's most conservative members, gaining high marks from several conservative interest groups.

Bunning was the only member of the United States Senate Banking and Urban Affairs Committee to have opposed Ben Bernanke for Chief of the Federal Reserve. He claimed it was because he had doubts that he would not be different then Alan Greenspan.

Among the bills that has Bunning sponsored is the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004.

Bunning was heavily favored for a second term in 2004 after his expected Democratic opponent, Governor Paul Patton, saw his career implode in a scandal over an extramarital affair. Eventually, the Democrats settled on Daniel Mongiardo, a relatively unknown physician and state senator from Hazard. Despite heavily outspending Mongiardo, Bunning was dogged by several gaffes and other instances of erratic behavior. The race turned out to be another nail-biter, with Mongiardo leading with as many as 80% of the returns coming in. However, Bunning eventually won by just over a percentage point. Some analysts felt that had it not been for George W. Bush's 20-point victory in the state, Mongiardo would have won.

Bunning had an estimated $4 million campaign war chest, while Mongiardo had only $600,000. The Democratic Party began increasing financial support to Mongiardo when it became apparent that Bunning's bizarre behavior (see "Conroversy" below) was costing him votes, purchasing more than $800,000 worth of additional television airtime on his behalf.

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00003437&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

Links to more campaign contribution information for Jim Bunning
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


Committees and Affiliations

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

More Background Data

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

Contact

DC Office:
316 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1703
Phone: 202-224-4343
Fax: 202-228-1373
Web Email
Website

District Office - Fort Wright:
1717 Dixie Highway, Suite 220
Fort Wright, KY 41011-2770
TollFree: 800-283-8983
Fax: 859-331-7445

District Office - Hazard:
Gorman Education Center
601 Main Street, Suite 2
Hazard, KY 41701
Phone: 606-435-2390
Fax: 606-435-1761

District Office - Hopkinsville:
1100 South Main Street, Suite 12
Hopkinsville, KY 42240
Phone: 270-885-1212
Fax: 270-881-3975

District Office - Lexington:
771 Corporate Drive, Suite 105
Lexington, KY 40503
Phone: 859-219-2239
Fax: 859-219-3269

District Office - Louisville:
600 Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Place
Room 1072 B
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: 502-582-5341
Fax: 502-582-5344

District Office - Owensboro:
423 Frederica Street, Room 305
Owensboro, KY 42301-3013
Phone: 270-689-9085
Fax: 270-689-9158

Articles and Resources

Resources

Articles

Local blogs and discussion sites

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. Senate
111th Congress
Leadership Position:
 Committees Chaired:
 Committees,
Ranking Member On:
 Caucuses:
Committees:
110th Congress
Leadership Position:
 Committees Chaired:
 Committees,
Ranking Member On:
 Caucuses:
Committees: Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs/Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs/Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, Senate Committee on Banking Housing and Urban Affairs/Subcommittee on Securities Insurance and Investment, Senate Committee on the Budget, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources/Subcommittee on Energy, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources/Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources/Subcommittee on Water and Power, Senate Committee on Finance, Senate Committee on Finance/Subcommittee on Energy Natural Resources and Infrastructure, Senate Committee on Finance/Subcommittee on Health Care, Senate Committee on Finance/Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness,
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office:
November 3, 1998		 First Took Current Office:
January 6, 1999		 Next Election:
November 2, 2010		 Term Ends:
Freshman Member?
 Previous Political Work?
U.S. House of Representatives, Kentucky State Senate, Fort Thomas City Council,		 Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
1. 1717 Dixie Highway, Suite 220, Fort Wright, KY 41011-2770
Phone: 800-283-8983 / Fax: 859-331-7445
2. Gorman Education Center, 601 Main Street, Suite 2, Hazard, KY 41701
Phone: 606-435-2390 / Fax: 606-435-1761
3. 1100 South Main Street, Suite 12, Hopkinsville, KY 42240
Phone: 270-885-1212 / Fax: 270-881-3975
4. 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 105, Lexington, KY 40503
Phone: 859-219-2239 / Fax: 859-219-3269
5. 600 Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Place, Room 1072 B, Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: 502-582-5341 / Fax: 502-582-5344
6. 423 Frederica Street, Room 305, Owensboro, KY 42301-3013
Phone: 270-689-9085 / Fax: 270-689-9158
Campaign Contact:

Website:
Webform Email: / Email:

Campaign Offices:

1.
Phone: / Fax:
Zip Code Affiliations:
Misc:

Date of Birth: October 23, 1931
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