Mark Souder

Mark Souder
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Timothy J. Roemer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Jill Long Thompson
Succeeded by	Steve Buyer
Born	July 18, 1950 (1950-07-18) (age 59) Grabill, Indiana
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Diane Bauer
Residence	Fort Wayne, Indiana
Alma mater	Indiana University, University of Notre Dame
Occupation	President of Historic Souder's of Grabill
Religion	United Brethren in Christ

Mark Edward Souder (born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who will be serving his eighth term in the United States House of Representatives for Indiana's 3rd congressional district (map). The Third District lies in northeast and north central Indiana and includes all of DeKalb, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties as well as the majority of Allen and Elkhart counties.

Souder was born in Grabill, Indiana and attended Leo Junior/Senior High School, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and the University of Notre Dame. While in college, he was a member of the Young Americans for Freedom. Souder is the only Congressman at present to be a member of Church of the United Brethren in Christ, but was raised in the Apostolic Christian Church.^[1]

Early career

From 1974-1976, Souder served as marketing manager for Gabbort's Furniture. Since 1976, he has been the owner of Souder's General Store, also known as Historic Souder's of Grabill.^[2] Souder served as an aide for United States Representative Dan Coats from 1983-1984; as minority staff director of the House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, 1985-1988; and again as an aide for Coats from 1988-1993, staying with Coats when he became a United States Senator in 1989.^[3]

Congressional career

Souder was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican in January 1995, and has been re-elected ever since. This is the only elected office he has ever held. He originally ran on a signed pledge with America that he would not serve more than two additional terms^[4].

Souder is the Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism. He is also a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee. Along with U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), he is co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional National Parks Caucus. He is also co-founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy.

Until the start of the 110th Congress, Souder was chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources. The subcommittee had authorizing jurisdiction over the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, known popularly as "the Drug Czar's Office"), and it oversaw all U.S. Government anti-narcotics operations, both foreign and domestic. In addition, the panel had broad oversight authority (covering the National Park Service, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, public health programs, the Smithsonian Institution, etc.).

In March 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination Act, which represented the most comprehensive anti-meth legislation ever passed by Congress. Souder authored much of this law, which targets meth trafficking at local and state, national, and international levels.

In December 2006, the President signed into law the ONDCP Reauthorization Act, which Souder had authored and introduced. The law reauthorizes the office of "the Drug Czar" for five years.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment
• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Domestic Policy (Vice Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia
• Co-founder and Co-chairman of the National Parks Caucus

Political positions and actions

Souder has said that an actual voting record in Congress is more valuable than claimed positions on issues. His 1994 issues profile is available in the project archives.^[5]

Influence of religion

In 2004, Souder said in an interview that "the closer to the clearness of the Bible, the less ability I should have to compromise. So I view, on abortion, there's really not much room to compromise." He said, regarding Israel, "[T]he bottom line is, they're God's chosen people. He's going to stand with them. The question is: Are we going to stand with them?"^[1] Souder also applied for non-combatant status during the Vietnam War on religious grounds. His draft number was never called.

Illegal drugs

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)

Souder is a supporter of the War on Drugs. He authored and championed the Aid Elimination Penalty (also known as the Drug-Free Student Loan amendment), enacted in 1998 as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The provision suspends eligibility for federal financial aid to college students convicted of drug-related offenses. Mark Souder describes the program as:

The law has affected more than 200,000 students, including 9,000 Indiana students — one in every 200 applicants from that state. (This is the highest percentage of students affected among all 50 U.S. states.) In almost all cases, the suspensions of eligibility for aid are based on applicants checking a box saying that they have a drug conviction, or failing to check the box saying that they do not, rather than an actual check of criminal records. Following an amendment in 2006, only students who are enrolled in college and receiving financial aid at the time of their conviction may have their aid suspended (prior to 2006, the law was applied regardless of when a drug conviction occurred). Students may resume eligibility after a period of time (for example, after one year if convicted of possession of a controlled substance) or if they complete a drug rehabilitation program approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Before the 2006–2007 academic year, the provision could also apply to high school students, but this changed with the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act in 2001.^[7] In early 2006, Souder added, to a bill about the office of the drug czar, a provision calling for the fungus Fusarium oxysporum to be used as a biological control agent against drug crops in foreign countries. Several federal and state agencies have previously rejected such use of the fungus because it is highly prone to mutation.^[8]

On February 9, 2007 Souder appeared as a guest on MSNBC's The Situation With Tucker Carlson.^[9] Souder was asked specifically as to why marijuana is of such focus with regard to anti-drug campaigns. He said of today's marijuana plants "the destruction in your brain cells, is more like coke or crack than it is like the old time marijuana" in regard to the addictiveness and modern THC content. Souder said that the high THC content of today's marijuana makes it much stronger than "the ditch weed" of the 1960s and 1970s. The congressman later went on to say "No drug user is a single drug user" and goes on to clarify that "a marijuana user is very seldom just a casual marijuana user", to which Carlson said he was wrong based upon users he knows.

Online poker

Souder is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act^[10] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.^[11]

Recent positions

In June 2007, Souder called for a drawdown of US troops in Iraq. Two months later, he became the fourth Republican U.S. Congressman to call for Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig's resignation after the discovery of lewd activities in a Minneapolis/St. Paul airport restroom and subsequent allegations questioning Craig's sexuality.

More recently, in the Fort Wayne, Indiana mayoral race, Souder endorsed fellow Republican Matt Kelty. However, Souder withdrew his official support for Kelty in October 2007 due to Kelty's campaign finance law problems and a joke birthday cake given to Kelty by several Republicans that garnered controversy. Souder said that the joke cake was "immature".

Election history

In his initial campaign for Congress in 1994, Souder pledged his support for term limit legislation.^[12] He served four terms (1995–2003) representing Indiana's Fourth Congressional District. In 2002, after redistricting based on the 2000 census, Souder was elected to represent Indiana's Third Congressional District. He won reelection there in 2004 and, in 2006, was reelected to his seventh term in the House.

In the 2006 general election, Souder's Democratic opponent was Fort Wayne City Councilman and military veteran Tom Hayhurst, an MD who contributed $200,000 to his own campaign.^[13] Souder won 54% to 46%, carrying all eight counties in his congressional district. The 2006 election was significantly different than 2004, when the 3rd District voted 68%-32% for George W. Bush over John Kerry, and re-elected Souder 69%-31% (when Souder faced Maria Parra, a Democrat who made national headlines when she walked off the stage during a televised debate).

In 2008, Souder was re-elected to an eighth term in the U.S. House. Souder defeated Democrat Mike Montagano and Libertarian William Larson.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Interview: Congressman Mark Souder", Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, April 23, 2004
2. ^ VoteSmart biography
3. ^ Official Congressional biography
4. ^ [1] Contract with America
5. ^ Souder's responses to the 1994 Congressional National Political Awareness Test, Project VoteSmart, accessed October 29, 2006
6. ^ Congressman Souder's Position
7. ^ Just Check No?: A lie college students might want to tell, Slate, April 13, 2006
8. ^ Call for biowar on drugs, New Scientist, April 29, 2006
9. ^ "Souder on The Situation With Tucker Carlson", MSNBC, February 15, 2007
10. ^ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4411
11. ^ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777
12. ^ Andrea Stone, "Term-limit pledges get left behind", USAToday, April 12, 2006
13. ^ http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_candpg.exe?DoFn=H6IN03161*2006 Political Money Line Report, accessed 1 March 2007

External links

• U.S. Congressman Mark Souder Official House site
• Mark Souder for Congress Official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Higher Education Act Drug Provision

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