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John Kerry

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John Kerry
John Kerry.jpg
Secretary of State of the United States
Incumbent
In office
February 1, 2013-Present
PartyDemocratic
Elections and appointments
NominatedDecember 21, 2012
ConfirmedJanuary 29, 2013
AppointedFebruary 1, 2013
Appointed byBarack Obama
Prior offices
United States Senator
1985-February 1, 2013
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
1983-1985
Education
Bachelor'sYale University
J.D.Boston College
Military service
Service/branchU.S. Navy
Years of service1966-1970
CitationsSilver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart (3)
Personal
BirthdayDecember 11, 1943
Place of birthBoston
ProfessionAttorney
ReligionRoman Catholic
Websites
Office website

Contents

John Kerry (b. December 11, 1943) is the current Secretary of State of the United States of America. He is also a former Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Massachusetts. Kerry served in the Senate from 1985-2013. He was confirmed as Secretary of State of the United States on January 29, 2013. Kerry then resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate.[1]

On December 21, 2012, President Barack Obama announced that he was nominating Kerry to the position of Secretary of State. On January 29, 2013, the Senate confirmed Kerry's appointment by a vote of 94-3. He succeeded Secretary Hillary Clinton on Feb 1, 2013.[1][2]

Biography

While Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado, his family moved to Massachusetts when he was young. He eventually was accepted to and graduated from Yale University. Kerry then volunteered for the U.S. Navy and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

Kerry has been in public service since first running for office in 1972.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Kerry's academic, professional and political career:[3]

  • 1966: Graduated from Yale
  • 1966-1970: Served in U.S. Navy including two tours in Vietnam
  • 1976: Graduated from Boston College Law School
  • 1977-1982: Assistant District Attorney of Massachusetts
  • 1982-1984: Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
  • 1984-2013: U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
  • 2004: Ran unsuccessfully for U.S. President
  • 2013-Present: U.S. Secretary of State

Confirmation vote

Vote count

John Kerry was confirmed as the Secretary of State on January 29, 2013 by a vote of 94-3. The notable votes included three Republicans who voted against the confirmation: Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Kerry voted present.[4]

John Kerry Confirmation vote, January 29, 2013
Party Votes for Approveda Votes against Defeatedd Total votes
Democratic Party (United States) Democrats 48 0 48
Republican Party Republicans 46 3 49
Independent Independents 0 0 0
Total Votes 94 3 97


Committee assignments


Kerry discusses sending the possibility of sending more troops abroad in this 2009 video on CBS.

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Kerry served on the following Senate committees[5]:

2011-2012

During the 112th Congress, Kerry served on the following committees.

Issues

Political positions

Iraq

According to Kerry's campaign website, he supports a true end to the Iraq war. Specifically, Kerry promoted the establishment of a specific date to withdraw all troops.[6]

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Kerry voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Elections

2008

On November 4, 2008, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jeffrey K. Beatty (R) and Robert J. Underwood (L) in the general election.[8]

U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 2008
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgJohn Kerry incumbent 63.6% 1,971,974
     Republican Jeffrey K. Beatty 29.8% 926,044
     Libertarian Robert J. Underwood 3% 93,716
     N/A All Others 0.1% 2,516
     N/A Blank/Scattering 3.5% 108,748
Total Votes 3,102,998

Full history


Campaign donors

2008

Breakdown of the source of Kerry's campaign funds before the 2008 election.

Kerry won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. During that re-election cycle, Kerry's campaign committee raised a total of $11,105,663 and spent $17,016,823.[13]


2002

Breakdown of the source of Kerry's campaign funds before the 2002 election.

Kerry won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2002. During that re-election cycle, Kerry's campaign committee raised a total of $15,468,903 and spent $10,297,909.[14]

His top 5 contributors between 2003-2008 were:


Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

2012

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Kerry was a "far-left Democratic leader".[15]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Kerry was ranked the 24th most liberal senator during 2012.[16]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, John Kerry was ranked the 24th most liberal senator during 2011.[17]

Voting with party

2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Kerry voted with the Democratic Party 97.2% of the time, which ranked 6th among the 51 Senate Democrats in November 2011.[18]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Kerry paid his congressional staff a total of $2,828,790 in 2011. He ranks 15th on the list of the highest paid Democratic Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 20th overall of the highest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Massachusetts ranks 12th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[19]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Kerry's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $184,268,546 and $287,685,063.00. That averages to $235,976,804.00, which is significantly higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2011 of $20,795,449.53. His average net worth increased by 1.84% from 2010.[20]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Kerry's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $181,469,521 and $281,976,067. That averages to $231,722,794, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic Senators in 2010 of $19,383,524 .[21]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term John + Kerry + Massachusetts + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

John Kerry News Feed


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Personal

Kerry is married to Theresa Heinz. He and his first wife, Julia Thorne, were divorced in 1988. Kerry has two children from his first marriage -- Alexandra and Vanessa. He has three stepsons -- H. John Heinz IV, Andre Heinz and Christopher Heinz.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Washington Post, "John Kerry confirmed as secretary of state," January 29, 2013
  2. ↑ CBS News "Obama taps John Kerry to be Secretary of State," December 21, 2012
  3. ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "John Forbes Kerry," Accessed August 27, 2011
  4. ↑ www.senate.gov, "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 113th Congress - 1st Session", January 29, 2013
  5. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  6. ↑ John Kerry Campaign website "Iraq," Accessed August 27, 2011
  7. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  9. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  10. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  11. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990"
  12. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1984"
  13. ↑ Open Secrets "John Kerry 2008 Election Cycle," Accessed October 2011
  14. ↑ Open Secrets "John Kerry 2002 Election Cycle," Accessed October 2011
  15. ↑ Gov Track "John Kerry," Accessed March 3, 2012
  16. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  17. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  18. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party," Accessed October 5, 2011
  19. ↑ LegiStorm "John Kerry"
  20. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Kerry, (D-Massachusetts), 2011"
  21. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Kerry, (D-Massachusetts), 2010"
Political offices
Preceded by
Hillary Clinton 		U.S. Secretary of State
2013-Present 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Paul Tsongas 		U.S. Senate - Massachusetts
1985-2013 		Succeeded by
Mo Cowan
v • d • e
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