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Trent Franks

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Trent Franks
Trent Franks.jpg
U.S. House, Arizona, District 8
Incumbent
In office
2003-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position 10
PartyRepublican
PredecessorEd Pastor (D)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First electedNovember 5, 2002
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$3,539,200
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Arizona State House of Representatives
1985-1987
Personal
BirthdayJune 19, 1957
Place of birthUravan, CO
Net worth$33,925,002
ReligionBaptist
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Trent Franks (b. June 19, 1957) is a Republican member of the U.S. House representing Arizona's 8th congressional district. Franks was first elected to the House in 2002.

Due to redistricting, Franks ran for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Arizona's 8th District. He won the Republican primary election on August 28, 2012 and later won the general election on November 6, 2012.[1]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Franks is a "far-right Republican".[2]

Career

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

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Franks serves on the following committees:[4]

  • Judiciary Committee
    • Subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice, Chair
    • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations
  • Armed Services Committee
    • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
    • Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities

2011-2012

  • Armed Services Committee
    • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
    • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Judiciary Committee
    • Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law
    • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Chair

Issues

House Judiciary Committee

Congressman Franks was first appointed to the House Judiciary Committee in 2005.[5]

Congressman Franks serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties along with being the lead Republican on the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.[6] [7]

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Trent Franks endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election. [8]

Campaign themes

2012

Franks's campaign website listed the following issues:[9]

  • The American Family
Excerpt: "The character of an individual and culture of a society begins and ends with family. Recently, Congressman Franks became the father of twins, Joshua Lane and Emily Grace. Nothing like serving in government for the welfare of children and having his very own children have convicted him more of the truism: government is simply incapable of replacing the family. "
  • Business and the Economy
Excerpt: "The primary role of government in the economy is to combat fraud and price fixing practices, and simply get out of the way of free enterprise and let the people produce. As someone who knows what it is like to start a business and to develop two patents, Congressman Franks believes government should take a minimalist approach to the economy so that the private sector can innovate and thrive."
  • Sanctity of Life
Excerpt: "Congressman Franks recognizes the Constitution of the United States guarantees the inalienable rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence. He believes our Creator has given us the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a crime against God and humanity to deny any person these rights based on their color, creed, religion, or station in life."
  • Social Security
Excerpt: "Congressman Franks is the author of H.R. 1058, the Seniors Financial Security Act. This important bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion in gross income for income tax purposes of social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits. He believes it is wrong for the government to over tax our seniors."
  • Health Care
Excerpt: "It is clear that healthcare premiums are too high and people are simply paying too much for much needed medical treatments. But Congressman Franks believes that a government take-over of our healthcare system would crush the quality of healthcare services in our country. "

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "No" Franks voted against 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. He was one of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[10]

Elections

2012

See also: Arizona's 8th congressional district elections, 2012

Due to redistricting, Franks ran for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Arizona's 8th District. He defeated Helmuth Hack and Tony Passalacqua in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012. He then overtook incumbent Gene Scharer (D) and Stephen Dolgos (Americans Elect) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]

U.S. House, Arizona, District 8 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgTrent Franks 63.3% 172,809
     Democratic Gene Scharer 35.1% 95,635
     Libertarian Stephen Dolgos 1.6% 4,347
Total Votes 272,791
Source: Arizona Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Franks is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Franks raised a total of $3,539,200 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 22, 2013.[19]

Trent Franks's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 US House (Arizona, District 8) Won $376,998
2010 US House (Arizona, District 2) Won $964,398
2008 US House (Arizona, District 2) Won $485,040
2006 US House (Arizona, District 2) Won $440,591
2004 US House (Arizona, District 2) Won $804,990
2002 US House (Arizona, District 2) Won $467,183
Grand Total Raised $3,539,200

2012

Breakdown of the source of Franks's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Franks won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Franks's campaign committee raised a total of $376,998 and spent $354,105.[20]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Franks's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Franks won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, Franks's campaign committee raised a total of $964,398 and spent $987,866.[21]

His top 5 contributors between 2009-2010 were:

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Franks missed 125 of 7,661 roll call votes from January 2003 to March 2013. This amounts to 1.6%, which is better than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[22]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Franks paid his congressional staff a total of $1,192,891 in 2011. He ranked 3rd on the list of the highest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 16thth overall of the highest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Arizona ranked 47th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[23]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Franks is one of nearly 25% of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Franks's staff was given an apparent $34,090.00 in bonus money.[24]

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, Franks's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $11,600,005 and $56,250,000. That averages to $33,925,002, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2011 of $7,859,232. His average net worth did not change from 2010.[25]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Franks' net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $11,600,005 and $56,250,000. That averages to $33,925,002.50, which is higher than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[26]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Franks ranked 78th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[27]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Franks ranked 109th in the conservative rankings.[28]

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Franks votes with the Republican Party 90.4% of the time. This ranks 182nd among the 242 House Republicans in 2011.[29]

Personal

Franks and his wife, Josephine, have two children.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Trent + Franks + Arizona + House

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

Trent Franks News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

External links

References

  1. ↑ AZ Capitol Times "Franks bows out of Senate race," Accessed February 23, 2012
  2. ↑ Gov Track "Franks" Accessed May 25, 2012
  3. ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "Trent Franks," Accessed October 30, 2011
  4. ↑ CQ.com - Roll Call, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress," accessed January 18, 2013
  5. ↑ Government Printing Office "Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005", February 17, 2005(See Page II)
  6. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law Membership, 111th Congress"
  7. ↑ House Judiciary Committee "Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Membership, 111th Congress"
  8. ↑ Newt Gingrich 2012, "Congressman Trent Franks Endorses Gingrich for President," January 13, 2012
  9. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  10. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ ABC News, "General Election Results 2012-Arizona," November 7, 2012
  12. ↑ Official primary candidate list
  13. ↑ Associated Press primary results
  14. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  15. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  16. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  17. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  19. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Trent Franks," Accessed March 22, 2013
  20. ↑ Open Secrets "Trent Franks 2012 Election Cycle," Accessed February 19, 2013
  21. ↑ Open Secrets "Trent Franks 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 30, 2011
  22. ↑ GovTrack, "Trent Franks," Accessed April 2, 2013
  23. ↑ LegiStorm "Trent Franks"
  24. ↑ CNN Politics, "Congressional bonuses in a time of cuts," March 8, 2013
  25. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Franks, (R-Arizona), 2011"
  26. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Franks, (R-Arizona), 2010"
  27. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 21, 2013
  28. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  29. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party," October 30, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Ed Pastor 		U.S. House - Arizona District 8
2003-Present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress
SenatorsCongressLogo.png
Representatives
Ann Kirkpatrick (R) • David Schweikert (R) • Ed Pastor (D) • Kyrsten Sinema (D) • Paul Gosar (R) • Raul Grijalva (D) • Trent Franks (R) • Ron Barber (D) • Matt Salmon (R)
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