Rodney Alexander (Louisiana)
Rodney McKinnie Alexander (b. December 5, 1946, in Quitman, Louisiana) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Louisiana's 5th Congressional District.
Alexander was first elected to the House as a Democrat in 2002, but switched to the Republican Party three months prior to his 2004 re-election.[1] His resignation was effective September 26, 2013.[2][3]
Alexander issued a statement on August 6, 2013, that he decided not to run for re-election in 2014. He cited gridlock in Congress as part of the reason for his decision. “Rather than producing tangible solutions to better this nation, partisan posturing has created a legislative standstill,” Alexander said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I do not foresee this environment to change anytime soon. I have decided not to seek re-election, so that another may put forth ideas on how to break through the gridlock and bring about positive change for our country."[4][5][6]
After announcing his retirement, it was reported that he accepted a new post as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs in the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal (R).[7]
In early April 2014, Alexander said a 2014 run for his old seat was not out of the question.[8][9] Robin Keller, an Alexander spokeswoman, then said on April 14, 2014, that Alexander was focused on his current job and "has no plans to alter that at this time or in the near future." She said he "has no interest" in seeking the 5th District seat in the 2014 election.[10] Alexander stepped down from his position as head of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs in June 2014.[11][12]
He previously served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1987 to 2002.[1]
Biography
Alexander was born on December 5, 1946, in Quitman, Louisiana, and attended high school in Jonesboro, Louisiana. He earned his B.A. from University of Louisiana-Monroe and worked as an insurance salesman prior to his political career.[1]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Alexander's political career:[1]
- Louisiana House of Representatives, 1987-2002
- U.S. House, 5th Congressional District of Louisiana, 2003-2013
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2013-2014
Alexander served on the following committees:[13]
- Appropriations Committee
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
- Subcommittee on Legislative Branch (Chair)
2011-2012
Alexander served on the following House committees[14]:
- Appropriations Committee
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Issues
Legislative actions
113th Congress
The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[15] For more information pertaining to Alexander's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[16]
National security
DHS Appropriations
Alexander voted in favor of HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[17]
Keystone Pipeline Amendment
Alexander voted against House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[17]
CISPA (2013)
Alexander voted in favor of HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill permitted federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[18] The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[17]
NDAA
Alexander voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[17]
Economy
Immigration
Morton Memos Prohibition
Alexander voted in favor of House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain individuals residing in the United States without legal status. The vote largely followed party lines.[17]
Healthcare
Healthcare Reform Rules
Alexander voted in favor of House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[17]
Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act
Alexander voted in favor of HR 2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act of 2013. The bill passed through the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 232-185. The bill would prevent the IRS and Treasury Secretary from enforcing the powers provided to them in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote largely followed party lines.[17]
Social issues
Amash amendment
Alexander voted against House Amendment 413 - Prohibits the National Security Agency from Collecting Records Under the Patriot Act. The amendment failed on July 4, 2013, by a vote of 205-217. The amendment would have prohibited the collection of records by the National Security Agency under the Patriot Act. Both parties were split on the vote.[17]
Previous congressional sessions
Fiscal Cliff
Alexander 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. He was 1 of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[19]
Endorsements
In the special election to fill Alexander's seat, he reportedly endorsed state senator Neil Riser.[20]
Presidential preference
2012
Rodney Alexander (Louisiana) endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[21]
Elections
2014
Alexander issued a statement on August 6, 2013, that he decided not to run for re-election in 2014. He cited gridlock in Congress as part of the reason for his decision. “Rather than producing tangible solutions to better this nation, partisan posturing has created a legislative standstill,” Alexander said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I do not foresee this environment to change anytime soon. I have decided not to seek re-election, so that another may put forth ideas on how to break through the gridlock and bring about positive change for our country."[22][5][23]
In early April 2014, Alexander said a 2014 run for his old seat was not out of the question.[8][24] “I would never say anything is off of the table. If I felt like the people of Louisiana and the 5th District wanted me for a particular purpose or office, I am willing to serve them," Alexander said.[8]
Robin Keller, an Alexander spokeswoman, then said on April 14, 2014, that Alexander was focused on his current job and "has no plans to alter that at this time or in the near future." She said he "has no interest" in seeking the 5th District seat in the 2014 election.[10]
2012
Alexander ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Louisiana's 5th District. Alexander, the incumbent, defeated Clay Steven Grant (L) and Ron Caesar (I) in the November 6 blanket primary.[25][26]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Rodney Alexander Incumbent |
77.8% | 202,536 | |
| None | Ron Ceasar | 14.4% | 37,486 | |
| Libertarian | Clay Steven Grant | 7.8% | 20,194 | |
| Total Votes | 260,216 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Media
The following are two commentaries by Alexander on the Constitution and "our future." They are featured on his campaign website.[27]
Rodney Alexander, "Rodney Alexander on the Constitution..."[28] |
Rodney Alexander, "Rodney Alexander on the Future..."[29] |
Full history
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2010 On November 2, 2010, Rodney Alexander won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tom Gibbs, Jr. (I) in the general election.[30]
2008 Alexander ran unopposed to re-election in 2008. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Rodney Alexander won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gloria Williams Hearn (D), Brent Sanders (L) and John Watts (I) in the primary election.
2004 On November 2, 2004, Rodney Alexander won re-election to the United States House. He defeated John W. "Jock" Scott (R) and Zelma "Tisa" Blakes (D) in the primary election.
2002 On November 5, 2002, Rodney Alexander won election to the United States House. He defeated Robert J. Barham (R), Lee Fletcher (R), Clyde C. Holloway (R), Sam Houston Melton, Jr. (D) and Vinson Mouser (I) in the primary election.
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Campaign themes
2012
Alexander listed the following campaign themes on his official campaign website.[31]
- Experience- "Rodney is a veteran public servant; having first been elected at the age of 25 to the Jackson Parish Police Jury and then serving for 16 years as a Louisiana State Representative where he was the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee."[32]
- Beliefs- "Rodney is pro-life and pro-2nd Amendment and serves as a conservative voice in Congress. He is committed to helping his colleagues on both sides of the aisle find a bipartisan consensus on critical issues ranging from health care to tax reform."[32]
- Family- "Rodney has been married to the former Nancy Sutton for thirty-seven years. They have three children - Ginger, Rod, and Lisa - and four grandchildren. Rodney and Nancy live with their family in Quitman, Louisiana and attend Sweetwater Baptist Church."[32]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal Gain Index
- See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)
- See also: Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress)
The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants.
It consists of two different metrics:
PGI: Change in net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Alexander's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between -$33,993 and $964,998. That averages to $465,502.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. Alexander ranked as the 276th most wealthy representative in 2012.[33] Between 2004 and 2012, Alexander's calculated net worth increased.[34] Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[35]
| Rodney Alexander Yearly Net Worth | |
|---|---|
| Year | Average Net Worth |
| 2004 | $0 |
| 2012 | $465,502 |
| Growth from 2004 to 2012: | N/A |
| Average annual growth: | N/A |
| Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[36] | |
The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership, and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.
Analysis
Ideology and leadership
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Alexander was a "rank-and-file Republican," as of June 18, 2013.[37]
Like-minded colleagues
The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party.[38]
|
Alexander most often voted with: |
Alexander least often voted with: |
Lifetime voting record
According to the website GovTrack, Alexander missed 267 of 7,661 roll call votes from Jan 2003 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 3.5 percent, which is worse than the median of 2.2 percent among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[39]
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Alexander paid his congressional staff a total of $1,052,073 in 2011. He ranks 27th on the list of the highest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranks 114th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Louisiana ranks 37th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[40]
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 in the previous year.
2012
Alexander ranked 167th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[41]
2011
Alexander ranked 168th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[42]
Voting with party
2013
Rodney Alexander voted with the Republican Party 93.7 percent of the time, which ranked 192nd among the 233 House Republican members as of June 2013.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Alexander and his wife Nancy (nee Sutton) live in Quinton, LA. They have three children and seven grandchildren.[43]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Rodney + Alexander + Louisiana + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Louisiana
- United States congressional delegations from Louisiana
- United States House of Representatives
- Louisiana's 5th Congressional District
- Louisiana's 5th Congressional District special election, 2013
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Financial (state level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Biographical Guide to Members of Congress, "Rodney Alexander," accessed November 19, 2011
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednola - ↑ Nola.com, "Rodney Alexander to join Jindal administration, departure from Congress will trigger special election," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "GOP Rep. Rodney Alexander retiring," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedretired - ↑ The News Star, "U.S. Rep. Alexander won't run for re-election," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Washington Post, "Retiring Rep. Rodney Alexander to take job in Jindal administration," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Town Talk, "Alexander may seek 5th District seat again," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Former Rep. Rodney Alexander isn't ruling out run for Congress, says Monroe News-Star," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 NOLA.com, "Spokeswoman: Alexander not running in 5th District," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ Daily Comet, "Alexander quitting state veterans affairs post," accessed June 5, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Former Congressman Rodney Alexander resigns from his post at Louisiana Veterans Affairs," accessed June 5, 2014
- ↑ CQ.com, "House Committee Rosters for the 113th Congress," accessed March 3, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "House of Representatives Committee Assignments," accessed November 17, 2011
- ↑ Congressional Record, "Resume of Congressional Activity, First Session of the 112th Congress," accessed September 5, 2013
- ↑ Congressional Record, "Resume of Congressional Activity, Second Session of the 113th Congress," accessed March 4, 2014
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 Project Vote Smart, "Rodney Alexander Key Votes," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ The Library of Congress, "Bill Summary & Status - 113th Congress (2013 - 2014) - H.R.624," accessed August 27, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ The News Star, "Morris: Jindal, Alexander conspired 'to rig' election," accessed August 22, 2013
- ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," accessed November 23, 2011
- ↑ Politico, "GOP Rep. Rodney Alexander retiring," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ The News Star, "U.S. Rep. Alexander won't run for re-election," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Former Rep. Rodney Alexander isn't ruling out run for Congress, says Monroe News-Star," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate List," accessed October 22,2012
- ↑ Politico, "2012 House Race Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ Rodney Alexander's Official Campaign Website, "Media," accessed 2012
- ↑ YouTube channel, "Video," accessed 2012
- ↑ YouTube channel, "Video," accessed 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ Rodney Alexander's Official Campaign Website, "About," accessed 2012
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Rodney Alexander's Official Campaign Website, "Issues," accessed 2012
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Alexander, (R-LA), 2012," accessed February 18, 2014
- ↑ This figure represents the total percentage growth from either 2004 (if the member entered office in 2004 or earlier) or the member's first year in office (as noted in the chart below).
- ↑ This number was found by dividing each member's total net worth growth percentage by the number of years included in the calculation.
- ↑ This figure was calculated using median asset data from the Census Bureau. Please see the Congressional Net Worth data for Ballotpedia spreadsheet for more information on this calculation.
- ↑ GovTrack, "Alexander," accessed June 18, 2013
- ↑ OpenCongress, "Rep. Rodney Alexander," archived February 25, 2016
- ↑ GovTrack, "Rodney Alexander," accessed April 1, 2013
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Rodney Alexander," accessed 2012
- ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," accessed February 26, 2013
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ Official House Site, "Biography," accessed November 19, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Cooksey (R) |
U.S. House of Representatives - Louisiana District 5 2003–2013 |
Succeeded by Vance McAllister (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
Louisiana House of Representatives 1987–2002 |
Succeeded by ' |
