Bob Stump
Bob Stump | |
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Chair of theHouse Armed Services Committee | |
In office January 4, 2001 – January 3, 2003 | |
Speaker | Dennis Hastert |
Preceded by | Floyd Spence |
Succeeded by | Duncan Hunter |
Chair of theHouse Veterans' Affairs Committee | |
In office January 4, 1995 – January 4, 2001 | |
Speaker | Newt Gingrich Dennis Hastert |
Preceded by | Sonny Montgomery |
Succeeded by | Chris Smith |
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's3rddistrict | |
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2003 | |
Preceded by | Sam Steiger |
Succeeded by | Trent Franks(Redistricting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Lee Stump April 4, 1927 Phoenix, Arizona,U.S. |
Died | June 20, 2003 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 76)
Resting place | Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery (Phoenix, Arizona) |
Political party | Democratic(1958–1982) Republican(1982–2003) |
Spouse | Nancy Stump |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Arizona State University |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1943–1946 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Robert Lee Stump(April 4, 1927 – June 20, 2003) was an American politician who served as aU.S. CongressmanfromArizona.He served as a member from theDemocratic Partyfrom 1977 to 1983 and then later a member of theRepublican Partyuntil the end of his tenure as congressman.
Early life and career
[edit]Stump was born inPhoenix,and was aU.S. NavyWorld War IIcombat veteran, where he served on theUSSTulagifrom 1943 to 1946. He graduated fromTolleson Union High Schoolin 1947, andArizona State Universityin 1951 where he was a member of theDelta Chifraternity. He owned a cotton and grain farm in the Phoenix suburb ofTollesonfor many years.
He served four terms in theArizona House of Representativesfrom 1959 to 1967, and five terms in theArizona State Senate,from 1967 to 1976. He served as President of the Arizona State Senate from 1975 to 1976.
Member of Congress
[edit]He was first elected to the95thCongresson November 2, 1976, originally as aDemocratfrom the3rd Congressional District,a vast district stretching from western Phoenix throughPrescotttoLake Havasu Cityand theGrand Canyon.He defeated state senate minority leader Fred Koory with 47 percent of the vote.[1]
Stump wore his party ties very loosely. He considered himself a "Pinto Democrat," the popular name for conservative Democrats from rural Arizona, and his voting record was strongly conservative. His profile was similar to those of conservative Democrats from the South. He voted forRonald Reagan's tax cuts in 1981. Shortly after that vote, he announced he would become aRepublicanwhen Congress reconvened in January 1982. Regardless of his party affiliation, he never faced serious competition at the ballot box. After his initial run for Congress, he only dropped below 60 percent of the vote once, in 1990. He only faced an independent in 1978, and was completely unopposed in 1986.[2]
He briefly considered running for theSenatein 1986 afterBarry Goldwaterdecided to retire.[3]
Described as "quiet" and "assiduously private",[3]Stump kept a fairly low profile for most of his tenure. He had only a skeleton staff; he was known to answer the phone himself at hisWashington, D.C.office, and to open his own mail.[3][4][5]Stump usually returned home to work his farm in Tolleson on weekends.
In November 1997, Stump was one of eighteen Republicans in the House to co-sponsora resolutionbyBob Barrthat sought to launch animpeachment inquiryagainst PresidentBill Clinton.[6][7]The resolution did not specify any charges or allegations.[7]This was an early effort toimpeachClinton, predating the eruption of theClinton–Lewinsky scandal.The eruption of that scandal would ultimately lead to a more serious effort to impeach Clinton in 1998.[8]On October 8, 1998, Stump voted in favor of legislation that was passed to openan impeachment inquiry.[9]On December 19, 1998,Stump voted in favor of all four proposedarticles of impeachmentagainst Clinton (only two of which received the majority of votes needed to be adopted).[10][11][12][13]
In his 26 years in the House he became a noted member of theHouse Armed Services Committee,serving as chairman from 2001 to 2003. He'd chaired theHouse Veterans' Affairs Committeefrom 1995 to 2001, when he was forced to give that post up due to caucus-imposed term limits. He is one of the few members of the House to chair both committees.[14]He consistently supported increased spending on the military and veterans.[4][5][15]The 2003 military appropriations authorization act was named after him in recognition of his commitment to the military as the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003.[16]
Stump sponsored bills to makeEnglishthe official language for government business and to alter laws so that children born on US soil to non-citizen parents would not automatically be citizens.[5]According to Amy Silverson, he was "best known in Congress as a perpetual naysayer, casting votes against almost all spending programs."[3]
Between 1976 and 2002, he accumulated a lifetime score of 97 (out of 100) from theAmerican Conservative Union.[17]He received very low scores from theNational Council of Senior Citizens,theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,theAFL–CIO,theNAACP,and theLeague of Conservation Voters.[18]
Although his district included the entire northwestern portion of Arizona, the great majority of its residents lived in the West Valley. Stump was often accused of addressing himself mainly to the West Valley and ignoring the other portions of his sprawling district, even though the district's center of gravity had moved to the West Valley as early as the 1970s. Indeed, many of his constituents rarely saw him. He maintained his district office in downtown Phoenix, outside his own district, for many years.[3]Although he claimed his farm in Tolleson as his residence in the district, his main residence was in another portion of Phoenix outside the district. However, Stump toldThe Arizona Republicthat he saw the farm as "my place of business," and knew that "nobody ever thought I resided there." He believed that "you declare your residency wherever you want.[19]
Bob Hope announcement
[edit]After theAssociated PressmistakenlyplacedBob Hope's obituary on its web site in June 1998, Stump announced on the floor of the House that the entertainer had died.[20][21]This was quickly denied by his daughter and publicist; Hope outlived Stump by five weeks, dying in 2003 at the age of 100.
Death and legacy
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Phoenix-Greenwood_Memory_Lawn_Cemetery-Robert_Lee_Stump.jpg/250px-Phoenix-Greenwood_Memory_Lawn_Cemetery-Robert_Lee_Stump.jpg)
He decided not to run for re-election in 2002 due to declining health. He endorsed his longtime chief of staff, Lisa Jackson Atkins, as his successor in what was then numbered as the 2nd District. Atkins had been very visible in the district, to the point that many thoughtsheactually represented it rather than Stump. However, Atkins was defeated in a seven way Republican primary byTrent Franks,who held the seat until December 2017. Stump died June 20, 2003, ofmyelodysplasia,a blood disorder and was buried atGreenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemeteryin Phoenix withfull military honors.[3][4][15]
In 2004, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center inPrescott, Arizona,was renamed the Bob Stump Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Stump is no relation to the member of theArizona Corporation Commissionof the same name. In 2006, SR 303L was renamed theBob Stump Memorial Highway.[22]
In 2018, Stump's widow issued a letter, criticizing an Arizona state government politicianof the same namefor allegedly capitalizing on her late husband's name. The letter was met with a sharp rebuke by the state government politician's mother.[23]
See also
[edit]- List of American politicians who switched parties in office
- List of United States representatives who switched parties
References
[edit]- ^"Our Campaigns - AZ District 3 Race - Nov 02, 1976".
- ^"Our Campaigns - Candidate - Robert Lee" Bob "Stump".
- ^abcdefSilverman, Amy (October 13, 1993),"The Stealth Congressman",Phoenix New Times,archived fromthe originalon October 9, 2012,retrievedAugust 26,2009
- ^abc"Former Ariz. congressman Bob Stump dies",USA Today,USA Today,June 22, 2003,retrievedMarch 5,2010
- ^abc"Rep. Bob Stump of Arizona retiring",USA Today,April 26, 2002,retrievedMarch 5,2010
- ^Pace, David (November 6, 1997)."17 in House seek probe to impeach president".The Record.The Associated Press.RetrievedMarch 4,2021.
- ^abHutcheson, Ron (November 17, 1997)."Some House Republicans can't wait for elections".Newspapers.Asheville Citizen-Times. Knight-Rider Newspapers.
- ^Barkham, Patrick (November 18, 1998)."Clinton impeachment timeline".The Guardian.RetrievedMarch 6,2021.
- ^"Roll Call 498 Roll Call 498, Bill Number: H. Res. 581, 105th Congress, 2nd Session".clerk.house.gov.Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 8, 1998.RetrievedMarch 1,2021.
- ^"Roll Call 546 Roll Call 546, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session".Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.December 19, 1998.RetrievedMarch 6,2021.
- ^"Roll Call 545 Roll Call 545, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session".Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.December 19, 1998.RetrievedMarch 6,2021.
- ^"Roll Call 544 Roll Call 544, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session".Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.December 19, 1998.RetrievedMarch 6,2021.
- ^Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225–7000, DC 20515-6601 (December 19, 1998)."Roll Call 543 Roll Call 543, Bill Number: H. Res. 611, 105th Congress, 2nd Session".Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.RetrievedMarch 6,2021.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^AZ HCR 2043
- ^ab"Bob Stump, 76, Ex-Congressman of Arizona",The New York Times,June 24, 2003,retrievedMarch 5,2010
- ^Public Law 107–314—December 2, 2002
- ^ACU House Ratings 2002.
- ^Green, Justin (October 28, 1996),"Claims Stump doesn't represent most of constituents",The Daily Courier,retrievedMarch 5,2010
- ^Hansen, Ronald J."Rep. Paul Gosar takes a tax break on his 'primary' residence. It's not in his district".The Arizona Republic.
- ^House Proceeding, June 5, 1998(6:01:45 from start). FromC-SPAN.
- ^"Premature report of Bob Hope's demise".BBC News.June 6, 1998.
- ^"Search | ADOT"(PDF).
- ^Hawkins, Derek (January 30, 2018)."Morning Mix 'There is only one Bob Stump': Arizona politicians' families spar over same name".The Washington Post.RetrievedFebruary 12,2018.
External links
[edit]- United States Congress."Bob Stump (id: S001044)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- AppearancesonC-SPAN
- "Bob Stump, 76, Ex-Congressman of Arizona, Dies".The New York Times.June 24, 2003.
- 1927 births
- 2003 deaths
- Arizona state senators
- Arizona State University alumni
- Members of the Arizona House of Representatives
- Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona
- Presidents of the Arizona Senate
- United States Navy sailors
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- American Seventh-day Adventists
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona
- 20th-century American politicians
- 21st-century American politicians
- People from Maricopa County, Arizona