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Christopher H. Shays (born October 18 1945), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1987, representing the 4th District of Connecticut, which includes 17 towns in Southwest Connecticut.

Background

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Shays grew up in Darien, attended Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, and received an MBA and MPA from New York University. He and his wife Betsi served in the Peace Corps in Fiji from 1968–1970. He was a member of the Connecticut state house of representatives from 1975-1987, when he was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Stewart B. McKinney. Shays' home in the district is in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Shays is a Christian Scientist; in September 2006, Shays said in an interview that he was questioning his faith.

Political career

Shays began his political career in the Connecticut House of Representatives, where he would serve for seven terms. In 1987, he was elected to the US House of Representatives in a special election held to fill the vacant seat of the late Stewart McKinney. Between 1988 and 2004, Shays easily won re-election each time by margins between 34,000 and 53,000 votes.

In 2004, however, Shays defeated Democratic challenger Diane Farrell, a Westport Selectwoman, by a margin of 5 percentage points to win reelection. In that race, Shays eschewed the use of negative television ads, despite pleas from some Republicans to do so.

Now in his tenth term in the 109th Congress, Shays serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform. He is Chairperson of the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Shays is also a member of the Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees.

Political views

While described in the press as a social liberal in the style of a "Rockefeller Republican", Shays labels himself a fiscal conservative. US News and World Report says that analysis of Shays' voting record reveals that he is a moderate, having voted historically more often with liberals than with conservatives. Some critics, however, allege that Shays has lost independence. In 1987, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee notes, Shays voted with Ronald Reagan 32% of the time; by 2002 Shays was voting with George W. Bush and the Republican leadership more than 80% of the time. Shays also supplied the tie breaking vote in 2006 cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and student loans. He has spoken out against fiscal deficits and wasteful government spending. He has also supported most tort reform and free trade measures, and has advocated renewing the tax cuts passed since President Bush took office.

Shays is labeled by his supporters as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative detractors regard him as a RINO ("Republican in name only"). Shays is pro-choice on abortion although he voted to ban intact dilation and extraction, a common abortion procedure sometimes performed on third-trimester fetuses, without including an exception for the health of the mother. Shays was endorsed by the Brady Campaign for his support for gun control. The Congressman has long been for environmental regulations, and was endorsed in the past election by the League of Conservation Voters. He also advocates humane treatment of animals and ending discrimination in the workplace.

Shays was the first U.S. Congressman to visit Iraq after the outbreak of war in 2003 and he has traveled to Iraq 14 times overall, more than any other U.S. legislator. Shays has been a strong supporter of the War in Iraq from the beginning. As a result, he has faced a political challenge in a district where many voters oppose the current U.S. policy there. Shays told the Hartford Courant on June 11, 2006 that his position on the war was a matter of principle and he was not going to stop talking about it. Upon returning from an August Iraq trip, Shays explained that he was still a supporter of the war, but supported a timetable in order to "encourage some political will on the part of Iraqis". Shays has called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

In April of 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's alleged ethics violations. This made Shays the first Republican to say DeLay should step down from the Majority Leader post. He fought to maintain the Republican Party rule that requires an indicted leader to step down -- the rule that ultimately resulted in Tom DeLay's resignation. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election."

Shays is a member of or supported by the Republican Main Street Partnership, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection, and It's My Party Too.

Policy

Along with Representative Marty Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat, Shays co-sponsored the Shays-Meehan bill, which was signed into law as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The American Civil Liberties Union "believes that key elements of Shays-Meehan violate the First Amendment right to free speech because the legislation contains provisions that would violate the constitutionally protected right of the people to express their opinions about issues through broadcast advertising if they mention the name of a candidate and restrict soft money contributions and uses of soft money for no constitutionally justifiable reason." The Supreme Court upheld the law (McConnell v. Federal Election Commission).

U.S. elections, 2006

In 2006, Shays is in "the fight of his political life", facing a strong challenge for reelection from former Westport selectwoman Diane Farrell, in the 2006 congressional election in Connecticut's 4th District. According to U.S. News & World Report, "With money pouring in from the district and from national groups (Farrell expects to raise close to $3 million, Shays a bit less) and unregulated political interest groups targeting Shays with automated calls and negative telemarketing designed as polls, this one already has the odor of ugly." According to the US News report, Farrell says that, in 2002, Shays voted in support of Bush's post-911 agenda 80% of the time, but analysis of his voting record reveals that he historically votes more often with liberals.

See also

• United States House elections, 2006
• Factions in the Republican Party (United States)

Quotes

• Referring to the Mark Foley scandal Shays said "I know the speaker didn't go over a bridge and leave a young person in the water, and then have a press conference the next day," the embattled Connecticut congressman told The Hartford Courant in remarks published, and said "Dennis Hastert didn't kill anybody." He was publicly criticized for making this comment.

Notes

1. Connecticut's Fourth District, Congressman Christopher Shays. Fourth District Links. Accessed October 8, 2006.
2. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. SHAYS, Christopher H. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
3. Chris Shays is Fired Up, Feels Campaign Heat. The Hill. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
4. Urban, Peter. Shays says his faith changed: No longer follows Christian Scientist views on healing. Connecticut Post September 15, 2006.
5. State of Connecticut. Register & Manuel. Accessed October 8, 2006.
6. Connecticut. The Washington Post November 24, 2004.
7. Incumbent Shays fending off Farrell. CNN November 3, 2004.
8. United States House Committee on Government Reform. National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
9. Silvers, Susan. Shays works both sides of politics. Connecticut Post September 19, 2006.
   * The independent man. The Economist September 14, 2006.
   * Lightman, David. Centrist Republicans Gain Clout on Capital Hill. The Hartford Courant March 25, 2001, pg. A1.
10. ^ Congressman Christopher Shays. On The Issues. House.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2006. "As a strong fiscal conservative, I believe national service is one of the wisest and most efficient investments our government can make." Cite error: The named reference "Issues" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
11. ^ Halloran, Liz. One Fierce Nor'easter. U.S. News & World Report May 29, 2006.
12. DCCC http://www.dccc.org/races/candidates/CT_04_Diane_Farrell.html
13. DCCC http://www.dccc.org/races/candidates/CT_04_Diane_Farrell.html
14. Black, Chris. Sentiment narrows for defense increase. Boston Globe June 22, 1996, pg. 3
15. Congressman Christopher Shays. On The Issues:Trade. House.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
16. Congressman Christopher Shays. On The Issues: Taxes. House.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2006
17. ^ Keating, Christopher. "Rep. Shays Facing His Toughest Race in 17 Years; Incumbent's Maverick Image Concerns Fellow Republicans". Hartford Courant. Sep 13, 2004. pg. B.1
18. ^ Buck, Rinker. Out Of Step. The Hartford Courant June 11, 2006.
19. Seelye, Katharine Q. "House, by Broad Margin, Backs Ban on a Type of Late Abortion'. New York Times. Mar 21, 1997. pg. A.1
20. Project VoteSmart. Representative Christopher H. Shays (CT): Gun Issues. Retrieved October 9, 2005.
21. D'Arcy, Janice. 4TH DISTRICT HOUSE RACE GAINS ATTENTION. Hartford Courant Jul 15, 2004. pg. A.17
22. Congressman Christopher Shays.On the Issues:Animal Welfare. House.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2006.
23. Barr, Stephen. "House Bill Would Offer Domestic Partner Benefits to Unmarried Workers". The Washington Post. Jul 18, 2005. pg. B.02
24. Asthana, Anushka. Shays Urges Iraq Withdrawal. The Washington Post August 25, 2006; Page A03.
25. Casciato, Don. Farrell and Shays Duel Over Iraq, Rumsfeld. Westport News October 6, 2006.
26. Associated Press. Pressure builds on DeLay. MSNBC April 11, 2005.
27. OnTheIssues.org. Christopher Shays on Principles & Values. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
28. Christopher Shays Endorsements. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
29. Congressman Christopher Shays. Shays, Leader on Environmental Issues, Comments on Global Warming Report. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
30. Advisory Board - Christopher Shays. Retrieved October 10, 2006.
31. American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU Campaign Finance Reform Fact Sheet. February 12, 2002. Accessed October 8, 2006

External links

• Shays' Official website
• Congressional District 4 Map
• Contributors (individuals) to Shay's political campaigns
• Peace Corps biography of Chris Shays
• 2004 campaign finance data
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

• 1945 births
• Connecticut politicians
• Christian Science followers
• Current members of the United States House of Representatives
• Living people
• Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut
• People from Bridgeport, Connecticut
• People from Darien, Connecticut
• Pro-choice politicians