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Martin Thomas Meehan (born December 30 1956), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing the Fifth District of Massachusetts. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the oldest son in a family of seven children. He grew up in a working class neighborhood and attended Lowell public schools. He attended college at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and earned J.D. and M.P.A. degrees from Suffolk University.
Meehan developed a reputation as a tough law enforcer as the Massachusetts Deputy Secretary of State for Securities and Corporations from 1986 to 1990. The Boston Globe reported, "During Meehan's four years as Deputy Secretary, the Securities Division went from being a frequent embarrassment to gaining a national reputation as hard-hitting and activist." The Boston Herald credited him with "changing the state securities and corporations division from what some called a nest of political influence into one of the nation's leading state securities investigators."
Subsequently, Meehan was the First Assistant District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, supervising an office widely respected for aggressive prosecution of child abuse, domestic violence and other violent crimes. Meehan supervised more than 150 people, including 80 prosecutors, and he established an innovative "priority prosecution" policy targeting hardened criminals.
Meehan was elected to Congress in 1992 on a plan to eliminate the budget deficit. His fiscally responsible voting record since then has earned him praise from citizen watchdog groups. Meehan was also elected supporting term limits, pledging to serve no more than four terms. He was re-elected by a large margin in 2004.
Meehan has also earned the reputation of being staunchly Pro-Abortion rights/Pro-Choice. He voted against the Ban on Partial Birth Abortions, and has earned a 100% approval rating from NARAL. He also recived an F from the NRA in his support for stringent Gun control.
Meehan earned a national attention as a champion of campaign finance reform and one of the principal authors of the Shays-Meehan-McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. With Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold and Congressman Christopher Shays, Meehan led a seven year fight to ban unlimited donations, commonly known as soft money. The legislation, called the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act,” has been endorsed by Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, the American Association of Retired Persons, and other public interest organizations, as well as newspaper editorial boards across the country.
Meehan is also known nationally as one of the tobacco industry’s toughest critics. In December 1994, he authored a 111-page prosecution memorandum outlining, for the first time, criminal violations by tobacco companies and their executives. His memo served as the foundation for many of the U.S. Justice Department’s investigations into and litigation against "Big Tobacco".
Meehan has been a vocal critic of the Bush Administration's handling of the war in Iraq. After traveling to Iraq in January 2005, Meehan published a 20-page white paper proposing a responsible exit strategy for U.S. forces, a position he continues to advocate.
In Congress, Meehan has been a tireless advocate for economic development in Massachusetts. Using public money to leverage private investment for smart, sustainable growth has been a winning formula through Meehan's district from Lowell to Lawrence to Haverhill. Meehan spearheaded the redevelopment of the closed Fort Devens Army Base, obtained resources needed to help workers displaced by the Malden Mills fire in Lawrence, and helped obtain millions in federal grants for the redevelopment efforts in Lowell.
Meehan and his wife, Ellen, a Vice President at Lawrence General Hospital, are the parents of two sons, Robert Francis and Daniel Martin.
External links
Template:U.S. Representative box| Massachusetts's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
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