Phil Gramm
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Phil Gramm" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2019) |
Phil Gramm | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Texas | |
In office January 3, 1985 – November 30, 2002 | |
Preceded by | John Tower |
Succeeded by | John Cornyn |
Chair of the Senate Banking Committee | |
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Paul Sarbanes |
Succeeded by | Paul Sarbanes |
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Al D'Amato |
Succeeded by | Paul Sarbanes |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 6th district | |
In office January 3, 1979 – January 5, 1983 | |
Preceded by | Olin Teague |
Succeeded by | Himself[a] |
In office February 12, 1983 – January 3, 1985 | |
Preceded by | Himself |
Succeeded by | Joe Barton |
Personal details | |
Born | William Philip Gramm July 8, 1942 Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (before 1983) Republican (1983–present) |
Spouse | Wendy Lee |
Children | 2 |
Education | University of Georgia (BA, MA, PhD) |
William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1996 Republican Party presidential primaries against eventual nominee Bob Dole.
Early life education
Gramm was born on July 8, 1942, in
Soon after his birth, Gramm's father, Kenneth Marsh Gramm, a career Army sergeant, suffered a stroke and was partiallyGramm attended
Career
Gramm taught economics at Texas A&M University from 1967 to 1978.[1] In addition to teaching, Gramm founded the economic consulting firm Gramm and Associates (1971–1978).
United States House of Representatives
In 1976, Gramm unsuccessfully challenged Texas Democratic Senator
Gramm's voting record was very conservative, even by Texas Democratic standards of the time. During his first four terms, he tallied an average rating of 89 from the
Just days after being reelected in 1982, Gramm was thrown off the
After he left the House, the seat was retained for the Republican Party by Joe Barton.
United States Senate
In 1984, Gramm was elected as a Republican to represent Texas in the
In October 1985, Gramm, Fritz Hollings, and Warren Rudman sponsored an amendment to establish a budget deficits ceiling that would decline to zero by 1991 that was attached to a bill raising the debt limit of the federal government by more than $250 billion. The amendment was approved by a vote of 75 to 24 and was stated as a possible prelude to a balanced budget in five years without a tax increase by United States Secretary of the Treasury James Baker: "I think it's important that we recognize the Gramm-Rudman amendment is basically a process designed to give the legislative branch and in some degree the executive branch, the political will to deal with the deficit. It means it's going to force some action. Given the political will to make the hard choices you can reach balance without having to raise taxes."[10]
Gramm served on the
In 1990, Gramm failed in an effort to amend the
Gramm won his second Senate term in 1990 with a victory over Democratic
Between 1999 and 2001, Gramm was the chairman of the
As a senator, Gramm often called for reductions in taxes and fraud in government spending. He employed his "Dickey Flatt Test" ("Is it worth taking it out of Dickey's pocket?") to determine if federal programs were worthwhile. Richard "Dickey" Flatt owns a family-run printing business started by his father and mother in
In spite of his self-proclaimed opposition to Federal spending, Gramm voted to have the Federal Government build the Superconducting Super Collider in his state, which would have cost billions of dollars of taxpayer money.[13]
Gramm ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Party nomination in the
After abandoning his presidential bid, Gramm refocused on his bid for a third Senate term. He defeated Victor Morales of Dallas in November 1996 to win what would be his final term in the Senate.
Gramm was one of five co-sponsors of the
contributions from Enron, succeeded in legislating California's energy commodity trading deregulation. Despite warnings from prominent consumer groups which stated that this law would give energy traders too much influence over energy commodity prices, the legislation was passed in December 2000.In 2002, Gramm left his Senate seat (effective November 30) a few weeks before the expiration of his term in hopes that his successor, fellow Republican John Cornyn, could gain seniority over other newly elected senators. However, Cornyn did not gain additional seniority due to a 1980 Rules Committee policy.[20]
2007 mortgage and 2008 financial and economic crises
Some economists state that the 1999 legislation spearheaded by Gramm and signed into law by President Clinton—the
Gramm responded in March 2008 to criticism of the act by stating that he saw "no evidence whatsoever" that the sub-prime mortgage crisis was caused in any way "by allowing banks and securities companies and insurance companies to compete against each other".[26]
Gramm's support was later critical in the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which kept derivatives transactions, including those involving credit default swaps, free of government regulation.[27]
In its 2008 coverage of the financial crisis, The Washington Post named Gramm one of seven "Key Players In the Battle Over Regulating Derivatives", for having "pushed through several major bills to deregulate the banking and investment industries, including the 1999 Gramm–Leach–Bliley act that brought down the walls separating the commercial banking, investment and insurance industries".[28]
2008
In January 2009 Guardian City editor Julia Finch identified Gramm as one of twenty-five people who were at the heart of the financial meltdown.[32] Time included Gramm in its list of the top 25 people to blame for the economic crisis.[33]
Career with UBS
As of 2009, Gramm is employed by
John McCain 2008 presidential campaign
Gramm was co-chair of John McCain's presidential campaign[36] and his most senior economic adviser[37][38] from the summer of 2007[39] until July 18, 2008.[36] In a July 9, 2008 interview on McCain's economic plans, Gramm explained the nation was not in a recession, stating, "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession." He added, "We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline."[40] Gramm's comments immediately became a campaign issue. McCain's opponent, Senator
2016 Republican presidential primary
After the
Personal life
Gramm lives in Helotes, Texas. He is married to Wendy Lee Gramm, a native of Hawaii, who is associated with George Mason University's Mercatus Center in Virginia. They have two sons: Marshall Gramm, a professor of economics at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jeff Gramm, a money manager, author,[47] and previously a musician in the indie pop band Aden.
After the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, Gramm offered the F-16 flyover reserved for his future funeral as a U.S. senator to be given instead to the Texas A&M community. The offer was accepted and a memorial flyover for the 12 killed was flown at a Texas A&M football game on November 26, 1999.
Works
- Ekelund, R.B., Jr., E.G. Furubotn, and W.P. Gramm, eds. "The Evolution of Modern Demand Theory: A Collection of Essays." Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1972.
- Gramm, William P. (1974). "Laissez-Faire and the Optimum Quantity of Money". Economic Inquiry. 12 (1): 125–132. .
- Anders, Gerhard, Phillip Gramm, and Charles W. Smithson. "The Economics of Mineral Extraction." New York: Praeger, 1980.
- Gramm, Phil. "The Role of Government in a Free Society: A Collection of Speeches and Articles." Dallas: Fisher Institute, 1982.
- Gramm, Phil, Robert Ekelund, John Early. “The Myth of American Inequality: How Government Biases Policy Debate.” Rowman & Littlefield, 2022.
See also
Notes
- ^ Gramm resigned his seat in protest of being thrown off the House Budget Committee and successfully ran in a special election, caused by his own resignation, as a Republican 39 days later.
References
- ^ a b c "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ "Early lessons help Gramm bounce back". nwitimes.com. Associated Press. February 4, 1996.
- ^ Berke, Richard L. (February 19, 1995). "TOUGH TEXAN; Phil Gramm". The New York Times.
- ^ "Florence Gramm, mother of former senator, dies at 91". archive.decaturdaily.com. March 20, 2005.
- ^ 1979 American Conservative Union House ratings, Rhode Island-Texas Archived February 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1980 American Conservative Union House ratings, Rhode Island-Texas Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1981 American Conservative Union House ratings, Rhode Island-Texas Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1982 American Conservative Union House ratings, Rhode Island-Texas Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, p. 1353
- ^ "Treasury Head Defends Plan for Ending Deficit". New York Times. October 14, 1985.
- ISBN 0-06-054164-4.
- ^ a b Shapiro, Walter (July 1994). "The Gramm Reaper". Esquire.
- ^ Jeffreys, Kent (1992). "Super Boondoggle Time To Pull The Plug On The Superconducting Super Collider". cato.org. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ Usborne, David (May 19, 1995). "'Porn' scandal rocks Gramm". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
- New Orleans Times-Picayune, Feb 12, 1996 p.B5
- ^ "Bill Summary & Status - 106th Congress (1999 - 2000) - S.3283". thomas.loc.gov. December 15, 2000. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ Leonard, Andrew (May 30, 2008). "Who let the oil market be manipulated?". Salon.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- Senate Historical Office. p. 81.
- ^ Ekelund, Robert; Thornton, Mark (September 4, 2008). "More Awful Truths About Republicans". Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
- ^ Lerer, Lisa (March 28, 2008). "McCain guru linked to subprime crisis". Politico. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Taibbi, Matt (March 19, 2009). "The Big Takeover". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ Congressional roll-call: On the passage of S.900: Financial Services Act of 1999, Record Vote No: 570, November 4, 1999, Clerk of the U.S. House. Sortable unofficial table: On Agreeing to the Conference Report, S. 900 Financial Services Modernization Act, roll call 570, 106th Congress, 1st session Votes Database at The Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2008
- ^ Congressional roll-call: S.900 as reported by conferees: Financial Services Act of 1999, Record Vote No: 354, November 4, 1999, Clerk of the Senate. Sortable unofficial table: On Agreeing to the Conference Report, S.900 Gramm-Bliley-Leach Act, roll call 354, 106th Congress, 1st session Archived August 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Votes Database at The Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2008
- ^ Pethokoukis, James (March 31, 2008). "Phil Gramm: I Didn't Cause the Subprime Crisis". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Faiola, Anthony; Nakashima, Ellen; Drew, Jill (October 15, 2008). "What Went Wrong". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ "The Crash: Risk and Regulation". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- YouTube of Paul Krugman by David Gregory, September 2008
- ^ "Broadcast Yourself". YouTube. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ "Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive – Culprits of the Collapse – No. 7 Phil Gramm". CNN. October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Finch, Julia; Clark, Andrew; Teather, David (January 26, 2009). "Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ "Internet poll: 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis". Time. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ "UBS Announces the Retirement of Senator Phil Gramm as Vice Chairman of the Investment Bank". ubs.com. February 10, 2012. Archived from the original on September 2, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ "Senator Phil Gramm to join UBS Warburg". UBS. October 7, 2002. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b Bentley, John (July 18, 2008). "Gramm Steps Down From McCain Campaign". cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008.
- ^ Amity Shlaes, "Phil Gramm Is Right", The Washington Post, July 12, 2008
- ^ Hart, Patricia Kilday (May 30, 2008). "McCain's Economic Advisor". Texasobserver.org. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Stein, Sam, "Short On Economic Understanding, McCain Brings Phil Gramm to Meeting", The Huffington Post, January 21, 2008
- ^ Hill, Patrice (July 9, 2008). "Washington Times – McCain adviser talks of 'mental recession'". Washtimes.com. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Associated Press (July 10, 2008). "Obama on Gramm: 'America already has one Dr. Phil'". USA Today.
- ^ Gray, Kathleen (July 11, 2008). "McCain rejects claim that Americans are 'whiners'". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
- ^ Dana Bash CNN (July 10, 2008). "Gramm: We need more leadership, less whining". CNN. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
{{cite news}}
:|author=
has generic name (help) - ^ Shear, Michael D. & Weisman, Jonathan (July 11, 2008). "Gramm Remark Adds to McCain's Difficulty Addressing the Economy". Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
- ^ a b Beamer, Randy (February 11, 2016). "Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm calls presidential race "scary"". News 4 San Antonio. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Antle III, W. James (January 7, 2016). "Gramm endorses Rubio over Cruz". Washington Examiner. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ "TIP153: Boardroom Battles w/ Dear Chairman author, Jeff Gramm". The Investor's Podcast Network. August 27, 2017. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Phil Gramm at IMDb
- Appearances on C-SPAN