James Otis McCrery III (born September 18, 1949) is an American lawyer, politician and lobbyist who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1988 to 2009. He represented the 4th District of Louisiana, based in the northwestern quadrant of the state.
McCrery was a ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee. Had the Republicans maintained control of the U.S. House in 2007, he would have been in line to chair the Ways and Means Committee. Instead, the slot went to the veteran Democrat Charles Rangel of Harlem in New York City. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican Main Street Partnership, a group of Moderate Republicans.
McCrery did not seek reelection in 2008
From 2007 to 2009, McCrery was the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee. During the China–U.S trade talks of March 2007, McCrery and New York Democrat Charles Rangel accidentally insulted Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi by referring to her as the Vice Premier of the "Republic of China" in a letter. The Republic of China is a name for the self-ruling government on the island of Taiwan, which the PRC considers a rogue province.
In 2007, in the early stages of the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination for 2008, McCrery announced his endorsement of candidate Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts for the party's nomination, a designation Romney won in 2012, not 2008.
On December 7, 2007, McCrery announced his decision not to seek reelection in 2008. Closed primaries were held by both parties in the fall of 2008 to begin the process of choosing a successor to McCrery. In the Republican primary, physician John C. Fleming of Minden in Webster Parish, beat McCrery's preferred successor, Jeff R. Thompson, a Bossier City attorney.
Subcommittees and laws
Congressman McCrery sat on the following House Ways and Means subcommittees:
- Health Select Revenue Measures (Chairman)
- Human Resources
- Social Security (chairman)
McCrery sponsored or cosponsored six public bills in the 109th Congress that have been signed into law by the president, all of which involved disaster mitigation and assistance in response to 2005 hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.
Post-Congressional career
In January 2009, McCrery joined a top lobbying firm, Capitol Counsel in Washington, D.C.
He is the lead Republican in the company. Among his clients is General Electric.
Family and personal life
On August 3, 1991, McCrery married the former Mary Johnette Hawkins (born December 1966), a Republican, a former television newswoman and communications specialist from Shreveport. The couple has two sons, Scott and Otis McCrery. The McCrerys subsequently divorced.
McCrery is a United Methodist.
In August 2014, Governor Bobby Jindal, who once worked as a summer intern on McCrery's congressional staff, appointed McCrery to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of John George, a Shreveport physician, to the influential Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors.
References
External links
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Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
- Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
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- Profile at SourceWatch
- Election Central Guide to 2008
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