Thomas R. Carper
Table of contents
Credit: Robert A. Reeder/TWPCurrent Position: U.S. Senator (since January 2001)
Why He Matters
At a Glance
Current Position: U.S. Senator (since January 2001)
Career History: Delaware governor (1992 to 2000); U.S. House (1982 to 1992); Delaware Treasurer (1976 to 1982); U.S. Navy (1968 to 1973)
Birthday: Jan. 23, 1947
Hometown: Beckley, West Virginia
Alma Mater: Ohio State University, B.A, 1968; University of Delaware, MBA, 1975
Spouse: Martha
Religion: Presbyterian
Committees: Homeland Security and Government Affairs; Environment and Public Works, Finance
DC Office: 513 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510, 202/334-2441
State Office: Dover, 302/674-3308; Georgetown 302/856-7690; Wilminton, 302/573-6291
Carper’s career in public office includes positions as treasurer, congressman, governor and senator of the First State. He has twice unseated popular Republican incumbents and has posted comfortable margins of victory in his own re-election bids. Davis, Robert. “Carper, the candidate voters love to elect.” USA Today Nov. 5, 1992
Carper entered the 111th Congress as Delaware’s senior senator when former Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) was elected vice president. He has twice been Democratic whip.
He recently joined with fellow moderates Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) to form the Moderate Dems Working Group, a coalition of 15 centrist Democrats in the Senate. Herszhenhorn, David “Bayh Organizes Moderate Democrats,” New York Times “The Caucus” March 18, 2009 The group -- which Bayh dubbed "The Pratical Caucus -- has positioned itself to fight for deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility. Its members, whom Carper says agree with President Obama’s “broad overall goals,” are expected to play a central role in upcoming battles over the budget, health-care reform and climate change legislation. Guadiano, Nicole “Carper helps form Moderate Dems to seek ‘common ground’ in Senate” News Journal March 19, 2009
Carper, who recently secured a seat on the Senate Finance Committee, has identified strengthening the economy and extending tax cuts for renewable energy sources as current legislative priorities. In addition to his work on the environment, Carper has been the leading advocate for Postal Service reform. He supported extending a moratorium on taxing Internet service fees, but opposes making the ban permanent. Albanesius, Chloe. “Senate Passes Internet Tax Ban, Too.” PC Magazine Oct. 26, 2007 He has also fought to increase funding for the construction of more railroads and added security for rail systems.
Carper has a history of reaching across the aisle and supporting Republican-backed measures. Congressional Quarterly’s 2008 vote study named him the sixth-most likely Democrat to back President George W. Bush’s policies. Guadiano, Nicole “New ‘senior senator’ relishes his role’ News Journal (Delaware) Feb. 2, 2009 Carper says he plans to continue to make bipartisanship a staple of his Senate career.
“A big part of my job in the Senate is to get people to work together. ... Americans don’t care whether our ideas are liberal, conservative, Democrat or Republican. They just want us to figure out what works,” he said. Guadiano, Nicole “New ‘senior senator’ relishes his role’ News Journal (Delaware) Feb. 2, 2009
Path to Power
Carper, who was raised in Virginia, graduated from Ohio State University in 1968 with a degree in economics. He attended the university on a Navy ROTC scholarship. His post-graduation military service first brought him to Delaware when he flew into Dover Air Force Base.Carper was a naval flight officer and served three six-month tours during the Vietnam War. He returned to Delaware in 1973 to pursue an M.B.A at the University of Delaware and continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until 1991. He also worked as an industrial development specialist for Delaware’s Division of Economic Development. Davis, Robert. “Carper, the candidate voters love to elect.” USA Today Nov. 5, 1992
Carper was first elected to statewide office in 1972, when he won his first of three terms as state treasurer. He ran on a whim after hearing news reports that the Democrats did not select a candidate at the state party convention. “Tom Carper Candidate Profile” Washington Times Nov. 11, 2007
In 1982, Carper defeated three-term Rep. Thomas B. Evans Jr., 53 percent to 47 percent, to be elected to the U.S. House. “Carper Upsets Evans in Delaware Congressional Race” Associated Press. Nov. 3, 1982 He entered the race just 90 days before the election and rooted his campaign on criticism of President Reagan’s economic policies. During his five terms in the House his greatest achievement was defeating legislation that would have made it more difficult for banks to enter securities and insurance markets. "Tom Carper Candidate Profile” Washington Times Nov. 11, 2007 He also worked to prevent sludge dumping in oceans. Almanac of American Politics (1998)
Carper ran for governor in 1992, after term limits forced current Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) to vacate the post. Carper won 66 percent of the vote to beat a Republican real estate executive. In his first few years as governor; he was criticized by state legislators for being aloof and relying too heavily on a team of outside advisers. "Tom Carper Candidate Profile” Washington Times Nov. 11, 2007 He developed a fairly conservative economic record by reducing income, business and utility taxes, and ultimately was successful in spearheading reforms of the state’s education and welfare systems. Tom Carper Official Biography
He was elected to his second term in 1996, during which he also served as chairman of the National Governors’ Association.
In 2000, Carper unseated longtime Sen. William Roth (R-Del.). Former Senate Finance Committee Chairman Roth, who had held the seat since 1970 and had high approval ratings, outspent Carper $4.3 million to $2.3 million. Carper, then 53, highlighted the contrast in age between himself and the 79-year-old Roth and campaigned relentlessly within the state. Carper won with 56 percent of the vote.
In his most recent re-election bid, Carper defeated Jan Ting, a law professor who had worked in the George H.W. Bush administration.
Carper sits on the Senate Finance, Environment and Public Works and Homeland Security committees. He is also the chair of the Clean Air, Nuclear Plant Security and Community Development Subcommittee.
The Issues
Carper is a centrist Democrat with a moderate voting record. He is chairman of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council and one of 15 Senate Democrats who form the Moderate Dems Working Group. He is also an honorary co-chair of Third Way, a progressive Democratic policy group.
Carper has voted with his party about 95 percent of the time in the 111th Congress, but he has also voted with Republicans on a number of key issues.Washington Post Votes Database He was the fifth most likely Senate Democrat to oppose his party’s positions in 2008, according to Congressional Quarterly’s annual vote study.Guadiano, Nicole “New ‘senior senator’ relishes his role’ News Journal (Delaware) Feb. 2, 2009
Postal Service Reform
Carper was key in shepherding through the Senate the largest overhaul to the Postal Service since the 1970s.
Several of his early efforts to overhaul the current postal system stalled because of resistance from the Bush administration and unions.
But in December 2006, the Senate passed an overhaul of the Postal Service introduced by Carper and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act” created a system for setting postage rates for magazines, parcels and other products and instituted caps on raising the prices of stamps by linking the rates with the consumer price index. The measure repealed a law that required the Postal Service to place unused pension payments into an escrow fund, freeing up $78 billion over 60 years to fund retirement benefits and pay off the department’s debt. It also created a three-day waiting period for postal employees who file workers’ compensation claims for injuries sustained on the job.Barr, Stephen “Lawmakers Unexpectedly Take Up Postal Service Overhaul” Washington Post Dec. 8, 2006. The House version of his bill was signed into law later that month.
The Environment
Carper, who sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee, is a key supporter of legislation aimed at slowing climate change. He supports tax credits for renewable energy sources such as wind and biofuels and has worked to curb emissions of greenhouse gasses and other chemicals by implementing stricter standards for power plants and other industries. Carper was critical of the Bush administration’s environmental policies, and in 2005 temporarily attempted to block a confirmation vote for former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson."Tom Carper Candidate Profile” Washington Times Nov. 11, 2007
He is an original sponsor of the “Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Efficiency Act (CLEAN TEA),” a bipartisan measure that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector over the next 10 years. The bill would direct funds toward public transit and greenhouse gas reduction programs.“Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Efficiency Act” Thomas.gov
Carper worked with former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to increase fuel-efficiency standards in 2007, but has been wary of supporting California’s fight to implement statewide standards for fuel efficiency that are stricter than national standards. He has said California's strict standards are outdated and too tough for the automobile industry.Guadiano, Nicole “New ‘senior senator’ relishes his role’ News Journal (Delaware) Feb. 2, 2009
He also worked with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on legislation to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants through a market-based cap-and-trade system. The two later co-authored a bill to include farmers who cut their emissions in a cap-and-trade program targeting the industrial sector.Almanac of American Politics (2008) A cap-and-trade system would seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by issuing a limited number of permits capping the amount of a specific pollutant a company can release each year. Companies could secure the permits, or allowances, through auctions or by trading with other permit-holders on a market-based system.
Carper also serves as chairman of the Senate Nuclear Caucus and the Senate Recycling Caucus.Thomas Carper Official Biography
The Economy
Carper continued the policies of his Republican predecessors as governor, cutting taxes across the board. State spending increased by 40 percent during his eight years in office, but the state’s credit ratings remained at an all time high.
The Senate Finance Committee member, who voted for the $787 economic stimulus package in February 2009, has joined other centrist Democrats in demanding a smaller budget than the one President Obama has proposed. He has said he hopes to reduce the budget by stepping up efforts to collect unpaid taxes and curbing waste and overpayments instead of cutting particular programs.Grim, Ryan “Centrists Demand Smaller Budget, But It’s Unclear What They’d Cut” The Huffington Post March 25, 2009
Health Care Reform
Carper kept quiet during much of the health care debate. But in October 2009, he began trying to broker a deal that would allow individual states to determine whether they create a public option or co-op. This plan appeals to some moderates, who see it as a way to pass health care reform with at least a hint of a public option and to Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the lone Republican who might sign on the bill.Brown, Carrie Budoff, "Carper quietly devses third option," Politico, Oct. 1, 2009
The Network
Carper is known for his efforts to reach out and build relationships with his fellow senators.“He has a way of sort of breaking the ice in a room and just bringing some levity,” Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) told the Delaware News Journal. Guadiano, Nicole “New ‘senior senator’ relishes his role’ News Journal (Delaware) Feb. 2, 2009
Carper has worked closely with Senate GOP Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander on several pieces of legislation and in 2004 the two organized an orientation program for freshman senators aimed at reducing legislative gridlock by promoting bipartisanship. Broder, David S. “Senate Orientation Aims To Bridge Gap” The Washington Post Nov. 7, 2004
Carper, a longtime ally of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), served as campaign chair for Lieberman’s presidential bid. But Carper was critical of the attacks Lieberman launched against President Barack Obama during the presidential campaign.
“I’m very disappointed as a friend and a colleague,” he told The Hill newspaper in 2008. Raju, Manu “Sen. Carper: Lieberman Should Pay Consequences” The Hill Nov. 17, 2008
Carper initially backed Biden ’s failed presidential bid. He endorsed Obama in early June once it was clear the Illinois senator had clinched the party’s nomination, but said he would like to see a “dream ticket” with then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as Obama’s vice presidential pick. “Obama Picks Up Support of Democratic Senators, Speaks With Clinton” FoxNews.com June 4, 2008
Footnotes
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