• Born July 8, 1942.
• Married, Wendy; two children.
• PhD, University of Georgia, 1967; taught economics at Texas A&M University 1967-1978.
• U.S. Representative, 1978-1984 (switched from Democrat to Republican party in 1983).
• Elected to U.S. Senate in 1984.

Includes key votes and relevant special interest group ratings. Ratings indicate the percentage of votes in which the candidate voted for the position promoted by the group. For a description of these and several other interest groups that give ratings, check out Vote Smart's interest group ratings.

• Opposes any federal funding of abortions or organizations that support them through funding or counseling.
• Supports states having exclusive right to regulate abortion.
• Supports states' right to ban late-term and sex selection abortions and to require minors to notify their parents before having abortions.

Legislative Record

• Voted against clinic access bill (1994).
• Voted for the Hyde Amendment to ban federal funds to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• National Right to Life Committe -- 1993 rating: 100
• National Abortion Reproductive Rights Action League -- 1994 rating: 0

• Opposes minority quotas, hiring preferences and set-asides.
• Supports an executive order to end preferential practices throughout the federal government.
• Supports rigorous enforcement of existing civil rights laws.

Interest Group Ratings

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) -- 1993-94 rating: 0

Bosnia Intervention

• Opposes participation of U.S. troops in peacekeeping force in Bosnia.

• Supports a 16 percent flat tax in place of current income tax. Would retain deductions for mortage interest and charitable contributions. Would exempt first $32,000 of income for family of four. Would tax investment income and capital gains.
• Supports constitutional balanced budget amendment.
• Supports presidential line item veto.
• Supports cutting capital gains tax.
• Opposes practice of unfunded mandates.

Legislative Record

• Voted for 1996 budget resolution, which balances the budget by 2002 (1995).
• Voted to ban unfunded mandates (1995).
• Did not vote on the line item veto (1995).
• Voted for balanced budget amendment (1994 and 1995).
• Voted to require that new tax and spending items all be listed as separate bills (1993).
• Coauthor of Gramm, Rudman, Hollings Balanced Budget Act, which imposed mandatory, across-the-board spending cuts if Congress did not reach deficit reduction targets (1985; repealed in 1990).

Interest Group Ratings

• Concord Coalition -- 1994 rating: 93
• National Taxpayers Union -- 1993 rating: 79
• Citizens Against Government Waste -- 1993 rating: 75

• Supports term limits for federal elected officials.

Legislative Record

• Voted against continuing the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, which provides public funding of presidential campaigns using an income tax check box (1995).
• Voted against an amendment restricting the use of campaign funds for personal purposes (1995).
• Did not vote on an amendment prohibiting members of the U.S. Senate from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists (1995).
• Voted for an amendment that prohibited accepting gifts, including campaign contributions, from political action committees (PACs) or lobbyists (1994).
• Voted against campaign finance reform bill, which included providing vouchers to candidates who accept voluntary campaign spending limits and banning PAC contributions to campaigns (1993).

• Supports death penalty for murderers and other violent criminals.
• Supports construction of new federal prisons.
• Opposed Clinton crime bill because it provided too much money for social programs aimed at preventing crime.
• Supports increased federal and state funding for law enforcement.
• Supports mandatory federal sentences without parole for drug dealers and armed robbers.

Legislative Record

• Voted against the 1994 Omnibus Crime Control Act (Clinton crime bill), which proposed a range of anticrime measures, including federal grants to hire more police and to develop drug treatment programs.

Interest Group Ratings

• American Civil Liberties Union -- 1994 rating: 18

• Supports elimination of federal Department of Education.
• Supports using Education Department budget for per-child tax credit and education block grants to states.
• Supports voluntary school prayer.
• Supports allowing parents to choose their children's public school.

Legislative Record

• Did not vote on Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which called for national standards in a broad range of educational issues, including curricula (1994).
• Did not vote on funding of six low-income school-choice demonstration programs (1994).
• Voted against President Clinton's national service program (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• National Education Association -- 1993 rating: 0
• American Federation of Teachers -- 1993-94 rating: 0

• Supports government compensation to property owners who lose money from environmental regulations.
• Opposes adding new animals to the federal list of endangered species.

Legislative Record

• Sponsored the Property Rights Restoration Act of 1995.
• Voted against giving the Environmental Protection Agency cabinet-level status (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• League of Conservation Voters -- 1994 rating: 0
• League of Private Property Voters -- 1993-94 rating: 90

• Supports strict interpretation of the Second Amendment's right to bear arms.
• Opposes view that gun control reduces violent crime.

Legislative Record

• Voted for mandatory sentences for crimes involving firearms (1994).
• Voted against the Brady bill, which requires waiting period and background checks for gun purchases (1993).
• Voted against the semiautomatic assault weapons ban (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• Handgun Control Inc. -- 1993-94 rating: 0
• National Rifle Association -- 1993-94 rating: 100

• Opposes participation of U.S. troops in peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
• Opposed sending troops to Haiti.
• Supported Operation Desert Storm.
• Supports increased trade, rather than aid to promote international development.
• Opposes further reduction in the defense budget.

Legislative Record

• Opposed amendment to reduce funds for the Trident II missile program (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• American Security Council -- 1993-94 rating: 100
• Council for a Livable World -- 1994 rating: 0

• Opposed Clinton Health Care Plan.
• Supports tax-free medical savings accounts to be used for paying routine medical expenses not covered by insurance.
• Supports slowing growth in Medicare and Medicaid and making programs more competitive.

Interest Group Ratings

• American Public Health Association -- 1993 rating: 0

• Supports restricting legal immigration by educational levels, job skills and age.
• Supports legal immigration of relatives of naturalized citizens.
• Supports doubling the number of border patrol agents.
• Opposes welfare for resident aliens who are not citizens.

• Supports major international agreements such as NAFTA and GATT.

Legislative Record

• Voted for sanctions to open car-parts markets in Japan (1995).
• Voted against linking China's "most favored nation" trade status to its human rights performance (1992).
• Voted for NAFTA (1993) and GATT (1994).

Interest Group Ratings

• Competitive Enterprise Institute -- 1994 trade rating: 100
• U. S. Chamber of Commerce -- 1993 rating: 100

• Supports requiring able-bodied welfare recipients to work.
• Opposes increasing cash payments to women who have children while on welfare.

Legislative Record

• Voted for senate welfare reform bill (1995), which would impose a five-year limit on welfare benefits and replace federal antipoverty programs with lump-sum payments to states.

Interest Group Ratings

• Children's Defense Fund -- 1993 rating: 8

Much of the information in this report was obtained from the Issues section of the official Phil Gramm for President home page; from Project Vote Smart, a nonprofit, nonpartisan political research organization that maintains an extensive database of issue-related information; and from Thomas, a legislative database maintained by the Library of Congress.