• Born April 3, 1933.
• Married, Sallie.
• U.S. Air Force, 1952-1958.
• Broadcast journalist, 1965-1969.
• Talk show host, 1969-1973.
• U.S. Representative, 1976-1982; unsuccessful Senate candidate in 1982.
• Elected to current seat 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 abortion unless the mother's life is in danger and there is no medical alternative.
• Supports a "Right to Life" constitutional amendment.
• Supports requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortions.
• Supports requiring spousal notification for married women seeking abortions.
• Supports states' rights to determine their own waiting periods for women seeking abortions.

Legislative Record

• Voted for Hyde Amendment, which would prohibit federal funds for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother (1993).
• Voted against the clinic access bill, which prohibits blocking abortion clinics or physically interfering with persons entering or leaving clinics (1994).
• Voted for requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortions (1994).

Interest Group Ratings

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

• Opposes quotas, set-asides and all other forms of Affirmative Action.

Bosnia Intervention

• Opposes participation of U.S. forces in peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.

• Supports eliminating the Federal Tax Code and the IRS in favor of a national sales tax on goods and services. Opposes flat tax as unfair to the middle class and the poor.
• Supports a constitutional balanced budget amendment.
• Supports elimination of capital gains tax.
• Supports presidential line item veto.
• Opposes practice of unfunded mandates, whereby the federal government imposes rules on state and local governments without providing funding to carry them out.

Legislative Record

• Voted for 1996 budget resolution, which calls for a balanced budget by 2002 (1995).
• Voted for balanced budget amendment (1994 and 1995).
• Voted to allow the President to veto specific spending and tax items in appropriations bills (1995).
• Voted to ban unfunded mandates (1995).

Interest Group Ratings

• Concord Coalition -- 1994 rating: 86
• National Taxpayers Union -- 1993 rating: 77

• Supports prohibiting political action committee (PAC) contributions to candidates seeking national office.
• Supports term limits for federal elected officials -- six years in the House, 12 years in the Senate.
• Supports states' rights to limit terms of federal elected officials if Congress fails to do so.
• Opposes federal matching funds for wealthy candidates who use their own money to fund their campaigns.

Legislative Record

• Voted for Retroactive Constitutional Term Limits Amendment: 12 years in the House and 12 years in the Senate, retroactive (1995).
• Voted against a campaign finance reform bill that provides some public funding to candidates who agree to voluntary spending limits (1993).

• Supports death penalty and would limit death penalty appeals.
• Supports "truth in sentencing" legislation that would ensure that criminals serve their full sentences.
• Supports "three strikes" legislation requiring mandatory jail terms for three-time felons.

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.
• Voted to relax judicial rules restricting the use of illegally seized evidence.

Interest Group Ratings

• American Civil Liberties Union -- 1994 rating: 13

• Supports elimination of the Department of Education.
• Opposes sex education in public schools.
• Opposes national educational standards.
• Supports voucher-based school choice programs.
• Supports voluntary school prayer.
• Supports merit pay for teachers.

Legislative Record

• Voted against Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1993).
• Voted to require that schools receiving federal funding allow voluntary prayer (1994).

Interest Group Ratings

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

• Supports setting environmental policy at the state and local levels.
• Supports government compensation for property value decreases caused by environmental regulation.
• Supports market-based environmental preservation measures, such as pollution credits.
• Supports amending the Endangered Species Act to allow increased logging where jobs may be at stake.

Legislative Record

• Voted against elevating the Environmental Protection Agency to cabinet-level status (1994).
• Did not vote on compensation of private property owners for loss of value caused by regulation (1995).

Interest Group Ratings

• League of Conservation Voters -- 1994 rating: 4
• League of Private Property Voters -- 1993-94 rating: 100

• Opposed ban on semiautomatic weapons.
• Opposed the Brady bill, which established a waiting period and background check prior to gun purchases.

Legislative Record

• Voted against the Brady bill (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. forces in peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.
• Supports increased investment in defense technology research and development.
• Supports increasing defense spending above the current level.
• Supports development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
• Opposes U.S. troops serving under the command of foreign UN officers.

Legislative Record

• Voted in favor of National Security Act (1995).
• Voted against provision to cut $1.2 billion from Navy weapons procurement program (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• American Security Council -- 1993-94 rating: 100
• PeacePAC -- 1994 rating: 0

• Supports market based approaches to lower costs such as:
  • Tax-free medical savings accounts.
  • Tax incentives for small businesses that help provide health care for employees.
  • Tax deductions for lower- and middle-income families.
  • Health care vouchers for the working poor.
  
  
• Opposed the Clinton Health Care proposal.
• Supports limiting malpractice lawsuit awards.
• Supports House Republican Medicare plan, which would raise premiums for the elderly in order to make system solvent.

Interest Group Ratings

• American Public Health Association -- 1993 rating: 0

• Supports federal government oversight of immigration control.
• Supports California's Proposition 187, which would require immigrants to carry identity cards and deny all but emergency state services to illegal immigrants.
• Supports increased border patrols to prevent illegal immigration.

Legislative Record

• Voted for House welfare reform bill, which included a provision denying all benefits to illegal immigrants (1995).

• Supports NAFTA.
• Supports extension of NAFTA's provisions into Latin America.
• Supports policies to open markets on the Pacific Rim and in Asia.

Legislative Record

• Voted against GATT (1994).
• Voted for linking China's "most favored nation" trade status to its human rights performance (1993).
• Voted for NAFTA (1993).

Interest Group Ratings

• Competitive Enterprise Institute -- 1994 trade rating: 67

• Supports ending welfare benefits after five years.
• Supports replacing federal antipoverty programs with block grants to the states.
• Supports denying additional benefits to mothers who have children while on welfare.

Legislative Record

• Voted for the House welfare reform bill (1995).

Issue information in this report was obtained 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.