Kevin Brady

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Kevin Patrick Brady (born April 11, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Template:Ushr from 1997 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes northern Houston, including The Woodlands. He retired after the 2022 election cycle.<ref name="texastribune.org">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life, education, and early political career

Brady was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, one of five children of William F. and Nancy A. Brady. His father, a lawyer, was killed in 1967 in a courtroom shooting in Rapid City when Brady was 12 and his mother was in her early 30s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="CommImpact12142020">Holt, Vanessa. U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady stays close to his roots in The Woodlands area, Community Impact, December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.</ref> He graduated from Central High School in 1973. Brady has a degree in mass communications from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Brady worked for the Rapid City area Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the Rapid City common council at age 26. In 1982, he moved to Texas to work for the Beaumont, Texas Chamber of Commerce. In 1985, he went to work for the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="CommImpact12142020"/>

Texas House of Representatives

In 1990, Brady was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, district 15, representing The Woodlands, parts of Montgomery County, and five other counties west and north of Houston.<ref>Brady, Kevin Patrick. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774–present. Retrieved on October 1, 2017.</ref> He succeeded Mike McKinney as a representative of the 15th district in the Texas House of representatives on January 10, 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

U.S. House of Representatives

Brady speaks on healthcare in 2019

Elections

1996

Incumbent U.S. Representative Jack Fields of Texas's 8th congressional district decided to retire. Brady ran for the seat and ranked second in the Republican primary with 22% of the vote in a six-candidate field. The candidate who ranked first, Gene Fontenot, received 36% of the vote, short of the 50% threshold.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the runoff election, Brady defeated him, 53%–47%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> But the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Bush v. Vera that three of Texas's congressional districts were unconstitutional.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After hearings, the court concluded that there was no longer time to hold primaries and instead forced all candidates (Democrats and Republicans) be listed together on the November general election ballot in a jungle primary. If no candidate reached 50%, a special runoff would be held on December 10 between the two highest-ranking candidates. In the November election, Brady ranked first with 41% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the December runoff, he defeated Fontenot again, 59%–41%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1998–2008

During this period, Brady never received less than 67% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2010

Template:See also For the first time since 1998, Brady was challenged in the Republican primary. Three candidates filed against him. He defeated all of them in the March primary with 79% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was reelected with 80% of the vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2012

Template:See also In the May Republican primary, in a newly redrawn district, he defeated his challenger with 76% of the vote. In the November 6 general election, he defeated the Democratic nominee with over 77% of the vote.

2014

Template:See alsoBrady won the March 4 Republican primary with 41,549 votes (68%) to Craig McMichael's 19,508 (32%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the November 4 general election, Brady was reelected with 124,897 votes (89.32%) to Democratic nominee Ken Petty's 14,930 (10.67%).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2016

Template:See alsoIn November 2015, Steve Toth, a former state representative from The Woodlands, Texas, announced that he would run against Brady.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Brady eked out a victory in the March 1 primary with 53% of the vote, his lowest total in his 18-year career.<ref name="TXTribIncumbentsSafe">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="MSmithTXTrib03012016">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="TXSecState03022016">Template:Cite news</ref> He spent over $1.5 million<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to Toth's $89,325.<ref name="RElliottHousChron03022016">Template:Cite news</ref> Toth criticized Brady for compromising too often with President Obama,<ref name="RElliottHousChron03022016" /> for supporting the omnibus federal budget bill, and for voting to revive the U.S. Export-Import Bank.<ref name="MRecioMcClat02292016">Template:Cite news</ref>

2018

Template:See also Brady won the Republican primary unopposed, as did the Democratic nominee, Steven David. Brady won the general election with 198,241 votes (73.5%) to David's 67,027 (24.8%). Libertarian Chris Duncan received 4,597 votes.<ref>Stephen David, Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 2, 2018.</ref> As of September 30, 2018, Brady had outraised David in contributions, $4,899,672 to $31,664.<ref>Texas' 8th Congressional District election, 2018, Ballotpedia. Retrieved December 2, 2018.</ref>

2020

Template:See also Brady defeated Kirk Osborn in the Republican primary, 80.73% to 16.19%.<ref>House of Representatives, 8th Congressional District, Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved April 29, 2020.</ref> In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Elizabeth Hernandez and Libertarian challenger Chris Duncan<ref name="CommImpact12142020" /> with 72.5% of the vote to the challengers' 27.5%. The 2020 election was Brady's last election for Congress.

Tenure

In 2002, Brady voted for the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq, authorizing the U.S. invasion of Iraq the next year.<ref>Final Vote Results for Roll Call 455, On Passage, H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002], Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.</ref> Yet in 2008 he was one of the 24 Republicans (and 227 Democrats) to vote to impeach President George W. Bush for misleading the United States into going to war in Iraq.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Brady in 2017

In 2005, Brady was a chief supporter of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), working with the Bush administration to secure passage of that free-trade agreement.<ref>Peter Baker, Bush Brings In Backup to Help Sell CAFTA, Washington Post (May 13, 2005).</ref><ref>Howard Roden, Brady to spearhead U.S. campaign for CAFTA, Houston Chronicle (January 12, 2005).</ref><ref>NCBFAA Honoring Rep. Brady For His Support on CAFTA (press release), National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.</ref> In 2011, Brady also voted for free-trade agreements with South Korea<ref>Final Vote Results for Roll Call 783, On Passage, To implement the United States-Korea Trade Agreement, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.</ref> Colombia,<ref>Final Vote Results for Roll Call 781, On Passage, To implement the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.</ref> and Panama.<ref>Final Vote Results for Roll Call 782, On Passage, To implement the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.</ref> But in 2017, Brady supported President Donald Trump's proposed border adjustment tax, arguing that the tax on imports would place the U.S. on a level playing field with other countries that have the tax and raise an estimated $1 trillion.<ref name="ADaughtertyMcClat04192017">Template:Cite news</ref>

Brady is known as the author of a federal "sunset law" that would require every federal program not specifically written into the Constitution to justify its existence to taxpayers within 12 years or face elimination.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2012, Brady proposed the Sound Dollar Act, legislation to require the Federal Reserve to monitor gold and the foreign-exchange value of the U.S. dollar. The bill would also repeal the Federal Reserve's dual mandate (controlling unemployment and inflation) and replace it with a single mandate for U.S. dollar price stability.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2015, Brady was elected the 65th chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, serving until 2019.<ref name="WalshCNN11042015">Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2017, Brady introduced an amendment to the American Health Care Act (the House Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act) that would allow health insurance providers to fully deduct all forms of compensation to their most highly compensated executives without limit, repealing the current law, which capped the deduction at $500,000 per executive. Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik criticized Brady's amendment as a "secret payoff" to the health insurance industry because of its cryptic language.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On May 4, 2017 Brady joined in a raucous but premature victory celebration with other congressional Republican leaders and Donald Trump at the White House after the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act passed in the House, though it would later be voted down in the Senate.

As chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Brady opposed a resolution to request ten years' worth of returns from Trump and his business entities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, he said the resolution was an abuse done for "obvious political purposes".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2020, after The New York Times published an extensive report on Trump's tax records and business dealings spanning two decades, Brady called for an investigation into the Times and the report's sources.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2017, Brady said that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 would provide "tax relief at every level"; in fact, 7% of households in 2018 would pay more in taxes and by 2022, one quarter of households would pay more.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Brady's claim that 70% of the tax cuts in the bill would go to households making below $200,000 was found to be "misleading" by FactCheck.Org and "cherry-picked" by PolitiFact.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> FactCheck.org noted that "57.7 percent of the tax relief goes to those families making less than $200,000 in 2019—not the 70 percent that Brady cited for 2019. By 2027, 50 percent of tax relief as a result of business and individual income tax changes would go to those making more than $200,000 a year."<ref name=":0" /> The American Conservative Union gave him a 94% evaluation in 2017.

Brady and Representative Richard Neal introduced the bipartisan SECURE Act of 2019, which contained a number of provisions to expand access to retirement planning options and to encourage employers to set up retirement plans for workers. The bill, originally introduced in March 2019, was passed into law in December 2019 as part of the fiscal year 2020 federal appropriations bill.<ref name="Money">Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2020, Brady indicated that he supported a second round of Paycheck Protection Program funds to assist small businesses suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="CommImpact12142020" /> He was a negotiator during the discussions to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.<ref name="CommImpact12142020" />

In January 2021, after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol, Brady argued that those calling for Trump's impeachment or for the invocation of the 25th Amendment were themselves engaging in inflammatory language and that such calls could incite further violence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On April 14, 2021, Brady announced that he would not run for a 14th House term and would retire in 2022.<ref name="texastribune.org"/><ref>Weber, Paul. Texas GOP Rep. Kevin Brady says he won't run again in 2022, Associated Press, April 14, 2021.</ref>

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means

During his time in Congress, Brady chaired the Joint Economic Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, and the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Caucus memberships

• Army Caucus
• Congressional Missing and Exploited Children Caucus
• Congressional Rural Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Congressional Western Caucus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Republican Study Committee<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political positions

Taxation

Brady believes policies enacted by the first Trump administration, including the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, helped put the U.S. economy in a robust position going into the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Medicare

Brady strongly opposes Medicare for All.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Energy

In 2012, Brady voted for the Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, which rescinded Obama administration policies on coal mining and energy infrastructure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 2021, he expressed concern that the Biden administration's drilling ban Executive Order 13990 on federal leases would "kill" 120,000 Texas jobs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

LGBT rights

In 2011, Brady cosponsored legislation directing the Justice Department to continue defending the Defense of Marriage Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He opposed Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, citing his beliefs that marriage is "a union between one man and one woman" and that same-sex marriage law should be delegated to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, Brady voted against expressing opposition to banning service in the armed forces by openly transgender individuals, and in 2021, he voted against the Equality Act.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Human Rights Campaign gave Brady a score of 0 out of 100 for his voting record on legislation in the 116th Congress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Brady lives in The Woodlands, a suburb of Houston, with his wife, Cathy, and two sons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In October 2005, Brady was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in South Dakota.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He pleaded no contest, was convicted of a misdemeanor, and fined $350. Brady issued an apology.<ref>Samantha Levine, U.S. Rep. Brady pleads no contest to DUI charge, Houston Chronicle (November 9, 2005).</ref>

External links

• Template:CongLinks
• Template:C-SPAN

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