View source for Jim McCrery

{{Short description|American politician and lobbyist (born 1949)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Jim McCrery
|image         = Jim McCrery.jpg
|office        = Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|House Ways and Means Committee]]
|term_start    = January 3, 2007
|term_end      = January 3, 2009
|predecessor   = [[Charles Rangel|Charlie Rangel]]
|successor     = [[Dave Camp]]
|state1        = [[Louisiana]]
|term_start1   = April 16, 1988
|term_end1     = January 3, 2009
|predecessor1  = [[Buddy Roemer]]
|successor1    = [[John Fleming (American politician)|John Fleming]]
|constituency1 = {{ushr|LA|4|C}} (1988–1993)<br>{{ushr|LA|5|C}} (1993–1997)<br>{{ushr|LA|4|C}} (1997–2009)
|birth_name    = James Otis McCrery III
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1949|9|18}}
|birth_place   = [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], U.S.
|death_date    = 
|death_place   = 
|party         = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (before 1988)<br>[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1988–present)
|spouse        = {{marriage|Mary Johnette Hawkins|end=div}}
|children      = 2
|education     = [[Louisiana Tech University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Louisiana State University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
|module        = {{Listen |pos=center |embed=yes |filename=Rep. Jim McCrery on his Concerns with Reauthorizing SCHIP.ogg |title=McCrery's voice |type=speech |description=McCrery voicing concerns with reauthorizing the [[Children's Health Insurance Program|State Children's Health Insurance Program]].<br>Recorded September 25, 2007}}
}}
'''James Otis McCrery III''' (born September 18, 1949) is an American lawyer, politician and lobbyist who served as a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1988 to 2009. He represented the [[United States House of Representatives, Louisiana District 4|4th District]] of [[Louisiana]], based in the northwestern quadrant of the state.

McCrery was a ranking member on the [[U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means|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 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Charles Rangel]] of [[Harlem, New York|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 (modern United States)|Moderate Republican]]s.

McCrery did not seek reelection in 2008<ref name=retirement /> and was succeeded as Representative by [[John Fleming (U.S. politician)|John C. Fleming]], a fellow Republican.

==Early life and career==
[[Image:McCrery 07-04-2008 04;16;37PM.JPG|left|thumb|150px|McCrery as president of the junior class at [[Louisiana Tech University]]]]

McCrery was born in Shreveport and reared in [[Leesville, Louisiana|Leesville]], the seat of [[Vernon Parish]] in western Louisiana. He graduated in 1967 from [[Leesville High School]]. In 1971, McCrery earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in both [[English studies|English]] and [[history]] from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in [[Lincoln Parish, Louisiana|Lincoln Parish]]. Thereafter in 1975, he obtained a degree from the Louisiana State University [[Paul M. Hebert Law Center]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. McCrery joined the law firm of Jackson, Smith & Ford in Leesville, where he worked from 1975 to 1978.

From January through August 1979, he was a staff member of U.S. Representative [[Buddy Leach]], a Leesville native. McCrery resigned from Rep. Leach's staff in August 1979 to join the staff of the Shreveport City Attorney's office. After Leach was unseated in 1980 by [[Buddy Roemer]] of Bossier City, McCrery was hired as district manager and later legislative director for Representative Roemer. In 1984, McCrery returned to Louisiana to work for [[Georgia Pacific Corporation]], a forest products company. He remained there until his election to Congress four years later.

==Congressional career==
After Roemer resigned from Congress to become governor, McCrery ran for his former boss's seat as a Republican.

In 1992, Louisiana lost a district as a result of sluggish population growth during the 1980s. Also, the state was ordered, temporarily, to draw a second black-majority district by the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]]. The legislature responded by shifting most of Shreveport and Bossier City's black voters into a new 4th District that stretched in roughly a "Z" shape all the way to [[Baton Rouge]]. Most of McCrery's former territory was merged with the 5th District, represented by 16-year incumbent Democrat [[Jerry Huckaby]], who is now retired in Lincoln Parish. On paper, McCrery was in serious danger, since Huckaby retained nearly all of his former territory. However, the new Fifth was significantly more urbanized than its predecessor because of the presence of Shreveport.   McCrery retained 55 percent of his former constituents.  Also, since the new 4th had absorbed most of the old 5th's blacks as well, the new 5th District was only 16 percent [[African American]]; the old 5th was 30 percent black. McCrery was thus such a heavy favorite that national Democratic leaders wrote off the seat as a loss and urged Huckaby to retire. Huckaby chose to stay in the race and was heavily defeated, carrying only one parish in the district. McCrery thus became the first Louisiana Republican to unseat a Democratic incumbent at the federal level.

McCrery was reelected seven more times with no substantive opposition and was completely unopposed in 1996, 1998, and 2004. His district was renumbered as the 4th again in 1997, after the [[United States Supreme Court]] ruled the 4th was an unconstitutional racial [[gerrymander]].

In the [[Louisiana House elections, 2006|mid-term election of 2006]], McCrery defeated Democratic challengers Patti Cox and Artis Cash and Republican Chester T. "Catfish" Kelley.<ref name="chesterkellypr">{{cite press release|title=Chester T. Kelley for Congress Will Host a Town Hall Meeting at Semolina Restaurant |publisher=ChesterKelley.com |date=2006-08-23 |url=http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=104189 |access-date=2007-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213140/http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=104189 |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref>

From 2007 to 2009, McCrery was the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/dec/21/your_massive_election_central_guide_to_2008_presidential_campaign_staffs |title=Your Massive Election Central Guide to 2008 Prez Campaign Staffs &#124; TPMCafe |access-date=2007-07-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622101415/http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/dec/21/your_massive_election_central_guide_to_2008_presidential_campaign_staffs |archive-date=2007-06-22 }}</ref>

On December 7, 2007, McCrery announced his decision not to seek reelection in 2008.<ref name="retirement">[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/08/america/McCrery-Retirement.php] ''[[International Herald-Tribune]]'', December 8, 2007</ref> [[Closed primary|Closed primaries]] were held by both parties in the fall of 2008 to begin the process of [[United States House of Representatives elections in Louisiana, 2008|choosing a successor to McCrery]]. In the Republican primary, [[physician]] [[John Fleming (U.S. politician)|John C. Fleming]] of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in [[Webster Parish]], beat McCrery's preferred successor, [[Jeff R. Thompson]], a [[Bossier City, Louisiana|Bossier City]] attorney.

==Subcommittees and laws==
Congressman McCrery sat on the following [[U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means|House Ways and Means]] subcommittees:
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060125181052/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/members.asp?comm=1 Health] Select Revenue Measures (Chairman)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060125182142/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/members.asp?comm=2 Human Resources]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060125182112/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/members.asp?comm=4 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 [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]], [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]], and [[Hurricane Wilma|Wilma]].

==Post-Congressional career==
In January 2009, McCrery joined a top lobbying firm, Capitol Counsel in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitolcounsel.com|title=Capitol Counsel LLC -|website=www.capitolcounsel.com}}</ref>
He is the lead Republican in the company.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capitolcounsel.com/bios/JimMcCrery.htm |title=Jim McCrery |access-date=2010-06-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625012111/http://www.capitolcounsel.com/bios/JimMcCrery.htm |archive-date=2010-06-25 }}</ref> 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,<ref>{[cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Home/Home?uid=661535|title=Mary{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Magner|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=January 31, 2016}]</ref> a former television newswoman and communications specialist from Shreveport.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gotti Moved In Prison; Mob Threat Cited |url=http://articles.philly.com/1991-07-20/news/25782879_1_john-gotti-paul-castellano-bruce-cutler |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090715/http://articles.philly.com/1991-07-20/news/25782879_1_john-gotti-paul-castellano-bruce-cutler |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 19, 2014 |first=W |last=Speers |date=July 20, 1991 |work=[[The Inquirer]] |location=[[Philadelphia]] |access-date=August 17, 2014 }}</ref> The couple has two sons, Scott and Otis McCrery.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/22373080/congressman-mccrery-moving-back-to-shreveport |title=Congressman McCrery Moving Back To Shreveport |work=[[KTBS-TV]] |access-date=August 17, 2014 }}</ref> The McCrerys subsequently divorced.

McCrery is a [[Methodism|United Methodist]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/22476/ |title=Archived copy |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2017-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033340/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/candidates/22476/ |archive-date=2016-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In August 2014, [[governor of Louisiana|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/education/higher-ed/2014/08/15/jim-mccrery-named-lsu-governing-board/14103127/|title=Jim McCrery named to LSU governing board|newspaper=The Shreveport Times|access-date=August 15, 2014}}</ref>

==Political controversies==

===Chinese vice-premier gaffe===
During the China–U.S trade talks of March 2007, McCrery and New York Democrat Charles Rangel committed a gaffe when they accidentally insulted Chinese Vice Premier [[Wu Yi (politician)|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 [[People's Republic of China|PRC]] considers a rogue province.<ref>{{cite news| last =Subler| first =Jason| title =China, US face bumpy roads| newspaper =The Brunei Times| date =2007-05-27| url =http://www.bt.com.bn/classification/business/2007/05/27/china_us_face_bumpy_roads| access-date =2015-04-30| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160308201248/http://www.bt.com.bn/classification/business/2007/05/27/china_us_face_bumpy_roads| archive-date =2016-03-08}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{CongLinks | congbio=m000388 | votesmart= | fec=H8LA04134 | congress= }}<!--
Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
* [http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00005414 Financial information (federal office)] at [[Center for Responsive Politics|OpenSecrets.org]]
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Jim_McCrery.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
* -->
* {{C-SPAN|6746}}
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jim_McCrery Profile] at [[SourceWatch]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070622101415/http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/dec/21/your_massive_election_central_guide_to_2008_presidential_campaign_staffs Election Central Guide to 2008]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Buddy Roemer]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Louisiana|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Louisiana's 4th congressional district]]|years=1988–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cleo Fields]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Jerry Huckaby]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Louisiana|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Louisiana's 5th congressional district]]|years=1993–1997}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Cooksey]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Cleo Fields]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States representatives from Louisiana|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Louisiana's 4th congressional district]]|years=1997–2009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John Fleming (American politician)|John Fleming]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Charles Rangel|Charlie Rangel]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States House Committee on Ways and Means|House Ways and Means Committee]]|years=2007–2009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dave Camp]]}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Richard Baker (American politician)|Richard Baker]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Former U.S. Representative}}''|years=}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Philip Sharp (politician)|Philip Sharp]]|as=Former U.S. Representative}}
{{s-end}}

{{LARepresentatives}}
{{USCongRep-start |congresses=100th–110th [[United States Congress]]es |state=[[Louisiana]]}}
{{USCongRep/LA/100}}
{{USCongRep/LA/101}}
{{USCongRep/LA/102}}
{{USCongRep/LA/103}}
{{USCongRep/LA/104}}
{{USCongRep/LA/105}}
{{USCongRep/LA/106}}
{{USCongRep/LA/107}}
{{USCongRep/LA/108}}
{{USCongRep/LA/109}}
{{USCongRep/LA/110}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrery, Jim}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Methodists]]
[[Category:21st-century United States representatives]]
[[Category:21st-century Methodists]]
[[Category:American United Methodists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Louisiana lawyers]]
[[Category:Louisiana State University Law Center alumni]]
[[Category:Louisiana Tech University alumni]]
[[Category:Members of Congress who became lobbyists]]
[[Category:People from Leesville, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana]]
[[Category:United States congressional aides]]